Since the Vita lets you map dpad controls to the right stick I figure a lot of PSP games will be a lot easier and natural to play. I was hoping we could make a list of games that are improved by this feature (or dualjoystick shooters that used to use the face buttons for the right analog stick). So here's what I've got so far:

The Third Birthday (D-pad Camera)

Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (D-pad camera)

Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker (D-pad camera)

Everyday Shooter (face buttons for shooting)

Me and My Katamari (face buttons for controls ... not on Vita's PSN)

Lord of Arcana (D-pad camera)

Armored Core 3 Portable (and Silent Line and LAST RAVEN) -- these games have nutty controls, though I think they could be slightly improved with some clever mapping

Valkyria Chronicles II (face buttons somewhat mapped to camera)

Gran Turismo PSP (map gear up/down to right stick)

Phantasy Star Portable 2 (D-pad camera) -- No longer on North American PSN

Dissidia: Final Fantasy (D-pad camera)

Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy (D-pad camera)

Star Wars Battlefront 2 (D-pad camera)

...that's all I can think of! If anyone else thinks of any I'll add them to the list. I'm bummed that Vice City Stories used L+stick for camera and not D-Pad, since that would have made the game AMAZING on the Vita..

Also, I really hope they add L-R support for the right analog stick, so that I can use the right stick to control camera in Persona 3

Phantasy Star Portable 2 - D-pad camera

Games also look gorgeous on the Vita. Persona 3 and Valkyria Chronicles 2 look great and I kinda want to play through them again. The camera isn't problematic in Persona 3 so even if they have to leave it at L and R I'm fine with that.

@msavo said:

Games also look gorgeous on the Vita.

In what sense? That the screen is good or the graphics are upgraded?

SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 1,2 & 3.

@AlisterCat: there are some filtering and colour options in the Vita's menu while playing PSP games. Games look less pixelly (smoothing) and the colours pop more.

example

@msavo: yeah you're right about it not being problematic in P3P.. but it'd be a nice touch :D

@dekkadekkadekka: Added it, although this game isn't available on PSN anymore, which totally sucks. People who've already purchased it can probably redownload it but the rest are out in the cold. I don't know if I should be angry with Sega or with Sony for letting this happen =/

@RainVillain: Oh really? That's kinda surprising. Although I just checked the EU PSN, it's still there. A quick search on Google says that it's still available widely in Europe.

@dekkadekkadekka: Lucky! in the North American store the only thing up is a demo of Phantasy Star Portable 1... I'm hoping it'll come back.. though I advise any europeans on the fence about the game to snatch it up JIC

does Gran Turismo's custom soundtrack work on Vita?

I would say all PSP games benefit from being on the Vita.

Is Resistance Retribution playable on the Vita with dual-analog controls? Or, rather, it would be a sort of emulated dual analog controls since it would still only recognize eight directions. Still, dual analog would make that game much better.

Also, Capcom should port Resident Evil 4 to the Vita. Jus' sayin'. They've already got it on everything else.

I'm also interested in hearing how resistance handles . are there other blockbuster style shooters like the resistance series on psp?

@believer258@Suoritus I don't have a Vita, so I can't confirm this, but Resistance: Retribution had a special mode where you could play it with a DualShock controller (I think while the PSP was connected to the PS3). IIRC, someone from Sony specifically called out that mode as playable on the Vita.

Unfortunately, most reviews I've read said that the DualShock mode isn't any good, because the game assumes you have auto aim and frequently swarms you with weak enemy groups, on which you could just rapid fire with auto aim. YMMV.

Hope you were still looking for an answer :)

@FTomato said:

@believer258@Suoritus I don't have a Vita, so I can't confirm this, but Resistance: Retribution had a special mode where you could play it with a DualShock controller (I think while the PSP was connected to the PS3). IIRC, someone from Sony specifically called out that mode as playable on the Vita.

Unfortunately, most reviews I've read said that the DualShock mode isn't any good, because the game assumes you have auto aim and frequently swarms you with weak enemy groups, on which you could just rapid fire with auto aim. YMMV.

Hope you were still looking for an answer :)

Yeah, I've played Resistance Retribution with a dualshock controller. It had to be connected to the PS3, but all of the action was still on a PSP screen so it wasn't very comfortable. However, the game's enemies were the same when it happened and auto-aim was turned off. It was far easier to control the game with a dualshock controller, but it's unfortunate that you couldn't play the game through the TV.

If the Vita version does, indeed, adopt the dualshock control scheme, then it should be a pretty good experience control-wise, especially compared to playing it with four face buttons. The game itself isn't that bad, either.

As far as I can tell, resistance retribution does not use any dual shock configuration. Its the typical face buttons mapped to the second stick. Controls ok, but not great. Well, tbh, its not my favourite experience I've had from the psp library. The story is so so and the save spots few and far in between. Maybe I'm a wimp but the save spot irregularities really irk me in this one.

Ace Combat Joint Assault probably!

I mean I guess now you have the righthand ministick for minute adjustments.

When playing on PSP I mapped yaw to L/R buttons personally (and boost/brake to square and triangle) but on Vita I wouldn't have to.

By the way, what is that default control setting for playing PSP games on Vita? Also, does Vita remember the controls you use for each game, or do you have to change the controls every time you switch game?

I enjoyed Resistance Retribution at first. But I played it on normal, then hard, then started looking for evidence and skill points, and at some point I found the game massively depressing. It just feels like a massive compromise. And the enemies are bullet sponges. What you do in this game is shoot bullets into wave after wave of sponges, just holding down fire button for five hours while auto aim takes care of the rest. Not to mention you burn through ammo like crazy and keep having to scout for pickups. Syphon Filter Dark Mirror and Medal of Honor Heroes 1 and 2 are much more fun PSP shooters. You actually do things you do in console shooters such as aiming and headshotting.

Online play is where the game holds up imo, and it's easily the best online game on PSP. The servers where still up around thanksiving 2012 but I haven't played since then.

Wow I just thought of a good idea.

See, I didn't mention Medal of Honor Heroes because it uses buttons for aiming and as we all know the righthand ministick will just emulate buttons. You could use Vita buttons for aiming but Vita buttons are tiny and beady so that might not be much fun either.

However I only just remembered that Medal of Honor Heroes has different control presets. One of them lets you use buttons for movement and nub for aiming. On PSP this is not so good but on Vita it might be a lot better. Even better, you could use righthand ministick for movement (emulating buttons) and lefthand ministick for aiming. (with actual analog/directions) Dunno if the Vita lets you switch the two (so you can use righthand for aiming with analog, and lefthand for movement emulating buttons) but if it does, then that might make some people happy. If this is true then Vita essentially has another FPS.

For the record, Medal of Heroes Heroes 2 has the same controls and control scheme presets as the first, aside from the removal of jumping and medpacks.