For a format that's struggled in an age of smartphones and tablet games, the PlayStation Vita has carved out a committed niche of core gamers who love the handheld to death. We get a lot of requests here at Push Square, but number one with a bullet is more coverage for the Japanese giant's miniscule machine – and it's hardly a surprise, when you consider the console's outstanding hardware and console-esque controls. A petite install base means that the diminutive device sadly didn't play host to too many blockbusters this year – but there were more than enough high achievers to keep fans occupied.
Bronze Trophy: Luftrausers
While many Vita owners are forever peppering Sony with requests regarding bigger releases, we reckon that the handheld is at its absolute best when it's hosting pick-up-and-play experiences such as Luftrausers. The simple, sepia dogfighting simulation may not be a looker, but superb controls and a moreish challenge system have made it a mainstay on our overpriced memory cards. Plus, if nothing else, it's allowed us to use “You sunk my battleship" as a sub-headline more times than we dare to count.
Silver Trophy: Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
One of the Vita's most engrossing games, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair had us hooked from start to finish with its harrowing narrative that's full of twists and turns. When a group of students find themselves stranded on an unknown island, and a maniacal mechanical bear proceeds to goad the teens into murdering each other, the only winner here is you, as you pick apart the lies and motives of the killers in some ridiculous courtroom minigames.
Gold Trophy: Rogue Legacy
Rogue Legacy on the Vita was the definitive edition of this stellar indie platformer, with its bite sized gameplay making it a perfect title for Sony's handheld. It kept us coming back time and time again for 'just one more go', as we sent generation after generation of our ever growing bloodline into Castle Hamson to face certain death within its randomly shifting walls. By the time that we'd finally managed to complete our quest, we knew that it would be a contender for a spot in our top Vita games of the year.
Platinum Trophy: Freedom Wars
Freedom Wars always looked like a shoo-in for Vita's coveted Game of the Year gong. From the second that Sony teased the colourful, incarcerated outing, handheld owners were doing cartwheels over the prospect of another first-party hunting game. Unlike its portable peers, though, Japan Studio's original escapade ditches the emphasis on fisticuffs, and introduces firearms into the mix. This fusion of melee and machine guns gives the futuristic foray a frenetic pace, which is only complemented further by the thorn – a part-tactical, part-platforming implement that adds a layer of verticality to the title's bubbling broth.
The storytelling may be a bit ham-fisted – and the controls not always consistent with comparable console games – but the penitentiary-inspired premise gives the package a moreish appeal, as you antagonise oodles of abductors in order to bring your sentence down. With glossy graphics, outstanding audio, and bags of content to beat, this is undoubtedly the type of title that portable players have been yearning for all year. And while it doesn't look like we'll be getting too many more first-party products on this scale, it's a reminder that the Japanese giant's slender system can pack a real punch when the platform holder puts in the effort.
What was your favourite Vita game of 2014? Do you agree with our winners, or would you have selected something else? Cast your vote in our poll, and be sure to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
What was your favourite Vita game of 2014? (47 votes)
- Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars0%
- Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
- Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
- Football Manager Classic 2014
- Freedom Wars
- Frozen Synapse Prime
- Luftrausers
- No Heroes Allowed: No Puzzles Either
- Rogue Legacy
- Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus
- Soul Sacrifice Delta
- Tales of Hearts R
- Toukiden: Age of Demons
- TxK
- Ys: Memories of Celceta
- Other
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[ Words: Alex Stinton, Robert Ramsey, and Sammy Barker ]
Comments 25
Are you guys crazy?
Neglecting the best Vita game of the year Velocity 2X and don't say it's just exclusives, Rogue Legacy it's there!
@ferrers405 Cross-buy complicates things to astronomical levels - especially when you want to keep each article as unique as possible. We did discuss the placement of every game, and ultimately included Velocity 2X in the PS4 category.
Maybe next year we'll do a separate category for cross-buy. I'm open to suggestions.
@get2sammyb ok, but what is the difference to Rogue Legacy (PS4, PS3) and Luftrausers (PS3)?
Hatunse Muku: Project DIVA F 2nd was the best Vita game this year by a country mile. We all know it.
Hi guys, merry Christmas!
Can't believe you've not even mentioned TxK!
@Dan_ozzzy189 Sadly there can only be 4 winners =(
Why Child of Light is excluded? Regards
@Sevein Child of Light was put into the PS4 category.
This has been a hell of a year for the Vita, as far as I'm concerned. Rogue Legacy was my pick, but there's been some really stellar stuff.
I just got my Vita very earlier this year so I had to catch up with a whole bunch of 2012 & 2013 titles (which had better games in my opinion). From those list of games I only have 2 of those; Toukiden: Age of Demons and Freedom Wars but neither were 'that' great. Especially Toukiden. So I chose other, and typed in Borderlands 2. My first time playing that game and I love it. The indie lineup this year was better than the retail lineup though.
I always seem to love the struggling consoles most, tracing all the way back to the Saturn days. So obviously this time around I'm a huge Vita fan and every time I pick it up, whether it's dor remote play or a dedicated Vita game, I just can't understand why it isn't a huge succes.
All the problems I had with handhelds in the past all came down to one thing: sucky controls. For the first time in gaming history it feels I'm not giving up that triple A feel when playing on my Vita, it feels just as good as your regular home console. For me it's the best handheld ever made, non- cramped up hands down.
Being a huge supporter of both the Vita and the Wii U makes for a difficult time at parties; I just know both are awesome and I just want every one to see. When a cousin of mine was talking down on the vita while he was playing Kirbys Triple Threat (go figure) a while back, I pulled out my Vita and couldn't come up with something better than: "at least this doesn't make me look gay playing it"... Which was quite unfortunate, since he is gay and still in his "rebellious" phase.
I did have an excellent point tho, although I could have picked my words more carefully... I look like a badass with my Vita!
Honestly, I still like my Vita quite a bit, but I was not impressed with the games this year. Freedom Wars was ok, but not great. I couldn't get into it and eventually moved on to a Tales of Hearts R, which is my personal pick of the year.
No love for Soul Sacrifice Delta? I am disappoint.
Child of Light was the best game I played on Vita this year.
Surely if the game is on Vita, it should be included in the list? After all it is a Vita game even if it is on other formats?
Samurai Warriors 4
I voted for Luftrausers. I agree, the vita is at it's best with pick up and play titles which demand just one more go. I might have voted for Danganronpa but I haven't played it yet. I'm pretty sure I'd love it though.
@Dodoo The problem is that, as will be revealed with future articles, we didn't want games like Far Cry 4 and Destiny listed on the PlayStation 3 as a token gesture, when they were all far superior on the PS4.
We'll definitely take that feedback on board, though. To be honest, we thought that we'd got this year's shortlists spot on, but obviously we need to have another rethink. We'll get there by 2018, don't worry...
Most played Vita game was definitely Destiny of Spirits, by me and many others I suspect.
Neptunia Rebirth
Counter Spy was a nice, fun addition near the end of the year.
I voted for Freedom Wars, even though I don't have a Vita and have never played the game.
No love for Hatsune Miku? Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus? Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth!? Yet Luftrausers gets a bronze trophy? For shame Pushsquare...
I'm really enjoying TxK so far but I want to try almost all these. I wish Danganronpa 1 was on sale and not just the sequel ( I hear you shouldn't start with the second).
Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus!
@naruball Personally, Soul Sacrifice Delta and Freedom Wars both tie for my GoTY of all platforms. Freedom Wars has my all time favorite setting/mood while Soul Sacrifice Delta has some of the most fun combat and design of the genre.
Even with it's less than deserved press coverage this year, it's safe to say this was a hell of a good year for Vita owners
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