Most Wanted Unannounced Games For The Vita

Today, the Playstation Vita officially releases in the Western markets with one of the most enviable launch line-ups ever seen. Sony is set to follow this up in the subsequent months with even more fantastic games hitting the device, ensuring that it has the sort of software penetration that the original PSP lacked for no inconsiderable amount of time. Even so, there are a list of games and series a mile long that are not represented on the list that we desperately wish were. I’ve decided to cut this back to five, representing five publishers, so feel free to disagree.

Echo_______ (Sony Computer Entertainment)

Echochrome was a fun little puzzle game that saw players rotating 3D levels to alter the perspective in order to get the character from the starting point to the end. It was another inventive game from their Japanese studios, but widely overlooked. A sequel followed, this time based on the interplay of light and shadow, but still applying the same idea of perspective, while a spin-off, Echoshift has also been released, utilising the concept of time manipulation. The series has been inventive since the outset, and the ancillary feature set of the Vita could only serve to offer new ideas on the formula.

The Elder Scrolls Travels V: Skyrim (Bethesda Softworks)

To date, four Elder Scrolls Travels games have been released for mobile phones, though these have altered from the main series in rather dramatic fashion. You may remember that an iteration in these series was, at one point, in development for the original Playstation Portable, Oblivion, but this never eventuated, though a mobile version did. It may be a long shot, but a portable version of Skyrim, even in a condensed or limited world would be perfect to show off exactly what the Vita is capable of when it comes to open world games. Besides this, the style of play could certainly suit short play sessions if altered correctly from the vast addictiveness of the console version.

Grand Theft Auto (Rockstar Games)

This can only be described as a no-brainer. Grand Theft Auto is among the most recognisable brands in the gaming industry and leveraging it can only be a boon for whosoever it is that does so. With the PSP offering supplements to GTA III, Vice City and IV, it makes sense that Rockstar and Sony would combine forces to bring the juggernaut to the Vita as well. The added power could translate the vision of the core series even better, and may even be able to replicate much of the cityscape of the new Los Santos, allowing a side story to GTA V to be told independently of any potential plans for DLC down the track. If this comes to pass, and the same feeling of heady giddiness can be replicated as what overcame me upon booting up Liberty City Stories for the first time, it could be magical.

Final Fantasy (Square-Enix)

This is almost guaranteed to come at some point, though it certainly won’t be one of the main games. It can be argued that Square-Enix’s best games since the beginning of this seventh generation of consoles can be found on portables, from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII to The Third Birthday and Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together. Final Fantasy XIII-2 may have been the beginning of the turning around of this trend, but the Vita is little more than another chance for them to continue the run of excellence that they have enjoyed on the PSP. What better way than another spin-off to their Final Fantasy series, be this a sequel to Type-0, Dissidia or some entirely new, inventive spin-off that takes advantage of the Vita’s unique facilities.

Valkyria Chronicles (Sega)

I’ll freely admit that this last selection is based purely on selfishness. The series made its debut on the PS3 before low sales led to Sega stepping back to the PSP for the next two iterations (the latter of which remains unreleased outside of Japan). Nevertheless, it has a dedicated cult following thanks to its memorable characters, stories, artistic design and singular gameplay. The front touch screen brings with it the possibility of more direct control over the characters when in Command Mode and would also help when it comes to navigating through the menus, which have typically been prevalent in the series. Besides, it would be the return of Valkyria Chronicles and that would be reason enough to make it happen.

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Of course, this is one man’s opinion and not gospel truth, so why not pitch in with the games, or series, that you would most like to see migrate over to the Vita in the coming months and years.