TechAnimate
CAG Newbie
The PS Vita definitely has a strong selection of games with genres like giant JRPG’s, immense Indie titles, is it worth it?
Is it worth getting the Vita
- Thread starter TechAnimate
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Yes and try to get a Vita cheap. I would recommend the 2nd iteration as it has a better battery and is lighter. Just newer too. So much love given by all CAGs in the niche/vita deals threads. Just know a lot of the Vita titles have been clearanced out a while ago, so it may be harder to get some good deals like that.
ChasinTheTrane
CAG Newbie
The Vita is a wonderful piece of hardware, but it didn't do too well, so don't expect much further support from Sony. In any case, if you find a good deal it's definitely worth it.
I say it is, but for the casual gamer it might not be anymore. Its getting harder and harder to just find any titles in the stores and what ever is out there is being slowly snatched up by collectors. I love my Vita slim and I am even contemplating purchasing another one just in case the one I have just dies on me.
HucastGames
CAG Newbie
I Love the Vita! Best portable gaming device purchase since... ever
Also its very cheap.
Also its very cheap.
This is from the perspective of a gamer that has owned every single console since the NES (except Sega CD, 3DO, Virtual Boy, Jaguar, or Wii U. Maybe I should have named what I DID have, lol). If you don't have these systems, you will likely have a different experience, since many of the Vita games were available to me on other platforms. If you only have a Vita, and maybe a PC, you'd really like it.
I bought my 1st gen OLED Vita a good while back (after I got a launch 3DS, I think, 'cause I had zero interest in handhelds prior to that) from a coworker's son, & it was in great condition. It came with a case, a charger, & Call of Duty:Something that got a 4/10 from Gamespot I think. I searched high & low for all Vita games, & got all I could think of. The 3DS offered me something I wasn't getting from home console (3D that was really cool to me, & the only reason I bought the handheld). The Vita did not. It had great potential, but it was my Persona 4 Golden box, really. I have mane games for it. All digital, unfortunately, since the Memory Cards were so expensive (and the 64GB wasn't even available in US at that time, but people were importing it for ~$130). They finally came to US for $100, but I had already bought a couple of 32GB cards & just planned on swapping them out when I wanted to play certain games.
Uncharted looked great, but is was more like a tech demo where it forced you to use all of the features, and was very easy. It doesn't hold up well, however, as I played it after I played Uncharted 4 on Remote Play & it was ugly. I played so many great, unique games on 3DS, but everything I could play on my Vita, I could play on my console (first ps3, then ps4), except P4G. That's all I really ever played on it, even when I thought I wanted to play other games (but that's also a testament to how good P4G, is, also). I hate the party feature when people on friends list would just start talking to me in the middle of me playing a game, never having been invited to a party, it just puts you in one & ruins your epic boss battle or story scene.
The features made for the Vita are pretty poor (touchscreen was basic at that point, so a back "tickle pad", & lackluster network features were just wasted resources that could have gone into making better the things it was good at). What saves it for me, aside from P4G, is the PS4 Remote Play. PS3 remote play was so very disappointing, & I didn't get a PS4 until Uncharted 4 released, so I wasn't even expecting anything in that regard. Being able to play any PS4 game in my bed was amazing. Since every game on Vita was practically playable on my console on a big HDTV (in one form or another), I wanted to play something different when I had a hard day at work & just wanted to relax, so 3DS filled that role.
Once PS4 devs started getting used to the hardware & cranking out hits, I didn't have enough time in the day to play them all. THEN, I thought I'd give PS4 remote play a chance (though I didn't have much faith because of how few games were playable on PS3 remote play. I had never heard it was PS3 hardware limitations, & since the Vita exclusives were few & far between, I just thought Sony gave up on it already, honestly). I couldn't play games that MADE you use all 4 shoulder buttons, like Dark Souls 3 where those are your major action buttons (though you could remap what buttons on the Vita did what on the PS4, there just aren't enough buttons, so you have to use the back of the Vita's "tickle touch" buttons for R2 & L2...or I did). No longer did you have to play a downgraded, low resolution port of PS4 games on the Vita. You could play PS4 games. That was awesome, and is awesome with Persona 5 (as I said, Nioh, I can't play on Vita as it takes all my concentration & I don't want the "controller" being the reason I die).
SO.... It's an amazing P4G device, and a ps4 you can play in bed (I don't game away from home, so portability is meaningless to me). My 1st gen has always had an amazing battery life. It last longer than any of the laptops I work on, longer than 2+ charges of New3DSXL, & I can turn it off for like 2 months with a full charge, then turn it on, and still get the full 7 ish hours of gameplay out of it. I was very impressed by how long the battery has actually continued to provide a quality charge. I work in IT at a small business where we have lots of sales reps with laptops that I have bought new, de-crappified, and maintained for them , and not a single one of the Dell (a few recent Acer & Lenovo, too) laptops has had a battery that worked just as good 4-5 years down the line, as it did on day one. Not even close. That is very impressive, and since another user said OLED Vita's have worse battery, maybe I got lucky, or maybe the LED Vitas are built just as well, but don't use as much of the battery.
Bottom line, if you can get one for very cheap, it's worth it. If you have a PS4, or if you only have 1 other system to play games on, it's worth it, even at retail price. If you have several other consoles, and/or even 1 other handheld, I honestly don't think it's worth it, because eventually it will just sit in your closet.
I bought my 1st gen OLED Vita a good while back (after I got a launch 3DS, I think, 'cause I had zero interest in handhelds prior to that) from a coworker's son, & it was in great condition. It came with a case, a charger, & Call of Duty:Something that got a 4/10 from Gamespot I think. I searched high & low for all Vita games, & got all I could think of. The 3DS offered me something I wasn't getting from home console (3D that was really cool to me, & the only reason I bought the handheld). The Vita did not. It had great potential, but it was my Persona 4 Golden box, really. I have mane games for it. All digital, unfortunately, since the Memory Cards were so expensive (and the 64GB wasn't even available in US at that time, but people were importing it for ~$130). They finally came to US for $100, but I had already bought a couple of 32GB cards & just planned on swapping them out when I wanted to play certain games.
Uncharted looked great, but is was more like a tech demo where it forced you to use all of the features, and was very easy. It doesn't hold up well, however, as I played it after I played Uncharted 4 on Remote Play & it was ugly. I played so many great, unique games on 3DS, but everything I could play on my Vita, I could play on my console (first ps3, then ps4), except P4G. That's all I really ever played on it, even when I thought I wanted to play other games (but that's also a testament to how good P4G, is, also). I hate the party feature when people on friends list would just start talking to me in the middle of me playing a game, never having been invited to a party, it just puts you in one & ruins your epic boss battle or story scene.
The features made for the Vita are pretty poor (touchscreen was basic at that point, so a back "tickle pad", & lackluster network features were just wasted resources that could have gone into making better the things it was good at). What saves it for me, aside from P4G, is the PS4 Remote Play. PS3 remote play was so very disappointing, & I didn't get a PS4 until Uncharted 4 released, so I wasn't even expecting anything in that regard. Being able to play any PS4 game in my bed was amazing. Since every game on Vita was practically playable on my console on a big HDTV (in one form or another), I wanted to play something different when I had a hard day at work & just wanted to relax, so 3DS filled that role.
Once PS4 devs started getting used to the hardware & cranking out hits, I didn't have enough time in the day to play them all. THEN, I thought I'd give PS4 remote play a chance (though I didn't have much faith because of how few games were playable on PS3 remote play. I had never heard it was PS3 hardware limitations, & since the Vita exclusives were few & far between, I just thought Sony gave up on it already, honestly). I couldn't play games that MADE you use all 4 shoulder buttons, like Dark Souls 3 where those are your major action buttons (though you could remap what buttons on the Vita did what on the PS4, there just aren't enough buttons, so you have to use the back of the Vita's "tickle touch" buttons for R2 & L2...or I did). No longer did you have to play a downgraded, low resolution port of PS4 games on the Vita. You could play PS4 games. That was awesome, and is awesome with Persona 5 (as I said, Nioh, I can't play on Vita as it takes all my concentration & I don't want the "controller" being the reason I die).
SO.... It's an amazing P4G device, and a ps4 you can play in bed (I don't game away from home, so portability is meaningless to me). My 1st gen has always had an amazing battery life. It last longer than any of the laptops I work on, longer than 2+ charges of New3DSXL, & I can turn it off for like 2 months with a full charge, then turn it on, and still get the full 7 ish hours of gameplay out of it. I was very impressed by how long the battery has actually continued to provide a quality charge. I work in IT at a small business where we have lots of sales reps with laptops that I have bought new, de-crappified, and maintained for them , and not a single one of the Dell (a few recent Acer & Lenovo, too) laptops has had a battery that worked just as good 4-5 years down the line, as it did on day one. Not even close. That is very impressive, and since another user said OLED Vita's have worse battery, maybe I got lucky, or maybe the LED Vitas are built just as well, but don't use as much of the battery.
Bottom line, if you can get one for very cheap, it's worth it. If you have a PS4, or if you only have 1 other system to play games on, it's worth it, even at retail price. If you have several other consoles, and/or even 1 other handheld, I honestly don't think it's worth it, because eventually it will just sit in your closet.
I somehow find action games/platformers hard to play on the Vita. I tried to play Spelunky a lot, but honestly I was better off playing it on the pc. I am just not as precise with these controls. Now stuff like RPGS are really good on the Vita. The problem is....I find a lot of them to be meh or average or just good. Neptunia games...good, other ifi games like trillion...likely bad, stuff like Criminal Girls (good) and Criminal Girls 2 (meh)....just haven't found amazing on there, though of course P4Golden is great, but it's a remake of sorts. I haven't played the Trails of Cold Steel games, but those are likely the best on the system. There are a lot of RPGs overall, but I just don't always find great ones is all.
All I have to say is look at the exclusives, look at some of the multiplatform ones that get on it (like the Trails of Cold Steel games), and know they all play relatively well on the Vita. It's a good machine for sure, though i'm not sure I can name off the top of my head really great games for it. There are a lot of good games though. I just wish Sony wouldn't have stopped making the exclusives, as I usually prefer a bigger screen for some games, like the RPGs and some action games like Dragon's Crown (I just had a hell of a time playing on the small Vita screen).
All I have to say is look at the exclusives, look at some of the multiplatform ones that get on it (like the Trails of Cold Steel games), and know they all play relatively well on the Vita. It's a good machine for sure, though i'm not sure I can name off the top of my head really great games for it. There are a lot of good games though. I just wish Sony wouldn't have stopped making the exclusives, as I usually prefer a bigger screen for some games, like the RPGs and some action games like Dragon's Crown (I just had a hell of a time playing on the small Vita screen).
Yes, best way to play indies. Plenty of JRPG games to enjoy.
I have around 70+ Physical Vita games. Spent more on it it than any other system.
Underappreciated device. Still alive and kicking in 2017.
This month is ridiculous: Caligula, Hakouki, Operation Babel, Period Cube, Shu, Revenant Saga, YS Origin....probably some that are known last minute.
Craiglist/Kijiji is the way to go. Test the device, you should be able to get a Mint Vita, with 16GB, +1-3 games for 80-100.
If you want Sony First Party Support...look elsewhere. 3rd Party is very strong.
I have around 70+ Physical Vita games. Spent more on it it than any other system.
Underappreciated device. Still alive and kicking in 2017.
This month is ridiculous: Caligula, Hakouki, Operation Babel, Period Cube, Shu, Revenant Saga, YS Origin....probably some that are known last minute.
Craiglist/Kijiji is the way to go. Test the device, you should be able to get a Mint Vita, with 16GB, +1-3 games for 80-100.
If you want Sony First Party Support...look elsewhere. 3rd Party is very strong.
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Richard Kain
CAGiversary!
The basic consensus of these responses is that Yes, the Vita is worth owning, but No, you should probably not pay a lot of money for it. So get one, but try to get one for cheap. This is good advice, and I will lend my recommendation to it.
The core Vita unit itself is a little harder to come by, but is usually avaialble in most second-hand game stores. You can probably find one at your local GameStop (or GAME if you are in the UK). Larger retailers like that aren't going to have one of the better deals, but they should at least be cheaper than the original retail prices. You're going to want to find a unit that is decent condition, preferably one that has some manner of screen protector applied. A Vita with a screen protector will likely have little to no scratches on the screen itself, and you can replace a scratched screen protector easily. If the thumbsticks are a little loose, that's not a deal-breaker, as it is possible to replace those with a little work. Most Vita's aren't that expensive anymore. If you can find one for around $100 USD, you're in the right ballpark. You can either go for the original OLED screen, or the revised slim model, it's more a matter of personal taste than anything else.
There is also the option of the PSTV, which should generally be much cheaper. Because that system is a bit more limited, and wasn't nearly as big of a seller, the demand for it at the moment should be at an all-time low. Now is the appropriate time to pick one of those up, and with lowered demand the after-market prices should be bargain-basement levels. You should be able to snatch one used for around $30 USD, maybe even lower. Keep in mind that a standard PSTV running official firmware will not be able to play all Vita games. Games that rely heavily on the touchscreen or back touchpad tend to be incompatible with the PSTV. A custom firmware install can change this, but is not always worth the trouble. Thankfully, quite a few of the best games for the Vita are compatible, and most of the games that would be appropriate for TV play are on that list. The PSTV is a good low-cost alternative to the full package, and is nice to have for the big-screen option if you happen to enjoy the Vita's library of titles. It's also arguably one of the best ways to play PSP games, and quite a good way to play PS1 classics.
The biggest problem and expense for Vita ownership is memory cards. They are proprietary, aren't particularly common, and cost more now than they did when stores were clearing them out. If you can find a bundle that includes one of the hardware platforms with a memory card, this would be a good option. You're going to want an 8-Gig card as a minimum. This is large enough to accommodate a decent digital selection without having to shuffle titles too often. Save game data is generally not a problem, any size memory card will suffice for those. But if you want some full-digital games, you'll want around 8-Gigs to play around with. 16 would be better, but would be considerably more expensive. The 32 and 64 Gig cards are crazy expensive.
The core Vita unit itself is a little harder to come by, but is usually avaialble in most second-hand game stores. You can probably find one at your local GameStop (or GAME if you are in the UK). Larger retailers like that aren't going to have one of the better deals, but they should at least be cheaper than the original retail prices. You're going to want to find a unit that is decent condition, preferably one that has some manner of screen protector applied. A Vita with a screen protector will likely have little to no scratches on the screen itself, and you can replace a scratched screen protector easily. If the thumbsticks are a little loose, that's not a deal-breaker, as it is possible to replace those with a little work. Most Vita's aren't that expensive anymore. If you can find one for around $100 USD, you're in the right ballpark. You can either go for the original OLED screen, or the revised slim model, it's more a matter of personal taste than anything else.
There is also the option of the PSTV, which should generally be much cheaper. Because that system is a bit more limited, and wasn't nearly as big of a seller, the demand for it at the moment should be at an all-time low. Now is the appropriate time to pick one of those up, and with lowered demand the after-market prices should be bargain-basement levels. You should be able to snatch one used for around $30 USD, maybe even lower. Keep in mind that a standard PSTV running official firmware will not be able to play all Vita games. Games that rely heavily on the touchscreen or back touchpad tend to be incompatible with the PSTV. A custom firmware install can change this, but is not always worth the trouble. Thankfully, quite a few of the best games for the Vita are compatible, and most of the games that would be appropriate for TV play are on that list. The PSTV is a good low-cost alternative to the full package, and is nice to have for the big-screen option if you happen to enjoy the Vita's library of titles. It's also arguably one of the best ways to play PSP games, and quite a good way to play PS1 classics.
The biggest problem and expense for Vita ownership is memory cards. They are proprietary, aren't particularly common, and cost more now than they did when stores were clearing them out. If you can find a bundle that includes one of the hardware platforms with a memory card, this would be a good option. You're going to want an 8-Gig card as a minimum. This is large enough to accommodate a decent digital selection without having to shuffle titles too often. Save game data is generally not a problem, any size memory card will suffice for those. But if you want some full-digital games, you'll want around 8-Gigs to play around with. 16 would be better, but would be considerably more expensive. The 32 and 64 Gig cards are crazy expensive.
shadowysea07
CAGiversary!
And if you can't find the handheld the vita tv is a super cheap alternative. Though not all games are compatible.
Tribsinia
CAGiversary!
I my opinion it's a resounding yes if you got the money to get all the sweet titles. I just don't think the vita has much more in its lifespan and only is getting a few indies and jrpgs. If you can't get it cheap and your not a trophy hunter. I would suggest getting a switch which as it currently looks in media and critics will be garnering alot more third party support and possibly all those jrpgs that the vita was using as life support might leave the station and move to switch. Also I want to say I am diehard Playstation if you can't tell by the trophy score in my signature. I just can read the tea leaves.
If you get a vita, do yourself a giant favor and get personal 4 golden, gravity rush, uncharted golden abyss, unit 13, severed, tomb raider and hitman go, any hyperdiminesion Neptunia, freedom wars and if you wanna break a vita by looking really weird and naughty get Monster Monpiece. The looks my wife gave me while I was platinuming that game was worth it's weight in gold. Oh almost forgot salt and sanctuary on vita is good, rocketbirds, terraria. That will definitely take some of your time
If you get a vita, do yourself a giant favor and get personal 4 golden, gravity rush, uncharted golden abyss, unit 13, severed, tomb raider and hitman go, any hyperdiminesion Neptunia, freedom wars and if you wanna break a vita by looking really weird and naughty get Monster Monpiece. The looks my wife gave me while I was platinuming that game was worth it's weight in gold. Oh almost forgot salt and sanctuary on vita is good, rocketbirds, terraria. That will definitely take some of your time
Strength&defiance
CAG Veteran
I feel like anything I could say here would merely be copying the excellent points above. The Vita is one of my favorite systems, and one that I always keep powered up and next to me while I watch Netflix or listen to podcasts. Some of my favorite games are: Persona 4 Golden, odin sphere leifthrasir, the ratchet and clank HD collection, the Metal gear solid HD collection, sound shapes and a few others.
Get it, you won't regret it!
Get it, you won't regret it!
RegretItLater
CAGiversary!
I wish GameStop would lower the price on their used games. The games that I want still cost over $20 and some don't include the original case and artwork.
Richard Kain
CAGiversary!
The Vita is also one of the best places to play games from one of my favorite developers... VanillaWare. Several of the previous posts have mentioned Odin Sphere, (which is awesome) but the Vita also boasts ports of Muramasa, and Dragon's Crown. In fact, the Vita is the only other platform that you can play Muramasa on aside from the Wii, and the only version of the game that is able to run at 720p. Arguably, the Vita is the best platform for VanillaWare fans. It is the only platform to have gotten three of their games ported to it to date.
And yes, GameStop is lame, and their prices have been terrible for a very long time. It's essentially not worth going into GameStop until they put their games on clearance, in an attempt to get rid of their existing stock. And that happens very infrequently. More often than not, they'll be advertising used games for a dollar or two lower than their brand-new alternatives, or sometimes for even more than their recently-discounted brand-new alternative. GameStop ruined second-hand game purchasing for me. It used to be a lot easier to find games at yard and garage sales, or have a few friends who were dumping their collections and didn't mind if you picked over their old games. Now everyone and their dog just dumps their old stull off at GameStop for way less than it's actually worth and calls it a day. Okay, i'm done ranting.
The Vita is well worth having, and right about now is one of the better times to get in on the platform. Try to get a new system if you can, or a used system with a decent screen protector so the original screen is untouched. Also, try to find a PS TV for cheaps. It shouldn't be difficult, the demand for them was never particularly high, so a used one these days should go for peanuts.
And yes, GameStop is lame, and their prices have been terrible for a very long time. It's essentially not worth going into GameStop until they put their games on clearance, in an attempt to get rid of their existing stock. And that happens very infrequently. More often than not, they'll be advertising used games for a dollar or two lower than their brand-new alternatives, or sometimes for even more than their recently-discounted brand-new alternative. GameStop ruined second-hand game purchasing for me. It used to be a lot easier to find games at yard and garage sales, or have a few friends who were dumping their collections and didn't mind if you picked over their old games. Now everyone and their dog just dumps their old stull off at GameStop for way less than it's actually worth and calls it a day. Okay, i'm done ranting.
The Vita is well worth having, and right about now is one of the better times to get in on the platform. Try to get a new system if you can, or a used system with a decent screen protector so the original screen is untouched. Also, try to find a PS TV for cheaps. It shouldn't be difficult, the demand for them was never particularly high, so a used one these days should go for peanuts.
Strength&defiance
CAG Veteran
You make an excellent point. It's a bit of a Vita secret that it has the best versions of VanillaWare's awesome games. I first played Muramasa on Wii and loved it, but the Vita's OLED screen make those colors POP. VanillaWare's genius should be appreciated with as high fidelity as possible.
I just got a great deal on the vita on eBay. 117 for the slim model Minecraft, Mortal Kombat, and Call of Duty. Regular auction of course.
Biggest expense though is the memory card. A 32 or 64 gb vita memory card is 45 and 94 cheapest respectively from what I've seen.
If any one knows where to get one cheaper pass it on.
I think most people know the Vitas worth getting. The price was just to high and for a while now Sony's abandoned it to die. But if anyone is interested in one nows a great time. You can get one for 150 easy and Remote play alone makes it worth it. Let alone all the games.
Biggest expense though is the memory card. A 32 or 64 gb vita memory card is 45 and 94 cheapest respectively from what I've seen.
If any one knows where to get one cheaper pass it on.
I think most people know the Vitas worth getting. The price was just to high and for a while now Sony's abandoned it to die. But if anyone is interested in one nows a great time. You can get one for 150 easy and Remote play alone makes it worth it. Let alone all the games.
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Strength&defiance
CAG Veteran
You are in for a treat sir. For a while Playstation + was giving out awesome vita games almost monthly, though lately they seem to mostly give our indies of varying quality. Might still be worth the investment in a membership though
Duplicated
CAG Newbie
If you can find one for sub-$150, definitely (console only; check the price for each game online if bundled). Memory cards can be quite a bit of pain, however, and do not get the 64GB version; they tend to fail a lot faster compare to other versions, not to mention how expensive it is.
If you care about homebrew and such, I'd say it's the best handheld PSX emulator, hands down. Much better screen than the PSP, although using touchpad for R2/L2 shoulders is not exactly ideal, but not that many games use them.
If you care about homebrew and such, I'd say it's the best handheld PSX emulator, hands down. Much better screen than the PSP, although using touchpad for R2/L2 shoulders is not exactly ideal, but not that many games use them.
bread's done