Sony’s PlayStation Portable’s successor, the PlayStation Vita, might’ve been officially declared “dead” since the company discontinued its production back in March 2019. Just less than six years after its debut. However, despite Sony’s apparent lack of interest in the handheld, its dedicated fanbase keeps finding ways to revitalize the beloved portable gaming platform. Early this week, notable PS Vita homebrew developers who are known in the community as TheFl0W and Rinnegatamante have ported the PS2 classic GTA: San Andreas into the console. Previously they have also ported GTA III and Vice City as well.
Unlike the GTA III and Vice City ports that were based on the reverse-engineered, open-source version of the PC releases though, the PS Vita GTA: San Andreas port is actually based on the Android version of the game. Nonetheless, TheFl0w and Rinnegatamante have made many tweaks and additions to the game to make it run and play better. Including PlayStation 2-like visuals, improved facial expressions, PC cheats support, and around 30FPS performance. And with yesterday’s 1.1 updates, loading speeds have been significantly improved thanks to the help of another homebrew developer, Graphene from Team CBPS. Watch how smooth the game runs by watching Modern Vintage Gaming’s video below.
Check out TheFl0W’s Github page to learn how to install GTA: San Andreas into your PS Vita. Although there are several things to note:
- Your PS Vita has to be jailbroken and you have to have the original Android .apk application file to be able to install and run the game.
- The installation tutorial and tools might be a bit confusing if you’re not used to the jailbreaking scene. Do it at your own risk! We are not responsible for any damage happening to your device.
And as I mentioned before, yes, GTA III and Vice City have been available since February on the PS Vita. Seeing as both ports are based on the PC version, you will need your own copy of the games. If you don’t have physical copies to install (or who has a disc drive these days?), you can buy them through the Steam Store. Check the re3-vita page for GTA III installation and files, and reVC-vita for Vice City. Furthermore, as a bonus, the Android version of Max Payne is also playable on the handheld. Again, install them at your own risk.
If you’re still unsure about jailbreaking, you can play two spin-off titles, GTA: Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories instead. They were first released for the PSP before being re-released on the PS2. Through PS Vita’s built-in PSP emulator, you could play those (and other PSP games) digitally; whether you have jailbroken the device or not. Now in case you haven’t sold off your Vita yet, get ready to relive the PS2 nostalgia in the little handheld that could. Stay tuned for more PlayStation games news and information in the future.
