I’ve been playing Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on my Switch for a while, and it’s been a lot of fun. Sure, the cutscenes are a bit too long, and the combat eventually gets repetitive. But honestly, it’s a good time. It got me thinking, though, about similar games on our beloved handheld. What if you didn’t have a Switch, but you wanted that action RPG exploration adrenaline? Well, worry not, we’ve got you covered. Here are Games Like Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on the PS Vita.
NOTE: A lot of people may cry “these aren’t open world enough!”. Well, let me tell you: 20+ hours into XC3, there isn’t much openness to the world, either. It’s pretty much on-rails.
1. The Sword Art Online series
3 games from the Sword Art Online series made it to the PS Vita: Hollow Fragment, Lost Song and Hollow Realization. They all revolve around the same concept: that you’re living in a real-world MMORPG. They’re quirky games with lots of charm, big worlds and satisfying combat.
My favorite of the lot is the first one, actually: Hollow Fragment seems very polished and well-developed. Lost Song and Hollow Realization aren’t as enjoyable: the stories feel disjointed and there’s a lot of asset recycling from the first game.
2. The Hyperdimension Neptunia series
This is a bit of a divisive one, as there is quite a bit of fanservice in these games. But I’m a huge fan, and beneath all of the fan service, there’s a solid core of gameplay, loot and crafting. There are a few mainline games, as well as a couple of spinoffs to choose from.
Again, my favorite is the first: Hyperdimension Neptunia Re:Birth1. This comes down mainly to the fact that all other games in the mainline series “borrow” assets and even complete dungeons from this first game. So you might as well play the OG.
3. The Ys Series
Ah, yes. Adol and Ys. We’ve been down this path before, recently. I told you why, despite more recent games in the series, Memories of Celceta is my favorite Ys game on the Vita.
And to be honest, it is: I feel it’s the most open, it certainly performs better than, say, Lacrimosa of DANA. I also like the writing and the characters better.
Overall, if you want an action RPG in the purest JRPG vein, you cannot go wrong with Ys: Memories of Celceta.
BONUS: Some Monster Hunter-like Stuff.
I actually wrote a whole article about Monster Hunter-like games on the Vita, like Soul Sacrifice and Freedom Wars. So if what you want to do is bring down big beasts, I suggest you check out this: Soul Sacrifice + Delta Review: Any Good in 2023? Which Version to Get? | Freedom Wars Review – Sony’s Last Hurrah, Worth Playing in 2023?.
BONUS 2: Open World Stuff
Open World Games: Is The Vita Missing Out? is an article written by our Editor-in-Chief Simon Plumbe, and it’s also well worth a look.
Do You Know of Any More Games Like Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on the PS Vita?
Leave your picks in the comments below, and let’s see if we can’t all come up with a nice little list to share with other residents of #VitaIsland!
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