Good point. I guess I have to allow Persona 4 Golden then ... and it's a great game, probably the best for Vita. But if you're looking for the quintessential great handheld game, Tetris still seems to me to be the one to beat.

Playing remote play on my Vita allows me to play my PS4 pro on the go (with games like Tetris Effect and the game of the year God of War), I'm constantly pleasantly surprised about how advanced and capable this handheld device has been. My favorite game running natively for it has been Persona 4 Golden having to choose just one. The LEGO movie video game and LEGO Batman follow that for my favorites.

For me, for its time, it was the PSP.

Great looking games at a time when graphics were not a priority. Tons of features at a time when smart phones weren't a big deal (comics, movies, web browser, PS1 backwards compatible, music, and more!). Decent battery life. Fully digital if you want to be. And most of all, just a great library of games.

*And that, folks, is why you read the op instead of misreading the thread title!

Some other handheld games that I think deserve a special shout out:

Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories
Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep
Uncharted Golden Abyss
Tekken Dark Resurrection
Ridge Racers (PSP)

Any Castlevania game on GBA or DS, pretty much. Some of my favorite games of all time, handheld or not. Same goes for the Advance Wars series.

For me it comes down to Shin megami tensei 4, metal gear solid peace walker, and dragon quest 9

Best: Pokémon Gold/Silver

With Mario and Luigi Partners in time coming second

Why of course, Angry Birds... /s

Pokemon gold/silver

My personal favorites, in no particular order:

-Final Fantasy Tactics (PSP)
-Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA)
-Advance Wars DS (DS)
-Tetris (any version)
-Super Street Fighter 4 (3DS)

Any one of those games would be all I need for months and months.