We’re closing in on the 1 year mark of the release of the PlayStation TV in North America. With that in mind, I want to do a few special articles for it on the site to give it some face time outside of my App/Game Compatibility List and mentioning it in my reviews. I do have a special article in mind for the 1 year day, but this month, I have another article in mind. It’s one that I’ve been pondering and thinking on for months now.
The PlayStation TV provides a unique situation in the gaming world. For the longest time, many games have not been available to play on the big screen. Many games are handheld exclusive and cannot be played on a TV of any kind. Think about Nintendo’s situation. Wouldn’t Nintendo Fans love to play games like Kingdom Hearts 3D, Pokemon X and Y, Super Mario 3D Land, and Zelda: A Link Between Worlds on the big screen? With the PSTV, this accomplishes that same goal for PlayStation fans.
The big clue in is what the PlayStation TV can play on the big screen that no other system can. What games really make the PlayStation TV worth buying outside of the many Vita fans out there that just want to be able to use a PS4 controller for their Vita games? That was my mission. So, I took to the edges of the internet to compile a Top 10 list of PS Vita and PSP games that can only be played on the big screen with the PlayStation TV.
Here are the results of all of the user feedback I obtained. Here is what the people of Reddit, Twitter, and more have shown me and now show you to be the top 10 reasons to buy a PlayStation TV:
Section 1: PlayStation Vita Games
The Danganronpa Series
Danganronpa is one of those franchises that I could see making this list before I even started getting feedback. It took the basic formula of Ace Attorney and added twists, turns, and lots of adventure and social elements into the mix to make a series that lets you get to know memorable characters. And then they are ripped away from you in grisly murders, forcing you to take to the field and discover which of your other friends is responsible for the murder.
Danganronpa has spanned three games on the PlayStation Vita, and all have more twists and crazy turns than the last game. This memorable game series had almost everyone’s vote within the first few minutes of the polls.
Freedom Wars
The Hunting genre has taken the handheld world by storm ever since God Eater and Monster Hunter took the PSP, the latter of which has been thriving on the Nintendo 3DS as of late. The PlayStation Vita has seen half a dozen hunters in its time, and the most successful and loved is Freedom Wars.
In Freedom Wars, you play as a “Sinner” in a world where every country is at each other’s throats for resources, be it simple food pickings or abducting scientists from other countries to help your own. Not only did it introduce a plot focus to the genre, but it took elements from several other games, from God Eater’s weapon switching that enabled it to be a hack n slash game or a third person shooter to the unique grapple-based combat in a genre that rarely ever sees aerial maneuvers.
It’s one of the most popular PS Vita games on the market, both for online multiplayer as well as competition for the 3DS game, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. This was another given that I was sure would make the list well before I sent the polls out.
Killzone: Mercenary
If there is one popular genre that the PS Vita doesn’t have much of, it is first-person shooters. Many of the shooters the Vita does have are heavily criticized by fans, from the performance problems in Borderlands 2 to the incredibly short campaign and lack of Zombie Mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified. Killzone: Mercenary took the Vita community by storm and is still considered one of the most phenomenal handheld shooters to ever exist.
Using a modified version of the same engine as Killzone 3, a PS3 title, Mercenary throws you in a window between the 2nd and 3rd game as a mercenary. Throughout the campaign, you see highlights of the stories behind the entire series and offers first-person shooting that is well optimized and, according to many opinions, is the greatest graphical feat the PS Vita has ever accomplished. It’s one of those handheld games that those without a handheld wish was on the big screen. And with the PlayStation TV, it is.
Persona 4 Golden
Before you say anything, I know the PS2 version of Persona 4 can be played on the PS3. What made this title get into the list? The fact that there are countless major additions that were added to this remake that in a light, almost makes it feel like a completely different game from its original incarnation on the PS2.
Persona 4 Golden is widely considered the greatest RPG to grace the Vita and the most popular game in the Persona franchise. It included all of the things that made Persona 3 great, from the social links to the dungeon crawling to the Pokemon-like Persona acquisition system. Take this and add new characters, dungeons, bosses, story events, scenes, music, difficulties, endings, and more, and you’ve got a gem packed with more content than the RPG fan will know what to do with.
Tales of Hearts R
The “Tales of” franchise is very mixed with gamers. Some call it the “Call of Duty Yearly Rehash” of the RPG genre, while others call it one of the most unique and colorful Action RPG franchises in the market. Hearts R finally localized for the PS Vita last year and made its official Western debut after a Japan-only original version on the Nintendo DS never made it over. The fully redone 3D remake changed that.
Hearts R took the gameplay that all Tales fans love and enjoy and added a lot to it. The biggest bit of importance is that it took the side-scrolling Tales of Hearts and completely transformed it into a new game that played like the big console 3D Tales games. With everything re-done and the fast-paced combat system intact, this is a 40 hour trek that any Tales or RPG fan should play at least once.
The two runner-up games that got votes but didn’t make the list on the PS Vita side were two Hunters: Phantasy Star Nova’s Japan Import and Soul Sacrifice Delta.
Section 2: PSP Games
The 3rd Birthday
When Square Enix announced that they were resurrecting and continuing the Parasite Eve franchise after two generations of gaming, the gaming world was shocked. What they got was The 3rd Birthday, the game that for all intents and purposes, is Parasite Eve 3. The game is loved and hated by the fanbase, for very specific reasons.
While the storyline of Aya Brea’s newest journey confused and enraged fans of the series, the game combined crisp visuals with a unique blend of Third-Person Shooting and Action-RPG gameplay. While it wasn’t like the Horror/RPG combination of the original games, it is an intense Shooting RPG that is well worth a play for any Square Enix fan out there.
Dissidia 012: Duodecim Final Fantasy
Dissidia was one of the major reasons RPG fans had to buy a PSP last generation. Square Enix took an all-star cast across their flagship franchise and created a brawler that felt more like an RPG than a fighting game. Its sequel had more characters, new customization features, and a ton of new content that created a never-ending experience.
Whether you are a fan of Kain from FFIV, Sephiroth from FFVII, or Lightning from FFXIII, every Final Fantasy fan had someone to look and shine on, creating their dream battles in huge, destructible arenas pulled straight out of every Final Fantasy from the Chaos Shrine of the first game to the gigantic Orphan’s Cradle from Final Fantasy XIII. With remixed and original music, costumes based on special scenes from each game, and a story mode that spanned the length a normal RPG would take to clear, this is the ultimate fast-paced brawler RPG for the Final Fantasy fan.
Jeanne D’Arc
Here is an example of a surprise for me. I saw this in the initial polling, but I never expected this game to make the Top 5 list for the PSP side. This is a Strategy RPG based around a modified version of the Joan of Arc story.
This SRPG made itself unique when it threw in a ton of fantasy elements to the Joan of Arc story as well one of the first handheld Strategy RPGs to use Cell-Shaded graphics, throwing RPG veterans for a look when what they think looks like a 2D sprite is actually a detailed 3D cell-shaded model. With its unique story and handling, this is a very memorable SRPG from the PSP library.
Valkyria Chronicles II
This was a no brainer, even for me. I’ve seen the community and I know their love for the Valkyria Chronicles series and the pain of the game’s third game possibly never getting localized. This game is a sequel to the original PS3 game, but has a story that can stand on its own two feet, enjoyable for newcomers to the series as well as veterans from the initial game.
VC2 brought back every ounce and feel of the original gameplay system as they could. It’s a Strategy RPG and a Third Person Shooting game all melded into one experience. You move around 3D environments during your turns, and you can aim and shoot at different body parts, getting more damage for head-shots than arm-shots. With its challenging campaign, this is one SRPG that can’t be missed.
One last note: Valkyria Chronicles II can only be played on a PSTV if you first download it to a PS3 System and use the PSTV’s Content Manager to connect to said system and transfer it over to the PSTV.
Ys Seven
Ys Seven was a huge deal on the PSP. The nearly-forgotten Ys series of Action RPGs was brought back to life on the PSP with this game. A new game in the series, it combined the fast-paced gameplay the series was known for and added the franchise’s first functional party-based combat, enabling you to control characters other than Adol Christin.
Ys Seven not only added new life to the series, but also gave PSP gamers a very intense RPG to play and offered one of the most memorable executions of a Final Boss that I’ve seen in any RPG in many, many years. Not even Final Fantasy VIII’s Random Party gimmick to its Final Boss quite matches the uniqueness of how Ys Seven made you fight its final boss.
Notable mentions that didn’t make the top list on the PSP side: Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, Patapon (series), Resistance Retribution.
There you have it. Brought to you by fans from around the net, here are the Top 10 Reasons to buy a PlayStation TV to have gaming experiences you can get on your big screen from no other console. I hope you enjoyed this list because I had a ton of fun polling all the votes and getting this article out for you all to read and watch!
I’ll be back with more reviews soon and watch for the special article for the PlayStation TV I am making for next month!
Reviews 2 Go 