From the onset, you’ll be greeted with a different kind of cinematic credits–as though you’re watching a real period epic film. So I must admit from the start that I was awed by the presence of the characters, let alone that they made their entrances with such strong appeal, which I assure you, would last until the end of the game.

This is because Vagrant Story begins with a compelling mystery at Lea Monde. You’ll be inclined to determine its answer and go after its antagonist. The setting is one that is dark and medieval, which by far fits the game’s overall mood. You can see it in its backgrounds and maps that this mood is very consistent along with the minor CG sequences.

While you’ll tour through impressive architecture in Lea Monde and meet interesting characters in powerful costumes, the graphics that meld them aren’t exactly Final Fantasy VIII quality. The backgrounds aren’t pre-rendered and there are no stunning FMV sequences. They are all set on normal graphics. No soft polygons. But trust me, this seems to be its only limitation.

The gameplay itself is very unique! My other RPGamer friend commented that it’s a different direction for Square. It sure is! However, the gameplay itself can be the setback amongst many gamers. There are many things to think about before venturing into each battle even if it were a minor one. You have to develop weapons for certain type of enemy, each with a DIFFERENT affinity for weapon type, DIFFERENT affinity for elements and their attack power. Before I encounter an enemy, I have to think about all these things and I just finished a strenuous cube puzzle! (Aaarrgh!)

In battle, aside from selecting the right weapon, you must also select the proper attack and defense skills, as well as learning how to chain properly and watching out for your level of Risk. whew! Yup! That’s a lot of things to consider before each battle. There are times when I feel I tire myself out of these battles. Of all Square games that I’ve played, Vagrant Story seems to be the most “difficult.” It’s not because it’s not playable, it’s just that the battle system has become so uniquely tailored with many aspects that it seems too much to finish.

For instance, I met the unfriendly Earth Dragon totally unprepared that my damage was unbelivably low–with a ratio of 1:20 against the Dragon’s big attacks. It’s not that I didn’t survive. I felt it was too long to play against the dang thing that on second play, having chosen my buff Spear with a high affinity against dragons (I later named St. George), a tight shield, and an enchanter spell that increases the opposite Air elemental affinity of my weapon, I realized that the Earth Dragon was nothing but a mere lizard, finishing this boss battle in almost 2 minutes. Yup! Drastic effects just by choosing the wrong weapon.

However, it is this complexity of the battle system that makes the game extremely great! Almost every battle is a mind game, plus mind games. They’re hardly mundane, but yes, they can tire you. It’s simply an assurance that Vagrant Story would give you a challenge.

And I haven’t told you about the Final Boss yet! Such a pain that! But as always, like my Earth Dragon story, I lost in the first, but I found the right defenses and found the battle over before I even knew it.

Finish the game. The ending is truly worth it. I haven’t told you the best part of the game that drew me to it, and that was the story. The plot revolves around a mystical aura of darkness that is just too cool! I felt I must find out more and more. Almost a cinematic genre in itself.

Maybe this isn’t one of Square’s foremost projects in terms of CG design, but I never knew Square to be scrimp on talent considering the game’s amazing plot and gameplay. The pencil drawings are also wonderful pieces of art.

This game is not for everyone, though, considering what I just told you of the battle system. You will find a lot of elements for which to stay patient. Because so far, I was the only Kraider to finish the game.

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NOTE: This description was written sometime in 2000 and was recorded in the classic Otaku Fridge as ??.??.2000. Unfortunately the database would not accept non-numerical values, so this review is now dated January 01, 2000 by default.

Player Status:
Difficulty: Moderate - Difficult
Completion Time: 40-50 hours
Highest Level Achieved: –
Ratings: Gameplay 9; Battle 10; Story 10; Visuals 9; Characters 10; Sounds 9; Replay Value 8

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 1st, 2000 at 11:13 pm and is filed under Vagrant Story, Games. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.