PlayStation Vita, the best games to buy before it's too late

PlayStation Vita

It's official: PlayStation Vita owners will no longer be able to purchase games on the PlayStation Store starting August 27, as Sony will cease digital support for its latest portable console.

This means that numerous titles will be lost for always, while others will become extremely difficult to find in retail format. Users will be able to continue downloading the products they already own, and it is therefore important to take action before it is too late.

Below you will find a list, in strict alphabetical order, of ten games that we consider particularly significant in the history of PS Vita. Not the only ones and not necessarily the best, but those who, for one reason or another, it would be a shame to see them disappear. We recently released a similar special for PS3 too, so if you're curious you can also check out that list.

Atelier Plus

Atelier Shallie Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea and its unmistakable anime style. Let's start with a set of productions, rather than with a single title. The Atelier series has managed over the years to carve out its own space in the jRPG enthusiast market, and the franchise has been particularly active on PlayStation Vita, contributing significantly to the Japanese success of the handheld.

If you have recently approached the series and want to recover the original episodes in portable version, on PS Vita they have come out in the order Atelier Totori Plus: The Adventurer of Arland, Atelier Meruru Plus: The Apprentice of Arland, Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland, Atelier Ayesha Plus: The Alchemist of Dusk, Atelier Escha & Logy Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky and finally Atelier Shallie Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea.

Killzone: Mercenary

Undoubtedly one of the most important titles ever released on PlayStation Vita, Killzone: Mercenary throws us once again into the bloody conflict between ISA and Helghast, retracing the events of entire saga as we fight as Arran Danner, a shrewd mercenary who offers his services to one faction or another without too many scruples.

Featuring an amazing technical realization, with one of the best graphics you can find ever seen on the Sony portable console, the shooter by Guerrilla Games also boasts a control system capable of exploiting the multiple input devices of the handheld, mixing traditional commands and quick time events based on interaction with the touch screen.

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, an iconic sequence from the third episode. Although inexplicably lacking the original episode and especially Peace Walker, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection stands as a literally unmissable collection for fans of Hideo Kojima's most representative work. In fact, the package includes Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance and Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, namely the improved versions of the second and third installments of the series.

We are talking about titles so iconic that they need no introduction: yes passes from the narrative experimentation of MGS 2, with the introduction of Raiden and the unexpected passing of the baton in the race, to the extraordinary atmospheres and implications of MGS 3. Both experiences that still today can give a lot, net of some angularity as much as it's about the controls.

MotorStorm RC

MotorStorm RC, a look at the snow-covered tracks. A game destined to disappear, made by a development team that no longer exists: MotorStorm RC represented the attempt by Evolution Studios to bring the famous Sony franchise also on PlayStation Vita, albeit in the form of a spin-off based on radio-controlled cars and small tracks, to try and try again in search of the best time.

Equipped with a widely configurable control system and a view from above that makes the races different from the usual, in a kind as a tribute to some classic arcade racers, the portable episode does not miss the opportunity to mention the episodes of the main series, launching us into frantic races within some of the most iconic scenarios of MotorStorm.

Murasaki Baby

Murasaki Baby, the peculiar graphic style in an image. Debut title for the Italian Ovosonico team, Murasaki Baby mixes a truly peculiar graphic style, inspired in many ways by the atmosphere of Tim Burton's films, with deliberately essential gameplay. The result is an undoubtedly original experience, albeit a bit too short and perhaps unable to fully express its potential.

In the game we will have to "accompany" the little protagonist of the adventure, Baby, holding her virtually by hand with a touch of the touch screen and avoiding that her balloon gets out of hand, recovering it if necessary and using four different special powers to make the surrounding environment comply with our will.

Persona 4: Golden

Persona 4: Golden, a combat sequence. Released last year also on PC, Persona 4: Golden is available in a portable version only on PlayStation Vita and is certainly one of the best games ever released on the Sony portable console. In fact, we are talking about a product full of depth, also and above all narrative, capable of telling a non-trivial story.

The protagonist of the adventure, Yu Narukami, will in fact have to deal with the everyday life of a small Japanese town that is suddenly shocked by a series of murders linked to a mysterious parallel reality. After discovering how to access it, the boy decides to investigate with his friends, thanks to the fact that in that dark place he is able to use extraordinary powers.

Soul Sacrifice

Soul Sacrifice, a look at the eerie settings of the game. Born from the fantasy of Keiji Inafune, the father of Mega Man, Soul Sacrifice is the first and sadly only episode of a really interesting action RPG, specially designed on PlayStation Vita and set in a disturbing world, populated by terrible monsters and an order of sorcerers charged with hunting him down by sacrificing their own body.

The very concept of "sacrifice" is the basis of the mystical arts that we will be able to use in the long and demanding campaign of the game, grappling with more and more characters details, trying to unlock new skills that can allow us to face the strongest enemies, playing alone or in co-op with other users.

Sly Trilogy

Sly Trilogy, a look a protagonist and settings. Sly Trilogy is the remastered collection of the three episodes of the Sony series born on PS2, specifically Sly Cooper and the Thievius Racconus, Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves. Also in this case, it is a product that after removal from the PlayStation Store could end up in oblivion, and it would be a real shame considering the quality of the package.

Beyond the inevitable nostalgic factor, the trilogy packaged by Sanzaru Games offers an experience that is not only beautiful to look at but also fun, engaging and lasting, full of interesting ideas wisely placed within each individual episode, also thanks to a structure that tends to open up compared to the debut chapter and to become more multifaceted.

Tearaway

Although Tearaway has also landed on PS4 with a new version, the original for PlayStation Vita developed by Media Molecule makes very convincing use of the features of the console portable, involving us from the very beginning in a truly original and surprising adventure, both on the narrative front and on that of the settings and mechanics .

We are talking about a visually enchanting product which, net of some technical limitations and a balance of difficulty calibrated downwards, has style to spare and proposes a very reasoned progression, which in the final part of the campaign goes to combine all the ideas introduced up to that point to create really interesting sequences.

Uncharted: The Golden Abyss

Uncharted: The Golden Abyss, one of the splendid landscapes present in the countryside. The one and only portable episode of the series created by Naughty Dog, Uncharted: The Golden Abyss was undoubtedly the merit of demonstrating the expertise and talent of Bend Studio, the team that has recently created the great Days Gone. An absolute exclusivity, as well as a great story that takes place before the events narrated in the original trilogy, with some contradictions on the gameplay front but a very appreciable final result.

The urge to employ all the peculiar input systems Sony's handheld has in fact led the developers to commit some naivety, however counterbalanced by the great substance of a solid and satisfying campaign. It lacks the cinematic storytelling that fans of the franchise are familiar with, that's true, but you can't have it all from ... Life.

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