PS Vita as a Retro Gaming Handheld (Review) 

"This system is made to play Sony hardware game and it's not meant to play Sega games." Buddy, the Sega Saturn was barely meant to play Sega Saturn games.

Me buying PSvita to play PSP games

Hey man, I've been using my vita for over 4 years and let me tell you that the emulation isnt bad. The problem was retroarch, you should just use emulators that were made on psp, then you will have no crashes at all and the vita has a n64 emulator in the making that has over half the library playable. So yes the vita is amazing on retro emulation. You just took the wrong path

So I used your guide and now this thing is awesome! I am now playing so much on this now and I was glad I had your channel to learn/walk thru with. Keep up the awesome work and I’m looking forward to more from your channel

I kinda wish you mentioned that even though the Retroarch arcade emulation is pretty poor on Vita, with the 100% PSP/PS1 compatibility you still get TONS of essential arcade games through various releases, collections and compilations. Just “some” PSP examples like: Midway Arcade Treasures(Mortal Kombat 1-3, Rampage, Spy Hunter etc), Darkstalkers Chronicle The Chaos Tower(all 3 games in 1), Namco Museum, Metal Slug Collection, Capcom Classics Collections(Street Fighter 1 and several version of 2, Strider, Final Fight, Captain Commando etc), Capcom Puzzle World, King of Fighters The Orochi Saga, Samurai Shodown Anthology, Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX, SNK Classics Collection 0 and 1, Activision Hits Remixed, Sega Genesis Collection, EA Replay, Atari Classics Evolved and Atari Flashback Classics etc On PS1 front you can have versions of some of the popular arcade games at the time as well like Marvel Super Heroes, X-Men vs Street Fighter, Tekken 1-3, Mortal Kombat 4, Soul Edge, Marvel vs Capcom, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Dead or Alive etc. And if you want a lil bit of Dreamcast on your Vita as well, there’s an official Jet Set Radio remaster on Vita, Crazy Taxi Fare Wars(includes first 2 games) and Power Stone Collection on PSP. I know the point of the video was mostly the emulation, but I just wanna give a heads up for people even though you can’t emulate some of these games, it doesn’t mean there’s no way for you to play these games on Vita! :)

20:42 I'm a huge metal gear fan, and as soon as I saw Adrenaline I knew I was able to play my beloved metal gear acid 2! You've helped me make my purchase decision. Thanks so much :D

I've watched some of your videos. you are good at reviewing, detailed content and good consideration of what people expect. great one! subscribed!

It’s cool that it took them one year and 5 months to get all of those system available and fix most issues you mentioned. Dreamcast can be an issue depending on which core you choose.

Nice video, Vita / PSTV owner here. The setup and config of retroarch and other emulators can be a pain on the Vita, but I think the emulation is better than what you might have experienced if you try a few additional options like installing CPS1 / 2 emulators via adrenaline and using different MAME cores in retroarch, for example I can run 90s arcade games like T2, MK and more without the same issues you have, but it did take a while to set it up.

One of the most comprehensive reviews on RU-vid. Thank you fellow gamer for your service. Salute

I think there are some cases that add the L,R 2 and 3 buttons via pads on the back

I love my PS Vita. That D Pad is just so satisfying to use and the OLED screen is absolutely gorgeous. It's no longer my main emulation device, but every time I boot it up I'm reminded how gorgeous it looks.

Excellent video. For the L2/R2, I bought a case that has the L2/R2 buttons and it works surprisingly well.

just wanted to say, BIG thanks for all the guides you provided so far! Not only regarding PS Vita, but also all the other system/handhelds.

Super informative review/comparison! This video had all of the information I was looking for summed up perfectly.

I have a vita and honestly having the ability to play any vita, psp, or ps1 game cause I modded it is fcking amazing.

Always the most common comment in retro handheld and emulation groups is always the Vita is the greatest thing ever etc. This was probably the best review video i've seen in comparison to an emulation handheld. Great video!

As a computer retro guy as well it's worth mentioning you can play C64 and some others as well...lots of great gaming to be had on the 8 and 16 bit pcs of the day!

Great video man! Really enjoyed it. Good explanation from A to Z.

You answer all my questions i watch start to end

I’m glad you made this video. I am a huge fan of using a Vita for retro emulation. I only need to emulate up to GBA and PS1. For me the premium hardware, oled screen and overall support is why I prefer it. I modded mine to run a 5000mah battery so I get 8-10 hours of runtime. Plus I am working on removing the stock charger port and replacing it with a USBC and make it compatible with data and charging. Another thing to try is to install lolicon via the Auto plugin to overclock the vita cpu to 500mhz

I have had my vita and ps modded since it was first able to and never looked back. In fact any short comings for the vita and retro in my opinion is bested by the fantastic OLED screen. My vita has never crashed in emulation. I think you need to look at your software configs.

The vita is a god as far as emulation goes. I missed the boat on the vita originally but got a fat and slim version last year and there both fantastic.

Great vid man, i had my psvita ages, so il give you a tip, use retro emulators on adrenaline, you can still find the likes of snes and nes genesis and mastersytem and many more emulators for the orignal psp that work great. Adrenaline is the best aide to run 16bit emulation on the vita

Premium text and voicing: very informative, explicative and solid in general! Big thanks from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia! ;-)

Hey! emulation has gotten A LOT better since this video, I know it's been only like 4 months, but with the new version of retroarch I haven't experienced any crash and you can emulate perfectly from PSX and below, though some psx games get small slowdowns.

Ty! The best retro gaming channel on yt! Keep going!!)))

My dream when I was a I kid was to have a portable PS1 that I can play anywhere. The vita is the PS1 machine that I've always wanted.

It's been 2 years since the video came out and a lot has changed. Nintendo 64 games now work perfectly on Vita thanks to Daedalusx64. I just finished Super Mario 64 and it's running without any problems.

I recently grabbed one of these based on your review as I pretty much exclusively want to play ps1 and psp games on it, due to the closure of the network stores. And I've found a few fixes for the issues, like you can get grips for it that give you l2 and r2 buttons and also protects it from most finger prints, and japan has a tonne of them, basically brand new, that you can import for less than 150, and the only difference is the O and X buttons are swapped for menus.

Thanks for this video. For a few weeks I've been eyeing ps Vita for retro emulations even though I have a psp. I heard that ps vita had better hardware so I assumed that it was going to be better but it seems like I should wait until development catches up

gpSP requires the GBA BIOS to be in the system folder in order to run. There was a bug in its dynarec too, but that was fixed a while ago. You should try it again.

"5 inches feels like the perfect size" me: tell that to my ex girlfriend

I ordered a vita to play psp & vita games, so knowing a hacked one can play those perfectly is comforting. thanks 😊

Great video! I think another con of the Vita is the propietary/charging. If you don't have or forget your charger your done.. at least with the 1000 version.

Great review and detailed overview. I appreciate it.

Great Review as always! This has quickly become one of my favorite Channels for Retro Devices! Also some extra stuff that might be of use for people interested in getting a Vita: - Some PSP games actually play better on the Vita than on an original PSP, because of the right Stick. Mainly any PSP game that originally used the D-Pad for camera controls (Monster Hunter, MGS Peace Walker, Splinter Cell etc.); - If you're willing to shell out, there are grips you can buy that essentially add L2/R2/L3/R3 buttons, though good ones can be somewhat expensive. It does make playing over remote play a lot better though;

One benefit of the OLED 1000 model is the black bars almost look like part of the casing when you use original aspect ratios.

What a nice video. You have a really soothing narrative voice ^^

Thank you for this _exemplary_ review.

While there are limitations of the Vita, the quality of a Sony product is just amazing. I really appreciate how you mentioned the HD collections as well. No handheld system on the market can play MGS 1, 2 and 3.

Hacking is easy. In terms of retro gaming it does everything. Definitely plays n64 games these days. Don’t rely on retroarch look for stand alone emulators. VITA IS KING.

Hi, this is the video I was looking for, I will use my PS VITA for PS1 PSP PS VITA games, and I will get a RG351P for retro gaming. Again a great video, keep up the good work.

Thinking about a VITA touchpad and screen gloss reflective surface problem... You know that you could solve the problem by using adhesive transparent foil,and better for touch pad if you find a mat adhesive,won't be sticky like glass glossy one. Should get more precission there after that mod. Great video!

I just bought a vita this month for three reasons: Psp, Oled, Persona 4 golden !

Currently in retroarch, if you use the arcade emulators of each core separately it reaches 60 fps in marvel vs capcom (using fbalpha cps-2) and neo geo games (using fbalpha neo-geo). Just run away from the fbneo.

Nice video and best device ever. Once bios and/or cores updated, emulators (even gba ones) work like charm and no crashes

Thank you for the video brother. You're the only one who made one like this so far. I've always wanted a hack my Vita to play retro games but I'm very glad that you pointed out that it's not best for retro. If I do hack it then it will be for PSP and Vita games and the PSP Minis. Right now I am happy with my Super Odroid Go. Im considering getting the Aya Neo as well.

Ps vita dpad is my favorite of any console. The analog sticks have a bit of a sharp edge for me but I put caps on them and they're great

Hey just a note on the retro gaming on this device , this videos is now relatively old so your opinion may have changed however if you ditch retroarch and use native emulators on the Vita and even more so, retro emulators for the PSP your experience may differ considerably as the PSP has very solid emulators with years of development behind them

Great video, good pacing. Ive dug out my vita as the PS store is closing soon and I need to hack it to access games that I dont have physical copies for (as the prices on those will skyrocket). Good to see that retro emulation is going to be a good side product of hacking it.

I'm so glad I got a Vita off someone for £20. OLED version too. I got it a couple years ago or more but barely used it... until now. Some coworker wanted to get rid of it. I got 2 cases, FF X-2 HD or whatever it's called and a 32GB memory card. Such a steal. Now I hacked it not long ago and it's been amazing. I've been using Adrenaline non stop. So many PSP games I missed. Vita has some good ones but I'll get to them later. I already finished a few.

the psp's N64 emulator runs pretty well, and since adrenaline is essentially the PS vita's front end to its internal PSP emulator you can basically use all of the PSP's retro console emulators - most of which run exceptionally well since the PSP is over 17 years old at this point. as for the remote play L2/L3 R2/R3 issue, there is a special grip you can buy which will turn those into actual triggers on the back of the console, i've been playing with that grip for 2 years now and it works pretty neatly, its not perfect but it is significantly better than the touch pads

Don't forget that you can run all the retro emulators that were developed for the PSP while inside Adrenaline

Very informative, thanks.

The psvita is beautiful. That piano black is just stunning.

1) For fingerprints, get an anti glare screen protector for like, $2 2) It doesn't do PS3 Remote Play unless you're emulating the PSP, in which case it works with precisely one game, because Sony dropped Remote Play on the PS3 faster than OJ dropped gloves out the window of his SUV 3) For remote play, you're better off using a DS4, which you can install a mod to support as long as you're unlocked for homebrew. Then you can use L2/R2/L3/R3 properly. Get one of those DS4 mobile phone grips. 4) In Japan you can readily find a microUSB port adapter for the 1000 model for about $6, look in any yamada denki or other big electronics warehouse.

The main thing you did wrong is you used Retroarch for some unknown reason. Who told you it's a good idea? You're blaming the console for not doing good emulation, but you used the wrong software.

I chose the rg351p, thanks to you and your tutorials. I've gotten almost everything I set out to do finished on my rg351. Thank you russ you are god sent.

Great overview!

I feel like I missed out on a lot wth the Vita and didnt even really realize it until I got mine from a Pawn Shop for $135. I absolutely adore this thing and I havent hacked it yet but it feels so satisfying to play. The d pad (I am a sucker for clicky), sticks and buttons feel really nice and very responsive. I'd reccomend it to anyone. This is a fantastic video. Despite some of the emulation issues it has in not being able to run DS or N64 and such is dissapointing but I am 100% sure like you are that that gets worked out. Thanks for this video @RetroGameCorp

I have a 2DS XL for (3)DS games, then the rest of my retro gaming I have my goto Vita ;)

I have 2 PS Vitas and never thought it was worthwhile jailbreaking them. I have a big PS Vita library and some essential PS1 Classic and PSP games like Castlevania SOTN and Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, and the device is well worth owning just for those games. This was a great video and I very much appreciate you sharing your experience with it. I might hack my Vita 2000 just for Adrenaline.

I still have my OLED model I got back at launch. Got a new battery a year ago and this device has been giving me everything I want out of a retro handheld. Until we aee good PS2/GC emulation in a readily available handheld this will do for me.

I ended up settling on the gpd xd plus for my emulation needs it's not perfect but decently powerful

The Vita is such a beautiful handheld...💯✔

subscribed! great video !

Great review !

I'm learning english , so this not going to be perfect , but...i understand almost everything you say (with subtitles as "assistance") and that's very pleasant to me as your content is something i do like. Thanks! I've got mine here , it's a Fat one and i play it a lot.

Hey Russ I haven't been using my vita much for retro gaming but I do mess around alot with plugins and I suggest you try installing a plug-in called PSVshell in autoplugin which over clocks your vita with the sacrifice of some battery life.. try those arcade games again with an overclock and I think you should get some different results. Been enjoying your input on all of these devices, keep it up!

Enjoying your channel man 👍 I'm more of an Android/Raspberry Pi man myself when it comes to emulating old consoles, but I've never been 100% satisfied with either of them. Whether it's clunky controls or limited support for systems, neither of them are as perfect as I'd like. I don't think the be-all, end-all solution has been found yet for gamers who like portable devices but hopefully we'll get closer to that ideal over time.

for the ps4 remote play, they make grips targeted at fixing the back touchpad issue. It has triggers on it for tactile feedback, so maybe that would be more up your alley.

anyone else watching this in 2023 hoping russ works on it again?

What really hurts the vita is that the sticks make it hard to just throw it in a bag. They stick out so they can get caught and that could break them and they're also open so dust and gunk get in. So you need a case and it better be a hard case

Had my Vita since 2011, bought it on launch day but I only jailbreaked it last year. I love playing retro games in Retroarch on this device, mostly Genesis, SNES & MAME. Heck I don't even play Vita games anymore! This handheld was really built to last in my opinion.

to get the gpsp core to work you have to get the game boy advance bios and put it in the system folder in retroarch

Hori has an add-on shell for the Vita that basically adds L2, L3, R2 and R3 buttons to the Vita, it basically snaps onto the system and I assume just touches the back touch-screen in order to act as a button press. Perfect for those remote-play games. Now, from what I found its only for the PSVita 2000, not sure if they make one for the original version. Saw some other weird Chinese brand one that kinda looked like it did that, but it was really janky.

It's a great little device for retro gaming. I love being able to play all my modern PS4 games remotely on it too. Covers both bases. And that's not even mentioning being able to play PSP and Vita games perfectly.

I got the Nyko Power Grip and the Hori L1,R1,L2,R2,L3,R3 grip. Both help out a ton with that ergonomic issue

Just picked one up on ebay thanks to your video. Great tip about needing a stock memory card! The vita looks like it pairs perfectly with a 3ds to tackle the Nintendo side of things. Do you know if Sony is supporting the vita alongside the PS5?

I miss my Vita it was such an amazing device.... I sold mine at an awful time too it was when the price just stopped dropping. So I sold mine years ago for what it would cost me to buy one in worse condition with no accessories today.

Very nice and informative review. A couple of corrections: Street Fighter Alpha III is a CPS2 game, not CPS3. And there is something wrong with your RetroArch arcade settings. CPS2 games run perfectly well on my Vita in RetroArch, as they do in the stand alone emulators for PSP, stable 60fps. They run perfectly even on a PSP. So honestly it's unfair to say the emulation is not great on Vita. As long you play up to 16bit games, it offers the same emulation quality of the RG351p.

the remote play feature blew my mind, i wouldn't mind using the back touchpad to use the shoulder buttons

Love going back a few years before russ got his youtube voice! Just messing with you thanks for years of great content.

I only use my og vita for PSP and vita games. For everything retro I’m enjoying collecting the other handhelds. Interesting video, I’m surprised it isn’t better for emulation.

I haven’t had any issues with retroarch, I wonder why yours kept crashing? I also don’t play arcade games, so I can’t complain about how it runs those games. Also, there is an N64 emulator, but it only plays about half of the library in a consistent state,

Interesting thing about Remote Play on the PS4, depending on the game, they will sometimes remap the buttons to suit your Vita so that it feels more natural. Not every game does it, but I believe Uncharted collection does. It sucks that not every game does this though.

The vita is still very active in the community. One thing you didn't mention is all the plugins. For example you can add a plug-in that lets you add a controller. This solves the button problem. I know it's a little 'xtra' but still. Also the plug-in for psp that lets you add an additional stick to certain games. The problem is their I'd just soooo much with the vita, it's hard to keep track of.

PS Vita has N64 emulator and there's a Dreamcast emulator too (not stable yet)

There is an addition for hardware mod for the L2/R2 & L3/R3 now It’s like having an additional four triggers on the back of your PS Vita and also they come in white or black attachments I actually just ordered them they’re so awesome. It literally fixes this problem for you immediately. And not only that but the form factor attachment fits your hand so much better than without. The extra triggers are sleek and give a slight tactile feel upon depression It’s also Hardly noticeable as well as making your handheld console a very smooth feel in totality overall, Making some of those games that were hardly tolerable entirely playable now

I own the vita and the RG350M and I have to say I enjoy them both, but for retro games I use the RG350M and vita, psp, and PlayStation games I use the vita. Both of them are awesome devices. Love the video man.

First time anyone has ever loved 5 inches this much. Great review, will add this to my collection.

mGBA VPK by endrift is probly best GBA emu on Vita tbh. I covered my eyes when i saw RetroArch.

The best device that I use to play retrogames it's GPDXD. It's the best, for me. I Just use my PS Vita to play Vita and PSP games. Nice video, bro. Hugs from Brazil!

Perfecttttt review. LOVE. Suscribe

There is a case with l2/r2 integrated into it for the vita.

Yeah bro n64 they running good almost all the game they have release a native emu for n64 on ps vita

Quite fair review, well done. That price tag definitely is marked up due to Covid but, imo, 200$ is still worth it.

L2 and R2 works if you tap de back of the vita, on the dotted area, in the rear touch pad

Yeah, I would HIGHLY recommend you do better research in the future, as Retroarch is just about the worst emulator on the Vita, and I only use it for situations were it's the only option. The Vita has many specific system emulators that run great, and most of the best ones, are from the PSP. As they are much more optimized for the PSP, and when used on the Vita, gets a great horsepower boost. Final Burn Alpha runs Aliens VS Predator perfectly, as I play it most days and that's the Vita specific emu. The best emu's are mostly PSP versions, like SNES9, Nester J, gpSP kai & Picodrive and these can all be used by setting them up through Adrenaline(yes, more work, but much better results). And while they aren't perfect, there's very few games that can't run in one emulator, that won't run better in a different one. I understand that Retroarch is an all in 1 type of deal(so 1st choice for ease), but I would recommend you make another video and try some emulators that actually work, before stating the Vita isn't good for emulation, because it's much, much better than what you have shown here(and by a very good margin).