Wondering since I might be in Japan after the launch...will this be impossible to pick up at a store without having an early preorder? Plus, will the exchange rate really bite me in the ass, or would it be cheaper than importing from play asia or wherever?
It will probably be cheaper than import (given the usual import prices - remember, they too are affected by the rates) and I think that you should be able to pick it up somewhere.
Ok, now for my
Roppongi event impressions.
First and foremost - I was expecting a LOT more people, but I guess a few extra games isn't enough to lure more people to the worst part of Tokyo if you think about gamers. On the other hand, the event is held in 5 parts of Tokyo at once and it's the second day, so yeah, it probably doesn't mean that Vita's already dead.
Overall impressions:
The buttons and analog sticks are a bit smaller than I'd like them to be and will need a bit getting used to, but they're not by any means bad. As for the rear touch pad, it annoyed me a bit, that I was pressing it unknowingly, because I didn't know that I should hold my hands on the grips on the sides. Anyway, isn't half bad. The screen reminded me of my iPhone 4, the picture is clear and really looks good. Also when playing Gravity Daze sun was shining directly at the screen at the effect wasn't as bad as I was afraid it would be, as I could clearly see what I'm doing.
So, I've tried:
BlazBlue - was fun, the d-pad isn't half bad when it comes to fighting games. The game itself is the same thing as the big version, so there's not much to write about it. Graphics looked good.
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 - everything felt like it should and I didn't even notice that the background is static. Graphics were crisp clear during the match, but I think the character select screen was a bit ugly.
Lord of Apocalypse - having cleared the PSP version 4 times I was really expecting this to look much worse. I think it's the game that surprised me the most in the positive way. This will definitely be my launch title.
Gravity Daze - bad things first - during the game there are jaggies on characters although it's not that bad. Other than that the game looks, feels and plays great. Yes, you can use buttons in conversations (although we already knew that from the dev walkthrough). And for all those wondering, you don't have to use the gyroscope to aim while levitating, the right stick works as well. To be honest, it's sometimes easier to use that than to tilt Vita, if you need to make a 180 degree turn or something. Also, the end of the boss fight, when after flicking my finger over the touchscreen the heroine did some badass attack blew me away. Will buy this day 1.
Uncharted - I'm not really a fan of Uncharted games. 2 was fun and all, but I'm kind of bored of climbing clearly visible platforms etc. Other than the fire, which really could use some work, the game looks quite good, although I have to agree with the "muddiness" of the graphics. It wasn't crisp clear as in other games. On the other hand, the amount of details etc. was great for a portable game.
Little Deviants - I've played 2 different minigames, but sadly they both involved the gyroscope (I wanted to test the rear pad one). That said, it was pretty fun. Given the low price (2000 yen, as opposed to normal 5-6k), I'll probably buy it.
Dark Quest - lack of some kind of dash etc. made the boss fight a bit tedious. Wouldn't buy it for the full price, but I guess if you can't get enough of hack and slash games, it's not that bad. Still had a kind of half baked feeling to it. I wasn't impressed.
Monster Radar - I seriously don't understand why someone would buy this thing. As opposed to other demos on the event, instead of playing the game, it was more listening to an explanation of some dude, who introduced all the features. Meh, catching monsters by going to certain spots (or buying items in the in-game store which extend player's reach up to 3000 km, you get money by selling your monsters) and being able to pet them and give them toys so they grow bigger isn't really my kind of thing. The process of catching the monsters boils down to finding them with the camera and touching them to use the net. Meh.
Dynasty Warriors NEXT - yes, the graphics is good. But don't be fooled, I think it had a bit less on screen units than the big version (still was much better in that aspect than Dynasty Warriors PS2 multiplayer). I'm bored to death by DW, so I didn't play to the end, but I guess it'll be a great title for series fans. Yeah, using the touch screen controls to rip through wave of enemies was pretty fun.
Ragnarok Odyssey - my biggest disappointment. The graphics looks clear but there aren't really many details there. Also, the battle system seems to be more shallow than the one in LoA and MH. Overally, it was pretty boring and I think I won't buy it after all...
Wipeout 2048 - I forgot how hard the Wipeout games were. During my first race I fell of the track so many times that I thought I'm playing the burning lap mode. Well, that was until all other racers passed beside me. Anyway, looks great and is pretty fun to play. I didn't test the other control types, but it seems that you can race tilting the console and there's one more there. Don't know the details, sorry.
Tales of Innocence R - the graphics were crisp, but because of that it was easy to see how simple everything is. The models, the background, it looks like a DS game played on an emulator which does a good work with bumping the resolution. Also, I think there wasn't any voice acting (I skipped all the scenes to be sure to make it to the end of the demo version, as I've had about 10 minutes for each game).
Reality Fighters - the fighters looked much better than I thought they will, and the fights were very flashy. Didn't make my own guy, so I don't know how good it is at recreating faces, but it was better than I thought.
Monkey Ball - it was Monkey Ball, not really much to say about that. The graphics were crisp clear although lacked a bit detail, but that's not what the game is about. Tilting the console to move the stage worked as it should.
To wrap it up. I thought the games would look a bit better then they did, but in the end
I won't cancel my Vita preorder. Also, if you have any questions about the games I've played or the system ask away, but let me say that I didn't have a chance to play with the XMB.