PlayStation Vita Console Discussion

[Julius]

Lately, I've been thinking of picking up a Vita. Although I picked up a Switch recently (and am loving it), it's a bit too bulky for me to be taking on my way to and from work (about an hour each way), which includes thirty minutes either way crammed in a train carriage. I would take my 3DS, but honestly, there's nothing piquing my interest enough for me to bring it along at the moment. There are also more than enough games on Vita for me to be interested in picking one up, especially in terms of games currently exclusive to the console. 

I've been looking around for one for a few months now, but I haven't bought a secondhand console since my original, chunky PS2 from Cash Converters, so I'm curious about what other people think with more experience of the Vita and potentially buying older consoles: is it worth importing a brand new one from Japan for £200+ from PlayAsia (I've read it's practically the same, other than O and X having switched purpose in the main menu), or would I be better off keeping an eye out for a secondhand console in good condition? 

Also, I've had a read into SD2Vita at @drahkon 's recommendation, and that certainly seems like the route I'll be going. The going rate for some of the larger proprietary Vita memory cards these days are pretty staggering, at least when compared to their microSD counterparts!

I'd also greatly appreciate any recommendations anyone has. So far on my list I've got: 

Quote

• Final Fantasy VII

• Final Fantasy VIII

• Final Fantasy IX

• Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions

• Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together!

• Persona 4 Golden

• Star Wars: Battlefront II (2005)

• Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron

• Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron

• Papers Please

I already own Hotline Miami and HM2, through a PS4 sale. I think I'll be picking up the Final Fantasy games this week anyways, as they're currently 50% off thanks to the Big in Japan sale. 

Edited May 12, 2019 by Julius

[Hero-of-Time]

If you want a new Vita then best be quick and snap one up sooner rather than later. The prices have already started to rise ever since the announcement of them being discontinued and it will only get worse.

The Vita library is a strange one. There was a time where it housed some very unique and interesting games but a lot of them have been ported to other systems now. Things like Severed, Danganronpa, Gravity Rush and Tearaway can be played elsewhere now. Saying that, some of these games are still best played on the Vita.

I'd definitely pick up Killzone Mercenary, Unit 13, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Tales of Hearts and Freedom Wars. These are great games that can't be played anywhere else. You could also look into the Soul Sacrifice games which are also still trapped on the Vita.

There are lots of PSP and PSOne games to purchase on the PSN store and if you do go that route then you should look at picking up one of those shells that add L2 and R2 buttons to the console. Using the back touchpad for this is far from ideal.

Edited May 12, 2019 by Hero-of-Time

[Happenstance]

Just noticed there are now micro SD card adaptors for the Vita to allow you to use your own mem cards. Anyone heard if they are reliable?

[Ike]

On 12/05/2019 at 4:45 PM, Happenstance said:

Just noticed there are now micro SD card adaptors for the Vita to allow you to use your own mem cards. Anyone heard if they are reliable?

Apparently they are different versions and the later ones are more reliable. Then it's pretty much down to your Micro SD cards. You need to install CFW to use it though, which always comes with bit of a risk. As well as needing to be on an older version the OS.

Sony's own cards supposedly have a high failure rate, moreso the 64gb cards which is what I'm scared of, so I actually set one up over the weekend on my PlayStation TV. Debating if it's worth doing on my Vita as well, the PlayStation TV was already on an older version.

Looking at my Vita library, pretty much everything I would want to play are on other systems anyway.

 

[Julius]

So, just a quick update...

First time I've imported a console. Sweet. 

Hope I don't open the box up to find a cracked screen...

Thanks @Hero-of-Time for the heads up about the L2/R2 grip; I've been planning on picking up a Vita for a while (your comment about the price going up was actually a huge factor in picking it up now -- it reminded me that it's gone up around £70 since I first looked in Feb!), but your mention of it was the first time that I'd heard about those problems and the grip! Also thanks @drahkon for the heads up about SD2Vita; just going to apply the screen protector now before I finish setting that up! 

Edited May 20, 2019 by Julius

[Hero-of-Time]

Nice!

Where did you import from and, if you don't mind me asking, how much was it? I'm contemplating picking up another as a spare before they become too hard to buy.

[Julius]

21 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Nice!

Where did you import from and, if you don't mind me asking, how much was it? I'm contemplating picking up another as a spare before they become too hard to buy.

Play-Asia, and not at all! It was ~£216 before taxes and postage were applied (which cost ~£80).

From the looks of it, they're still around that same price: here's the link to their Vitas. Looks like they have the black, blue and red variants of the Slim models still available  oh, and if you do order from there, to save you from having a small heart attack, do note that their invoices are in USD 

Edited May 20, 2019 by Julius

[drahkon]

Bought God Wars: Future Past last night. The PSVita version is currently 3.19€ (£2.79) down from 39.99€ (£34.99)  

It's supposed to be a really good tactical RPG. I've never gotten into the genre so far, but for 3 bucks I'll definitely give it another try.

[Ashley]

Brutal

 

[Nolan]

Just plain rude. I love my little Vita even if I don’t use it often. 

[drahkon]

Mymy, it's been quite a while since I've used my PSVita

Today, after finishing Final Fantasy VII Remake, I charged it, turned it on and immediately fell in love again. It's such a sublime device. Still the best handheld ever made

Started up Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and played it for two hours.
It's a weird game. Weird battle system, weird mission setup, weird story (at least so far) and weird main character.
Not bad, not great. For now, it's a very solid game. Can't wait to see how the story will evolve.

[drahkon]

On 9/8/2020 at 10:41 PM, drahkon said:

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

Not sure if I'm doing something wrong. Or right?
I've been doing some side missions and had no problems at all, even with those marked as "hard" or "very hard". I breezed through them.
Then there are certain monsters in the main mission that kill me in two hits

Anyway, the game now gave me the option to fuse Materia, but I really don't see the benefit right now. I could fuse two Fire Materia, each with +2 Atk and then get a Fire Materia with +3 Atk. It's not worth it. Weird. The game gets weirder by the minute

I'm enjoying it, though.

[Julius]

Spent some time with my Vita for the first time probably since it arrived nearly 2 years ago (!) and I set it up and dabbled in some things. 

Finally completed some games on it! I ended up playing through some shorter games this weekend (though the second one I moved over to my PS5 for in the end, because I realised there was a PS4 version, and I'll always prefer a bigger screen to a smaller one), and it's quickly grown on me. I really like that D-pad, the crispness of the touch screen, and just how tactile the buttons are. Also picked up a few more shorter games after doing a little more research on the games on there. 

A question about some of the titles though, namely Gravity Rush and Tearaway: for anyone who has played them on both the Vita and their PS4 counterparts, which do you think was the better experience? I'm thinking of picking them up at some point (not in any real rush, but maybe the sooner better, seeing how high the physical version of Gravity Rush Remastered has climbed), so I'm curious more than anything.

Gravity Rush Remastered I've heard is really enjoyable and that Bluepoint did a great job of translating that to a home console experience, and like I said I'll generally lean towards a big screen experience over a small one, so I'm leaning towards Remastered over picking up the game on Vita. I've read pretty muddled things about Tearaway and Unfolded, though, so I'm wondering if anyone could give me some guidance there? From what I've read, it seems like it makes great use of the Vita's capabilities, and I've seen some say that the Unfolded version of the game drags on a bit by comparison, so I'm not really leaning in either direction too strongly at the moment. 

Edited February 8, 2021 by Julius

[Hero-of-Time]

I found Gravity Rush to be more enjoyable on the big screen. As for Tearaway, the Vita version is the better one. The PS4 version is fine but the new content makes the game feel bloated. 

[drahkon]

Played Tearaway on my Vita and got the Platinum. Absolutely loved it.
Can't say anything about Unfolded, though...I've started it years ago but dropped it pretty quickly.

If you haven't played it already go and get Severed.

[drahkon]

A PSVita game...

[Julius]

Russian Subway Dogs dropping today...on the Vita?! 

Vita means life and all that