August Vita lineup and upcoming titles
By BlackLagoon 35 Comments
August is here, last chance for all those "summer" releases to make their release windows. Will they? We'll see, but anyway - here's a rundown of what we do know about current and upcoming games for the PlayStation Vita. As usual, it is focused on the North American market, with Europe and Japan exclusive titles in their own sections below.
Not a lot of confirmed August releases right now, though the one retail title certainly makes an impression. Yes, fantasy beat 'em up Dragon's Crown arrives with its striking art style and meticulous 2D animation. And for all the hoopla about the sorceress' boobs (obviously they're necessary for storing her mana), it's actually getting a lot of good reviews and looks set to be the best selling Vanillaware title so far in Japan.
For PSN titles, only Real Boxing and Divekick have a date (at the end of the month), though Spelunky, Luftrausers, and BreakQuest Extra Evolution should be going through certification around this time and will hopefully make it out soon. There's also Superfrog HD which made a surprise appearance in Europe at the end of July, so that's another one to look for.
Unexpectedly, July proved a pretty great month for new title announcements. Right off the bat Anime Expo 2013 delivered the localization announcements people had hoped for during E3, with NISA bringing over dungeon crawler Demon Gaze and Zero Escape meets Phoenix Wright murder mystery puzzle game Trigger Happy Dangan Ronpa, while Aksys tackled cutesy roguelike Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God. Two western retail titles were also revealed later in the month - The LEGO Movie Videogame and Angry Birds Star Wars, and well racing game WRC 4 got announced too, though that one's Europe only for the time being.
Indies continued to show their love for the Vita, with Game Boy styled action adventure Two Brothers, the JRPG inspired Kickstarter funded Soul Saga and Liege, platformer Mutant Mudds, and ambient explorathon Proteus all making the jump, along with an expanded version of Worms Revolution.
Japan got plenty too, starting with two vocaloid centered rhythm games from Sega - a sequel to last years Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F, and Uta Kumi 575, a music game where the player has the ability to alter the lyrics on the fly thanks to the real time vocaloid powered vocals. Kadokawa followed up the enhanced port of Legend of Heroes: Trails of Zero with its sequel Trails of Blue. Nippon Ichi finally confirmed the long expected port of Disgaea 4, and also indicated a sequel to their premier girls prison RPG with Criminal Girls Invitation. Tecmo Koei continued showing their support with Samurai Warriors 2 HD. And finally, there were no less than 6 visual novels announced, including quite successful ones like Robotics;Notes and Key's Rewrite.
And that's that for this month. Please do join me again in September, when the utterly stunning Killzone Mercenary makes its debut.
August
Retail
- Dragon's Crown - Fantasy beat 'em up
- The Walking Dead - Telltale's adventure game is shambling onto the Vita
Downloads (Tentative)
- Superfrog HD - Remake of the classic Amiga platformer
- BreakQuest Extra Evolution - BreakOut-ish Mini getting upgraded to full Vita game
- Fruit Ninja - Slice fruit with your fingers
- Open Me! - Vita exclusive augmented reality puzzle game
- A-Men - Puzzle platformer
- Divekick - Two-button fighting game. Turns your Vita into a portable Lang Zone generator.
- Ms. Germinator - Sequel to the action puzzle game from Creat
- Floating God Saves the Pilgrims HD - Native Vita version of the PS Mini
- The HD Adventures of Rotating Octopus Character - Native Vita version of the PS Mini
Spelunky - Port of the punishing indie platformer
Q3 2013
Retail
- Rayman Legends - More beautifully animated platforming (September)
- Ys: Memories of Celceta - Action RPG in the long running series. (September?, XSEED)
- Valhalla Knights 3 - Sequel to the PSP Action RPGs. (September, XSEED)
- Killzone Mercenary - This time you get to side with the British Space Nazis! (September)
- FIFA 14 -
Hopefully more thanSadly just a roster update (September)
Downloads
- KickBeat - Martial arts rhythm game (September)
- Real Boxing - Boxing. And it's real.
- Luftrausers - Vlambeer does (Nazi) planes?
- Lone Survivor - Post apocalyptic horror action adventure. (September)
- Snapshot - Platform puzzler
- Picotto Knights - F2P cutesy brawler thing
- Rainbow Moon - Turn-based strategy RPG
- Dragon Fantasy: Book II - SNES style retro RPG (Summer)
- Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee - HD remaster of the Xbox game
- Putty Squad - Remake of the Amiga platformer (Summer?)
- Bit.Trip Runner 2 - Indie endless runner (early fall)
- Starlight Inception - Kickstarter funded space combat sim (Fall)
- Cloudberry Kingdom - Hard as nails plaformer
- OMG HD Zombies! - Zombie themed chain reaction puzzle game
- Atelier Meruru Plus - Enhanced port of the PS3 RPG (Tecmo Koei, September 3)
- Fieldrunners 2 - The tower defense favorite returns to PlayStation platforms (Summer)
- ZRun - Zombie apocalypse endless runner (Summer)
- Forgotten Memories - Survival horror set in an abandoned psych hospital (Summer)
- Proteus - Ambient exploration
- Two Brothers - Action adventure game with a Game Boy aesthetic
- Worms Revolution Extreme - Port of the game with extra content
Rest of the year (and beyond)
Retail releases
- Tearaway - Papercraft adventure from Media Molecule (November)
- Final Fantasy X HD
- Final Fantasy X-2 HD
- LEGO Marvel Super Heroes - More LEGO
- Ragnarok Odyssey Ace - Expanded version of the boss hunting game (Winter)
- Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate - Metroidvania tie-in with the console game (October)
- Invizimals: The Alliance - The Invizimals return for the Vita
- Toukiden - Omega Force does Monster Hunter (Tecmo Koei, Q4)
- God of War Collection - Port of the two first games
- Demon Gaze - 1st person party based dungeon crawler RPG (NISA)
- Trigger Happy Havoc Dangan Ronpa - Enhanced port of the PSP murder mystery game (NISA)
- Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God - Cutesy roguelike/mystery dungeon (Aksys)
- The LEGO Movie Videogame - What it says.
- Angry Birds Star Wars - Also what it says. (October)
- PlayStation Vita Pets - Befriend a virtual dog and go on adventures with him/her
- Borderlands 2 - Portable version of the loot driven FPS
Downloads
- Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee New N' Tasty - HD remake of the PS1 game
- Orc Attack - 4 player co-op character action game
- The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth - I don't care what anyone says, it's a Zelda clone not a roguelike :P
- Deathmatch Village - 3v3 free to play MOBA with PS3 cross-play
- Frozen Synapse: Tactics - Console remake of the indie turn-based strategy title
- Hungry Giraffe - Native Vita version of the Minis title
- Malicious Rebirth - Enhanced port of the PSN game
- Metrico - Vita exclusive from indie studio Digital Dreams
- Terraria - Minecraftvania?
- TxK - New Vita exclusive Tempest game from Llamasoft
- 1001 Spikes - Retro platformer
- Counterspy - Stylish cold war side-scroller inspired by Flashback
- Doki-Doki Universe - Open ended story about a robot exploring the galaxy
- Hohokum - 2D sandbox snake thing
- C-Wars - Retro RTS thing
- Atomic Ninjas - Competetive multiplayer platformer
- Olliolli - 2D Tony Hawk. Vita exclusive.
- A.N.N.E. - Retro metroidvania thing
- DYING: Sinner Escape - Horror/puzzle game from the creators of Saw
- The Next Death Ray Manta - New version of the indie dual stick shooter
- Flower - Port of the PS3 exclusive
- Stick It to the Man! - Humrous platforming adventure
- Destiny of Spirits - Free to play spirit battle game
- Dead Nation - Port of the dual stick shooter
- Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z - Action brawler. 4 player co-op.
- Gunslugs - Retro 2D action game
- Soul Saga - JRPG-inspired Kickstarter funded game
- Mutant Mudds - Indie platformer
- Liege - Kickstarter funded turn-based, tactical RPG.
- Rainbow Skies - Successor to the SRPG Rainbow Moon
- Duke Nukem 3D - Port of the classic FPS
- VVVVVV - Port of the indie platformer
- Hotline Miami 2 - Sequel to the psychedelic murder spree simulator
- Heroes of Loot - Randomly generated Gauntlet thing
- The Chaos Engine - Port of the Amiga classic
- Fez - Perspective shifting indie platfomer/cryptography sim
- Velocity 2X - Sequel to the fast paced shoot 'em up
- Murasaki Baby - Creepy platforming adventure
- Big Fest - Raise your own band?
- Rogue Legacy - Randomized indie platformer with comprehensive upgrade system
- Volume - Stealth game from Tomas Was Alone creator
- Wasteland Kings - Procedurally generated action game from Vlambeer
- Helldivers - Co-op scifi twin stick shooter from the Magicka devs
- Starbound - Scifi 2D sandbox with optional plot
- Legend of Raven - 2D fighting game from former King of Fighters devs
- Minecraft - You may have heard of it
- Age of Zombies - Probably and upgraded version of the minis title
- A-Men 2 - Sequel to the launch multi-character puzzle game
- Assault Android Cactus - Indie twin-stick arena shooter
- Joe Danger - Joe goes portable
- Joe Danger 2: The Movie - Joe continues being portable
- Samurai Gunn - 2D deathmatch thing
- Broken Sword: The Serpent's Curse - Fifth installment in the classic point and click adventure series
- Kick & Fennick - Charming platforming adventure about a boy, a robot, and giant gun
- Supermagical - Bust-a-Move with RPG stuff in it
- Eufloria HD - Port of the RTS thing
- Switch Galaxy Ultra - Expanded version of the mobile scifi racer
- Gravity Crash Ultra - Just Add Water's 2D shooter returns
- Avoid Droid - Mobile 2D action game. Avoid the droid.
- Frutorious - Mobile slingshot platformer
- Final Horizon - RTS/tower defense hybrid
- Flame Over - Fast paced fire fighting game with random levels
- Table Top Racing - Minature kart racer
- Lemmings Touch - New game in the Lemmings franchise
- Dustforce - Indie platformer abaout ninja janitors...?
- Road Not Taken - Procedurally generated puzzle game
Unconfirmed/Vaporware
- Zero Escape 3 - Development has started, but patforms have yet to be annouced
- Yet to be annouced game(s) from Tokyo Majin Gakuen director
- Sly Cooper HD Collection - ESRB rating
- Yakuza game
- Injustice: Gods Among Us - Amzon France listing
- Still Time - Minimalist indie puzzle platformer
Europe
(Titles out in Europe with no American release announced.)
- Travel Bug - Social pet raising sim
- t@g - Augmented reality game for 3G Vitas
- Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge
- International Snooker 2012 - Well, it's Snooker
- MotoGP13 - Motorcycle racing
- Mahjong Royal Towers - Mahjong solitaire
- WRC 4 - Rallycross from Milestone (October)
- Football Manager 2014 Classic - You can't even escape the craze on the toilet now!
Japan
(Incomplete list of Japanese titles that have yet to be announced for western release)
Upcoming
- God Eater 2 - Fast paced scifi take on Monster Hunter. (November)
- Over My Dead Body 2 - Dungeon crawler set in ancient Japan
- Eiyuu*Senki - Turn based strategy game - conquer the world, one anime girl at a time
- Gundam Breaker - 3rd person action game based on the Gundam franchise
- J-Stars Victory Vs - Shonen Jump crossover game
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Flash - Latest game in the Legend of Heroes series (September)
- Conception II - Sequel to the PSP RPG (August)
- Chou Megami Shinkou Noire Gekishin Black Heart - Neptunia spin-off staring Noire
- Choji Jigen Game Neptune Re;Birth1 - Remake of the first Neptunia game (October)
- Mind 0 - Dungeon crawler RPG with a high school setting (August)
- Sakatsuku: Pro Soccer Club o Tsukurou! - New entry in the soccer RPG series from SEGA (October)
- Corpse Party: Blood Drive - Sequel to CP: Book of Shadows
- Super Robot Taisen: Masou Kishin Pride of Justice - More Super Robot Wars (August)
- Yahari Game Demo Ore no Seishun Rabu Kome wa Machigatteiru. - Light novel based game from 5pb. (Sep)
- Freedom Wars - Multiplayer action game from Japan Studio
- Super Heroine Chronicle - Turn-based anime heroine cross-over extravaganza
- Grisaia no Kajitsu - Visual novel from Front Wing (August)
- Hotch Kiss - Visual novel by GIGA (August)
- Exstetra - Fantasy RPG from FuRyu (November)
- Dragon's Dogma Quest - F2P 2D spin-off from Capcom's action RPG
- Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate - Even more enhanced version of the musou crossover game (September)
- Love Live! School Idol Paradise - Rhythm game based on the franchise
- Rozen Maiden: Wechseln Sie Welt ab - Visual novel based on the manga/anime
- Chronos Materia - New RPG from Gust
- Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2013 - More cutesy Japanese baseball
- Rewrite - Visual novel by Key
- Furuiro Meikyuu Rondo - Visual novel by Yatagarasu (September)
- Chou no Doku Hana no Kusari - Otome visual novel by Aromarie
- Rui wa Tomo o Yobu - Visual novel by Akatsuki Works (September)
- Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd - Another rhythm game staring the popular vocaloid
- Eiyuu Densetsu: Ao no Kiseki Evolution - Enhanced port of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Blue
- Criminal Girls Invitation - Whip a set of female delinquents into capable RPG warriors. Literally.
- Disgaea 4: Return - Port of Disgaea 4?
- Samurai Warriors 2 HD Version - Includes Xtreme Legends and/or Empires. (October)
- Uta Kumi 575 - Rhythm game from Sega (2014)
- Robotics;Notes - Visual novel from Nitroplus
- Getsuei Gakuen Kou - Visual novel from Arc System Works (October)
- Slotter Mania V: Gakuen Mokushiroku Highschool of the Dead - Anime themed pachislot game (October)
- Steins;Gate: Linear Bounded Phenogram - Side stories to the popular visual novel (Winter)
- New Atelier Rorona - Full remake of Gust's first game in the Arland trilogy. (November)
- Infinite Stratos 2: Ignition Hearts - Game based on the Infinite Stratos franchise (Winter)
- Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds - Side-scrolling beat 'em up from 5pb.
- Ro-Kyu-Bu! Naisho no Shutter Chance - Game based on the novels/anime
- White Album 2 - Visual novel from Leaf (November)
- Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends - Full game with the expansion
- Dungeon Travelers 2 - Vita version of the fanservice heavy dungeon crawler RPG
- Wonder Flick - Free to play RPG from Level 5
- Akiba's Trip 2 - Explore Akibahara and tear random people's clothes off in case they're demons
Retail (released)
- Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA f - Rhythm game with the popular vocaloid.
- Time Travelers - ...Level 5 does Heavy Rain?
- Little Battlers eXperience W - Minature mech battle action RPG thing from Level 5
- Lord of Apocalypse - Multiplayer focused action RPG
- Tales of Innocence R - Remake of the DS game.
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Battle Destiny - 3rd person action game
- Moe Moe Daisensou - SRPG with weaponized anime girls.
- Ciel no Surge - Visual novel/dating sim/DLC machine from Gust
- Little Busters! - Visual novel
- The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki Evolution - Enhanced port of the PSP RPG
- Nobunaga's Ambition: Tendou - Port of the PS3 strategy game.
- Fate/stay night Realta Nua - Visual novel.
- Special Reporting Division - Adventure / Visual novel from NIS
- Shin Kamaitachi no Yoru: 11ninme no Suspect - Murder mystery visual novel from Chunsoft
- Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2012 - Japanese baseball
- Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2012 - Cutesy Japanese baseball
- Monster Monpiece - Card battle game with boobs.
- Sengoku Hime 3 - Historical strategy game with anime girls
- Romance of the Three Kingdoms 12 - Historical strategy game
- Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus - Dynasty Warriors + boobs + destructible clothes.
- Phantasy Star Online 2
- Sakura-so no Pet na Kanojo - Visual novel
- Tales of Hearts R - Remake of the DS game.
- One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 - Musou game based on the popular franchise
- Tales of Hearts R Infinte Evolve - Dowloadable 2D companion to Tales of Hearts R
- Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2013 - More Japanese baseball
- Steins;Gate - Visual Novel
- PhotoKano Kiss - Dating sim with photography
- Labyrinth Cross Blood Infinity - Port of the PC/360 scifi dungeon crawler RPG
- Kajiri Kamui Kagura Akebono no Hikari - Visual novel from light
- Sangoku Rensenki: Otome no Heihou! - The Vita's first otome game
- Haiyore! Nyaruko-san - Feel your sanity slip away as 5pb brings Vitas the most moé incarnation of the Cthulhu Mythos yet!
- Memories Off 6 Complete - Compilation of the two Memories Off 6 visual novels
- Memories Off: Yubikiri no Kioku - Visual novel
- Hyperdimension Neptunia PP - Neptunia idol management spin-off
- Winning Post 7 2013 - Horse racing simulator
- Sangoku Hime 2 - Strategy game with anime girls
- XBlaze Code: Embryo - Visual novel
Download (released)
- Samurai & Dragons - F2P fantasy MMORPG with Sega tie-ins
- Guardian Hearts Online - 2D F2P MMORPG
- Assault Gunners - Simple mech shooter
- Spelunker Collection - Compilation of the classic arcade games
- Kaku-San-Sei Million Arthur - F2P card battle game from Square-Enix
- Pawapuro Stadium - F2P cutesy baseball card game
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