any1th3r3

Most handhelds tbh.
I didn't really grow up with "traditional" (home) consoles, but I always had handhelds (and a PC).
I have trouble going back to most handheld games pre-Vita nowadays, even if I remember the PSP (and GBA to a certain extent) fondly, between the controls, smaller screen and cut versions of games vs their home console counterparts, it's hard to go back. Emulation makes it somewhat nicer for me, but still.
And let's not begin with GB or GG games, they have a certain charm, but I usually can't stand them for more than 5 mins nowadays.

Shmups, I'm only a beginner but I have a few suggestions:

• ESP Ra.De. - somewhat slower bullet hell with pretty interesting scoring, the "Psi" re-release has a lot of useful QoL features.
• Espgaluda II - you could think of it as a successor to the former, it has refined gameplay and recent releases have great QoL features. Somewhat faster paced bullet hell?
• Ikaruga / Radiant Silvergun - Although these are two very different games, they have entirely different mechanisms to most other shmups. Ikaruga feels like a "puzzle" game a lot of the time, while Radiant Silvergun has some light RPG elements. Both are somewhat hard to get into imo.
• Dodonpachi Resurrection - great starting point re bullet hells, the recent re-release offers a ton of QoL features and the game itself has interesting scoring / gameplay. Soundtrack is awesome.
• Raiden IV - Super biased, but I love the soundstrack. Pretty great, if simple, game otherwise.

I have many more shmups in my backlog (Ketsui, Dodonpachi Daioujou, Battle Garegga, Rolling Gunner, etc) which I'm sure I could recommend, but seeing as I haven't played them first hand yet... I'll leave it there for now.

Just finished Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty, which I enjoyed greatly, despite all the jank!

I'll likely move on to DMC 5 now, since I left it unfinished a few years ago and would like a shorter / fast-pace game atm.

I've also been playing a fair amount of Guilty Gear Strive on the side, first real fighting game and it's a blast so far trying to learn the right combos, cancels, etc...

Maybe? You would need to know rooting a TV is even a possibility in the first place, I had no idea that was the case and I've had my LG TV for over 4 years.
I'm just pointing out some specifics of the prerequisites, which the article did a pretty bad job of highlighting imo, and how this is not the miraculous solution it's somewhat touted to be.

Not to be a Debby Downer, but you'd either need a LG TV which is already rooted, or one you can root (per the repo's README, "RootMyTV is unlikely to work on firmware released since mid-2022" and given firmware downgrades are impossible...).
AFAIK firmware updates are opt-out by default, so as long as you connect your LG TV to internet, you're likely to have received one, but I could be wrong.

Vancouver, BC

Oh right, that's what I actually understood anyways, so my answer is still the same!

Cyberpunk 2077. I just finished Act 2 last night and I'm (probably) about to begin Phantom Liberty.
Really enjoying most of the story and side quests so far!

If the game is cross-buy compatible with PS3 & PS4, does that mean that buying it on PS3 or 4 will make the game become downloadable on the PS Vita too?

Yes, that's the idea.

And is the PS Vita Store still online?

It is! The only caveat is if you ever want to buy something, you'll need PSN credit on your account (paypal / credit card payment can't be used anymore).

Can I buy a game for PS4 physically on disc and get access to the PS Vita game through cross-buy, or does it only work with digital games?

Ish, that's somewhat iffy. If you were to buy it new, then maybe, but since it relies on a coupon (afaik) which could be expired by now, there's no way to be 100% sure. Used, that's a no-go.

Plus, you can buy PS4 games on the PS store for PS5, so if I buy a PS4 that has cross-buy support with the Vita on a PS5, will cross-buy still work and give me access to the game on the PS Vita?

Absolutely, that would work.

Are you looking for cross-play / cross-buy titles? In which case, I tend to reference either of those two lists:

• List of Cross-Buy/Cross-Play/Cross-Save titles
• Cross-Buy guide

PSP, hands down. So many incredible games, it was a RPG powerhouse, that screen was great for the time and for me it was an "everything" device (I remember browsing the web and reading mangas on the PSP... Janky but incredible all the same).

The Vita comes close - nigh "home console" games on the go and the OLED screen to make those shine.

Oh, that could likely be it - you might want to look into replacing the laser as they're pretty cheap and easy to find (but that's not really what you're interested in atm I suppose).

Anyways, the emulator you want to look into is DuckStation. It is pretty much full featured (save states, fast-forward/rewind, etc) and the de-facto PSX emulator to beat.