I personally consider the “fat” PlayStation Vita to be the best “true” portable console ever released to date. In my view, it had — and still has — all the essential features for such a product: a truly portable form factor, a beautiful OLED display, excellent controls, good battery life, and an overall very polished design. In addition, the platform offers a wide range of excellent games. Its only real drawback is the proprietary memory card, but I was never affected by this issue, as I have always preferred physical game cartridges over digital games.
The following list contains my personal selection.
This page may be updated from time to time.
Last edited on : 25.02.2026
Meaning of the columns :
- Patch : tells whether a patch exists to enhance the game (needs henkaku)
| Name | Type | Patch | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Boy and His Blob | Platformer | No | Beautiful hand-drawn port. Native resolution, runs perfectly. |
| Aqua Kitty: DX | Shmup | No | Arcade-perfect port. Very smooth performance. |
| Assassin's Creed Chronicles | Action/Stealth | Overclock | Framerate can dip; 500MHz OC stabilizes the 2.5D gameplay. |
| Assassin's Creed III: Lib. | Action/Adventure | VitaGrafix | Supports resolution increase and FPS cap removal via VitaGrafix. |
| Batman: Arkham Origins B. | Metroidvania | Overclock | Stable 30FPS usually, but OC helps during busy combat scenes. |
| Blazblue CP | Fighting | No | High-quality sprites. One of the best fighters on the handheld. |
| Child of Light | RPG | No | Port of the UbiArt engine. Runs at native resolution. |
| Darius Burst CS | Shmup | No | Massive amount of content. Perfectly suited for the Vita screen. |
| Dead or Alive 5 | Fighting | No | 60FPS by default. A technical showcase for the hardware. |
| Disney Epic Mickey 2 | Platformer | Overclock | Poor optimization. OC is mandatory to avoid heavy stuttering. |
| Dragon's Crown | Action RPG | Overclock | OC is recommended for 4-player multiplayer to maintain 60FPS. |
| Dungeon Hunter Alliance | Hack 'n Slash | No | Early launch title. Local and online co-op is the main draw. |
| Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires | Musou | VitaGrafix | Use VitaGrafix to disable internal downscaling for a sharper image. |
| Dynasty Warriors 8 XL | Musou | VitaGrafix | Heavily benefits from resolution patches and Overclocking. |
| Fighting Climax Ignition | Fighting | No | Sega crossover fighter. Smooth performance without tweaks. |
| Fullblast | Shmup | No | Vertical shooter. Native performance is adequate. |
| God Eater 2 Rage Burst | Action RPG | Overclock | OC helps maintain the 30FPS target during intense monster hunts. |
| God of War Collection | Action | 60FPS Hack | Uses a specific plugin/patch to unlock 60FPS and fix trophy bugs. |
| Gravity Rush | Action/Adventure | VitaGrafix | Can be patched to run at native resolution (960x544). |
| Grim Fandango Remastered | Adventure | No | Perfect port of the classic. Touch controls are a nice addition. |
| Guilty Gear XX Accent Core+ | Fighting | No | Flawless 60FPS performance. Competitive standard port. |
| Gundemonium | Shmup | No | Niche bullet hell. Runs well on stock hardware. |
| Jet Set Radio | Action/Sports | No | Native resolution and 30FPS. Looks great with cel-shaded art. |
| Lemmings Touch | Puzzle | No | Specifically designed for the Vita's front touch screen. |
| Little Deviants | Mini-games | No | Showcase for Vita hardware features (Rear touch, AR, Mic). |
| LittleBigPlanet PS Vita | Platformer | Overclock | OC helps with loading times and complex user-created levels. |
| Looney Tunes: Galac. Sports | Sports | No | Decent arcade sports title for younger audiences. |
| Lumines Elec. Symphony | Puzzle | No | Visual and audio masterpiece. Native resolution. |
| ModNation Racers: Road Trip | Racing | No | Lacks online multiplayer compared to PS3, but solid kart racing. |
| Mortal Kombat | Fighting | VitaGrafix | Native resolution patch available (original is very blurry). |
| Motorstorm RC | Racing | No | Cross-buy title. Runs at a very stable framerate. |
| Muppets: Movie Adventures | Platformer | No | Simple platformer; no significant performance issues. |
| Mutant Mudds Deluxe | Platformer | No | Retro-style gameplay. Flawless native performance. |
| MXGP: Motocross | Racing | Overclock | Resolution is low; OC helps smooth out the muddy framerate. |
| Need For Speed: MW | Racing | VitaGrafix | Resolution patch makes a huge difference; looks like a PS3 game. |
| New 'n' Tasty! (Oddworld) | Platformer | No | Great remake, though some input lag compared to console. |
| Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus | Action | VitaGrafix | Resolution can be bumped, but keep an eye on performance. |
| Oceanhorn | Action/Adventure | No | Zelda-like adventure. High resolution and steady performance. |
| Odin Sphere Leifthrasir | Action RPG | No | One of the most beautiful games on Vita. Flawless 60FPS. |
| One Piece Unlimited WR | Action | Overclock | OC recommended to stabilize the framerate in large open areas. |
| Playstation All-stars | Fighting | No | Excellent 60FPS port. Very close to the PS3 version. |
| Putty Squad | Platformer | No | Classic remake. Low hardware requirements. |
| Ragnarok Odyssey ACE | Action RPG | Overclock | Higher frame stability during boss fights with a 500MHz OC. |
| Ratchet & Clank: QForce | Action/Tower Def | Overclock | Terrible performance stock. OC is required for playability. |
| Rayman Origins | Platformer | No | Native resolution 60FPS. One of the best-looking Vita games. |
| Resident Evil: Rev. 2 | Survival Horror | Cap/OC Hack | Poor port. Needs Overclock + specific resolution/FPS cap hacks. |
| Resogun | Shmup | No | Surprisingly good port. Locked at 30FPS (down from 60 on PS4). |
| Ridge Racer | Racing | No | Locked 30FPS but very sharp. Requires DLC for full content. |
| Samurai Warriors 4 | Musou | VitaGrafix | Native resolution patch available via VitaGrafix. |
| Secret of Mana | RPG | No | Remake of the SNES classic. Runs well at native resolution. |
| Shantae: Half-Genie Hero | Platformer | No | Stunning 2D visuals. Perfect performance. |
| Sky Force Anniversary | Shmup | No | Vertical shooter. Great lighting and performance. |
| Sly 1 & 2 (Collection) | Platformer | No | Solid ports. Runs at 30FPS with few drops. |
| Sly 3: Honour Among Thieves | Platformer | Overclock | More demanding than 1 & 2. OC helps in larger hubs. |
| Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time | Platformer | VitaGrafix | Native resolution patch available for a much sharper image. |
| Söldner-X 2 | Shmup | No | Technical marvel. Solid 60FPS vertical shooter. |
| Sonic Transformed | Racing | VitaGrafix | Native resolution patch makes the visuals pop. |
| Soul Sacrifice (Delta) | Action RPG | Overclock | Recommended OC for maintaining high FPS during late-game spells. |
| Stealth Inc: Ultimate | Stealth | No | Sharp 2D graphics. Perfect technical port. |
| Street Fighter X Tekken | Fighting | No | Exceptional port. Full roster and steady 60FPS. |
| Tearaway | Adventure | No | Creative use of all Vita features. Perfectly optimized. |
| The Amazing Spider-Man | Open World | Overclock | Port suffers from lag. 500MHz OC is highly recommended. |
| The Jak & Daxter Trilogy | Platformer | Cap/OC Hack | Famously bad port. Requires OC and specific FPS cap hacks to play. |
| Timespinner | Metroidvania | No | Modern indie title. Perfect for the Vita screen. |
| Tokyo Xanadu | Action RPG | Overclock | Solid performance, but OC ensures 30FPS in the shadow realm. |
| Toukiden / Kiwami | Action RPG | VitaGrafix | Supports resolution patches and 30/60FPS toggles. |
| Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3 | Fighting | No | Native resolution 60FPS. A "must-have" technical showcase. |
| Uncharted: Golden Abyss | Action/Adventure | VitaGrafix | Resolution patch available. Native is sub-qHD; patch is a huge upgrade. |
| Valkyria Revolution | Strategy/RPG | Overclock | Visuals are blurred; OC helps keep the framerate steady. |
| Virtua Tennis 4 | Sports | No | Perfectly crisp native resolution and 60FPS. Definitive version. |
| Windjammers | Sports | No | Perfect arcade port. Low impact on battery life. |
| Wipeout 2048 | Racing | VitaGrafix | Allows 60FPS unlock and resolution fixes (Stock is 30FPS). |
| WRC 5 | Racing | Overclock | Optimization is poor. OC helps with responsiveness and frame times. |
| Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana | Action RPG | VitaGrafix | VitaGrafix fixes the dynamic resolution for a sharper look. |
| Ys: Memories of Celceta | Action RPG | VitaGrafix | Resolution can be forced to native for a much cleaner image. |
| Ys Origin | Action RPG | No | Port of the PC version. High resolution and fast performance. |