Code: Realize - Guardian of Rebirth - PS Vita Review

Otome adventures are not the most popular of titles here in the US at this point, but we have seen more chances being taken by publishers of late, and I feel we are better for it. More options to choose from is a good thing, and the PlayStation Vita has proven to be a natural landing point for some of these niche titles. Code: Realize - Guardian of Rebirth is a stylish, entertaining visual novel that will not be for everyone, but for those looking for something different and deeper to delve into, you could do a lot worse than this offering.

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Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation - PS Vita Review

The last of the remakes leading up to Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory 2 is finally here. Victory was not only one of my favorite Neptunia titles, but also one of my favorite games overall. The original Victory showed just how far the series had come from the first entry by fixing older implementations and adding in new mechanics. So how does a revamp like Hyperdimension Neptunia Re:Birth3: V Generation stand against the original? It continues to demonstrate how far along the series has come and while giving the promise of hope as to how much further it can keep progressing.

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Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy - PS Vita Review

Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy is a dungeon crawler that sounds brand new, but it is actually based on a couple of games released on the PC in years past. This particular genre tends to age pretty well for fans, because the emphasis is on party structure, exploration and lots of grinding - all things that are helped by modern visuals, voice acting and the like - but none of those bells and whistles feel mandatory. For better and for worse, Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy wears some of its old school inspiration on its sleeve for everyone to see, but at the end of the day I enjoyed it a good deal.

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Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed - PS Vita Review

The girls are back once again but this time it is not for their normal JRPG or SRPG shenanigans. Developed by Tamsoft, the makers of the Senran and Onechanbara franchises (both higher paced action games), comes Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed. Here you will see the CPU Goddesses and Candidates in an adventure that is much closer to the Warriors franchise, taking out hundreds and thousands of dogoos at a time looking while looking wicked while doing it.

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Sayonara UmiharaKawase + - PS Vita Review

Sayonara UmiharaKawase + is a platformer that follows a woman on her adventure through a crazy land jumping over obstacles, rappelling down ledges, and swinging over pits and death traps armed with nothing more than her fishing rod. Then again when mounted up against what people have generally seen between animes, mangas, and video games as a whole. It’s not that crazy.

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Shovel Knight - PS Vita Review

Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and PC owners have had the privilege of playing Yacht Club Games' Shovel Knight for a little less than a year now. As of a week ago, PlayStation platform owners have been able to sink their collective teeth into the game and see what all the hype has been about. The wait hasn't been for naught, however, as cross-play, cross-buy, and the addition of a Kratos (from God of War fame) boss fight are included in the digital package, meaning whichever PlayStation device you play Shovel Knight on, you're bound to have a blast.

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Damascus Gear: Operation Tokyo - PS Vita Review

I’m not quite sure what it is with giant robotic suits of armor that I find so appealing, but the idea of flying around in a giant mech is just really cool. Damascus Gear takes a page out of From Software’s Armored Core series with a crazy amount of parts to customize your giant robot in this isometric third person shooter. Get ready to let bullets, missiles, and lasers fly against substantial amounts of enemies because there is no shortage of them!

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Flame Over - PS Vita Review

I’ve played a lot of hard games. Now while a game like Dark Souls is considered “Hard”, in a lot of ways it is still borderline fluffy when compared to gruelingly difficult classic games like the NES Battletoads. I've also played a lot of roguelikes such as the Mystery Dungeons series (Shiren), Rogue Legacy, and Chocobo Dungeon 2 (still a favorite). Flame Over made me rethink how good I really was at this genre, because I have never felt so under-skilled as I did while playing this absolutely intense twin-stick shooter.

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Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype - PS Vita Review

At a glance, Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype should not be quite as addicting as it is. There is nothing inherently wrong with the title, but it also does not feel like it is breaking new ground. However, what Soldner-X 2 brings to the table is a fantastic mesh of brisk action, vivid visuals and pulsing music and sound that creates an overall experience stronger than the sum of its parts.

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AeternoBlade - PS Vita Review

AeternoBlade is a Metroidvania following the story of a warrior named Freyja on her quest for vengeance for the destruction of her village at the hands of an Demonic Overlord. Originally released on the Nintendo 3DS this time last year it is seeing a re-release on the Sony PlayStation Vita / TV platforms.

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Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart - PS Vita Review

I have been more than a little excited about this one. It has been a while since I played a solid strategy-RPG title (I was not all that fond of Natural Doctrine, despite the hopes I had been harboring for it). In fact, the last awesome handheld strategy game I played was Fire Emblem Awakening - which was amazing. While Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart does not quite reach those lofty standards, it is still an excellent strategy title that should appeal to fans of the Hyper series.

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htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary - PS Vita Review

The Firefly Diary is an interesting experiment that suffers an interesting paradox. What should be its strengths often turn out to be the game's greatest weaknesses. Visually htoL#niQ: The Firefly Diary does a beautiful job of creating a world of light and shadow around our quiet protagonist Mion, but that atmosphere is squandered by some questionable game mechanics that might wear players' patience thin before the game's conclusion.

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Atelier Ayesha Plus: The Alchemist of Dusk - PS Vita Review

The Atelier series of games have long been a favorite here at Chalgyr's Game Room. While it still fits within the JRPG realm of games, the Atelier series is something a little more and something quite different. The primary focus of the majority of the Atelier games is actually running / managing an alchemy shop with reagent grinding taking place between orders for potions. A welcome and unique twist, one that sets the Atelier series apart from other roleplaying games. Atelier Ayesha was originally released for the PlayStation 3 back in March of 2013 and is now ported to the PlayStation Vita. While previous Atelier games took place in rich and vibrant worlds, Atelier Ayesha Plus takes place in the Dusk World which is on the brink of ruin. Does the recent port of Atelier Ayesha Plus: The Alchemist of Dusk translate well on the oft-underrated yet extremely awesome PlayStation Vita?

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Criminal Girls: Invite Only - PS Vita Review

Criminal Girls: Invite Only is something of a mixed bag in that JRPG fans will likely enjoy the solid level design and unique combat system, while anime fans might enjoy the fan service that could very well make other gamers somewhat uncomfortable. The visual style is actually very appealing with complimentary music that suited the game from start to finish, but unfortunately cute but underdeveloped characters and a middling story take some of the shine off of what could have been a great JRPG and leave it standing as a merely good one.

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Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2: Sisters Generation - Vita Review

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2: Sisters Generation changed many of my prior opinions about the second chapter in this gaming series, originally titled MK2. Upon the original game's release, I found that even with the new characters, the title felt rushed. Finishing the original title left me with the distinct feeling that something was missing, which was not at all how I felt at the conclusion of the first and third entries into the series. Re;Birth2 is a remake, but it is more than just a visual update with some new menus. Re;Birth2 fixes just about every issue that I had with the original MK2 title, from the combat system to a more cohesive story that makes the entire experience a more complete one.

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Fantasy Hero: Unsigned Legacy - Vita Review

Fantasy Hero: Unsigned Legacy is an action-RPG for perhaps one of, if not the best consoles for the genre, the PlayStation Vita. Over the last few years the Vita has seen a multitude of RPG games that really show off the power, scope, and popularity of not only these types of games, but the console itself. For many years the Vita has been Sony's forgotten child, getting only scraps here and there, and as time went on, more and more developers recognized the power and capability of the Vita and we have had excellent titles such as Tales of Hearts R, Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment, Persona 4 Golden, Demon Gaze, and Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten. Looking to join the list of RPG greats on the Vita, Fantasy Hero takes place in a world that was once peacefully but has now been overrun by monsters known as "Decoders." Living on in this crumbling world in small havens of humanity has been the norm until a handful of brave warriors make a stand to return peace to the world.

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Flyhunter Origins - PS Vita Review

Welcome to Zak's life. He is a lovable enough, but incredibly clumsy one-eyed alien who dreams of being a Flyunter. Unfortunately as he acts out a scene, he accidentally jettisons the cargo he is escorting to a nearby planet where everything is larger than life - or at least larger than Zak. The entire premise reminded me of Oddworld (though considerably less dark) as it sets up Zak's adventure to reclaim his precious cargo.

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Senran Kagura: Bon Appetit! - PS Vita Review

The Senran Kagura series first came into being at the tale end of 2011, where its first title, Senran Kagura: Shojo-tachi no Shinei (Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows) was released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan. Since then it has received not only a number of video game spin-offs and sequels on various platforms, but also spawned a short anime and a number of manga publications. The original title was a side-scrolling ninja-themed action title (as was its sequel, Senran Kagura Burst). Since then it has stayed primarily a side-scrolling action game, though in 2014, Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson moved from a 2D side-scrolling game to a 3D side-scrolling game.

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Tales of Hearts R - PS Vita Review

While Tales of Xillia 2 was released a few months ago, and at the time had been the best looking Tales to date, with Tales of Heart R that is no longer the case. The most impressive graphical update to Tales of Heart R lies with the animated scenes as they are absolutely stunning. This is to be expected given the animation studio for Tales of Hearts R was Production I.G. a studio that is behind some of the best anime available to date. A few of Production I.G.'s works include Psycho Pass, a stunning cyber-thriller, Ghost in the Shell, Eden of the East, Sengoku Basara, Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, The Mobile Police Patlabor Series/Movies and not to mention, Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion.

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Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus - Vita Review

Do you like fighting? Do you enjoy lots of anime-style fan service? If you are willing to check your need for logical storytelling at the door, there is a lot to like about Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus, which is fun despite a ridiculous story and lack of clothing on the female cast of characters.

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