PSO2 Vita Questions

[Jellybones]

My computer simply can't handle PSO2 and I don't get a lot of time on my desktop anyway, so I've been thinking of importing the Vita version of PSO2. One question I have is the codes that come with it. Do they have to be redeemed in the JPN PS Store or perhaps some other way in-game or otherwise? If the former then I wouldn't be able to since I'd use my US account thanks to Vita's account restriction, and it really won't affect my decision but it's good to know ahead of time.
Also, anyone here who has the Vita version, how is it? I don't expect it to look as good graphically as the PC version, but I expect it does run just fine otherwise from what I've seen of it.

[Manta Oyamada]

http://bumped.org/psublog/pso2-vita-guide/

[blace]

The code is redeemed in game.

As for how well it plays in comparison to PC, it does a decent job, but will slow down when there are a lot of enemies/players on screen. More so when the other players in the area are blasting out tech after tech.

[Jellybones]

Great about the code. The slowdown seems expected, but no big deal (unless it really is in your opinion)
How big are the patches? I have an 8 gig, but I'm not sure I'll be set. I don't want to get a 32 gig for this game.

[blace]

I may be a bit biased as my computer can run the game anywhere between 60-120 frames, but the slowdown during PSE bursts drops the performance of the Vita version to about 20 frames and lag when picking up items.

Edit: Forgot the updates bit. It's usually 1GB during major updates.

[Jellybones]

1GB? Damn. I'll probably out of memory the first time I update! Hm, this kinda sucks. The framerate seems like something I could tolerate honestly, but not that much space. It'd only be a matter of time before I'd need a bigger memory card if PSO2 really swallows it all up.
EDIT: Wait, major updates. Maintenance is about every week though correct? How often would those major updates be? It's probably not all that bad, then.

[blace]

There's a total of 4 updates including the initial, but mandatory, 1GB update. The last major update was 1.4GB as it included a new area.

[Jellybones]

So then that's a total of 4 gigs so far for having been out about a year. But you mentioned the initial update was mandatory, are the others optional?

[blace]

They're all mandatory as they contain updates and other data not included within the cartridge. I think the files are compressed after being installed.

[Z-0]

The 1GB updates do not add 1GB to the game. It just overwrites files in the client. The client is about 4.2GB last I checked, which is only like a 500MB increase from release.