This is it. 2015 is the year every Vita owner has been waiting for. The other handheld has gradually been growing in terms of popularity and support in all camps. Sony’s giving the Vita and PlayStation TV its due, developers and publishers are putting more games on it, and people are realizing how great the handheld can be. The result is a five month period at the start of this year in which at least 15 games people will want to own are released. Bear in mind, I say at least because the indie scheduling is so tenuous. Sometimes, you won’t know a game is due until a few weeks before it appears.
A big part of this is due to the Vita’s presence increasing in Japan. Of the 15 games I have in mind at the moment, 9 of them fall cozily into the JRPG category. Just like the PSP, the Vita has become the go-to system for certain genres in its home country, and now those are beginning to trickle their way stateside. Companies like Atlus, Aksys, Koei Tecmo, Idea Factory International, NIS America, and XSEED are picking up steam when it comes to localizations, which means we’re getting Hyperdimension Neptunia games, Tokyo Twilight: Ghost Hunters , and even old, PSP games like Brandish: The Dark Revenant .
In fact, it’s probably the one platform truly keeping the notion of a JRPG alive. Atelier Ayesha Plus, Brandish, Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 2, Criminal Girls: Invite Only , Hyperdevotion Noire, Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters , Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy , and Hyperdimension Neptunia U are all making a difference. They’re proving that companies are keeping abreast of what players want, and know that these kinds of games are going to succeed. They want the kind of unique, role playing experience one can only get from Japan.
Which isn’t to take away from the non-JRPGs the Vita will be getting this year. Sony is stepping up a bit, with MLB 15: The Show coming around again. Plus, there’s the knowledge that Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines is looming on the horizon, another JRPG waiting to make the Vita’s library better. I’m convinced even more will be announced at E3, now that the company wants to be sure the handheld and micro-console do well.
Smaller titles have to be taken into account as well. Again, indie games are the sort where we’ll typically get a cursory alert that they’re on the way to the Vita. Perhaps even a month in advance, we’ll know. This means that we’re mostly left in the dark, but it’s still possible to gauge potential from what we’ve seen so far. Devolver Digital has brought Duke Nukem 3D back, allowing us to go retro. So did Choice Provisions with Woah Dave! . Even more encouraging are titles like Grim Fandango Remastered and Citizens of Earth , high quality games which tell an unusual story for gamers to enjoy.
It’s going to be a good year. Our system will be supported, we’ll be guaranteed lengthy games to play, and all will be well. The Vita is thriving, and it’s nice to be able to say that after years where people kept dooming and glooming, suggesting the system was on its last legs.