Nope, don't get a Vita

I mean, the only argument I can really put forward for someone in your circumstances is that there are a handful of exclusives available that aren't on other PS systems, but there won't be that many. Off the top of my head:

- The Caligula Effect
- Demon Gaze
- Freedom Wars
- Killzone
- MS Gundam Extreme Vs. Force
- Oreshika
- Persona 4 Dancing All Night
- Soul Sacrifice Delta
- Uncharted
- Ys Memories of Celceta

Are all worth playing. There's also stuff like all the Atelier and Disgaea games on Vita have all the DLC included plus extra content which is exclusive to the platform, in some cases it's quite significant (Atelier Shallie has a load of extra chapters that tie up the storylines of the previous games).

Plus, it sounds like you're not much of a PC gamer, so there's games available for Vita which aren't on any other PS platforms like:

- Conception II
- The Hyperdimension Neptunia games (do NOT play the PS3 versions - Vita/PC versions are miles better)
- Muramasa Rebirth
- Mind 0
- New Little King's Story
- Operation Abyss/Babel
- Ray Gigant
- Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus/Bon Appetit
- Trillion God of Destruction
- Valkyrie Drive

There's plenty of PSP games in this vein too, stuff like Fate/Extra; the Legend of Heroes games; Mana Khemia; Persona 1/2/3; Valkyria Chronicles II; the Ys games

Vita has been worth it as a console for me because it amalgamates 20 years of PlayStation gaming in one place, on a portable platorm that I can play on the go; as well as giving me console-quality RPG's on a handheld. For me, I never owned a handheld before Vita (aside from GBC which I played Pokemon on) and I didn't think I ever wanted a handheld. Now, it's been my main gaming platform for the last 5 years and will likely be for the next year or two.

But not every platform has to be for everyone. And from the sounds of things, it just doesn't sound like Vita is for you. Which is fine - if it doesn't appeal to you, don't get one. I've uhmed and ahhed about getting a 3DS for years but I've decided it just isn't for me so I won't be getting one, despite the strong arguments for why it's great.

Maybe compromise and just get a PSTV? They're cheaper; play the vast majority of PS1 & PSP games and plays every single one of the games I listed above aside from Uncharted?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW-14GXJ7Kk

also look into getting one of these: (PSVita SD Card Adapter microSD)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzYqEKxXNXM

it comes with a girl friend

Ys 7 is on PSN so you can play it on a few Sony consoles like Vita I think.

BTW I only mentioned true exclusives there, there are a few more handheld exclusives like (3DS, Vita) and (PSP, Vita).

Big examples being Tales of Hearts R and Tales of Innocence R for DS and Vita.

Highschool DxD

Lord of Arcana

Muramasa (Wii, Vita)

Bunch of visual novels (PC, Vita)

Old games like Romancing Saga (SNES, Vita)

And 5 notable true exclusives I forgot, Oreshika which Kresnik mentioned and Soul Sacrifice+ Delta, Resistance Vita, and Persona 4 and 5 Dancing.

I thought your goal was to play games that weren't available anywhere else?

(I'd recommend getting a Vita over a PSTV anyway, it's just your whole angle in interacting with me in this thread has been "give me games I can't get elsewhere" not "portability is important to me").

I can't really do the PSP compatibility for you unfortunately because that's just too mammoth of a job even for me. Just go onto the PS Store of whatever region you're from; go to the PSP tab and flick through the games. The ones compatible with Vita will have Vita flagged up on the listing.

If you're a US gamer there's an out-of-date but somewhat relevant list here:

https://www.cheapassgamer.com/topic/281768-complete-list-of-pspminispsone-games-playable-on-vita/page-1

But bear in mind games get removed from PSN all the time. The longer you wait; the fewer PSP games playable on Vita will be able to be downloaded. I can tell you Ace Combat: Joint Assault used to be on there but it's not anymore.

As for Vita games not on PS3/PS4, here's what I can come up with (that are somewhat decent and might interest you):

- Adventures of Mana
- Ar no Surge Plus has extra content on Vita not available in the PS3 version
- Atelier Rorona; Totori; Meruru; Ayesha; Escha & Logy; Shallie have extra content on Vita not available on the PS3 versions
- The Caligula Effect
- Civilization Revolution 2 Plus
- Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars
- Criminal Girls 1/2
- Demon Gaze
- Disgaea 3/4 have extra content on Vita not available on the PS3 versions
- Drive Girls
- Dungeon Travelers 2
- Earth Defence Force 2/Earth Defence Force 2017
- Freedom Wars
- HTOL#NIQ
- Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;birth 1/2/3
- Hyperdevotion Noire
- Hyperdimension Neptunia U
- Killzone Mercenary
- LittleBigPlanet PS Vita
- Luminies Electronic Symphony
- MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death
- Megatagmension Blanc & Neptune
- Mind=0
- Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs. Force
- Modnation Racers Road Trip
- Monster Monpiece/Moero Chronicle
- Muramasa Rebirth
- Murasaki Baby
- New Little King's Story
- Operation Abyss/Operation Babel
- Oreshika Tainted Bloodlines
- Persona 4 Golden/Dancing All Night
- Ray Gigant
- Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus
- Severed
- Shiren the Wanderer 5
- Sorcery Saga
- Soul Sacrifice Delta
- Steins;Gate
- Stranger of Sword City
- Tales of Hearts R
- Trillion God of Destruction
- TxK
- Uncharted Golden Abyss
- Unit 13
- Valhalla Knights 3
- Valkyrie Drive
- Yomawari: Midnight Shadows

If you're into importing and using guides I can give you like 5-10 more recommendations too lol.

That's just from a quick 10 minute sweep, there's probably more that I'm missing.

But honestly, if you don't mind me saying... it sounds like you just don't want a Vita. You keep putting up all these barriers and hoops you want the console to jump through before you buy one, and I get that it's an investment and you need to think about it but... buying a console should be fun. The hardware is as cheap as it's ever going to be now - price will only increase as they get rarer.

You should be thinking "yeah I really want to play xyz on it" and you've already listed games you want to play on it, but you're still hesitant. Which suggests you don't really want one. So don't get one then, save your money and get something else :P

Get a Switch instead.

Woah, for a beginner like me, this is a very useful list. Thanks!!

It's a semi-discontinued handheld that will hold its value in the second hand market due to increasing rarity, if you're worried about the monetary side.

If that's the case is it not the perfect investment for you, regardless of whether you could play all its shared library on PS3/PS4 but because you can play any games you want to play but haven't yet on those consoles on the go, on more than just weekends? :P

Regardless, I think I've weighed in enough on this topic now. Good luck whatever you decide. Come join us in the Official Vita thread if you do decide to get one!

Welcome. That list is just a starting point by the way, I just skimmed through and probably missed out a lot of stuff.

I also left off games I didn't think BraLoD would be interested in like A.W Phoenix Festa or a load of visual novels (stuff like Collar x Malice or Code Realize)