After Freedom Wars, this PlayStation Vita classic deserves a remaster

If there’s one thing that the PlayStation Vita delivered, it was great Monster Hunter clones after Capcom’s hit series jumped ship from PSP to Nintendo 3DS. The list included games like Koei Tecmo’s Toukiden, Bandai Namco’s God Eater, and Gungho’s Ragnarok Odyssey Ace. While these mission-based games were perfect fit for the Vita’s pick-up-and-play lifestyle, they were also available on PS3.

Sony Japan even joined into the fray with the 2015 Vita exclusive Freedom Wars, which is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a remaster on modern platforms next January, courtesy of Bandai Namco. On the heels of that surprise announcement, there’s one other hunting action game that needs to break free from the Vita’s shackles: Soul Sacrifice Delta. It’s an enhanced version of 2013’s Soul Sacrifice that added more content and gameplay adjustments.

Grimdark Archfiend hunter

Soul Sacrifice Delta was released in 2014 and designed by Keiji Inafune (yes, the auteur behind the infamous Mighty No. 9). It plays like how you’d expect from a Monster Hunter-like action game. You can hunt down your main target and hit its weak points to gather materials and create stronger weapons. It’s an engaging gameplay loop that makes sure you’re always prepared to fight increasingly stronger monsters.

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The story follows a trapped slave by the evil sorcerer Magusar. While in captivity, the slave finds a sentient book named Librom and uses it to witness Magusar’s descent into evil by reliving past battles. These fights, known as Phantom Quests, allow the slave to gradually gain experience and learn powerful spells in order to eventually fight back against Magusar.

What makes the storytelling effective is that most cutscenes are told through simple drawings and the dialogue