VITA PSP-go vs PS Vita

[Ezri_Muldoon]

So I used own a PSP-Go, back when I brought it in 2011 I immediately soft-modded it and enjoyed the heck out of playing Eboot PS1 games.
(Digimon World, Klonoa, Wind Commander 3 & 4, Star Trek Invasion etc) alongside Japanese's games that didn't require a robust comprehension of Kanji:
(Kamen Rider Climax Heroes 000, Mai-Hime Senretsu! Shin Fuuka Gakuen Gekitoush etc) and that janky Half-Life 1 Quake 2 engine downport.

I sold it in 2014 and I have come to sincerely regret doing so. The PSP translation scene has exploded and I am the type who enjoys the odd visual novel.
They're basically animated & (sometimes) voice acted Graphic Novel with a save feature what's not to love?
When looking up prices for a replacement ($145 in my region) I discovered it's the exact same price as a after market PS-Vita

Can some PS-Vita nerds help convince me to (or warn me away from) getting a Vita instead?

I know the Vita can't natively run PSP or PS1 games but it can emulate them.
Adrenaline 6.61 seems good, but it's not doing anything the PSP can't.
I know Retroarch works on the Vita, but it seems to cap at Dreamcast games in terms of playability. From my research only a very select few Playstation 2 games run and stability is a coin toss. As an emulation machine the Vita doesn't appear as some massive leapforward beyond its predecessor. It feels like all the extra power the Vita has seems woefully underutilised.
Thanks Sony, I know you hated backwards compatibility since the first PS3 hardware revision but come on.


As for the number of translated Vita games... A lot are available on steam, eroge being the exception and I'm not interested in those lol

So I'm really struggling to "get" why the Vita is so beloved when compared to the PSP? Am I missing something insanely cool?

For a little added context I'm in the process of moving onto an off the grid boat, 100% solar powered with onboard batteries so I've been grabbing handheld consoles alonside switching from a PS5 to a Gaming Laptop last year. I have no interest in physical releases due to space being a premium- hence the choice of a PSP-Go over an 3000 or street. Devices that will ease the workload of the onboard batteries is the goal. Both my Neo Geo Pocket Color & Bandai Wonderswan Color have been modded with backlights with this in mind.
My PSP nostalgia will most likely become my last gaming hardware purchase for the foreseeable future so I just wanted some input before I decide on anything.

 

[CyberRabbit]

The psp go doesn’t have Gravity Rush
The ps vita does have Gravity Rush
I think the choice is clear

 

[elehayyme]

There are some Vita exclusive games such as Gravity Rush that you may want to check into so that'll help determine what route you want to go.

I ended up selling my PSP Go some time ago as it was getting harder to read stuff on the screen and ended up with a Vita instead. Although my Vita unit needs some repair right now, I've really enjoyed the system and the visual novels and otomes that it had to offer. It also gave me a chance to try out some English patched ones made by fans in the community.

Although right now my main go-to unit is another emulation device and I can play some vita games on there, due to the infancy and fragility of Vita3K, I can't play all of them. It is more of trying different builds and seeing what works and what doesn't. Since I don't mind tinkering a bit, this isn't a deal breaker and often find myself sticking with an older build of a software as a result.

Just stuff to keep in mind.

At the end of the day, take a look at all the games you'd be wanting to play and see if it can be done on the Vita or no.

 

[Sumea]

While vita only emulates PSP, it emulates it almost natively. Mind you this is a feature sony could proudly sell digital PSP and PS1 games for, and there are some vita unique settings during PS1 and PSP gameplay. Even the hacks that enable dual analog joystick use for PPSSPP like Armored Core ones work on Vita, giving you true dual analog play. Even if you don't have such patches or hacks, you can also map the Dpad to the second analog stick and have much more grander time in Monster Hunter or Phantasy Star Portable. I had thus far in my testing only one issue with Vita's PSP compatibility; Crimson Room Reverse, which just crashes the Adrenaline/PSP layer so hard you have to reboot the console to use it again. There is like 6 documented, hard "nope" games with major incompatibility with Adrenaline, and one of them can be removed these days because it required the PSP Camera and someone made a plugin that simulates it with vita's cameras (no idea why that wasn't an official feature really).

All in all, those aspects work wonderfully on vita, even homebrew for PSP is compatible, and adrenaline gives you basically same experience as a modded PSP, with the familiar home menu, CFW options and so on.

As it comes to vita itself... It does have some games, like remastered Kiseki (trails in the sky etc.) games with english translations if you search and find them. You can earn trophies from Vita native games if that is your kind of groove. Also, while not stellar by comparison to a PC or hacked Switch, Vita is still more powerful and equipped with better screen for emulation than PSP. GBA is gorgeous at vita's screen size and resolution, as are some other systems that Vita can handle alright.

There is also some interesting homebrew for vita, lots of native ports like WipeOut 1, Diablo 1, fallout 1 and 2, and so forth have fan made ports where you add just original game files an off to the jungle. GTA 3, SA, and Vice City are more famous ones that now need to be dug out from a gray zone after Rockstar takedown.

The negatives? Initial setup needs fiddly setup with PC and synchronization software that can be fiddle riddle to get to work. Better memory card solution has to be bought from eBay seller or such, and goes into your gamecard slot which makes collecting and enjoying physical games harder, I just sold the two I had after backing them up. Vita 1000 has a proprietary USB cable that is also it's charging port while 2000 has microUSB and less coveted screen, though spottiness of my OLED model makes me wish I had a 2000.

A game I was surprisingly into on Vita was Lost Dimension. Could apply an undub patch to the game too. You can do that also for Persona 4 Golden and many other games if not just translation patch a lot of Japanese only titles, Like Catherine Full Body.

 

[Ezri_Muldoon]

There is also some interesting homebrew for vita, lots of native ports like WipeOut 1, Diablo 1, fallout 1 and 2, and so forth have fan made ports where you add just original game files an off to the jungle. GTA 3, SA, and Vice City are more famous ones that now need to be dug out from a gray zone after Rockstar takedown.

I did not know about those projects, and the idea of playing Fallout with a D-pad (I'm old and want a controller, my days of Quake 3/Unreal Tournament are behind me) is stupidly appealing

 

[Sumea]

I did not know about those projects, and the idea of playing Fallout with a D-pad (I'm old and want a controller, my days of Quake 3/Unreal Tournament are behind me) is stupidly appealing

Vita hs a touch screen but I never tested for sure does fallout vita ports support it, but I am sure there are also basic controls made for the games.
you can check what stuff vita homebrew world offers from here: https://www.rinnegatamante.eu/vitadb/#/
There are tons of interesting stuff that the extra power of vita enables over PSP, even though there are some stuff with a PSP version too.