TVL Magazine #7 by The Vita Lounge Magazine

10 Reviews! Developer Features! Latest News!

The Vita Lounge M A G A Z I N E

www.thevitalounge.net THE VITA LOUNGE TEAM EDITORIAL Executive Editor / Paul Murphy @pmurphy1978 Editor-in-Chief / Kyle Wakeling @teflontactics Deputy Editor / Charlie Large @charlielarge Deputy Editor / Brad Gruetzmacher @vongruetz Podcast Editor / Tyler Olthoff @imsohappy77 NORTH AMERICAN TEAM Lateralus1082 @lateralus2801 Zach Price @MyrishMartyr James Aquilina @technocat44 EUROPEAN TEAM Liam Langan @liamhangover Colin Byrne @ColinJByrne CONTRIBUTORS Paul Hartling @paulhartling Michael Cunningham @FinalMacstorm Eli Sarafian @EliSarafian MAGAZINE DESIGN Jhonatan Carneiro @JhoCarneiro Original TVL logo designed by Buramu SPECIAL THANKS Delve Interactive @Ponchogame PM Studios @PMStudiosUSA Supergiant Games @SupergiantGames Behind the Stone @BehindTheStoneS

Hello Vita Gamers!

Welcome to Issue Seven of The Vita Lounge Magazine! It seems that a month cannot go by without many keen to hammer nails in the proverbial coffin for the Vita, yet we manage to find enough content each month to run a website and to return with yet another magazine! This issue is filled with the latest Vita reviews, including cover title Persona 4: Dancing All Night which should be out now for most people reading this. We also have reviews of Super Meat Boy, Superbeat Xonic, Pumped BMX, WRC 5, Degenki Bunko and many more, in fact we have ten in total.

ADVERTISING Want to get your game featured in the magazine and read by more than thousands of PSVita fans? We can discuss any and all magazine advertising opportunities, for a very sensible price! Send us an email at advertising@thevitalounge.net COVERAGE Are you a developer? If you are working on Vita content and want to get it covered in either the magazine or on the website, then we would love to hear from you! Please send an email to press@thevitalounge.net and add us to your press lists. If you have a game coming out soon and want us to tell other Vita owners, get in touch!

PMurphy1978

Founder

As is now standard we also have many developer features and this issue you'll find us talking to Delve Interactive about Poncho, PM Studios talk to us about Superbeat Xonic and Supergiant Games tell us about the highly anticipated Vita version of Bastion! Rounding off our developer features we have Behind The Stone who are back with part two of their developer diary on Sir Eatsalot! Rounding off this issue we have a great feature from Paul Hartling who found out about Limited Run Games and their initiative to release physical copies of Vita titles, Michael Cunningham from Pocket-Console talks #TeamHandheld and looks at ten RPGs that he thinks would be awesome on the Vita and you have our picks for the best upcoming Vita games. We also have a great guide for Don't Starve, courtesy of expert gamer Eli Sarafian. Thanks for reading and supporting us and we hope you enjoy this issue! See you next month!

PRINT EDITION If you want to support us and aid The Vita Lounge financially as well as receive a print copy of future issues of The Vita Lounge Magazine delivered worldwide to your door please head over to www.patreon.com/TheVitaLounge and consider pledging to us! BACK ISSUES You can buy previous print issues of the magazine for £3.99 (plus shipping) from www.thevitalounge.net/shop whilst stocks last!

Paul Murphy

PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING OUR PATREON – IT WOULD REALLY BE APPRECIATED AND WOULD GO A LONG WAY TO SUPPORTING WHAT WE DO! FOR $10 PER ISSUE YOU WILL GET A PRINT COPY OF THIS MAGAZINE DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR! YOU CAN FIND OUR PATREON PAGE AT WWW.PATREON.COM/THEVITALOUNGE

meet the TEAM...

Kyle Wakeling

Charlie Large

Tyler Olthoff

Brad Gruetzmacher

@teflontactics

@charlielarge

@imsohappy77

@vongruetz

Lateralus1082 Colin Byrne

Liam Langan

Zach Price

@lateralus2801

@liamhangover

@MyrishMartyr

teflontactics

Chaz3010

ImSoHappy77

vongruetz

DISCLAIMER The Vita Lounge is an independent PlayStation Vita enthusiast website. All content featured is used with permission, and is used to promote existing and upcoming titles for the PS Vita. We are not endorsed or affiliated with Sony or PlayStation, or any of the companies featured. © 2015 The Vita Lounge

Lateralus1082

2 | The Vita Lounge Magazine

EnterCole

@ColinJByrne

liamlangan

MyrishMartyr

! Latest News! eloper Features 10 Reviews! Dev

Contents 04 BITE-SIZED NEWS

THE BIGGEST VITA NEWS BITES FROM AROUND THE WORLD!

06 NEW RELEASES

ge The Vita Loun Z I N E M A G A

The Vita Lounge Magazine | Issue 7 | November 2015

18-39 REVIEWS 19

Persona 4: Dancing All Night

COME AND FIND OUT IF THERE'S ANYTHING FOR YOU IN THIS MONTH'S RELEASES!

08 LIMITED RUN

PAUL FROM BEMANISTYLE SPOKE TO LIMITED RUN GAMES ABOUT BRINGING DIGITAL VITA GAMES TO SHOPS!

Ho eN

40 HOT TEN

WANT TO KNOW WHICH UPCOMING VITA GAMES WE ARE MOST EXCITED FOR?

SUPERBEAT XONiC

41 PATREON STARS

Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax

Space Hulk

Heroes of Loot

Super Meat Boy

10-17 INTERVIEWS

THIS MAGAZINE WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THESE AMAZING PEOPLE, SO TAKE A MINUTE TO LOOK AT HOW AWESOME THEY ARE!

10 DELVE INTERACTIVE THE UK DEVELOPERS TALK TO US ABOUT THEIR LAYER SHIFTING PLATFORMER, PONCHO

12 PM STUDIOS

WE CAUGHT UP WITH PM STUDIOS AHEAD OF THE LAUNCH OF SUPERBEAT XONIC

46 #TeamHandheld

MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM AKA FINALMACSTORM RUNS POCKET CONSOLE AND RPG GAMER, SO HE PICKED THE TEN RPGS HE THINKS WOULD BEST SUIT THE VITA

14 SUPERGIANT GAMES EXCITED FOR BASTION? WE FOUND OUT A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE STUDIO BEHIND THE HIT

WE ARE AWFUL AT DON'T STARVE, BUT READER ELI SARAFIAN ISN'T AND HE WROTE THIS AMAZING GUIDE TO HELP YOU AVOID STARVING. AND DYING.

Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition

16 DEVELOPER DIARY GERMAN DEVELOPERS BEHIND THE STONE ARE BACK WITH PART TWO OF THEIR DEVELOPER DIARY!

34 36 38

Farming Simulator 16 WRC 5 Pumped BMX +

The Vita Lounge Magazine | 3

BITE-SIZED NEWS Broforce No Longer Coming To Vita Been looking forward to the explosive and destructive side-scrolling shooter Broforce on your Vita? Well sadly we've got some bad news to report. After our EGX visit, reached out to developer Free Lives who told us that 'Although our original plans were for PS4 and PSVITA, this has since changed. We are currently only porting to the PS4, not Vita. I know there hasn't been any official coverage on this and for that I must apologise' Disappointed? We are...

Dragon Quest Heroes 2 To Feature an all new cast Although the Vita never got Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the Blight Below, some interesting news regarding it’s sequel - which is Vita bound - have surfaced. The main hero of the first game, Luceus, is not returning for Dragon Quest Heroes 2 - a tweet from his voice actor (Tori Matsuzaka) confirms. This aligns with a recent comment from game director Yuji Horii, who stated that he wanted to see a new cast and setting in the sequel.

Phineas and Ferb: Day of Doofenshmirtz is Heading to the Vita Phineas and Ferb will be making their debut on PlayStation Vita this month, with the arrival of Phineas and Ferb: Day of Doofenshmirtz, which is has been developed by Virtual Toys. The story, which was created in cooperation with Disney, will take the boys to a number of locations; from Danville and the Tri-State area, to the centre of the Earth. The game promises to be filled with explorable areas, treasure to collect, and puzzles to solve… all while battling against evil toasters. 4 | The Vita Lounge Magazine

Is SaGa: Scarlet Grace Coming West? Remember when SquareEnix showed off that awesome trailer for SaGa: Scarlet Grace back at TGS 2015? Well good news, it looks like the game could also be coming west! Square-Enix recently trademarked the title of the game in Europe, which is a fairly good sign of a future release in western territories (if past experience is any indication). This is by no means a confirmation that we’ll see the title outside of Japan, but if we do hear an official word we'll be sure to keep you updated.

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization Coming to Vita in 2016 A third Sword Art Online title has been confirmed to be coming to PlayStation Vita next year in Japan. Before we have even got our hands on Lost Song, which launches this month, another Sword Art Online game has been announced for our favourite handheld. This time it seems as if we’ll be seeing an origin story for Aincrad, the world in which the first season of the Anime, and Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment take place. Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization is due out in Japan sometime next year, and we sure do hope that the game will head west too.

An Enhanced Version of Dex is heading to PS Vita Indie action RPG Dex was released earlier this year on PC, after a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2012. Developer Dreadlocks LTD have now revealed details regarding the console releases for the game, which will be an enhanced version of the game. Included in this version will be manual saves, improved AI, revamped AR/cyberspace modes, improved gamepad support, and support for German, French, and Hungarian. There is no concrete release date for Dex at the moment, but we'll be sure to keep you updated in future issues with further information!

A Boy and His Blob rated for PlayStation Vita A Boy and His Blob has been rated for the PlayStation Vita by German rating board USK. Publisher Majesco Entertainment revealed in August that it was working on a new A Boy and His Blob title for current gen consoles.

A Boy and His Blob is a puzzle platformer that first launched on the Nintendo Wii in 2009. What we do not know yet is whether this rating is for a port of the 2009 game or a brand new entry in the series.

Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth Dated in North America Bandai Namco has confirmed a North American release date for Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, and it looks like we won’t have to trudge too far into 2016 to get our hands on it; the game is set to release on February 2nd. Pre-order bonuses include a “Taichi Yagami” Agumon costume, a set of hero costumes for Agumon, BlackAgumon and BlackBabumon, two exclusive Digimon (Blast Mode Beelzebumon and Cherubimon), and a useful item kit including a hunter USB, two full revives, and three 10,000 XP “Brave Point Cs” to use on your Digimon.

Dino Dini's Kick Off Revealed for Vita

If you were a gamer back in the early 90's then you may remember this football (or Soccer) game series which was the king of it's genre, or at least until FIFA came along anyway. Developed by the legendary Dino Dini we have learned that we will see an updated version in 2016 for the Vita! Dino said that the game will continue in the spirit of the old games; but Kick Off was controlled by an eight-direction joystick with a single button. Modern gameplay allows for multi-directional control and the gameplay will be tuned to modern standards which allows for improvements in precision and skill.

Makai Shin Trillion Coming West as Trillion: God of Destruction in 2016 Idea Factory International is officially bringing that strategic RPG with a one trillion hit point end boss to Western shores next year. It's a story about a hero named Zeabolos who gains the power of the Soul Grimoire and decides to fight against the demon god of destruction Trillion, Makai Shin Trillion will now be making its way West as Trillion: God of Destruction in the Spring, and will come with dual (Japanese & English) audio, English subtitles, PlayStation TV support, and a physical version. The Vita Lounge Magazine | 5

Dragon Fin Soup

November 3rd NA / EU (Free with PS+)

THESE ARE THE VITA GAMES DUE OUT IN NOVEMBER. WILL YOU BE PICKING ANY OF THESE UP?

Part roguelike and part classic console RPG with a persistent world and story, Dragon Fin Soup is said to play like a mix of Chocobo’s Dungeon and Secret of Mana. Its story mode focuses on storytelling, character progression, and plays more like a classic RPG; while Survival Mode plays more like a Roguelike and features permanent death.

Norn9: Var Commons

November 3rd NA / November 4th EU

Norn9: Var Commons is an Otome visual novel that is coming to the west this month. The game looks to deliver a complex, diverging storyline with the fate of its lively characters lying in your hands – like all good visual novels.

ARE YOU A OPER VITA DEVEL ER? OF PUBLISH VE A GAME DO YOU HA ET CEMBER? G E D IN G IN S RELEA NOW ND LET US K IN TOUCH A VITA E CAN TELL SO THAT W SUE! UR NEXT IS O IN S R E N OW

6 | The Vita Lounge Magazine

Phineas and Ferb: Day of Doofenshmirtz

November 4th EU / November 10th NA

Phineas and Ferb: Day of Doofenshmirtz, featuring the upstart geniuses from the Disney Channel’s popular show, is the latest game based on a TV show that is Vita-bound.

Persona 4: Dancing All Night November 6th EU

Persona 4: Dancing All Night is a rhythm game spin-off based on Persona 4 Golden. The plot takes place a month after the extended epilogue of P4G and is chronologically the final game to feature the Investigation Team.

SUPERBEAT XONiC

November 10th NA / TBC EU

Described as a spiritual successor to DJ MAX, this upcoming rhythm game had me and Paul hooked when we played it at EGX, and if you are a fan of the musical genre it could well keep you hooked too! With more than 45 different tracks and over 200 different beat combinations itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll certainly be different each time you play!

Sword Art Online: Lost Song

November 13th EU / November 17th NA

Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires

November 24th NA / November 25th EU

Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires is an expanded version of Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends that will include all previous DLC released on other platforms as well as a new Ad-Hoc focused mode called Raid Scenario.

Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders From Planet Space November 24th NA / TBC EU

Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders from Planet Space originally released on the PlayStation 2 in both Japan and Europe before making its way to the PSP. The PlayStation Vita version of the game is the definitive version and will feature a number of additions and improvements â&#x20AC;&#x201C; including four-player online co-op, a new Air Raider class and a new English dub!

STOP THE PRESS! HTR+ Racing

17th November NA

Teslagrad

24th November NA 27th November EU After all the rave reviews and praise that Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment attracted when it released in the west last year, it was inevitable that the follow up would make it to our shores in due course.

KEY E HAVE THE SO THERE W LEASE E SET TO RE R A T A H T S TITLE A THIS STATION VIT Y A L P E H T FOR ! NOVEMBER

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In early October a new publishing company called Limited Run Games was brought to life and it’s all thanks to Josh Fairhurst from Mighty Rabbit Studios. The team’s goal at this sub-brand is to bring video games that were only released digitally as download only software to a physical form. Just something else to get your sweaty Doritos fingers all over. These physical drops will be limited to either a few hundred, or a couple thousand copies at most and will not be reprinted through their website. The first title getting a physical release is Breach & Clear, a military strategy game for the PlayStation Vita and was released on October 29th, 2015 at 12pm Eastern with 1,500 units being made available. Right now, only PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 titles seem to be planned in physical production, as Sony is more flexible and cooler with lower production runs than Microsoft. Most games will be $24.99, unless the game already costs more in the digitalverse, plus $3.99 shipping throughout the states, and international shipping is certainly offered for a bit more. Each release will be numbered and packaged well since this project is definitely aimed for all the game collectors out there. “Absolutely, one hundred percent yes. Breach & Clear is getting a low print run because it is a test for the idea of Limited Run Games.” Josh Fairhurst has been a collector for just about three decades and keeps most of his collection at the office, and as every person does, he likes the feeling of just tearing open a brand new game and popping it into the system of choice. Digital-only games was rumored to be the future a few years ago, and this seems to be their way of fighting back. Mighty Rabbit’s second game titled Saturday Morning RPG is headed for PlayStation 4 early 2016 where they are 8 | The Vita Lounge Magazine

also planning a limited run of physical copies as well. The game is available now for the PC, but we’re talking consoles here, and physical console games are great. In an interview with We Got This Covered, Josh told everyone that if there is more demand for certain games, a second run will be warranted. Josh says – “Absolutely, one hundred percent yes. Breach & Clear is getting a low print run because it is a test for the idea of Limited Run Games.” I’m hoping we see a lot of great titles, both independent and AAA in the future as this is a great way to bring them to the physical world and to keep the collectors happy. Limited Run Games has over 40 more titles planned for release, but if there’s anything you’d like to see make its way out, feel free to let them know via social media! They’re building their customer base well and steady, something definitely needed if you plan on jumping in on something like this with nobody knowing who you are. I reached out to Douglas Bogart at Limited Run Games on a few questions I had stirred up. What have been the hardships it took to get the company off the ground and get more games planned for physical releases? The biggest challenge was refining the process for ordering games and getting them published. It’s a lot of work, which is why when we talk to developers, we let them know we will assume the financial risk, market and sell their game. We are very transparent about the whole process, which we feel is the right approach to take. There are a lot of developers that have a similar mind-set as us, which makes it easier to talk to them. There is still a huge demand for physical games, and a lot of developers want to see their games proudly displayed on their shelves.

Paul Hartling is a Video Games Industry free-agent and you can find him writing about games over at http://www.bemanistyle.com/ Twitter: PaulHartling

Any plans to release non-PlayStation specific titles in the future? Sony has been a dream to work with and has made the process very easy for us. We are looking into possibly doing Wii U titles though. We don’t want to be close minded when it comes to publishing games, so we are very optimistic about the future. Once we get the company off the ground some more we will start tackling other options, like imports, other platforms, bigger titles, etc. We can’t promise anything but we want people to know that we are looking at all available options.

Any plans to eventually include game-related limited merchandise with orders? We may start selling posters and stickers that will be related to the game being released, but that will be up to the developer. When we launch the store there will be some Limited Run shirts available. There won’t be very many though, we just had extras from buying bulk. Find out more: Twitter: https://twitter.com/LimitedRunGames Website: http://www.limitedrungames.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LimitedRunGames

The Vita Lounge Magazine | 9

TVL MAGAZINE

PONCHO IS AN UPCOMING PLATFORMER WHICH SEES YOU SHIFTING THE PERSPECTIVE ACROSS THREE LAYERS. WE SPOKE TO THE DEVELOPERS, DELVE INTERACTIVE, TO FIND OUT MORE.

Hello Delve Games, thanks for talking to us! Can you tell us a little bit about Delve and how you got into developing games? Hi, well we've all been doing this awhile now, after school and stuff, this was just what we wanted to do and it's all we've really done since. This game started over 3 years ago, when myself & Jack Odell (The designers of the game) decided to go all in and make an ambitious indie game of some kind... that became Poncho. Poncho certainly looks interesting. Can you explain what it is all about? Poncho is about a little robot who wears a poncho, on a journey to find his father, the maker of all robots. The game is set in a post apocalyptic world, where humanity has been wiped out and robots are left to find a purpose in a new land What was the inspiration behind the game? What games filled with lush wildlife. would you describe it as a mix of? It was mainly inspired in its design by games like Braid, The main mechanic of the game is the ability to switch between layers, so you play in 2D, but you can move into the Super Meat Boy and Cave Story. But the idea for the planeforeground and background at will, so there's a literal added shifting mechanic came from old Sega games we used to depth of gameplay. In addition, Poncho is open world, so you play; we'd look at those old school side scrollers and think: "Wouldn't it be cool if you could just press a button and you can pretty much tackle any area however you want. could explore those mountains or hills in the background?". So that's what we did with Poncho. Also while people might see the cute characters and colourful artwork and think "Oh it's another pixel A lot of gamers have indicated to us that it invokes a platformer", there's a much darker storyline compared to similar feeling to Fez. Albeit with its own identity. Was that similar games than you might think... the few people that intentional? have seen the game compared it to Earthbound a little. Yeah, we get that a lot. We take it as a compliment really, 10 | The Vita Lounge Magazine

but it is all coincidental. I can see why people view these two games together, they're both pixel art platformers with a unique gameplay mechanic, but that's where the similarities end. How much gameplay would you say gamers can experience with Poncho? In terms of completion time? It's difficult to say, since there are multiple paths you can take to complete the game as well as multiple endings, but I think most people can expect about 5 hours of gameplay. It's a lot longer if you try to explore everything though... Is there anything you can tell us about the PlayStation version that isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t already known? Not really... at least nothing that can be revealed until the game is out. The PlayStation version of the game does have cross-play saves though and of course, trophies! What made you want to bring the game to the Vita? I own a Vita myself, and it's my favourite handheld device. We have an ambition to get Poncho on as many

platforms as possible, so we just had to add the Vita! Are there any obvious differences in terms of content or performance from the Vita version to PS4? Well the Vita is our lowest spec platform, so there are a few slight differences. Poncho is actually pretty demanding technically, due to the level of detail in the game there can be literally thousands of images/sprites on screen at any given time. Mainly it's just a toning down of the lighting effects and maybe not so many little decorative critters scuttling around the world, but other than that, the game is the same. What challenges, if any, did you have to face with Vita development? It wasn't so bad, we use the Unity engine so a lot of the "under the hood" stuff for porting is done for us. The only real complication was getting the visual effects just right for the change in hardware. Do you have a release date in mind with Poncho? Is it likely to arrive at the

same time as the PS4 version or do you anticipate a delay? Poncho will be released this Autumn, so very soon! We're hoping to announce our release date shortly, and yes, all our platforms will be releasing at the same time. Are there any games that stand out for you on the Vita? What are your favourites? Well in terms of exclusives, I really liked Gravity Rush. I also enjoy the Final Fantasy spin offs like Dissidia, then there's indie games like Spelunky! Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next for Delve, and would you want to develop for the Vita again? We've got some things up our sleeve... the next project is going to be something small and experimental so we can refresh ourselves for the next big project. We'll always try and bring our games to every platform we can, so expect more Vita gems from us in the future! We would like to thank Dan from Delve for his time with this interview! Poncho will be released later this year. The Vita Lounge Magazine | 11

TVL MAGAZINE

EVERYONE LOVES MUSIC AND RHYTHMIC GAMES RIGHT? THE LATEST TO ARRIVE ON THE VITA IS SUPERBEAT XONIC, SO WE CAUGHT UP WITH THE MICHAEL YUM FROM THE GAME'S DEVELOPER, PM STUDIOS, TO FIND OUT MORE

Hello PM Studios, Thanks for talking to us. Can you tell us a little bit about PM Studios and how you got into developing games? It's very nice to meet you guys. We are a small independent development studio that was formed in 2008. We are mostly known for developing and publishing a rhythm game known as DJMAX for the PlayStation, Arcade and Mobile platforms. In recent years we have been developing a lot of mobile games and applications and finally came back to our grass roots with SUPERBEAT: XONiC. Superbeat Xonic looks very interesting. Can you explain to those not familiar with it what it’s all about? SBX is a rhythm game similar to our work in the past. There's some techno, electronic, rock, kpop soundtracks and the players time and match the beat with the corresponding buttons and notes. What was the inspiration behind the game? What games would you describe it as a mix of? The inspiration behind the game was DJMAX and Touch Interface. Almost all of the current handheld devices are all touch based and we knew that we had to work with it. So we combined DJMAX with a Touch Interface and came up with something new. It’s been described by many as a “spiritual successor to DJ Max.” How do you feel about that statement? I feel that is correct. Its made by the same people, it features the same musicians, and the interface might be different but the gameplay will feel natural to DJMAX Veterans. How many different music tracks are in the game? Is there a mix of different genres? I don’t want to give an exact number because there are some surprises. But there are over 40 tracks. It features 12 | The Vita Lounge Magazine

electronic, rock, techno, kpop and a FEW SURPRISES! Is there anything you can tell us about the game that isn’t already known? The thing that makes me the happiest is that I read all about the game and what people have been commenting on. We purposely did not show some stuff and I’m sure it’ll surprise people. I wish I could tell you but I think the experience will be better when you unlock the surprises.

What challenges, if any, did you have to face with Vita development? Honestly not much. The team has had experience with Sony and PlayStation development for a very long time. If anything the machine is so amazing that its become easier to develop for. Its truly an underrated machine and deserves much better.

It is being reported that the game will work with the PSTV. Is that true, and how will it work differently? So when we made this game, we wanted to make sure it played like What made you want to bring the DJMAX and also fit the Vita’s touch game to the Vita? screen. So the game was carefully The goal was to make a game in the designed to work with both the same spirit as DJMAX, which meant Controller and Touch Screen. I think it was a hardcore game for hardcore rhythm fans. We knew we had to work Veterans will prefer the controller while newcomers and casual players will with the Touch Screen. The Vita was prefer the Touch Screen. I also think the only system that could handle its safe to say that the PSTV is for the what we wanted to make. This isn’t core market. So there you have it, we a game that you could play with the stylus and multitouch is a huge part of always had the intent for it to work with PSTV. the difficulty that we wanted.

Are there any games that stand out for you on the Vita? What are your favourites? As huge PlayStation fans and as a trophy whores I absolutely love the Vita. To this date my favourite Vita game is still Lumines. However other favourites are Tearaway, Gravity Rush, Muramasa and Persona 4 Golden. There are a lot more but they aren’t exclusive. What’s next for PM Studios, and would you want to develop for the Vita again? We currently have a few apps in the Market right now called Nitty and E-Sports FTW. We are working on a few new mobile games that should be out in the near future. And of course we had a great experience with SBX so we definitely want to work with Vita again. But as another hint, we are working on something new that should make people very, very happy.

The Vita Lounge Magazine | 13

TVL MAGAZINE

SUPERGIANT GAMES HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE, AND WHILST MANY PLAYSTATION GAMERS MAY HAVE EXPERIENCED TRANSISTOR FIRST, THEIR DEBUT TITLE WAS ACTUALLY BASTION. AHEAD OF BASTION’S RELEASE ON THE VITA WE CAUGHT UP WITH GREG FROM SUPERGIANT GAMES TO FIND OUT MORE.

Hello SuperGiant Games! Thanks for talking with us. Can you tell us a little bit about your studio and how you got into developing games? Sure! We’re Supergiant Games and we’ve been around since 2009, and thus far made two games: Bastion and Transistor. Supergiant started as just two people in the living room of a house and eventually grew to seven on Bastion. Now we’re up to about a dozen, though looking to stay small like that. I and the two cofounders used to work together at Electronic Arts, where we were spending more and more time playing independent games like Braid and Castle Crashers and Plants vs. Zombies, and were blown away by how good those games were in spite of — or maybe because of — the small sizes of the teams that made them. When playing these, you could just feel the care and attention of their creators, and we aspired to make games that had a similar quality. Or, as we like to put it, we want to make games that spark your imagination like the games you played as a kid. We are talking to you about Bastion, which originally came out in 2011, before the Vita! For the benefit of those that don’t know anything about it, can you explain what Bastion is? Bastion is an action RPG where a mysterious narrator marks your every move. You play as a character called the Kid, who wakes up to find his world shattered to pieces in a surreal catastrophe. He fights his way to his people’s safe haven, whose mysterious caretaker has a plan to set everything right. It’s very easy to pick up and start playing, and we think it has a unique presentation, from the art style to the music to the use of voiceover. As they get into it, many players start to find the depth in the mechanics, as each of the game’s various weapons has its own feel and supports a different style of play, and they also tend to get more and more invested in the characters and narrative. The narrated journey starts to feel very personal and hopefully will leave you feeling very satisfied by the time you reach the end.

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The game has a very impressive art style. How did the team decide on that look? Bastion’s art style is thanks to Jen Zee, our art director, who was the only artist on the team during the game’s development. She painted all of the environment art, designed all the characters, and more. We had tried working with a number of artists prior to Jen during preproduction but it was her work that really stood out, and best complemented what we were going for with the tone. In some ways the art style strongly contrasts the tone of the narrative, though we loved what that did for the overall feel. How long can gamers expect to be playing for, and what will keep them playing? What kind of gameplay will they encounter? Bastion takes most players roughly eight hours to finish the first time through, and there’s a New Game Plus mode available after that for those who want to keep going. The New Game Plus mode we think is a lot of fun, and opens up some new content and challenges, though it was very important to us to make a complete-feeling game that you could just play through once beginning to end and feel totally satisfied. The gameplay definitely puts an emphasis on action, and is very combat-oriented, and designed to reward playing with finesse and experimentation with the various weapon combinations in the game. You also get to develop the Bastion location, building new structures there while unlocking new game systems. We wanted there to be some interesting new system or area around every turn. Will there be any noticeable differences between the PS4 and Vita versions? The Vita version of Bastion is meant to be an exacting translation of the original game, same as the PS4 version. If we do our jobs right there should be no significant differences between the versions. The Vita port is being managed by Blitworks, who are well-known for working on many great Vita ports. How did that happen, and were there any plans to develop the port in house?

BlitWorks came highly recommended to us, and we were impressed with work they did bringing such games as Don’t Starve and FEZ to the PS4 and Vita. Finding a partner like BlitWorks was going to be the only way our game would end up on the Vita or PS4 at this point. Especially when you’re small like we are, decisions about which platforms to support are about as close as life-and-death as you can get. It takes a lot of time and focus to get a game to feel right on any given platform. Many Vita owners have been waiting patiently for Bastion. How close is the game to completion? At this point it’s very close! Toward the end of development there tends to be a period where you’re fixing relatively obscure issues that hopefully no one would realistically ever encounter. But they’re important and you have to fix them just in case, while also making sure there’s nothing else you missed. That said, we should be on track to have the Vita version of Bastion out by the end of the year, though we don’t have a specific release date for it yet. We couldn’t talk to you about your games without talking about your other notable title, Transistor. What are the chances of a Vita version, or does that depend on Bastion’s performance? It’s first-things-first for us right now, so we have no plans to bring Transistor to the Vita at this point. We’ll have to see how it goes with Bastion and evaluate our options once we’re done with what we have on our plates right now. For what it’s worth we think Transistor works quite well using the PS4’s Remote Play feature, so it’s playable on the Vita right now if you have it on PS4! As we mentioned above, Bastion is four years old. How do you feel about the game, looking at it now? Is there anything you wish you could change? Bastion succeeded beyond our wildest

fantasies, and has sold more than 3 million copies to date across all platforms. It’s showed the kind of staying power that I think is very rare for single-player games of a relatively modest size. The game really struck a chord with a lot of people, so yeah, I wouldn’t change a thing about it. We poured everything we had into that game, and feel incredibly lucky that it resonated with so many people around the world. That we would still be bringing it to new platforms all these years later is certainly not something we could have expected at the time. What was the motivation for making a Vita version? Do you think that releasing the game so much later than the PS4 version could impact the sales? The main motivation for bringing Bastion to the Vita is that we’ve never tried releasing a game on the Vita and like the platform. Our original intent was to launch the Vita version and the PS4 version at the same time, but the Vita ended up presenting more technical challenges. Rather than delay both, we launched PS4 when it was ready and now are focused on the Vita. As the two versions are cross-buyenabled, meaning you don’t have to purchase them separately, we don’t expect and never expected the Vita version to outsell the PS4 version. It’s more that we wanted Bastion on the PS4 and Vita to feel like a really great value for anyone who picked up either version. Are there any Vita titles that you consider a benchmark? Which games have impressed you the most on Vita? The Vita’s got a terrific library, and I love how it’s turned into such a great destination for certain kinds of games that aren’t as common on other platforms — I’m talking about strategy RPGs like Jeanne d’Arc and Tactics Ogre, and visual novels like Danganropa and 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors. There are other technical benchmark games like Gravity Rush,

and I also love that there’s this massive back catalog of PS1 games you can get for it. I’ve spent a lot of time re-playing classics like Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story for example. Are there any games coming out for the Vita that you are looking forward to? I’d have to go with The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel, the followup to Trails in the Sky. The Legend of Heroes games are big, solid JRPGs filled with colorful characters and interesting battle systems. I really enjoyed Trails in the Sky so I’m looking forward to the next one. Danganropa 3 was announced not long ago as well. Those games are a great intro to visual novels if you’ve never tried one. Great storytelling and characters. What’s next for SuperGiant Games? Any thoughts on Bastion 2? Thanks to the success of Transistor, we get to stick around for a while longer and figure out what’s next! Our ambitions as a studio are quite modest — we just want each of our games to do well enough to let us keep going as a team and make something else. It’s too early to say what that’s going to be just yet, though we’ll be excited to find out. Our game ideas start small and tend to evolve a lot as we work on them, which is part of the reason why we don’t like to say too much about what we’re up to until we feel we have something more concrete to show for ourselves. Do you have anything that you want to say to the Vita owners reading this? Thank you for voicing your support for Bastion on the Vita! I can safely say that were it not for the community support for this version of the game, we would not be working on it now. We appreciate your patience and hope you enjoy the game! Please let us know what you think on our @ SupergiantGames Twitter! The Vita Lounge Magazine | 15

DEV DIARY THANKS FOR TUNING IN AGAIN. IN THE LAST DEV-DIARY FROM ISSUE 4 WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE BEGINNINGS OF US, OUR GAME "SIR EATSALOT" AND THE CHANGE OF THE GAME. IN THIS ISSUE WE'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT OUR GENERAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS FOR THE GAME.

The tools: We're using a range of different tools for specific needs, like "Unity", the engine we use to create the actual game. Gamedesign is first tackled with pen and paper and then ported to the neat "articy:draft", which is a software dedicated to game design helping structuring the game-flow, writing dialogues and shape the levels in a clear way. Some months ago we also started to use "taskulu", a management-platform where you can assign tasks to the whole team. It really boosted the efficiency of our development, since we're also tracking the time for each task and are able to measure roughly the time we need for additional/future tasks. In order to communicate with our team-members we use "slack", a really nice messaging tool for teams, which allows chatting with an unlimited number of people.

The creative part: When it comes down to the creative part for features or the like, it's heavily related to testing. We think about what would fit the game, the character, the level he's in and so on. If it makes sense, we try to prototype it - on paper, in the engine, whatever works. For example: We had once the idea to make our chubby knight skinny when he eats a special fruit which allows him to run. We tried it out within 5 minutes, squeezing the sprite when he walked over the fruit and then increasing the speed of the character for a limited time. It worked flawlessly, we didn't like it one bit, though. It felt like a cheap gag and on top we feared that players of would misinterpret this into some sort fat-shaming like the game is trying to tell to eat healthier or something like that. Instead we're experimenting now with a stamina-bar and how we can make a gag out of it in a better way.

16 | The Vita Lounge Magazine

The discussions about these kind of things are pretty brief, since most of the essential elements of the game are n already defined and it really comes dow to a quick check. Our general workflow is fairly simple and the asset-pipeline straight forward. es, The artists create the graphics - sprit e mak s mer ram prog animations etc. The ple, Sim e. gam the in them actually work right? But not necessary easy. Here's the a long version: When we built for example how and e them its t new level we talk abou ctor) it fits in the story. Monika (our art dire gh (rou ds boar d star ts to make moo level concepts) which should visualise how the just transpor t the general l shal epts conc e Thes should look and feel. keep making them till we're satisfied. idea and till they don't Monika has to level t to create the needed graphics for the If that's accomplished, our artists star t the abou king e with dummy platforms, thin while I create the overall level structur les puzz s, item ies, forms, placement of enem level, the hazards, the positioning of plat and so on. in the levels are connected to each other It has to be accurate in every way, since done I'm n Whe way ahead at some points. specific ways. That means I have to plan in flowers and other background-elements s, Monika inser ts the level assets like tree n agai it on s . When finished I get my hand order to make it look like an actual level ies and testing the puzzles. If everything enem making the last tweaks, throwing in g till next level, if not I have to do some fixin works as expected we can move to the it works like it should. gamek simultaneously on implementing the Meanwhile the programmers also wor y. Diar those in another Developer features, but we're going to talk about lopment of our "Sir Eatsalot". Until then make sure to follow the deve Facebook: www.facebook.com/SirEatsalot oneS Twitter: www.twitter.com/BehindTheSt

The Vita Lounge Magazine | 17

REVIEWS 19

Persona 4: Dancing All Night

Space Hulk

Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition

Heroes of Loot

Farming Simulator 16

Super Meat Boy

WRC 5

Pumped BMX +

SUPERBEAT: XONiC

Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax

OUR SCORING POLICY:

5 OUTSTANDING

Full marks indicates an almost perfect game- or at least as close as it can be. It will almost certainly be the best example of what can be achieved on the Vita and simply must be in your collection. It could also be argued that these games are worth buying a Vita for. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s if there were loads of them, it will also be very rare to see a game get this score.

4+ EXCELLENT

Scoring above 4 means that this is something that should definitely be in your collection. These games are very good indeed, and serve as great examples of what can be achieved on the Vita.

3+ GOOD

On a five star scale a three is slap bang in the middle and above average. We class these games as good. Perseverance will yield some some fun. These games may suffer with slight presentational issues or have cut back features.

2+ POOR

Hardcore fans of the series or genre may find something worthwhile but generally speaking this is one to avoid.

RUBBISH

The genre may be to your tastes but try as you might you will struggle to enjoy the game.

The Vita Lounge Magazine | 18

PERSONA 4: DANCING ALL NIGHT REVIEW

Reviewed by James Aquilina III

3.1 GB

A little girl stumbles into a darkly lit room. “Y-Yukosan?” she stammers. She takes a few steps forward peering into the darkness. She trips over a diary lying on the floor and lets out a squeal of pain as she falls hard to the ground. Gathering herself, she reaches forward but is distracted by a white rose that suddenly falls right before her. Confused she looks up and a long shadow is cast upon her. Her eyes grow wide with fear as she realizes what she’s looking at; a girl is hanging from the ceiling by a yellow ribbon. Tears start swelling up and streaming down her face as the horror sinks in. She can’t contain herself and lets out a high-pitched scream that sends a chill throughout the night.

Shortly after Yu, and Naoto are introduced to the group Kanimin Kitchen, four of the members go missing without a trace. This new scenario is reminiscent of the investigative teams last case involving the Midnight Channel. As soon as they begin putting the pieces together Yu, Naoto, and Rise are sucked into a portal that opens up in the dance studio.

Right from the start Persona 4: Dancing All Night had me hooked with it’s setup. It’s a well balanced blend of a visual novel and rhythm game centered around a mix of familiar faces and some new ones. All of the investigative team return along with Dojima-san and Nanako-chan (she’s so beary adorable). Inoue-san and Margaret also return in smaller fashions but contribute to the overall plot nonetheless. Taking place six months after the events of Persona 4 Golden, Rise is about to make her comeback as an idol at the Love Meets Bonds Festival and has invited Yu-senpai and the gang to be her backup dancers. At the rehearsal studio, we’re introduced to Kanamin Kitchen, a group of five idols lead by Kanami, and their producer Ms. Ochimizu.

When they come out the other side they land on the Midnight Stage and are met by an unsettling voice and an audience of shadows who beckon our heroes to join them. When Yu attempts to fight back the ominous voice informs them that no acts of aggression can be committed in this realm. Unable to fight, an awful song beings playing that affects the will of Yu, Rise and Naoto. At the same time the shadows begin to sway to the music and a feeling of being hypnotized sets in. To counteract the effects of the music, Rise uses her Persona to broadcast her own song and begins to dance for the shadows, showing them her true self.

Eerily similar and strange events begin manifesting around our beloved gang. Rumors are swirling about an unusual video that plays on the festivals website at midnight. Those who watch see an idol known to be dead doing an enchanting dance, and the viewers soul is taken away to the “other side” leaving the body behind, never to awaken. The Vita Lounge Magazine | 19

These are the moments when the game switches from visual novel to rhythm game. In order to defeat the shadows you need to express yourself through dance instead of the usual — in which you beat them senseless with attacks. It’s a much different way of doing things like in most of the Persona games but I found it to be an ingenious way to incorporate a new style of gameplay. They didn’t just toss it into the story without reason, it fits in perfectly with the plot and builds on the idea of being yourself. It’s a brilliant idea that the key to dealing with this new confrontation is being your true self through dancing, something that these characters once tried so hard to deny. How the rhythm parts work is fairly simple. Yellow stars come flying towards the screen with the music. As the star comes at the screen you press either the Δ, ο or × buttons on the right side or up, left, and down on the d-pad on the left in sync with the beat. There are a few other variations of icons; stretchy connected pink notes have to be pressed at the same time; hold notes are green and you press and hold them in time with the rhythm; and lastly rings of blue and multicolor are activated by flicking either of the trigger buttons. These rings are what help build up your Fever Mode and allow for not only bigger combos and points but activate another character to dance along side whomever the lead for the song is. There is one minor problem with these parts of the game though. While you’re trying to hit the stars that go along to the beat the background can be distracting at times. It’s not even just that you want

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to watch what’s happening, there are times when the combination of colors and icons on the screen is sensory overload. It’s a small price to pay for having such a well done design but It happened enough to be bothersome. If you were worried that you’d only be able to dance along with your favorite characters in the story mode then you’re in luck because Atlus has been kind enough to add a Free Dance mode to Dancing All Night. In this mode you can select any of the songs you unlocked through the story and get your boogie on. Three difficulties are available to choose from easy, normal, and hard, with the latter being immensely punishing. I stuck to playing on the normal difficulty for the most part and that’s where I spent my time chasing high scores and trying to earn as much in-game cash as possible in order to unlock items. There are ten characters to choose from in Free

small nuances between character interactions and even some blatant references to the prior game will not have any impact on someone who hasn’t played P4G. So if you want the most out of your experience with the game, go play P4G. It’s worth your while to do so especially since it’s one of if not the best game on the PS Vita.

Dance mode and each has a multitude of costumes and accessories to decorate them with that can be accessed in the shopping menu. Speaking of which, I couldn’t help but marvel at how fantastic the menu system is designed in this game. Usual bland backgrounds are instead colorful and sharp with characters layered behind the menu icons. Even switching between menus displays a pink polka dotted screen that’s pops off the screen. The amount of detail and work that was given to this game is on such a high level its hard not to appreciate. There are around fifty tracks in the game, some familiar and some new, all of which are superb. If you played Persona 4 Golden you’ll recognize every song as each is unique and nearly impossible to forget. Every time I put the game down the songs were on a repeated loop in my head all day long (that’s not a complaint). The remixes that feature in the game are super creative and any new songs are up to par with the rest of the soundtrack. I’m a little upset I didn’t get the Fever Edition of the game which included a CD of the soundtrack. The voice acting for every character is on such a high level it puts a lot of other games to shame. The whole cast is back again (minus Rise) to deliver stellar performances across the board and the new cast of characters hold their own just as well. Additionally, this time around Yu Narukami, (the main character from Persona 4 Golden) is given dialogue and is no longer a silent protagonist. This could be seen as a negative, but the voice Yu now has surprisingly made him ever cooler

than he was before. Teddie is just as lovable (or annoying to some) as before with his comical bear-puns and constant berating of Yosuke. And once Nanako-chan and Dojima-san were introduced I truly felt a feeling of nostalgic joy. Which takes me to my next point.

Persona 4: Dancing All Night story is so wonderfully crafted, it deserves to be placed up there on the list of the best PS Vita games. Coincide that with a new gameplay style for the series that highlights one of the best parts of P4G — the music, and you’ve got a juggernaut of a game. It was a little bitter sweet as this is the last game that these characters will appear in together but I see it as an ode to fans of Persona 4 Golden. I had a constant smile on my face while I played through this game, and if you’re a fan of Persona I’m sure you will too.

Without playing Persona 4 Golden, you won’t get the same experience that I did. Dancing All Night is predicated on the basis that you know and are invested in the character from Persona 4 Golden. Sure you can follow along with the story for the most part but it won’t be nearly as fulfilling. The

Persona 4: Dancing All Night is a game I will be constantly going back too. It will fill you with a nostalgic joy if you're a fan of the series but even if you're not there's still a great story and solid gameplay to have fun with.

Presentation

Gameplay

Lasting Appeal

The Vita Lounge

Execution

4.9

REVIEW SUPERBEAT: XONIC

Reviewed by Kyle Wakeling

2.8 GB

Some great music and tons of choices (in all things) help make SUPERBEAT: XONiC a deafening force of rhythm game nature. But what makes it so good? Some could argue its roots.

SUPERBEAT: XONiC was developed by Nurijoy – of DJ MAX fame – and while XONiC certainly isn’t named for DJ MAX, it certainly contains some of its DNA. What Nurijoy are offering with this new title however, is the best of all worlds when it comes to rhythm; tons of difficulty options, tight controls, great note patterns, and some varied (but amazing) music. If you buy one rhythm game this year, and are in it for the rhythm (not the story; cough – Dancing All Night – cough), then this should probably be it. Does that not look/sound hard enough for you? No worries, as there are even more difficulty related options to be had here. The more simple of the two remaining options is the XONiC has two (well, maybe three) different types of one in the options menu – which changes the percentage controls – touchscreen and analog (with the latter splitting needed to pass a song. Easy means you can miss more slightly into Vita and controller). With the touchscreen notes and pass, hard means you can miss less, normal is in controls, you’re matching the notes and your fingers to the the middle. It’s certainly not rocket science to figure out, but activation ring around the outside of the screen, as well as knowing the option is there is the first step performing swipes and scratches to the more advanced notes. As for the analog controls, they’re mapped to the Aside from the options menu adjustment, there’s also the triggers, outside face buttons (not square or right on the slightly more complicated option for changing the difficulty; d-pad), and analog sticks. On the Vita you can mix and the speed setting. Both during, and before starting a song, match these controls as you like even, so that’s a bonus you’ll have from choosing it over the PlayStation TV. Oh, and you can select a pattern speed – which translates into how in case you’re wondering – there’s a video tutorial on how to quickly the notes will fly at you on the screen, and how “far away” you can see them. Values from 0.5 to 5.0 (in play when you start, and it’s accessible at any time via the increments of 0.5) are available; a value of 0.5 generating question mark in the top right corner of Stage Mode’s slowly moving notes viewable from a long “distance” away, sub-mode choice menu. and a value of 5.0 shooting quick moving notes at you from close up. As for the types of note patterns in the game, there are three basic variants which are given certain rules depending Using these three different methods of changing the on what mode you’re using. 4-TRAX patterns only use the difficulty is sort of brilliant on Nurijoy’s part, as it allows a bottom (X and d-pad down), left/right outside buttons much wider range of abilities to receive the proper challenge (circle and d-pad left), and analog sticks – making them the easiest of the bunch. 6-TRAX patterns add a second analog for their skill level. Whether you’re just starting out in rhythm games and need to play 4TRAX on easy with a motion (flicks instead of holds) and the top face buttons speed of 0.5, or you’re the rhythm master and need 6TRAX (triangle and d-pad up) for a medium complexity pattern FX songs on hard with a speed of 5.0 to get you sweating – that ups the difficulty slightly, making the it the middle there’s something here that can issue you a challenge. hardness. Lastly, there’s 6-TRAX FX which unlocks at level 20 – adding the trigger buttons to the mix and upping the Moving past the controls and difficulty, we look to the game difficulty with even harder change-ups in the songs. modes available. The two categories for game type are Stage Mode and World Tour; one offering a challenge with regards to song/pattern complexity, and the other throwing in an extra rule or two to up the ante. Stage Mode is the easier of the two main modes and the one with the most range, offering you four ways to play via 4TRAX, 6TRAX, 6TRAX FX, and Free Style sub-modes. In 4TRAX, 6TRAX, and 6TRAX FX sub-modes you’re given song choices (in the pattern complexity the chosen mode is named for) – and must then complete three songs without failing to “pass”. Beating an unbeaten song in its respective pattern complexity will unlock it for play in Free Style. 22 | The Vita Lounge Magazine

In the Free Style sub-mode you’re given free reign to play any of the songs and pattern complexities you’ve unlocked, and to play them in any way you like. The goal here is to finish each song with the best score you can manage, as well as to rack up the biggest string of unmissed notes you can muster across as many songs as you can go without missing a note. You might as well consider this “mess around mode” or “score-boost mode,” though it also has a purpose as a way to go for combo records.

about (which comprise the entire playable game) there isn’t actually much extra in the way of features to be had – but that’s okay, because they gave us exactly what we needed and nothing more; Options, DJ Ranking, and Back Stage. The Options menu allows you to tweak a few game-specific settings, DJ Ranking shows you where you rank among other players that have played the game, and Back Stage offers a more comprehensive breakdown of your own personal stats and collectables.

As for World Tour, it’s structured very differently than Stage Mode and gets very hard, very fast. The idea in World Tour is to pass an Easy, Normal, and Hard ode version of each Club member’s task – which for example, starts off as “Achieve 50 Combo” via some chosen songs and moves right into “Clear stage with less than BREAK 10” and “Clear stage with fade in situation” (as a combination) in the very next set. This mode is very difficult if you have any sort of reflex delay, and though I can see its value for the more seasoned rhythm game player it ended up being more frustration than fun for me. Thankfully however, the mode isn’t really required to unlock most (if not all) of the game’s songs and you can do so via Stage Mode and the leveling system (which runs on points, related to your ranking).

Back Stage is also where you’ll go to equip any items you earn through leveling up, which can then buff your gameplay such that you may gain a slight advantage in play. An example of a buff item is the DJ Icon “Sandra”, which offers more HP (room to fail) and ups your experience points by 10%.

Speaking of ranking, song ranks are handed out via a screen with a few stats and a lettered grade – your grade ranging from F (fail) to S++ (approaching perfection) with “D” to “A” grades making up the meat of the scale. You’ll also be shown things like how many breaks (note mess ups) you had, your biggest combo, any bonuses you’ve earned, a numbered score representing how well you did (including bonuses), and your current personal best (to compare to). Any experience you’ve earned through your numbered score is then added to your level – and if you level up you can earn DJ Icons (buffs), note sounds, and new songs to use while playing. Your ranking/score contributes to your level, and your level determines your progression – so make sure to get good scores if you want to make it to level 99! Aside from the modes we’ve talked

Alright, so we’ve talked about how to play, the different ways to play, difficulty options, the modes, your ranking/score, extra features, and items – but what about the music, right? Well, it’s fantastic to say the least… and much more varied than I expected from a non-Western developed title.

XONiC features synthetic beat-driven songs, boy bands, pop songs, orchestral-style pieces, metal/hardcore inclusions, R&B songs, cultural pieces, video game music, easy listening songs, and everything between to choose from – with multiple examples of each included in the mix. It’s easily one of the more varied rhythm games when it comes to

soundtrack, and contains some tunes that I wouldn’t have heard on my own – but have come to love quite a bit in such a short time (Collaboration, Candy Cane, and Every Day – I’m looking at you). While going completely Westernized with the soundtrack may be the holy grail for some rhythm fans, I think they’ve struck the perfect balance here for my taste; giving me something fresh, but also keeping it in the wheelhouse of the Western audience (and avoiding too much K-Pop). They’ve essentially created a perfect storm; the enjoyment of their soundtrack fueling the need to get better and play more, which then lets you unlock more songs and get in further. I guess you could say I’m well down the rabbit hole then, as looking back on my time spent with SUPERBEAT: XONiC, I can’t help but to wonder how it will affect me in the future. This rhythm game sounds great, plays great, has tons of options for difficulty, and pits my scores against others – all the things that it needs to make me its puppet, and eat away at my life. Thankfully, it’s so well put together (and caters to the user so well) that I don’t mind one bit – and being that it’s on Vita, I can even take it with me wherever I go. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve been writing this too long and need to BEAT my cravings into submission… see you on the leaderboards.

SUPERBEAT: XONiC is a fantastic rhythm game that uses its roots to its advantage; drawing from DJ MAX experience to create a portable addiction that's accessible to all fans of the genre, and playable (with a challenge) at all skill levels. If you pick up one rhythm game this year it should most certainly be this one!

Presentation

Gameplay

Lasting Appeal

The Vita Lounge

Execution

4.6

REVIEW DENGEKI BUNKO: FIGHTING CLIMAX

Reviewed by lateralus2801

851 MB

After waiting for what seems an eternity, the popular Japanese arcade fighting game, Degenki Bunko: Fighting Climax is out in the West. Was it worth the wait? Keep on reading to find out! For those of you who do not know what Dengeki Bunko is, it is a series of Japanese light novels that features several stories and characters that are published under the Degenki Bunko umbrella. What makes this so special is that it’s somewhat of a Super Smash Bros-type of 2D fighter that takes the most popular characters of the publication and pits them against each other.

For die hard anime fans, there are lots of familiar faces that you will recognize from popular series such as Sword Art Online to Duradura!! But, as with all crossover type of games, there are fans that will be disappointed. A great feature in this game is the interaction that you really don’t expect from characters that come from different series. The mishmash of different characters from different worlds interacting with each other prior to fights is a fun experience for those hardcore fans. For someone that’s not an anime fan, I did grow to appreciate the effort that the developer put into the interaction and dialog. After Googling a few of these characters, the lightbulb went off and gave me my a-ha moment. For example, when pitting Kirino vs Asuna, they have a short conversation about each others costumes and their affiliation in the Degenki Bunko world – as part of the trash talk includes joining their group if the opponent would lose. In addition, there’s cheeky comments about skimpy outfits and the wild weapons that the fighters are equipped with. It’s both clever and fun. 24 | The Vita Lounge Magazine

The game features a star studded cast that includes 14 playable characters that range from the extremely popular Asuna and Kirito from Sword Art Online fame, to the legendary Akira from the Virtua Fighter series. In addition to the playable characters, Dengeki Bunko features 24 non playable support characters such as Alicia from Valkryia Chronicles (!!) and the lovely Leafa from Sword Art Online. All of these characters come from 11 different novels and two Sega franchises. When you choose a character in either Arcade or Dream Mode, you are tasked to choose a support character that’s available during combat with special button combo presses. Although the characters aren’t playable, they are essential to being successful during your battles. While you can choose anyone to assist you during fights, it helps to choose people from the same series as the combos seem to be in sync and basically looks pretty damn awesome to see it happen.

Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax features three playable modes off the bat: Arcade, Dream Mode and Online. Arcade mode consists of choosing your characters and go through a very weak story for each character for 9 fights. The dialogue is well done but does get repetitive – as you’ll be hearing the same lines both pre and post battle. In Dream Mode you pick a character that will go through a 5 fight gauntlet against pre-determined opponents that will pander to only the most hardcore fans. While Arcade is where the fighting fans will take their single player duties to, Dream Mode was made for the most die hard fans. As with all online modes with review copies, I regret to say that I was only able to find one match in a room with 4 people and that one match wasn’t any fun. I was at least 4 feet away from my router and I was getting awful lag for that one match to the point where I couldn’t finish and it disconnected me after the first round. Maybe the net code will be a bit better when it releases, but if it stays the way it is, it’s going to be awful. Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax was designed for the casual fan of fighting games. If you’re expecting a deep fighting experience that’s found in Blazblue or Guilty Gear, you will be in for a disappointment. Moves are done with half and quarter circles with pressing a pair of face buttons that are labeled A-D. You are given the option of using the d-pad or analog sticks but I found the experience more enjoyable with the d-pad. Moves are easy to pull off and to me, it was enjoyable to execute some fantastic looking 20 hit combos. At the end of the day, Dengeki Bunko is a face-rollling button masher and that’s not necessarily a bad thing but those of you who want a deep fighter, it’s better to look elsewhere.

Graphically, the game looks and runs relatively well. With bright, colorful combos and backgrounds, Dengeki Bunko is another great looking title for our favorite handheld. The technical limitations of the Vita keep this title from the favorable 60 fps and sometimes struggles with keeping a locked 30 frames. When you have four players on the screen at once, the game will definitely drop a few frames here and there. Nothing that was detrimental to my fun, but I’m sure there are others that will not stand for it. The characters are drawn very well, the artstyle is both vibrant and colorful and the Japanese voiceovers are well done. However, as always, you’ll be seeing and hearing the same animations and catch phrases from

the characters every other fight or so. Eventually, you’ll just skip over the fight intros just to get to the meat of the game. If you took away the licensing and crossover magic, all you’re left with is a very average and competent fighter. With very basic moves and a button masher design, I’m not sure if it’s really aimed towards a fighting game enthusiast. With that being said, fans of the Dengeki Bunko universe will sure to love the fan service and attention to detail that the game delivers, but fighting game fans will probably be better served elsewhere.

Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax is a fantastic title for its most diehard fans. For those who aren't familiar with the universe and are looking for a deep fighting game, perhaps Dengeki Bunko will not quench that thirst.

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REVIEW SPACE HULK

Reviewed by Brad Gruetzmacher Failure. It clings to the soul like a parasite. The Blood Angels know this feeling all too well. They have failed their Emperor and have had to live with the shame of that defeat. Now, however, there is a chance at redemption. A derelict space hulk drifts aimlessly through a graveyard in space. The Sin of Damnation has been infested with the insect-like Genestealers. This is the chance to reclaim victory and restore honor to this group of space marine terminators.

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Sometimes moving even one extra grid space is the difference between life and death. It adds tension to the game, and as I found out, it also creates a lot of frustration.

But it’s not going to be easy.

Space Hulk is a turn-based strategy game which originated as a best-selling board game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. You are put in control of a team of heavily armed mechs and must fight your way through the claustrophobic corridors of an abandoned wreck. Your patience and cunning will be tested as you utilize a variety of weapons from flame throwers and machine guns to super-charged fists and swords. Lurking around every corner is a possible threat. The Genestealers may not have the weaponry you’re afforded, but they’re lethal none the same.

The game is laid out as a series of missions, each with its own set of goals. Some will ask you to rescue a brother terminator in need of assistance while others task you with clearing out enemy encampments. But they all flow in pretty much the same way. The round starts with you placing your units on the board. Then you can cycle through each of the units and choose their actions. Each marine has four action points they can use to either move, attack, or take up a defensive stand. To augment these points, you can also draw from a pool of command points which are shared among the team. And the points tend to run out quickly. This adds a sense of weight to every choice you make. 26 | The Vita Lounge Magazine

Space Hulk is interesting in its setup and premise, but there’s one glaring trait that is obvious when playing it on the Vita. This game was designed to be played with a mouse and keyboard on a large screen. That fact is constantly being thrown at you while trying to play it on a handheld, and it’s obvious from the very first screen. The fonts in the menus are extremely small and difficult to read. The touchpoints are also tiny and not finger friendly. The menus rely solely on touch and sometimes just trying to hit which mission you want to select can be a chore. And that’s just in the menu screen. While playing the game, you are given the option to use the physical controls, but things are still optimized for touch. Selecting movements with the sticks is sluggish and a chore. This sluggishness would make it so that I was often inputting incorrect commands, thus forcing me to use the cancel button (which may or may not actually work). This led to me spending action points at times I didn’t want to and unable to undo the mistake. Inevitably this would be my downfall and the end of the mission. And when the missions take quite a bit of time to complete, and the loading screens are lengthy, it’s not fun being sent back to the beginning again.

Space Hulk is a slow game, both in good and bad ways. Turn-based strategy games are never quick, but here the default settings make things almost unbearably slow. Character animations move at snail’s pace, meaning it takes forever to move your team. Fortunately there is an option to speed things up, which helps tremendously. Unfortunately, it doesn’t help to eliminate the stuttering performance that I often came across.

But when you get past these limitations, you will find a beautiful and haunting experience that very much resembles the board game. The atmosphere is dark and terrifying. The voice over narration is flawless in my opinion. Yes, everything is a bit too small, but the game looks and sounds great… it’s just that it doesn’t play very well. Such a shame.

out of the flow, making it difficult to want to keep playing. On the flip side, it does a pretty good job at replicating the board game experience on the Vita. It offers a way for friends to sit together in the same room and play, just without the dice, paper, and pencils.

In the end, not everything is better on the Vita. Some games work on a smaller screen and some do not. Space Hulk is one of those games that probably should have stayed on the PC. It’s a decent recreation of the original game, but its inconsistent controls make it a challenge to enjoy.

All is not lost however as there is a game mode which really grounds itself in the board game roots of Space Hulk. There is a local multiplayer mode called “Hotseat.” This mode allows two people to play a mission, one playing as the space marines and the other as the Genestealers. You take turns and pass the Vita back and forth to play. Yes, the controls are still borked (and yes, I just used the word “borked”… my apologies to all my English teachers over the years) but at least both players suffer equally. This actually makes it a lot more fun to play. Obviously this isn’t a game for everyone, and it left me feeling a bit sour. Even with the difficulty turned all the way down (and you don’t earn trophies when playing on easy), the game was still overly challenging at times. And unlike other games that get me back into the action quickly after a death, here I had to wait quite awhile to get another chance. It really took me

Some games work well on a smaller screen and some do not. Space Hulk clearly does not make the transition to a handheld very well. Certain design decisions make the game difficult to navigate and frustrating to play. The fact that the controls and be inconsistent and non-responsive at times doesn't help matters. Still, it does do a decent job of replicating the board game feel of Presentation

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2.8

REVIEW HEROES OF LOOT

Reviewed by Zach Price When I first sat down with Heroes of Loot, I absolutely despised the game; the whole quest for loot concept that has popped up in recent years with games like Borderlands had turned me off, and I thought that Heroes of Loot would be the same case. However, the longer I sat with it, the more the game grew on me.

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a character with a high magic stats isn’t necessary, because, when you’re going to need it, you’ll have reached a decent experience level; I would suggest going with a hero with more of a strength build, like the Warrior.

As I said, the main drive behind Heroes of Loot is a loot system; with it dropping after you kill a monster – be it in the form of gold, blue gems or purple diamonds – and you have so many seconds to collect it before it disappears. All the dungeons are randomly generated, and within each level, you must hunt down the monster that has the key to the exit; however, you don’t know which that is.

Combat in the game is very simple – something I feel conflicted by. Most enemies can be killed in one hit, and the other monsters – which are unlocked by raising the dungeon’s difficulty through playthroughs – are the more challenging, yet satisfying ones to kill. However, as you enter the later dungeons, it feels that instead of creating cooler, tougher “bosses” for you to fight, the game just throws hordes of monsters at you instead. It’s frustrating and feels like a lazy design. There are four heroes you choose from, each with varying stat points allocated to strength, experience and magic. The “class” system the game has was one of the most enjoyable aspects I experienced during my time. I had messed around with two classes early on and thought the difference to be minimal, but as I expanded my horizons and played with the other two, I found that they weren’t just different skins – they all played differently and were for different play styles. The strength stat is pretty obvious (how strong you are), along with the experience (how quickly you level up), but the magic may not be as obvious. Magic isn’t very useful in the early levels, but as enemies become more numerous and tougher, it certainly is useful. Because of this, 28 | The Vita Lounge Magazine

of leaving as soon as you get the key, you’ll find yourself looking for certain enemies or trapped companions so you can have a better edge later on. Lastly, Heroes of Loot may be hit or miss for most gamers; it will either appeal to you after your first playthrough or not. On that note, if it doesn’t sound like it would be for you, I wouldn’t suggest it. There is little in the game that will motivate you to continue playing after beating it. There are collectibles sprinkled throughout play that you can collect – each time you get six, it permanently increases that specific character’s starting experience level by one. All in all, once it’s done, you won’t miss the game. The loot system in Heroes of Loot may be the biggest problem this game has. You’ll see monsters drop lots of gold, but once you walk over and collect it, it’s only worth one gold more than those measly single gold coins. It creates a disconnect from the nature and goal of the game, which is in the title. The whole point of these types of games is to collect as much loot as possible, and when you think you’re about to get a sizable amount and it isn’t, you are left with an empty feeling and unsatisfied. Furthermore, Heroes of Loot has two separate point values: one for your overall score value and the other for your gold count. The first score is impacted by the enemies you kill and the number of blue gems and purple diamonds picked up. The second score, is determined by, you guessed it, the gold you accrue. This system seems out of place, though. I felt that Heroes of Loot should have combined the two, the same way Spelunky does. Again, the point is to get as much loot as possible, but the divided scores create a weird state; you don’t know which you want to be the highest. Honestly, combine the two and make the price of items in the store reflect that change, and it would have been the perfect system. While the loot system may be frustrating, the quest system really

shines. To take one on, you enter a door marked with a “?” and a guy will give you a random objective to complete within a limited time period. If you do so, you get some random item. The quest system really changes up how you’ll play a dungeon. Instead

In the end, I enjoyed my time with Heroes of Loot, despite its dissatisfying loot system. There are a few positives, like its quests. However, you’ll find your self finished when the game’s finally been beaten and ready to move on to something that is more fulfilling and rewarding.

Heroes of Loot has some fun, enjoyable moments. However, it isn't for everyone, and those that it is for may not find much to do once they finish it.

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REVIEW SUPER MEAT BOY

Reviewed by Charlie Large For years I have been dreaming of the day that Super Meat Boy released on PlayStation platforms, and earlier this year my prayers were answered when Team Meat took to the PlayStation Blog to announce that the title would be hitting both the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 later in 2015.

Super Meat Boy originally released five years ago in October 2010 on Xbox 360 and Windows, and instantly made a name for itself with some precision platforming that offered a challenge at a time when games were being criticised for being notoriously easy. Death is constant in Super Meat Boy and although that can be off-putting in some titles, in this game death is your friend – pointing out the error in your ways and hopefully helping you to learn from your mistakes in order to progress to the next stage.

Once you do complete a level, you will be shown a replay of all your attempts to complete the stage. Some of the replays that were shown at the end of the stages that I played saw ten’s of Meat Boys on the screen, each of them dying a brutal death bar the one Meat Boy that made it unscathed to the end of the level. At the end of each level is Meat Boy’s girlfriend Bandage Girl (who, believe it or not, is heavily bandaged) and you are on a mission to save her. Evil scientist Dr. Fetus has kidnapped her, and it is up to you to make it through levels filled with rotating saws, fire, crumbling blocks and other perilous obstacles. One thing that I did find that helped me on my journey through a stage was that whatever surface Meat Boy touched became covered in red meat juice – useful for seeing what points of a level you need to aim for/avoid when timing your jumps. 30 | The Vita Lounge Magazine

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One thing that is crucial for any platformer worth its salt is the control scheme and responsiveness of these. You will be glad to hear that Super Meat Boy has some of the tightest controls out of any platformer that I have played, and after the first few stages you will be bouncing about levels confident that Meat Boy will respond to your button presses instantly. The controls themselves are really simple, with X used to jump and the Right trigger used to give you a speed boost. That is all you will need to learn when playing Super Meat Boy, allowing for you to not worry about a difficult control scheme and instead focus on the difficult environments that you are faced with.

There are over 300 levels to bounce your way through, many of them are optional and some are well hidden Warp Zones that either feature art styles similar to that of older games or a nod to other indie games. Getting through the levels will take some time and you will be challenged, but one nice feature in Super Meat Boy is that you do not need to complete all the stages in one world in order to progress to the next. The five main worlds (world 6 is short and 7 is unlocked after beating the game) in the game feature 20 levels, and you can tackle these 20 levels in any order that you fancy – but you will need to complete 17 of them in order to unlock the world’s boss who you will need to defeat in order to progress to the next world. There are other objectives to consider whilst making your way through each level, with collectibles in the form of bandages and a target time that you are challenged to beat. Beating the target time in a level will give you an ‘A+’ ranking, which then unlocks a harder version of the stage in an alternate, dark world version of the world you are currently playing – usually adding extra obstacles to make

life that much harder. If you struggled with the normal stages, then boy will the Dark world levels punish you! There are 20 bandages per world that are split between a world’s dark and light stages. Collecting these is no mean feat, and you can unlock additional characters by getting these – with the additional characters offering different abilities that may end up making your life easier with some of the game’s later stages. There is a leaderboard system in place in Super Meat Boy, so you can see how you fare against your PSN friend list or even other players in the world. This can make for some good reading, and I often look at the times at the top of the board and wonder how the hell they are possible.

came from one half of Team Meat, Edmund McMillen), and the handdrawn look and feel of the game definitely adds to the overall quirk and charm that Super Meat Boy nails. One thing that did cause a bit of worry among some die-hard Meat Boy fans was the news that the PlayStation versions of Super Meat Boy would not feature the same soundtrack that was so well received in the original release of the game. Having not played the original versions I don’t know what I am missing, however the soundtrack on offer in the Vita version is by no means bad. There are some great audio tracks in the game and the sound effects are sublime – especially

the squishiness of the meat and the sound of meat on steel. Overall, as you may be able to tell, I loved every aspect of Super Meat Boy. As far as platformers go, this is up there as one of the best that I have played – staking a claim for potentially one of the best Indie titles in recent times also. This game will definitely not be for everyone, some people will be put off with just how difficult Super Meat Boy is, but if you are a glutton for punishment and like games that challenge then you may find this your new pick up and play PlayStation Vita title!

Another thing you will notice is how great Super Meat Boy looks. The 2D visuals are both colourful and sharp, looking great on the PlayStation Vita’s awesome screen. Each world has a distinct theme to it, and the artstyle throughout the game fits perfectly with the areas and characters that you encounter in the game. You can definitely spot the similarities between this and The Binding of Isaac (which

Super Meat Boy lands on PlayStation platforms and boy is it a welcome release! With great platforming and a learning curve that ensures you are always challenged you will find yourself coming back to this game in order to get the best run. Some players may be put off by the difficulty of Super Meat Boy, but if you stick with it then the sense of achievement when you overcome a tough level will keep you hungry for more! Presentation

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4.9

REVIEW THREE FOURTHS HOME: EXTENDED EDITION

Reviewed by Liam Langan Indie games have always interested me, they’re a way for an individual or team to create their own story in any way they want. Some of these ideas don’t work out so well and they are ignored, and others become praised and considered a must play. When Three Fourths Home launched on PC earlier in 2015 it gained some recognition for being unique and just, different. This was followed by the release of Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition, which has found its way to Vita – and I’m so glad that it did. You play as Kelly, a young girl who is only depicted as a silhouette. She picks up a guitar pick that she finds outside of a barn, gets into her car and starts to drive. It’s at this point where her phone starts to ring and the story starts to unfold.

There is no ‘gameplay’ as such in Three Fourths Home – it is, after all a visual novel – so there is a lot of reading involved as you discover what the game is all about. As heavy rainfall starts to fall from the sky, you answer the phone to your mum (a character that you’ll never meet in the game but you’ll learn so much about her before your time with the game is over), she starts off panicking, asking where you’ve been. It appears you haven’t been home for hours and 32 | The Vita Lounge Magazine

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didn’t tell anyone that you were going out. She starts to talk about your father, a man who’s recently gone through a tough time and has taken to drinking to get over his recent trauma. As the narrative continues you start to assume that there is some difficulty in the relationship between Kelly’s parents, the choices that you can make during the conversation will allow you to either side with one of the parents or intervene with them, which brings me to my next major point – you can make decisions in this game which will shape the story based on what you’ve chosen.

You’ll also be introduced to Ben during the narrative, Ben (who is revealed as Kelly’s younger brother) appears to be a child with a disability. He seems rather disjointed from the surrounding events in the game but once you understand him you’ll grow to like him, or at least I did. Going any further into the plot will most likely spoil too much of what is going on, but one thing I will say is that you’ll never actually meet any of these characters. You’re only introduced to these characters through a phone call, and this is actually one of the most outstanding things about this game.

As I said at the start of the review, indie games are a canvas for individuals to create their own story or ideas without any pressure from high end publishers to move away from their vision, and Three Fourths Home is the embodiment of this – it is an entirely unique and interesting experience, even if it can’t be classed as a game per se.

extras option on the main menu, and believe me, I spent a good hour or so after finishing the game listening back to the soundtrack, it’s genuinely gorgeous.

first joined The Vita Lounge and it’s an experience that will stick with me for a long time. The characters, the plot and the atmosphere are all very memorable and so unlike anything I’ve ever played before, I can surely see this being a Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition contender for my personal game of the is one of the most unique titles I’ve had year. the opportunity to experience since I

The one major upset that this game has is that it is incredibly short, even with the extra epilogue scene that is included in the extended edition the game will only take you around 45 minutes to play through. Thankfully there are several different conversation branches for you to discover which makes the game highly replayable. The games art style is very simplistic, it is a monotoned game, but since it is a visual novel it doesn’t need to look too fancy. While the games story mostly unfolds throughout text you can see things happening on the screen whilst driving the car in the game – little details such as birds flying or locations that are mentioned in the games conversation look great and really give you a feel of the environment and lifestyle of the Nebraskan area the game is set in. The soundtrack is also very atmospheric and interesting, it all comes through the cars radio and each song has a unique sound – making them all fit the games situation. You can also listen to the music in the

Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition is one of the most unique and incredible experiences I've ever had on the PlayStation Vita, it may be incredibly short, but at the same time it never overstays it's welcome, absolutely astounding.

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4.3

REVIEW FARMING SIMULATOR 16

Reviewed by Brad Gruetzmacher It’s time to knock the mud off those old work boots and rev up the tractor because Farming Simulator has made its return to the PlayStation Vita. After taking a one year hiatus, Farming Simulator 16 is here, and with it comes a number of improvements over the previous incarnation. But are the small tweaks and extra features enough to warrant a sequel? Or is this just another retread of what has come before? (retread… see what I did there?) Let’s throw those barn doors open and take a look.

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But to get there you need time… and patience. A whole lot of time and patience. Farming Simulator 16, much like farming in real life, is a slow game. Crops take time to grow, and it’s not until after you’ve purchased more land and upgraded your equipment do things start to move at a decent clip. So, kind of like many JRPGs out there, it starts to get fun after about 20 hours. Well, maybe 15, but it takes some time.

First and foremost, it must be said that Farming Simulator 16 on the Vita is not the same Farming Simulator than can be found on other consoles. It’s a scaled back and compact experience which is not as full featured as what comes to the PS4. This is in fact a port of the mobile version available on Android and iOS… though with fewer features and a much larger price tag. But to offset that, you get trophies… which is cool I guess. I know that’s an issue for some, but I want to look at the game in a vacuum without worrying about those other iterations.

Once that time has been invested, the game gives you quite a bit to do. You can choose what crops to plant in which fields. Do you keep that rusty old tractor around or sell it back to the dealer? You can work the fields yourself, or for a price, you can hire workers to tend them for you, but be careful as I’ve found the AI on the hired help can be a bit finicky.

Farming Simulator 16 is a farm management game that puts you in control of a small farm and sets you on a path to grow crops, sell them at market, and watch your bank account increase. With the added funds, you can upgrade your equipment and buy more land. This will (hopefully) result in more money and a larger farm. Play the game long enough and you’ll be strutting around town like a king, every piece of land becomes just another part of your farming empire.

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If growing crops isn’t what you want to do, then perhaps you can turn to animal husbandry and focus on raising cows to be a dairy farmer. Farming Simulator 16 also introduces sheep to the mix to be raised for wool. And if that still isn’t enough for you, then you can bust out your chainsaw and take to the woods as a lumberjack! Well, you can’t really get out of your tractor, but you can buy specialized equipment that allows you to go into the woods to chop down trees. Aside from the addition of sheep and logging, there are a few other welcomed changes over the previous version. There are now more crops that can be grown, as sugar beets and potatoes can also be

harvested. One nice change made in the map is that you now have a visual indication as to what is planted in each of your fields. Plant corn in a field, and the corn icon will appear on the map. And best of all, it also clues you in as to when they are ready to be harvested. This takes away a lot of the guess work that was in the previous game. They’ve also added in a warning icon for when your harvester is full and needs to be emptied. Yes, they’re just small improvements, but they make playing so much more enjoyable.

Farming Simulator’s return to the PS Vita brings with it the same slow, but addictive gameplay I found in the previous version. It is a relaxing game that is a good palate cleanser after an intense FPS fire-fight or dragon battle. I really enjoy the process of growing a small farm up and watching my business grow. Yes, it takes dozens of hours, but once there are a dozen fields under my control, there’s always something going on. There’s always something that requires my attention. It’s not intense, just fun.

The visuals haven’t been improved, but for a simple farming sim, they’re more than adequate. I actually really enjoy the way the game works, and it even has a day-to-night cycle so you can work around the clock. But while that’s a cool visual feature, it can often make the game difficult to play as it’s really hard to see anything at night. Still, it’s a charming world… even with the constant barrage of non-stop country music blasting in the background. Grrrr. Tractor sounds, cow noises, and roaring engines are all great, but please make the music stop! Fortunately, there is the option to turn the music off.

But is it full price fun? Probably not. While it is definitely an improvement over the previous two games, it’s not that much of a change to warrant

The game also controls well. Steering is responsive and you can choose either the shoulder buttons or face buttons to accelerate/brake. The only issue I have is that selecting some of the menus through touch can be a pain since the touch points can be quite small. Fortunately there is a way to access most everything through the physical controls… except when you’re in the menu and then everything is touch-only.

an upgrade. Taking price out of the equation though, it is a good, relaxing farming sim that is pretty addictive. There’s always “just one more” thing in the game that had me playing far longer than I had anticipated.

Farming Simulator 16 is back on the Vita and it’s better than ever… just not that much better. It feels very much like playing the previous game but on a different map, which isn’t always a bad thing. The game might not be for everyone, but it does provide an alternative to the “retro indie brutal platformers” that seem to be filling my library. I may be alone, but I’m hardcore addicted to it.

Farming Simulator 16 returns to the Vita, and it's bigger and better than ever. A number of small tweaks and additional features makes it the best portable farming sim yet. But those improvements come with a steep price tag, and the improvements are probably not enough for an upgrade. Still, for people looking to jump in to a relaxing and long farm management game, Farming Simulator 16 is a good place to start. Presentation

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3.5

REVIEW WRC 5

Reviewed by Paul Murphy It’s a much-needed new racer for the Vita, but is this latest entry in the WRC series worth the purchase? “That’s a bit dodgy” declared my co-driver as I fired up WRC 5 on the Vita for the first time. To be fair I wasn’t sure what he was referring to; was it my driving ability (or lack thereof) or the quality of the textures surrounding me? Yes, it’s another new WRC installment; the third to grace the Vita actually, and this time around it has a new developer with French studio Kyloton Games (as opposed to the previous two which were produced by Milestone). The previous releases were solid, if unspectacular, and certainly weren’t without their issues… so I thought it would be interesting to see what a new take could do for the series.

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Thankfully it’s not all bad graphically, and Kylotonn Games have clearly focused their efforts on the car models. Designs are more than passable and actually look pretty good, the surfaces of your mobile powerhouse emblazoned with all the official liveries and so on as you’d expect from an official license. Tyres also make pretty effective track marks on the terrain, leaving a convincing black trail behind you as you brake all over the place – attempting to stay on the road.

The poor presentation continues with the sound, as the audio is also pretty ineffective. It’s almost as if these people have never actually heard what a car is supposed to sound like at times. Well, either that or they recorded the sounds on a Fisher Price tape deck before then playing them down The first thing that will strike you when playing is the visuals. At a glance they may pass as decent – especially when considering that Vita screens don’t always look good on a PC screen due to pixel density – but there really isn’t much to shout home about. My understanding is that the Vita version was done on a limited budget, and you can see where cut backs have been made. Textures on your surroundings are bland, low-resolution and at times seem to not have rendered correctly. The car interiors are laughable, and the game suffers with some pretty poor pop-in in places. You can clearly see that the game is struggling to keep up with what is going on at times; things like the barriers around turns are continually drawn in as you approach them, as are the various flora and fauna (though bushes seem to have had an upgrade). It’s very disappointing to see parts of the environment popping up in front of you, and more than a little distracting – the Vita is capable of so much more than this, as even Milestone has demonstrated before. 36 | The Vita Lounge Magazine

a phone line to be added into the game. Muffled engine noises (more akin to a lawnmower than a car) and the exhaust popping are going to be the sounds you hear the most, though you’ll also be trying to ignore some pretty awful guidance from your codriver. What really matters though, aside from how a game is presented, is the gameplay. Thankfully this is an area that Kylotonn Games have managed to execute pretty well. You’ll be racing an a huge variety of tracks, and along with Quick Race and Quick Rally modes (as well as a pretty pointless Rally School) you’ll find a pretty comprehensive Career Mode available. With a maximum of 13 different countries to race in you’ll be spending the vast majority of your time in this mode; attempting to rise up the levels and become the WRC champion. You will start off in the juniors with your first contract, and as you accumulate more success you’ll attract bigger teams allowing you to join a bigger team – which means that you will likely be playing through the campaign at least three times. With so much racing expected of you, you’ll be pleased to hear that the car really moves and handles well, and you get a sense of speed and control that you never really experienced in the predecessors. The settings allow for a pretty intensive level of control should you so desire. You will also be able to play around with many of the car settings if that’s your thing, and selecting the right tyres

will also be crucial – driving off road with the wrong rubber attached will have a serious impact on your time. Speaking of times, as you play through each stage you’ll notice the sector markers… but the game won’t actually inform you of where you are in the standings. This is all seemingly calculated at the end of the race, and although you won’t be seeing some laughable distance between you and your rivals this time around, it takes away from the experience somewhat. I must also point out that the second stage of the French Rally – Francardo Sermano – seems to have a glitch which will have you 20-40 seconds off the pace, no matter what you do. Regardless, knowing that you are clawing back some time, or that you have to drive a perfect sector to clinch that win (and championship) really instils a sense of tension that is ultimately missing here. What is also missing from previous releases (and present in other versions of WRC 5) is online multiplayer. There is a “couch” mode for playing with others – allowing you to play locally by passing and playing – but the lack of online racing with others is a massive

oversight, and severely impacts the replay value. I must also point out in my closing observations that the game does also appear to falsely represent itself, both on the official website and on the Vita box itself. The game suggests that night rallies are available in the Vita version and they most certainly are not. A lack of night racing doesn’t detract much from the experience in my view, but suggesting it’s there when it isn’t is more than a little naughty, and Big Ben will do well not to get into a spot of bother about that. So, should you pick it up? If you don’t have either WRC 3 or 4 then I would suggest that you pick up either of those instead. Despite the improvements in the car performance, what’s here isn’t really that much better – and those games also have online. If you need to have the latest game (and online isn’t a deal-breaker), then you may well enjoy WRC 5 as Kylotonn Games have a good base here to improve on for future installments, but the presentation issues in this edition may annoy you.

It's not as good as the previous titles, yet still manages to offer a well rounded experience. If a lack of online isn't an issue for you and you don't mind the lacklustre presentation then you'll probably enjoy this but WRC 4 is far superior.

Presentation

Gameplay

Lasting Appeal

The Vita Lounge

Execution

REVIEW PUMPED BMX +

Reviewed by Charlie Large The PS1, PS2 and the early years of the PS3 were graced with some great extreme sports games – with titles such as Cool Boarders, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Dave Mirra BMX, Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX, SSX and Skate to name a few. However, fast forward a few years to now and these releases are few and far between – and those that do release are not always that well received (here’s looking at you Tony Hawk’s Ride!). The PlayStation Vita, however, has not had it too bad, with the enjoyable Urban Trial Freestyle and the excellent OlliOlli titles from Roll7 receiving rave reviews from all those that played it.

Pumped BMX+ is a newcomer to consoles, and using hit mobile game Pumped BMX 2 as inspiration, it takes all that was popular in the iOS and Android version and enhances it for console life. Developed by one-man studio Yeah Us! and brought to the Vita and other consoles courtesy of Curve Digital – Pumped BMX+ is a title that feels at home on the PlayStation Vita.

There are over 500 challenges and 50 stages for you to get through in Pumped BMX+, but I recommend that you visit the tutorial section prior to getting stuck into the main game so that you can learn the controls in order to succeed when you do hit the courses. The tutorial will teach you all of the basics, and if you have played any of the Trials games or even Tiny Wings on iOS then you will be familiar with the mechanics that feature in Pumped BMX +. To accelerate (or ‘pump’) you will need to hold the X button, and then release it to jump. Once in the air, you can perform 38 | The Vita Lounge Magazine

265 MB

tricks using the right analogue stick (holding the rear touchpad will allow you to pull off even trickier moves), before holding X again to gain speed so that when you land your momentum carries on to propel you into the next jump – with the X button being used the same way that the touch screen is put to use in Tiny Wings. This control method is really intuitive, and I found that I was soon flying through the game’s early levels with pace whilst racking up some nice high scores. It was all going really well for me until I met a few levels that I could not complete, no matter what I tried. Luckily, Pumped BMX + lets you take on its many stages in any order you like, so long as you have unlocked the category that the particular stage falls into. Each category features ten stages and is based on a skill level – you will need to complete a set number of challenges in the previous stages to unlock the next category in the game.

When you play a stage, you will be given four ‘easy’ challenges to aim for when traversing the course. These don’t have to be completed in the same run, so you can take your time and go for the challenges in multiple attempts if you want. These challenges generally are to complete the stage, to get a certain score in one combo, to finish the stage with a certain score and to perform a specified trick. Once you complete all of these ‘easy’ challenges, you are then given medium-skill challenges to complete and finally ‘hard’ challenges. A lot of the challenges that were thrown at me I overcame with relative ease, but I did struggle with some of the move-related tasks. You have to pull off the move exactly as described, so if you add any flips or spins (performed with the left analogue stick and shoulder

buttons) it does not count, and if it forms part of a combo you will have to try again – so be careful not to land into a manual as this will not register as achieving your goal! After playing the game for a few hours (and skipping the levels that I had got stuck on) I realised that I had been playing the game wrong. At first I thought that Pumped BMX + was really hard, but I soon realised that it was the way that I was playing that made the game difficult. It was down to the fact that I was launching into jumps far too early, jumping when my bike’s front wheel hit the top of a ramp rather than waiting for the back wheel to hit the lip and using my momentum to propel myself upwards and forwards. It is here where the comparison to Trials is apparent – momentum in Pumped BMX + is crucial. You need to enter and land a jump with perfect placement to ensure that you get the most air from a ramp and land in a good position to set you on your way to the next jump. Luckily, if you do make a few mistakes (and chances are that you will) there is a quick restart function mapped to the Select button that will take you back to the start of the stage. Once you have finally mastered a stage you can see how you compare against other players using the leaderboard functionality that features in the game.

Pumped BMX + looks noticeably better than its mobile counterpart, with the game’s aesthetics both crisp and clean on the PlayStation Vita. The levels are extremely colourful and there is a nice variety in the locations that you will ride through. Although these are the same as the locales in the mobile version, the developer has taken the time to upscale these for the game’s console release. A catchy soundtrack also accompanies you as you trick through the various stages and I often found myself bopping along to the music as I progressed through the game. The soundtrack is fully licensed and is a new addition to the console versions, making Pumped BMX + stand head and shoulders above other titles that have been ported from mobile platforms to consoles – it is clear that some time and care went into making this version of the game.

Although I did have some niggles with the game, such as the difficulty of some of the move related challenges and the fact that the trophy list (which appears to be a tribute to BMX riders) tasks you with completing seemingly impossible tricks to earn a trophy, I found Pumped BMX + to be an awesome title if you are looking for a new extreme sports title in your life. If you are put off because it originates from a mobile title then you will miss out on a game that deservedly draws comparisons to some of the best titles in its genre yet manages to remain simple and basic in a way to appeal to those that are looking for an addictive, at times frustrating, timekiller!

Pumped BMX+ is a great addition to the PlayStation Vita. Although some people may be put off due to the fact that it originates from a mobile title, if you look past this you will find a game that plays like a cross between OlliOlli and Trials - which is no bad thing! Pumped BMX+ doesn't need these comparisons though, as on its own it stands out as great game that is perfect for gaming on the go! Presentation

Gameplay

Lasting Appeal

The Vita Lounge

Execution

3.9

Ho eN THE VITA GAMES WE ARE MOST EXCITED FOR! SEVERED

severedgame.com @DrinkBoxStudios

DANGANRONPA 3

@spikechunsoft

ATTACK ON TITAN

HYPER LIGHT DRIFTER

heart-machine.com @HeartMachineZ

@koeitecmoeurope

AXIOM VERGE

axiomverge.com @AxiomVerge

SWORD ART ONLINE: LOST SONG

swordartonline-game.com/lost-song @BandaiNamcoEU

YIIK

ackkstudios.wordpress.com @ackkstudios

DIGIMON STORY: CYBER SLEUTH

bandainamcoent.eu/product/ digimon-story-cyber-sleuth/ps-vita @BandaiNamcoEU

NOT A HERO

notahe.ro @Roll7

SENRAN KAGURA: ESTIVAL VERSUS

estivalversus.com/projects/estival-versus-pre-order @marvellous_games

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I have been an avid Vita supporter since the slim version was launched. The main reason I love my Vita is because of its versatility. Great Vita games, access to PSOne Classics, and Remote Play make it a beautiful trifecta! My favorite games include Freedom Wars, Velocity 2X, and P4G

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TVL MAGAZINE

Hello, my name is Eli Sarafifian , and this is my guide on how to survive and thrive in one of the best survival games out there, Don’t Starve! Keep in mind that these screenshots are from my own personal Don’t Starve worlds! I’ll be covering the Giant Edition.

Day 2 Character Selection Select your character wisely, because each and every one of them has their pros and cons. For example Wilson is stronger and heathier than WX-78, but WX-78 can be upgraded with gears and becomes even stronger – however WX-78 is damaged by rain.

During the second day you should explore the terrain and look for a suitable place to build your base. Look for a place that is rich with resources, minerals and most importantly - Beefalos! But do not set up camp too close to them, because in spring they will have their Mating Season - which will make them hostile towards you. When you are finally settled, I would suggest that you build a fire pit along with a science machine.

THIS IS A STARTER BASE

Seasons An obvious point is that every season is different. When you spawn, you either start with Autumn or Spring. Autumn leads to Winter, and Spring leads to Summer, so you need to prepare beforehand for the coming season.

Day 1 You’ve just spawned in the deadly world of Don’t Starve. You should collect resources right off the bat. Be on the lookout for twigs, grass, flint and rocks. Dedicate your first day to the collection of the above items (and keep an eye out for berries too). When the sun goes down, build a campfire and settle down for the night.

Day 3 Start your third day by collecting rocks and some more food. It is best to do this by laying down traps on rabbit holes, collecting berries, killing moleworms or finding some carrots. Collect at least a stack or two of rocks to make stone walls. I don’t recommend making wooden walls because if they catch fire, it’s bad news. Make some chests if you can, for storage, and if possible, a crock pot.

THIS IS MY STARTER BASE

From now on, you are settled. 42 | The Vita Lounge Magazine

Armor

MY TRAP COLLECTION! INCLUDING SOME BLUE HOUNDS NEXT TO THEM.

Armor! Without it, you will face a short life! Armor is the first thing you should craft. The first thing to do once you have made a science machine is to make a log suit. This suit absorbs 80% of the damage that you take. A little later on, once you have enough to make an Alchemy engine, I would suggest that you craft a football helmet – one of the most important pieces of equipment in the game! Once you have both your armor and your football helmet equipped you will be fully protected from head to toe!

Weapons The first weapon you have to make is the spear, which can be found under the combat tab. It’s a pretty good weapon when compared to the axe. Once you have collected enough items, you should try to make some blow darts. You will find that these are extremely useful – especially against the giants!

Hounds

The Basic Requirements for a base The basic base needs the following; 4 - 6 Drying racks; 4 - 6 Crock pots; Berry bushes - about 20 of them; Bee hives - About 4 of them (away from your base); Saplings and Grass tufts for ultimate collection; Around 5-8 farms; A bird cage, for multiplying your seeds; A tent - for restoring sanity; A couple of Ice boxes, to make food last longer.

MY BASE!

The hounds are best described as ‘the dogs from hell’. One of the most hated and feared mobs, these puppies come in waves. In the earlier stages of the game you will see them between day 5 and 13. Once you have progressed a little further (after day 80 or so) you will see them arrive between day 5 and 13. The hounds come in a variety of colours – including cherry red, regular brown and berry blue. The red hounds will come and attack you during the spring and summer seasons, and when they die they will burst into flames. At the other end of the spectrum are the blue hounds who come during the autumn and winter seasons – and upon death these hounds cause the mobs around them to freeze. When you first encounter the hounds you will face two to three hounds maximum. As soon as you hear them howling in the distance be sure to equip both your football helmet and your armour before you dive in and face up to them. The best way to deal with these little devils (in my opinion) is by using traps. After the first wave, make sure you collect their teeth and make some teeth traps. Place these outside and away from your house – because if one of the red hounds dies you want to make sure that your house doesn’t go up in flames with it!

The Vita Lounge Magazine | 43

Insanity One of the worst things that can happen in Don’t Starve, is you becoming insane. If you lose your mind you will start seeing shadows, and these will then start to attack you! Some players may find restoring sanity a difficult task, but if you know how, you will soon find that it is in fact easy! Try the following to help regain your sanity; Sleep - either in a tent or a sleeping bag (keep in mind, you will be hungry when you wake up). Green or Blue caps – When cooked they restore a good amount of sanity, but beware, if you eat them raw, you will lose a lot of sanity! Crock pot meals - Some of the meals that you cook can really help your sanity! I’ll give you some key dishes later, so be sure to keep reading! Pick flowers or wear fancy clothing - Clothes like a winter hat or a Garland can help boost your sanity. But be wary of evil flowers – these can reduce your sanity when you pick them up or by just being around them.

Crock Pot One of the key items for survival is the Crock Pot. You can cook a range of meals, from meat foods to deserts if you know the right recipe. You will need to fill all 4 available slots in order to start cooking, but you can use ‘filler’ items to take up empty slot spaces if needed. All the ingredients have their own values, for example, a generous portion of meat such as a steak or a monster meat will have a value of 1, whereas a beef jerky or a morsel will only have a value of 0.5. Here are some of the best recipes that I know; Honey Ham – Restores 30 health, 75 hunger and 5 sanity. To make this combine a meat with a value of 2 or higher with 2 honey. Taffy - Restores 25 hunger and 15 sanity. Use 3 honey to make this. Dragon Pie - One of the best foods, made by combining a single Dragonfruit with 3 twigs. Restores 40 health 75 hunger and 5 sanity. Meaty stew - Made by combining meat with a value of 3 or greater. Restores 150 hunger! Meatballs – Decontaminate Monster meat by adding three berries. Doing this will restore 50 hunger. One last thing, don’t use two items of monster meat when making any one food – doing this will make a monster lasagne or another form of monster food that is not good for you!

44 | The Vita Lounge Magazine

Effigies Effigies – the best way to revive yourself! Or not? You can make a Prestihatitator using four planks, four beard hair and four cooked steak. Sounds great, right? Beware, there is a catch to making one of these. If you craft a Prestihatitator then your total health will be lowered by 30 points. Rest assured though, if you die you then it will go back to normal.

MY 2 EFFIGIES, NOTICE MY TOTAL HEALTH LOWERED BY 60 POINTS

Surviving Summer Ah, Summer. Hot air, withered plants, food rotting twice as fast, items catching fire and, of course, a dragon with a fly head. Wait, what? Yes, summer is just as crazy as the winter in Don’t Starve, and here are my tips for surviving it! The terrain in Don’t Starve will turn a yellowy colour when summer approaches, so be sure to use these tips to keep yourself alive; * During Spring, collect two stacks of twigs and grass – because during the summer these will be difficult to find due to them withering in the heat. * Remove any berry bushes, saplings and grass tufts and store them in a chest. I suggest this as they are prone to catching fire, and they are pretty useless during this season. Once summer is over, you can just replant them again! * Make an endothermic fire pit to help you cool off in the heat * Drop a thermal stone in an ice box to cool it down (or place it near your endothermic fire pit). Make sure that you put the stone on your body and not in your backpack, as it won’t have any effects if it stays in your backpack! * Sounds simple, but make summer clothing! * Build an Ice Flingomatic in your base and switch it on whenever you see an object that is about to burn (you will see smoke coming out of the object and it will start turning a yellow colour). Be mindful though, the Ice Flingomatic can also put out your campfire! * If you find yourself overheating, stand under a tree or hold an umbrella – it really helps you to cool down. * If you are playing as Wilson or Webber – be sure to have a shave * And finally, prepare yourself, DragonFly may Spawn!

WILSON COOLING OFF WITH AN ICE CUBE! NOTICE THE WITHERED BERRY BUSHES

The Koalefant will drop 8 meat and its trunk if killed, but beware, sometimes you will not see this beauty and instead a big ugly beast called the Warg will appear! The Warg is a big hound, and although he does not have a lot of health his howl will bring other hounds to the fight. Killing the Warg will reward you with some monster meat and teeth!

THE WARG, ALONG WITH 2 HOUNDS

Surviving Winter Winter is coming! The words of House Stark have meaning in Don’t Starve. You will notice plants growing slower, the world freezing and even cute looking Pengulls. Here are my tips through making it through the Winter; * Make a winter hat! * Drop your Thermal stone near a campfire to help you warm up * Track down and kill a Koalefant (See below), and use it’s trunk to make a Breezy vest! * Collect supplies when it’s fall, so you can stay at home during winter. * Gear up for the DeerClops! * Grow a Beard!

WILSON SURVIVING WINTER

Tracking Down a Koalefant On your travels, if you come across a suspicious pile of dirt then you will have the option to investigate it. This pile of dirt will always turn into an animal track, and if you look closely at it you will see footprints. If you follow these footprints you will find more dirt piles to investigate and more tracks, until, eventually, your character will say something along the lines of “the beast must be nearby”. When you hear these words, chances are, you will find a cute Koalefant.

The Giants Lastly, The Giants! There are four giants in Don’t Starve, one for each season! These four beasts are; The Infamous Deerclops - spawns at winter, destroys your house and then destroys you! The Hungry Bearger – this giant eats ALL your food! The Weird Moose-Goose - a goose with a moose head, this giant just straight-up kills you. The Fiery Dragonfly – comes at you spitting fire, so beware of it and your surroundings!

THE BEARGER! EATING MY DRAGONFRUIT! I am not going to write about how to kill all these beasts, because you will need to use different tactics to face each one. If you do really struggle with these giants then I suggest using the Don’t Starve Wiki, as I learnt a lot of my own tips from there!

Before I do leave you, I do have some last minute hints and tips for you; * Don’t chop down too many trees without replanting, if you do, the TreeGuard will spawn, and kill you! * If you are lucky and grew a DragonFruit, give it to the bird in your cage and he will give you more seeds to replant! * Occasionally it will rain frogs! Be prepared! * If you die, don’t sweat! I’ve died loads of times!

#TeamHandheld As editor-in-chief of RPGamer and founder of Pocket-Console, I am able to share my love for both RPGs and handheld gaming. That love has found a happy home on the Vita, with such titles as Persona 4 Golden and Final Fantasy X HD, but there are so many more games out there that would be great on the go. With the help of fellow handheld gamers using the hashtag #TeamHandheld, I've sorted out ten games or series that would be great to see revived on Vita. This Japancentric list would likely fit right in line with the PS4 and Vita dual releases that have been coming out as of late, so it would be great to see these games become a reality for English speaking audiences.

Final Fantasy XII

With an overwhelming outpouring of support that I helped spur on due to my love of the game, Final Fantasy XII stood atop the list of games that RPGamers would most love to see on Vita. After the success of FFX|X-2 HD, it is hard not to be excited at the possibility of playing FFXII on the go. The game has a massive world and offers tons of optional side content that would fit wonderfully on Vita with being able to pick up and play at any point in time. Square Enix is not shy about remaking games, so this one would be a perfect candidate, especially if this included all the new improvements from the International Zodiac Job System.

Valkyria Chronicles 3

The original Valkyria Chronicles became a cult classic despite a lack of strong marketing, but the PSP follow-up Valkyria Chronicles 2 seemingly didn't fare as well in sales or critical reception despite making a number of improvements. Due partially to that, and in part to the PSP market drying up, Valkyria Chronicles 3 never made it out in English on the PSP which is a shame as it steps up its game even more. Valkyria Chronicles 3 takes the gameplay improvements seen in the second game and blends it with a return to a more mature story on par with the first game. It would be great to see this one jump over to Vita in English and help revive the series.

Tales of Innocence R

While it's clear that fans would be up for just about any Tales game on Vita, Tales of Innocence R already exists in Japan and would be a great addition to the English catalog. There might be other Tales games that would make a better transition to Vita, but this is one that wouldn't require a new development, just a localization. Did Tales of Hearts R do well enough to make bringing Innocence R over worth it? It's hard to say, but Vita and Tales aficionados alike would easily eat this up.

Persona 3

The fact that there are already three versions of Persona 3 out on the market won't stop Persona fanatics from wanting another. Persona 3, FES, and Portable are all fantastic experiences, but the level of craftsmanship that went into Persona 4 Golden has driven the desire for another version of 3. While it might seem excessive, there is no real consensus on which version of Persona 3 is the definitive version. The original and FES lack things like being able to control party members in battle like P3 Portable and P4 offered, and P3 Portable scaled back things like overworld navigation in order to better fit on the PSP. A new final version of Persona 3 could combine the best features from all three such as the option of playing as a female main character, complete party member control, the Answer story epilogue, and other improvements to make this the best one yet.

Ogre Battle

The 2011 remake of Tactics Ogre showed that Square Enix had not completely abandoned Quest's Ogre titles. That said, the Ogre Battle side of things has been in missing in action for over a decade now, which is a shame because of how much praise the series receives. As for a Vita version, it would be great to see a new game, but a remake of Ogre Battle 64 seems to be at the top of the most wanted list for many. While platform complications might cause OB64 specifically to have issues being ported, I'm sure a great new entry in the series would leave fans just as happy.

Front Mission 5

Front Mission 5 not coming out in English left a gap that could not be filled by the genre-shifted Front Mission Evolved. As such, mech lovers have been clamoring for a port or remake of the fifth main series entry that might give wanzers new life. The series has attempted other handheld remakes before, so seeing FM5 on the Vita wouldn't be a huge stretch if Square Enix decided to give this series another shot. The small, but loyal fanbase would be thrilled and who could blame them? After all, who wouldn't want more tactical RPGs featuring mechs in the world?

Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter

Breath of Fire is another series that was seemingly abandoned by its creators, having done little with the series since the divisive Dragon Quarter released in the early 2000s. After a decade of silence, Capcom revealed Breath of Fire 6 for mobile and web, leaving many series supporters wanting something else. Most, in fact, would rather see a re-release of Dragon Quarter than a new Breath of Fire. Despite splitting the fanbase, BoF: DQ has a strong following, though sales of the English version might not back that up. Despite all that, super fans would love to see the game get a second shot at glory on Vita.

Shining Force

Like many other games on this list, Shining Force is another abandoned series that fans would love to see revived. During the PSP era, and even more recently on the PS3, the Shining name has lived on, but none of those games ever truly attempted to return to the style of game that Sonic Software Planning (now Camelot) created. Regardless of the quality of these other Shining games, those who have played the original tactical RPGs, Shining Force II in particular, have been seeking a return to that form above all else. A new entry might not be in the cards, but I doubt many would be upset if Sega decided to recreate the three part epic of Shining Force III on Vita, but even remake of II would be welcomed.

Lunar

Studio Alex, the creators of the Lunar series, may be no more, but that doesn't mean that the desire for another Lunar has lessened any over the years. Co-developer Game Arts is still around, so there is hope for more Lunar, even if it's not a brand new entry. The original Lunar has seen many remakes, but Eternal Blue has been ignored since the Complete version released in 2000. After the lukewarm reception for the PSP Lunar 1 remake, Silver Star Harmony, that might be a good thing, but more Lunar would still be a great fit for Vita. Eternal Blue could really use another release to show people just how good it really is.

Shadow Hearts

Shadow Hearts has had a rough time getting a strong foothold in the RPG world. There has been no sign of the series in nearly a decade, and developer Sacnoth/Nautilus is no more having been dissolved in 2007. Taking that into consideration, seeing another Shadow Hearts game seems like an impossibility, but that hasn't stopped fans from longing for a revival or at least a spiritual successor. The Judgment Ring system could easily be adapted into a new RPG with a setting in the early 1900s. Even if the chances of a port, remake, or new Shadow Hearts game are slim, there's a strong desire for someone to fill this gap in the genre and Vita would be a solid fit for that. RPGamers want more to play on Vita, so there is plenty of passionate support in this niche market. Other honorable mentions included portable Dark Souls, a new Vandal Hearts, and ports of SMT classics like Digital Devil Saga or Nocturne. Any of the ten listed above or any of these others would be great to bolster the Vita's RPG library. Here's hoping at least some of these become a reality before too long.

The Vita Lounge Magazine | 47

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