Friday, October 14, 2016

TvR Tag Tournament, Round 3 - Is the PlayStation Vita Still Worth Purchasing?

https://www.playstation.com/en-us/explore/psvita/
Tiger and Rabbit invite longtime friend of the blog, Eagle, back for round three of TvR Tag Tournament. Now that all three mammals own a PlayStation Vita, they chat about what they think of Sony's portable gaming platform and what they are currently playing on it. The three friends also tackle whether the Vita is still worth purchasing after all this time.

**<>^^

Rabbit: Can you believe the PlayStation Vita turned four this past February?

Tiger: Wow, time sure flew by.

Rabbit: So did Eagle.

Tiger: Excuse me?

Rabbit: You're excused.

Tiger: No, I meant I didn't catch that.

Rabbit: I'd reckon eagles would be hard to catch.

Tiger: No, explain to me what you meant about Eagle flying by.

Rabbit: Ooh. Well, he hasn't flown by yet but he should be here any minute.

Tiger: What for?

Rabbit: He finally picked up a Vita so I invited him over to chat about it.

Tiger: We're doing a TvR Tag Tournament right now? I don't even have notes!

Rabbit: Just channel your inner bird and-

Tiger: I know, just wing it.

Rabbit: There he is outside the window! Hurry and open it so he can come inside!

Tiger: *hurriedly makes notes*

Rabbit: ^pries window open^ Great timing!

Tiger: Welcome back to our third installment of TvR Tag Tournament!

Rabbit: ^waves hands^ Howdy Eagle, great to see you again!

Eagle: Hello Rabbit. Hello Tiger. It has been a while.

Rabbit: Way too long! What have you been up to? Playing anything interesting lately?

Eagle: What have I been up to? Some top secret business. As far as gaming goes, I finally got a Life <holds up a PlayStation Vita>, and I started playing Silent Hill: Book of Memories. It is quite a different take on the Silent Hill series.

Tiger: And it has the OLED screen. Nice.

Rabbit: Oooh, that sounds scary. ^covers eyes^

Tiger: Now we can get some Toukiden action in.

Rabbit: ^grins^ We all finally have lives now, that's great!

Eagle: <laughs> Haha. That is one way to put it.

Rabbit: Since you're the newest member to get a life, what are your thoughts so far?

Eagle: A little advice for those at home, do not hold it above your face. You may be injured. All joking aside, it is nice. You can play some high quality titles on the go.

Tiger: Only Rabbit here would drop a Vita on her head.

Rabbit: Hey! I haven't done that... in a really long time.

Tiger: The first time I turned on my Vita, I was impressed by the gorgeous OLED screen. That baby is slick.

Eagle: The all black exterior gives it a nice look.

Rabbit: Having two analog sticks is also great and they seem to be more responsive than the PSP's version.

Tiger: All around, I think it's a high-quality handheld that really feels great to play. That being said, there aren't a lot of games to play on it.

Rabbit: There are too. You just have to know where to look.

https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/freedom-wars-psvita/
Eagle: Indeed. There is quite a lot of content. However, most of that content falls into only a handful of genre's like the JRPG or the Visual Novel.

Tiger: Or indie, no offense to those who enjoy indie titles but I want something with meat on the bone. Last AAA type title I played was Killzone: Mercenary and I'm not sure you could even call that a AAA title.

Rabbit: You're so shallow, Tiger. It's not all about big explosions and shooting everyone you see. Indie games can be great too. Severed is a recent release that is just amazing. I enjoyed other titles like Don't Starve which really felt at home on the Vita.

Tiger: But Don't Starve is also on PS4 so you don't need a Vita to play it.

Rabbit: TxK was Vita only and so was SunFlowers.

Tiger: *rolls eyes* SunFlowers is barely a step up from a mobile game. It was fun for five minutes but I didn't drop a couple hundred on a Vita to play SunFlowers.

Eagle: I cannot think of many indie games for the Life of me right now. <pauses> Get it... <sighs> Terrible puns. All joking aside, Rainbow Moon seems like a great title. I played a bit of it on the PS3, and it seems like it would be a great on the go title.

Rabbit: That's the thing about the Vita. Many of the games you can play on its big brothers but the Vita can really make the experience special. Child of Light was much more enjoyable to me on Vita than playing it on the PS4.

Tiger: I get both of your points but the Vita seems to be only for those who like a certain genre of games.

Rabbit: I, for one, am happy that it has turned out this way. Now games like NVLs and JRPGs have a home. Before, they barely saw the light of day on the home consoles. Plus, didn't you say Eagle that Silent Hill: Book of Memories was a different take on the series. Could that have been done as well on the PS3 or PS4?

Eagle: Well, the new Gauntlet released on the PS4. Book of Memories basically takes Silent Hill and plays like a dungeon crawler like Gauntlet. I think it works great for the handheld.

Rabbit: There were also a few games that made use of the Vita's touchscreen and touchpad too. While it may feel gimmicky with some of the games, others I thought did a great job like-

Tiger: Like Monster Monpiece?

Rabbit: ^blushes^ I thought we discussed not bringing that game up!

Tiger: And you say I have a sick mind.

Rabbit: ^sticks out tongue^

Tiger: Anyway, it makes sense that there are a ton of JRPG titles still coming out for the Vita. It is, after all, still very popular in Japan. Not sure why it didn't take off Stateside though.

Eagle: That is a good question. Maybe American's just like a bigger screen for the FPS explosions?

Rabbit: Sounds like Tiger, right there. I'm just glad it's still getting games localized. Look at all the titles announced for it by Aksys Games at Anime Expo which we mentioned a few entries back. For those who think the Vita is dead, just look at the slate for the next year, it is far from dead.

Tiger: Poor Saitō, you already found his replacement. It's true that for those gamers who the Vita caters too, that it's still getting a good amount of new games. I just wish that it was a more diverse helping of titles than a bunch of anime chicks with big boobs or hot guys throwing themselves at a single woman.

Rabbit: I am perfectly fine with hot guys throwing themselves at my OLED screen.

Tiger: *shakes head* So Eagle, what do you think of the Vita now that you've had a chance to really play it?

Eagle: It seems like a great system. Rabbit got me with her Vocaloids there and I wound up picking up the rhythm game Hatsune Miku Project DIVA F 2nd. Seems like the responsiveness of the touchscreen would be great for such a game.

Rabbit: Project DIVA is the best on Vita!

Tiger: I do think the rhythm games play better on Vita because it eliminates most of the lag you get when using a wireless controller. It does have a great screen and games run well on it, the Vita just doesn’t have the variety that the home consoles do.

Rabbit: For me, I absolutely love my Vita. It's beautiful, not too heavy, the screen is bright, the battery life is pretty good once you tweak some of the settings, it has a great lineup of games, and I can play it in bed!

Tiger: And drop it on your face.

Rabbit: ^crosses arms^ Like I said, it has only happened once.

http://aksysgames.com/code-realize/
Tiger: So do you think the PlayStation Vita is still worth purchasing after all this time. It is four years old and already looks to be dead.

Rabbit: ^makes a fist^ Saisho wa guu!

Tiger: *bops Rabbit on the head* We aren't going to play for it. Eagle, why don't you go first. Do you think it's well worth picking up a Vita this late in its life-cycle?

Eagle: I am glad I got one. It has a great library, including some decent games with, <clears throat> ahem... "anime chicks with big boobs", as you put it. There are even a few decent AAA titles like Uncharted.

Tiger: And Sony has already said that they won't be producing anymore AAA titles either. For me, it's just not worth it. The Vita is a great handheld with not enough games. When I do play it, I end up playing old PSP games that I have via digital download, so it's not like I'm even playing the Vita for Vita games. I just wish it had more variety, yes shooters didn't always work out so well, but it doesn't even have many solid racing or fighting games. The few that exist play better on the home consoles so it's not worth it to pick them up. Now, being able to play PS4 games via streaming is awesome but again, I'd rather just play my PS4 with my nice HDTV. For me, portable gaming doesn't make too much sense. If I'm really dying to play a game, I'll just whip out my phone and kill a few minutes that way.

Rabbit: Tiger is so wrong on this one. The PlayStation Vita is awesome. Awesome I tell you! So what it doesn't have shooters or racing games, you can find those anywhere. The Vita offers games you can't get anywhere else! Great otome games like Norn9, ADVs such as the Danganronpa series, and unique RPGs like Ys. Then there's a plethora of awesome rhythm games, unique experiences like Tearaway, and a huge backlog of digital PSP games too. And if you want action, there are games like Soul Sacrifice, Dragon's Crown, Freedom Wars, and Lost Dimension. Sure, you're not going to find a game like... ^shouts^ CALL OF DUTY, which we all know Tiger loves so much, but there are many gems in the Vita's lineup that you won't be able to play anywhere else. Because you can literally play all these games anywhere you want to! That's the amazing thing about portable gaming. Let's see you try to bring that gigantic TV and PS4 with you on our next road trip, Tiger.

Tiger: Okay, okay, I get it but I'm still going to say no to the Vita. The only reason why I have one is that you got it for me Rabbit. I appreciate it but don't think I'm going to put down my DS4 to play it.

Eagle: Sorry, Tiger. I have to side with Rabbit on this one. The Vita is a great system for me, who enjoys a good JRPG every now and again.

Tiger: No worries Eagle. I guess I'm the odd critter out this time. At least you two can now gush over your anime guys and girls together.

Rabbit: Thanks for coming back to TvR for this discussion, Eagle! It's been fun!

Tiger: I hope you come back soon!

Eagle: After lame jokes like those, I may need to give your fans a break. But, it is always a pleasure to catch up with you two and your hijinks.<laughs>

Is the PlayStation Vita Still Worth Purchasing?

Tiger      vs      Eagle      vs      Rabbit

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