So you’ve got a PlayStation Vita, and you’ve already completed Gravity Rush, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Tearaway, and pretty much everything Aksys, XSEED, Bandai Namco, Square Enix, Marvelous, Natsume, and Idea Factory International have localized to North America. At that point, you may be asking yourself:
What games should I be importing from Japan for my PlayStation Vita?
Thankfully, us here at Operation Rainfall have your back! I recently took a poll among our contributors and asked them for their recommendations. Below I have listed, in no particular order, their top five PlayStation Vita Import recommendations.
And in no particular order, we start off with…
IA/VT -COLORFUL-
Genre: Rhythm
Developer: Marvelous
Publisher: Marvelous
Release Date: Jule 30, 2015
English Subtitles: Partially in English
Game Background:
This rhythm game has a simple premise: playing as a vocaloid, you press the d-pad and the face buttons on the Vita in time with musical notes as they appear on the screen. The better timing you’ve got, the more your “Colorful” meter fills. When it is full, you can use it to get a score multiplier.
There are a total of 79 tracks available in the game and for DLC purchase that range from Ishifuro, to Teddyloid and Back-On, and everyone else in-between.
What oprainfall has to say for this Vita Import:
“Half of the menus are in English, plays very similar to the Project Diva games but is superior IMO. Tracklisting has lots of variety and gameplay very intuitive. Also IA is better than Miku ;)” ~ Joseph Puntschart
Moe Chronicle
Genre: Dungeon Crawler RPG
Developer: Compile Heart
Publisher: Compile Heart (Japan) / Sony Company Entertainment (Asia)
Release Date: May 15, 2014 (Japan) / May 5, 2015 (Asia)
English Subtitles: Yes
Game Background:
You play as Io, who is forced to go save the world with a ‘monster girl’ thought to be the cause of the world’s problems. The battles are turn based, and when you attack enemies, their clothes fall off, and you eventually then utilize the Vita touchpad to rub the defeated monster girl in order to capture her and use her in your party.
What oprainfall has to say for this Vita Import:
“Moe Chronicle – The perviest game on the Vita to get translated, even if not released in the West. Not the best dungeon crawler but the fanservice, script and aesthetic make the import worthwhile.” ~ Joseph Punschart
“I’d definitely agree with Joseph Puntschart that Moe Chronicle is a must play. I earned the Platinum trophy for that game and did everything in the post game, and I still want to go back to it eventually. It’s English subbed and is a really great dungeon crawler.” ~William Haderlie
Gundam Breaker 3
Genre: Action
Developer: Crafts & Meister
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Release Date: March 3, 2016 (Japan)/April 28, 2016&May 2, 2017 (Asia)
English Subtitles: Yes
Game Background:
As a sequel to Gundam Breaker 2, this is not a game where you are doing battle with the traditional mobile suits as part of the ongoing war between the Federation and Zeon. Instead, you are fighting and competing in tournaments with Gunpla (model kit replicas of mobile suits) in order to save local arcade shops in your local Japanese town.
You can customize your mobile suits with lots of different parts from different Gunpla kits to best suit your tastes, and there is a new multiplayer mode where you can fight against other player-uploaded Gunplas!
What oprainfall has to say for this Vita Import:
“Gundam Breaker 3 is a fun mecha musou-style game that has a very deep Gundam customisation, a lengthy story mode, and [very] fun gameplay. Also available on PS4 and [it] does look better on there, but the Vita is a great option too.” ~ Joseph Puntschart
“If you are a fan of customizing your character, or mecha in this case, you’ll love the huge amount of parts and possibilities available for this game[.] [T]hat plus a simple but deep combat system makes for a lengthy and amazing game.” ~ Henry Badilla
Super Robot Wars V
Genre: Tactical RPG
Developer: B.B. Studio
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Release Date: February 23, 2017
English Subtitles: Yes
Game Background:
This entry, celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Super Robot Wars franchise, features mechs from a wide variety of series such as Rebuild of Evangelion, various Gundam series, and Full Metal Panic! in a crossover universe tactical RPG game. As each stage begins, you have to accomplish different objectives that can ebb and flow throughout the battle and utilize different pilot special attacks. You can also customize each character’s skill using Tactical Points that are gained as you progress through the main game and you are able to upgrade and change your units between stages. As this game was just recently released, there is still DLC incoming!
What oprainfall has to say for this Vita Import:
“It is the first Super Robot Wars game with licensed robots to receive an official translation. It also features some very slick animation and a brand new Mazinger!” ~ Justin Guillou
SD Gundam G Generation Genesis
Genre: Tactical RPG
Developer: Bandai Namco
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Release Date: November 27, 2016
English Subtitles: Yes
Game Background:
This game covers roughly seventeen different series in the Universal Century timeline in its story mode. You move your mobile suits along a grid based map and attack enemies while consuming energy. When you run out of energy for a unit, it has to be docked for a turn. There is also permadeath in the game for mobile units. When a unit dies, that’s it. Thankfully, however, the pilots will survive.
What oprainfall has to say for this Vita Import:
“SD Gundam G Generation Genesis is a great English subtitled strategy RPG featuring the best of Gundam franchises. Has a wealth of customization options and a great unit stealing mechanic to bolster your forces. Also comes on two, yes two, Vita carts.” ~ Skip Zepeda
And there you have it! Operation Rainfall’s Top Five Must Import Vita Games!
Did we miss one? What would you have included in this list? Let us know in the comments below!
