The PlayStation Vita still rules

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

The full clip I was playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth — the 2nd portion of a planned trilogy of FF7 remakes — I couldn’t halt reasoning astir replaying the archetypal crippled from 1997. When the credits rolled connected Rebirth, I had a hard determination to make: how to play the original? There is nary shortage of options. The crippled has been ported to astir modern platforms, and I inactive person the archetypal PlayStation discs (all 3 of them). But yet I decided connected a beloved but oft-forgotten portion of video crippled hardware, the PlayStation Vita. And you cognize what? This small happening inactive perfectly rules.

My rekindled emotion matter with the Vita started due to the fact that of FF7, and I’ve been been making my done the crippled successful fits and starts. But it has besides blossomed from there. I had forgotten not lone however bully the handheld is for playing classical games, peculiarly timesinks similar RPGs, but besides however galore fantabulous indies it had. Sound Shapes remains 1 of the champion euphony games ever made, and the likes of Hotline Miami, Bastion, and Fez are ideally suited for the Vita. I’ve reacquainted myself with games similar the post-apocalyptic strategy of Tokyo Jungle Mobile and the streamlined skateboarding enactment of the archetypal OlliOlli.

All of these games consciousness close connected the Vita due to the fact that Sony perfectly nailed the hardware. It’s tiny and light, arsenic a handheld should be, but it doesn’t commercialized that disconnected for functionality. It has each of the sticks and buttons you’d expect of a PlayStation device, and — speech from those sticks being a interaction connected the tiny broadside — it handles similar a PlayStation controller. It adjacent includes a touchscreen for the fewer games that truly instrumentality vantage of it, similar the shot crippled Passing Time. It’s fundamentally the plan of a Switch earlier the Switch existed, but sturdier due to the fact that it’s a coagulated device. It’s the perfect compromise betwixt comfortableness and performance.

Image: Square Enix Final Fantasy VII’s Golden Saucer is conscionable much amusive connected a portable.

Even now, successful what could possibly beryllium described arsenic a aureate property for handhelds — see: the Playdate, Analogue Pocket, Steam Deck (and its clones), arsenic good arsenic the Switch — the Vita inactive stands retired successful this regard. The lone happening that truly comes adjacent is the Switch Lite due to the fact that of however it shrunk down and solidified the archetypal design. But if I privation to play a clump of antithetic games connected the go, including ones that necessitate a accepted power scheme, the Vita has erstwhile again go my go-to. Lately, I’ve been playing Lumines: Electronic Symphony during bouts connected an workout bike, and it’s hard to ideate doing that comfortably portion lugging astir a Steam Deck.

Of course, determination are drawbacks to utilizing a Vita successful the twelvemonth 2024. Mainly, that has to bash with getting caller games. Vita isn’t precisely a viable level for modern developers, and adjacent snatching up aged (physical) releases tin beryllium tough. I spot plentifulness of Nintendo DS games whenever I spell thrifting, but a Vita cartridge is simply a uncommon sight, and portion you tin bargain integer games connected the Vita’s store, Sony has made the process much tedious than it should be. Still, it was worthy the effort of fumbling astir successful assorted menus truthful that I could acquisition Parasite Eve, which I’m readying to play close aft FF7. Unfortunately, the classical games are mostly consecutive ports without immoderate of the quality-of-life tweaks recovered successful modern rereleases.

Really, the Vita is simply a bully acquisition that conscionable due to the fact that a institution has moved connected from a gaming platform, it doesn’t mean you person to. Nothing astir the hardware oregon its games feels peculiarly dated. And since determination are plentifulness of Vita games I ne'er got astir to, on with older PSone games I’ve been meaning to replay, I’m not hurting for choice. In conscionable a fewer weeks, I’ve built up rather the queue; aft Parasite Eve, my database includes the archetypal Suikoden and Persona games. These aren’t games that are exclusive to the Vita — they conscionable consciousness amended there.