FEATURE | Android Ports Offer a Glimpse into PS Vita's Untapped Potential
WHEN the PS Vita first came out in 2012, a friend said that he would buy the handheld if the system had a port of Final Fantasy XII. Imagine, pre-Nintendo Switch era where you can bring Vaan and the rest of the crew to pass time during road trips and boring family functions.
While Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD did come out for the system along with its legacy mainline titles, PS Vita fans would never see a port of FFXII. And for a while there, it seems impossible for PS Vita to receive any kind of PS2 ports asides from Persona 4 Golden.
PORT POTENTIAL
In the years since then, the system did release some impressive ports such as Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Sly Cooper Trilogy, God of War Collection and Ratchet and Clank Trilogy, Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, both Ninja Gaiden Sigma, A Bard’s Tale, Jet Set Radio, Muramasa Rebirth, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, A Boy and His Blob and Jak & Daxter Trilogy.
Suddenly, the idea of Final Fantasy XII port on the PS Vita isn’t so farfetched. Maybe we could also get PS2 ports of Kingdom Hearts, Yakuza or even Contra: Shattered Soldier down the line?
Unfortunately, Vita’s life was marred with identity crises, lack of support and ultimately was left to its own devices as it struggles to surpass the success of its predecessor, the Playstation Portable.
ENTER HENKAKU
(Disclaimer: due to the nature of system mods and custom firmware, you may end up bricking your system if done incorrectly. So, mod at your own risk!)
Much like the PSP, the PS Vita is seeing a resurgence of popularity during its twilight years with the power of custom firmware courtesy of the homebrew scene, finally giving the handheld a new lease on life with various homebrew projects releasing apps such as RetroArch that allows you to play retro games or homebrew games such as Vita Fighters or Tropical Zone.
While Android and IOS has enjoyed ports of popular console games on the go, the PS Vita homebrew scene has only just begun with TheFlow and Rinnegatamante back-to-back release of Max Payne, Grand Theft Auto III, GTA Vice City, GTA San Andreas and GTA Chinatown Wars with Bully Anniversary Edition being the latest release are all available now on the PS Vita via custom firmware.
This is made possible by using existing Android assets to work around in a PS Vita with CFW. To be honest, I never in this lifetime would imagine that games like the mainline GTA series would ending up being available on the PS Vita.
HOW DOES IT PLAY?
Now with any ports, it all depends on how it was developed to operate into the system, it can run the gamut of being an enjoyable experience or a futile exercise of frustration.
Surely these games won’t run properly on the PS Vita? Right?
Surprisingly, the games run really well. Asides from minor stutters, it’s everything you would expect from any Android port running on a 2012 smartphone specs, warts and all. It must be noted that some of these are still work in progress, some bugs and improvements are yet to be implemented. There are overclock plugins that could help with performance issues, but I find that playing in its default settings offers a smooth enough playthrough.
MORE PORTS PLANNED
As with any Android ports converted over for the PS Vita, you may have to manage your expectation of what games might appear on the handheld. While the idea of having GRID Autosport, Among Us and other popular mobile games becoming available on the system is exciting, you have to realise that some games will have a system requirement that will surpass the PS Vita’s specs.
As such, the team behind port has listed several candidates that could potentially work with the wrapper method, our favourites include Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel, DOOM 3 BFG Edition, Dragon Quest VIII, Half-Life 2, DuckTales Remastered, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit. You can check the full list here.
LOOKING AHEAD
To be fair, the PS Vita is no slouch. It is a powerful handheld system for its time and is more than capable of churning out quality games. It is just unfortunate that they were handed the short end of the stick in terms of support. Despite Sony stating that they will continue to support the PS Vita online store, the future seems dire for the handheld regardless. With so much untapped potential, it’s no wonder the PS Vita homebrew community stepped up where Sony had left off.
While my friend may never see a port of Final Fantasy XII on the PS Vita appearing anytime soon, the prospects of playing Android ports are equally exciting. We can’t expect these ports to appear suddenly, since it’s being handled by a small team hard at work in realising these conversions. All we can do is wait and support the homebrew scene in hopes that the PS Vita continues to flourish for years to come.
Geeks Republika
