CJ: A Vita? Me?!

A dedicated Nintendo gamer

Ever since I first saw Mario dashing across a TV screen in the ’90s, stopping for neither turtle nor ambulatory mushroom, I have been hooked on video games. So when I bought my first system in 2008 at the ripe old age of 22, it was only natural that I went for a Nintendo DS, home of my favorite plumbers.

Since that day, I had been a dedicated Nintendo gamer. I never owned another brand’s console, handheld or otherwise, and hardly even used the Wii I traded an extra 3DS console for back in the early 2010s. It was just me and my DS, and then me and my 3DS, traipsing through life, going on digital adventures whenever and wherever we felt like it. Footloose and TV free!

A lot has changed since 2008. I found myself drifting away from the platformers of my youth, and spending more time on life simulation games, puzzle/visual novels, and JRPGs. Fast forward to March 2017 when the Switch launched with none of my beloved 3DS features. Mii plaza? Sorry. StreetPass? Nada. Plus, as a nearly exclusive handheld gamer, I didn’t (and still don’t) like the size. As of this writing, I’ve still only seen one Switch being used as a truly mobile device in the “wild” outside my small group of gamer friends. But what really pushed me over the edge was when Nintendo NA shut down their Streetpass relays without a heads up. I was so angry I went out and did the unthinkable.

I bought a PS Vita.

Yes, me. The person, who never in her life wandered from the straight and narrow Nintendo path, bought a nearly dead non-Nintendo system, partially out of spite. I think I greatly surprised the staff at my local GameStop, who probably knew me as “that woman who never buys anything that isn’t Nintendo.” I bought a PS Vita…and I LOVE it.

The PS Vita is nearly everything I wish the Switch was, namely small and portable. It’s comfortable to hold. It has an incredible library if you enjoy JRPGs and visual novels. I haven’t explored too many of the other genres, but it appears to have a little bit of everything on offer.

But the biggest surprise for me has been the graphics. WOW! For someone who has spent a lifetime playing games with the relatively poor resolution on Nintendo handheld consoles, the Vita feels like a handheld portal into a different world. The first time I jumped off a building in Assassin’s Creed my heart dropped like a rock.

My frustration with Nintendo has settled somewhat, and the announcement of a new Animal Crossing means I’ll probably just have to pony up and buy a Switch at some point. But for now, it’s just me, my 3DS, and my Vita wandering across the landscape, playing games whenever and wherever the mood strikes.

5 comments

  1. The screen on the Vita is so much better than the DS. It’s got some powerful hardware, but sadly many companies failed to take advantage of it. If you like visual novels you won’t be bored with the Vita.

    1. I do like visual novels! There was only one “true” visual novel on the 3DS (ok, maybe two) and I wasn’t crazy about it. But I’ve been playing Code Realize on the Vita, and I have a small collection of other visual novels to play when I’m done. Which will realistically be never, but who knows.

    1. It is! No regrets here. Plenty to play, especially if you like visual novels and JRPGs. Very comfortable to hold. Having fun bugging my friends with messages while they play on their PS4’s, sometimes while I’m in the same room on my Vita hah. Great fun.

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