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To celebrate the fifteen year anniversary of the PS VITA’s North American launch, Andrew and I decided to work together on a blog dedicated to the system. For me, the PS VITA represents both the peak of my handheld gaming enthusiasm and the point where that passion began to change over time.
Favorite Games
Andrew
Some of my favorite games for the system would have to be Steins;Gate, Muramasa and Mary Skelter. This is subject to change in the future though as I’m revisiting other games with fresh eyes. However, why are these my favorites? I’ll break it all down.
Steins;Gate
This is a time traveling visual novel that starts off with such a kick that it left me absolutely hooked. Imagine, you just watch someone get murdered. Why? How did it happen? Then, something shifts. You exit the building, the busy street is absolutely empty. Why? What happened? Well, that’s only the start. A short time passes and the girl you watched die, Kurisu, is standing before you, alive, talking, breathing. Have you lost your mind?
Steins;Gate tells the tale of Rintaro Okabe, who discovers time travel. There are many different branching paths to take, some with a nasty end. The whole gane is interesting, keeps you guessing and delivers a lot of fun.
Muramasa
Muramasa originated on the (paid link) Wii, which is still a solid option if you want to play that way. It also allows the use of the GameCube controller. Anyway, the Vita version is definitely the best version so far with updated graphics and even offers DLC stories to play.
It’s a beautiful game featuring Japan during the Edo Period and offers two different protagonists to play as: Momhine and Kisuke. Each with different fighting styles. Many blades are available to use, each with a unique skill so strategy is needed when choosing what to use. With fast paced action, fun overall gameplay and beautiful scenery, the game is worth having for the (paid link) Vita.
Mary Skelter
I’m actually pretty happy to talk about this game and bring it more attention, since I definitely believe it deserves it. Now, this had been put on Steam, and you can also play it on the Switch via owning Mary Skelter 2 and downloading the DLC which is basically just allows you to play the first game. If you aren’t sure what this game is, let me fill you in.
The Jail, as they put it, has these monsters that really like drinking blood. Well, these group of teenage girls and Jack can fight against the Marchen and stop them. They begin their journey trying to find the secrets of this place and how they can escape. Everyone is underground and people aren’t always safe. What awaits? It’s a first person dungeon crawler with turn based gameplay. Something that I personally really enjoy and it works very well for the system too.
Alright, did you get that? No? Yeah, I was being vague on purpose because the game’s story is actually pretty interesting and there’s some secrets I really don’t want to accidentally give away. Want a (paid link) copy? Go get yourself one! Also, there are (paid link) physical Switch copies for the second game too and then you also have (paid link) Mary Skelter Finale.
Downs
There’s no shortage of great games on the VITA. Unlike Andrew, I don’t have as many truly unique titles under my belt, which makes my list more generic then I’d like. Picking a definitive top three isn’t easy, but the games that immediately come to mind are Persona 4 Golden, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, and Freedom Wars, with Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 as honorable mentions.
Persona 4 Golden
This game completely redefined the VITA for me. It’s easily one of my favorite games of all time, not just on the handheld. As mentioned earlier in my VITA memories, it’s a game that brought the VITA crew together, and one I went out of my way to Platinum. It’s a solid JRPG with an excellent story, memorable characters, and deeply satisfying social sim mechanics.
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
This is hands down my favorite entry in the series. This entry in the murder mystery visual novel franchise is set in a new location. This place opened the door for more creative and engaging mysteries, and the cast felt stronger overall. One particular case involving a “lucky” character stands out as the best mystery the franchise has ever delivered.
Freedom Wars
Choosing a third game was easily the hardest part. I have many titles that rank highly in my memory, but some of those experiences aren’t exclusive to the VITA anymore, since I’ve replayed or continued them on other systems. With that in mind, the choice eventually became clear though ironically, it’s tied to one of my worst memories with the system.
Freedom Wars has one of the most unique premises I’ve ever seen: you’re sentenced to a million years in prison for the crime of amnesia, and the only way to reduce that sentence is by fighting massive robots. The game can be rough at the start due to how restrictive its “Big Brother” setting is, but once it opens up, it becomes genuinely fun. You earn entitlements that unlock more abilities and areas. My only regret is I do wish I hadn’t messed up my build so early on. That just gives me a perfect excuse to revisit it someday.
Our Favorite Memories
Andrew
I got my Vita in Christmas of 2015. I don’t really recall what made me want one to begin with but I do distinctly remember wanting (paid links) Gravity Rush, Steins;Gate and Persona 4 Golden. It wasn’t too long after receiving my Vita that I jumped into Steins;Gate, maybe a few days at most and I was hooked. From beginning to end, and I even got the platinum.
However, moving onto my memories, they mostly come from the Vita community that Downs and I ran. We had several members collecting for the system and we were able to do community playthroughs for games like P4G and Freedom Wars. We also held tournaments for games such as (paid link) Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax and (paid link) Playstation All-Stars. It was a community of people who just enjoyed the system and the games, which spawned good memories.
Especially for me with P4G. We all were somewhat equal in where we were with the game. I wouldn’t say nose to nose but we were similarly in the same area. That first boss fight was the real kicker. The big first boss fight, with Yukiko. I remember we were sharing tips on how to handle it.
Downs
I received my PS VITA for Christmas in 2012, the year it launched. Along with the system, I received five games, and two of them would go on to make the VITA my favorite handheld. Those same two games also played a major role in pushing me toward blog writing in the years that followed.
Gravity Rush
The first game that truly stood out was Gravity Rush. It was a uniquely creative adventure game unlike anything I had played before. I loved the gameplay, especially the “flying” (or technically falling) mechanics, which made simply moving around the world fun. Not only that, the music is incredible for this game. More than anything, Gravity Rush made me want to talk about games differently. It was one of the first titles that pushed me to write blogs and ultimately led to my friendship with Andrew.
Danganronpa
The other major influence was Danganronpa. This series significantly deepened my investment in the VITA. It was my first real experience with a murder mystery survival visual novels, but what kept me hooked was not just the off the wall storytelling, but the gameplay. For a visual novel, Danganronpa (paid link) includes a surprising number of mini games that keep you engaged with both the story and the mechanics. Each entry improved upon the last with stronger mysteries and better systems. Even the third person shooter spin off Ultra Despair Girls provided a refreshing break from the standard formula.
This was the point where the VITA stopped being just a handheld and became a platform I actively played and collected for. That journey eventually led me to the game that truly cemented the system as a permanent part of my collection.
Persona 4 Golden
Persona 4 Golden needs no introduction. The hype surrounding it is well deserved. From the life simulation elements to dungeon exploration and compelling storytelling, everything about the game worked for me. What made the experience even better was playing it alongside a small community of like minded VITA fans, including Andrew. The community alone would drive this game. For example One friend raced through the game in an absurd time frame. (It was around 2-3 weeks) Another memory was I got stuck on an easy boss, but I was the only one to earn the platinum trophy.
After that shared high point, my relationship with the VITA slowly began to shift.
Freedom Wars
My lowest point with the system came from Freedom Wars. I genuinely loved the game at first. It was a poor man’s Monster Hunter. It worked on the PS TV, and I ended up putting over eighty hours into it. My goal was to work off the in game nine thousand nine hundred ninety nine year sentence and earn the platinum trophy. Over time, however, progress became frustrating and confusing. I had unknowingly screwed myself with a bad build, and missions suddenly felt impossible.
At the time, many players relied on online help to push through those walls, but my schedule made that difficult. Then the final nail in the coffin was when my save data was lost. The problem with the save data was caused by the VITA itself. Somehow it got corrupted and I lost everything. That moment soured not only the game, but my enthusiasm for the system as a whole, and it marked the beginning of a temporary step away from the VITA.
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1
The last game I fully played on the VITA was (paid link) Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1. It is a JRPG infamous for its heavy grinding, and it absolutely lived up to that brutal reputation. The game was fun and held my interest, but by the time I finished it, I was burned out and needed a long break from the series. Which unknowingly meant the PS VITA as well.
Around that time, COVID hit, and between everything going on and the shrinking VITA community, I stepped away from the system entirely. For a while, it felt like all things VITA had been quietly shelved. However the day to return to the system never did leave my mind. The question was “When” compared to “If”. Which leads to my game collection.
Status of Our Collections
Andrew
At the time of writing this, we’ve already talked about our 2026 gaming goals, where I shown off this photo:
Obviously this is quite lacking when you know that I had over 100 games at one time. Well, I did start buying some titles though and this is where I am now:
A lot better. Still have a few games I want and probably more I’ll find along the journey.
Downs
My VITA collection has changed significantly over the past six years, and I am now close to completing a full North American physical set. Even with the hold on purchasing games at the rate I was prior to 2020, I would occasionally pick up a title or two here and there.
Before COVID, I was buying nearly every VITA game I could find. Once the pandemic hit, prices skyrocketed, making many titles far more expensive than they had any right to be. In 2021, prices surged again when Sony announced plans to shut down the online store. Even though that decision was later reversed, the market damage had already been done.
Over time, another factor slowed my momentum. Many VITA games began receiving ports to modern systems. Even Freedom Wars eventually made the jump. While this made the games more accessible, it also removed much of my urgency to own the original versions.
As for me, it feels like the best opportunity yet to finish filling in the remaining gaps in my collection.
The Future of the Vita and Ourselves
Andrew
I took a break from the Vita years ago but I’m having fun rediscovering all the games and the cool technology that are the touch screens. So, what does my future with it look like? I have no doubt it will be a regular playing device for me just as the Switch & Switch 2 have become. There are plenty of titles to keep me coming back for a long, long time.
Downs
I see the PS VITA as a system that will stay with me well into both the near and distant future, assuming the hardware holds up. While I doubt I will forever own all three hundred thirty games released physically in North America, I know exactly which ones I would keep if I ever had to downsize. There are still incredible experiences locked to the system, and sometimes nothing quite replaces the feel of playing them on the original hardware.
One day, I would like to return to the VITA not as a collector chasing completeness, but as a player revisiting the games that mattered most.
Speaking of which below are the next few games I plan on playing on the VITA in the near future: (Not in any particular order)
Ar Nosurge Plus
Lost Dimension
Killzone Mercenary
MeiQ Labrinth
Muramasa Rebirth
Ray Gigant
Tales of Heart R
Uncharted Golden Abyss
Unit 13
Conclusion
Alright, so did this trip down memory lane for us make you want to grab that Vita and revisit some old favorites? It did for me too so make sure to stay tuned for further articles as well as our 2026 goals update since both of us had goals pertaining to the system. Until next time, happy gaming.
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