The Vita is the handheld I chose and I basically am 50/50 on whether I regret choosing it over the 3DS. On one hand, I can play Darkstalkers anywhere (I could on my PSP too but this is more dynamic) along with most of my favorite PSX titles, namely FFVII/VIII, Tekken 1/2 (why no 3???) and some others. The SNK love is admirable as well, so I got KoF '99 and there's some arcade compilation that has a decent selection that I wanted to get on PSN.
The problem is that I find myself having no interest in any of the big titles for the system. The only physical game I own is FFX Remaster and all it has done is made me realize that I was, in fact, peering through some pretty dense rose-tinted goggles when I originally played through the game (the linearity is almost unbearable). I obviously need to get Persona 4, but I downloaded Persona 3 because someone recommended I play it before 4 due to some preferences I had. I love that game, but haven't immersed myself in it in a while, so I find no big reason to rush for Persona 4 at this time.
I don't know, its definitely a shitty, failed console but people like me who mostly play older games from my generation have got to appreciate it. I chose it as a birthday gift so luckily I didn't spend any money on it.
EDIT: Regarding the Persona/Shin Megami shit, I'd be a lot happier honestly if they put a fucking translated port of the original Super Famicom on PSN. Also it drives me fucking crazy that Super Puzzle Fighter is available, but not for the Vita. There's no reason for that. It's a perfect handheld game.