Best PS Vita Exclusive Games That Need Remasters

The PS Vita was an underrated portable at the time when it launched in 2012 in North America a few months after Japan’s debut in 2011. It still is a great console and some of its exclusive games have made it off the hardware including the recently released Freedom Wars which was like a Monster Hunter clone.

Related

The 10 Longest PS Vita Games, According To HowLongToBeat

The Vita had some great games in its library. These are the longest ones according to HowLongToBeat.

Persona 4 Golden was a remaster of the PS2 game which some thank for helping popularize the series more. There was even a dancing spinoff thanks to the success on the PS Vita, Persona 4 Dancing, but that did hit other consoles eventually too. So, what PS Vita game should make it onto modern consoles next?

8

Adventures Of Mana

A More Faithful Remake

Systems

Released

February 4, 2016

Developer(s)

Square Enix

OpenCritic Rating

Fair

Adventures of Mana is a remake of Final Fantasy Adventure which was originally released for the Game Boy in 1991. Despite the name in North America, this was not a Final Fantasy spinoff and instead marked the beginning of the Mana series.

It eventually got a remake on the Game Boy Advance and was renamed Sword Of Mana which added a lot of other changes too like two starting heroes. It’s good but quite different whereas Adventures of Mana was a more faithful remake released on mobile devices and more importantly PS Vita in 2016. Neither remake has ever been made available again past their initial portable platform which is a crying shame.

7

Killzone: Mercenary

A Pretty Solid Portable Shooter

Systems

Released

September 6, 2013

Developer(s)

Guerrilla Cambridge

Publisher(s)

Sony Computer Entertainment

Portable entries of major console franchises often get the short end of the stick. That’s not the case for the Killzone series though as Killzone: Liberation for the PSP was a great top-down cover shooter and Killzone: Mercenary was a solid FPS on the PS Vita. What makes the latter entry interesting is that players were literally mercenaries and had a few choices to make in the war but nothing truly game-changing.

This 2013 shooter never left the PS Vita family of systems but it would be great to see all six major Killzone games re-released on PS5 or beyond. There were some touch-sensitive controls for Killzone: Mercenary but the touchpad on the PS5 controller can bypass those gimmicks easily.

6

LittleBigPlanet PS Vita

Touch-Based Platforming Bliss

LittleBigPlanet PS Vita

Systems

Released

September 25, 2012

Publisher(s)

Sony Computer Entertainment

LittleBigPlanet PS Vita is another game with touch controls but one that was more experimental than Killzone: Mercenary. LittleBigPlanet PS Vita plays like most titles in the series as players can dress up their Sackboys or Sackgirls and then jump into wild 2D levels.

2:26

Related

20 Best RPGs Available On The PS Vita, Ranked

While Sony’s PS Vita was not a huge success, it still amassed a great library. What are the best RPGs on the handheld system?

LittleBigPlanet PS Vita might be the most creative entry in the series thanks to the touch mechanics. They’re not nearly as inventive as Tearaway, but LittleBigPlanet PS Vita is still a platformer full of surprises. Tearaway did leave the PS Vita and got a full remake/reimagining on the PS4 so maybe the same could be true for LittleBigPlanet PS Vita for the PS5.

5

Muramasa Rebirth

A Pint-Sized Ninja Remaster

Action RPG

Fighting

Action-Adventure

Systems

Muramasa: The Demon Blade was released for the Wii in 2009 and it is still one of Vanillaware’s best. Players could choose one of two characters and then go through 2D levels, fighting enemies and leveling up along the way.

This slick ninja action game was re-released as Muramasa Rebirth on the PS Vita in 2013. Besides quality-of-life improvements to the controls and visual upgrades, there were new mini-campaigns based on minor characters too. The game looked great on the OLED screen, so surely it would look better in 4K on a screen too.

4

Phantasy Star Nova

A Missing Spinoff By tri-Ace

Phantasy Star Nova

Systems

Released

November 27, 2014

Developer(s)

Tri-Ace

ESRB

t

Fans of the Star Ocean series may be familiar with the developer tri-Ace. They’ve branched off and helped support other big franchises such as their one-shot at tackling the Phantasy Star series for Sega via Phantasy Star Nova.

Players who enjoy Phantasy Star Online 2 will feel right at home with this game as it plays similarly. Unfortunately, it’s not only stuck on the PS Vita but it didn’t even come to North America. It was released in Japan in 2014 and then it hit Asian territories in 2015 but that is it. For diehard Phantasy Star fans, this missing link is a tragedy.

3

Silent Hill: Book Of Memories

A Bizarre Diablo-Like

Silent Hill: Book of Memories

Systems

Platform(s)

PlayStation Vita

Released

October 16, 2012

Silent Hill: Book of Memories did not come out with a bang, unlike the recently released Silent Hill 2 remake. It plays unlike any other game as it dips away from a dramatic story in favor of nurturing Diablo-like gameplay. It’s not what a lot of fans desired in 2012 when it hit the PS Vita but over time it has gathered a cult following.

Related

The Multiplayer Games That Defined Each PlayStation Console

These games were the highlight of the PlayStation console of their time. Moreover, they were among the most popular multiplayer games of their time.

It was developed by WayForward who had made a ton of great original titles like the Shantae series and licensed games like The Mummy Demastered. Silent Hill: Book of Memories may have been flawed at launch but it can easily be salvaged with a remaster.

2

Tales Of Hearts R

One Of Many Missing Tales

Tales of Hearts R was a long time coming for fans of the Tales of series. It was released on the DS in 2008 in Japan with two different versions. One version had CG cutscenes and the other had anime cutscenes which was a unique release for the series as it usually only had anime cutscenes by default.

Tales of Hearts R was the remastered version which stuck to the anime version when it was released in 2014 in North America. It, along with its counterpart Tales of Innocence R, are both trapped on the PS Vita, and the latter has never been released outside of Japan.

1

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

Nathan Drake’s Origins

Systems

Released

February 15, 2012

Publisher(s)

Sony Computer Entertainment

Uncharted: Golden Abyss was a launch game for the PS Vita when it launched for North America in 2012. It’s a prequel to the first game following an early adventure with Nathan Drake as a young man. That means there are no recognizable characters beyond a late addition of Sully but that’s okay as it still scratched that adventurous itch.

Players still got to explore ruins in jungles and fight tons of armed militia men all trying to get to the treasure first. There are actually two Uncharted games trapped on the PS Vita with the second being a card game called Uncharted: Fight for Fortune which was also released in 2012.

More

8 Brilliant PS5 Games That Will Probably Never Receive Sequels

Will these PS5 games go the way of Beyond the Beyond, Rogue Galaxy, or Puppeteer?