Vagrant Story

1. SirCaestus

   Jun 11, 2011

   10

   The complex story, the deep battle system, the great OST and the beautiful PSX graphics make this game the best one ever made. Great work byThe complex story, the deep battle system, the great OST and the beautiful PSX graphics make this game the best one ever made. Great work by Matsuno and his team. (10.0)… Expand

   • 7 of 8 users found this helpful
2. Kunray

   Feb 5, 2019

   10

   Also hope to see Vagrant Story follow up to compete with this again.Probably the best game I've ever played.

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
4. Andy

   Mar 1, 2004

   10

   Awesome game ! loved every minute i played ! the best looking and sounding game on PSX, with a cool comic style to the cutscenes :oD too long?Awesome game ! loved every minute i played ! the best looking and sounding game on PSX, with a cool comic style to the cutscenes :oD too long? first tiem u play thru it took me 40 hours, but you get to keep al ur stats for the next play thru and after doin this a couple of times ive finished it in 2 hours :o) very cool ! u need it !… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
5. Kai82

   Jul 23, 2021

   10

   It has a deep story full of twists and characters hidden agendas, a great battle system and exploration elements from a Metroidvania. Atop ofIt has a deep story full of twists and characters hidden agendas, a great battle system and exploration elements from a Metroidvania. Atop of this for its time it has excellent graphics and a really memorable soundtrack. It is a mixture from action RPG with a lot of strategic elements and a Dungeon Crawler. It is set in Ivalice the same world as Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy 12. However I think it is far later in the timeline as many the fantasy elements are missing and magic is something that is not common knowledge if I remember correct. You are playing as Ashley Riot who is a Riskbreaker. Those are special agents deployed only at really dangerous missions. Like a fantasy “Mission Impossible” squad but with the expected death toll. If I remember correctly the game sources say that 50% of all Riskbreaker’s do not survive their first mission and later missions have still a double digit death risk. Ashley however is one of the few veterans that survived many assignments. Shortly before the games story Ashley was sent to investigate Duke Bardorba’s estate as he has ties with the mysterious Müllencamp cult. There he meets briefly their leader Sydney Losstarot who has incredible magic abilities and Sydney abducted the Dukes son before he escapes. The story starts when Ashley together with fellow Riskbreaker Callo is set to the abandoned city of Lea Monde which is on a dangerous to reach Island of the coast and holds many secrets to find Sydney Losstarot and free the Dukes son. However others also have intention to find him. With this the story starts. It has a lot of depth. Nothing is as easy or direct as it (firstly) seems as there are hidden layers and plots or agendas at play. With each twist and reveal you unlock more and more of the truth. At the end of the story I was deeply impressed. The gameplay is excellent but definitely something you have to put attention to as it can be a bit overwhelming at first. Lets start with the battle system. It has elements from Parasite Eve 1. You move in real time through 3D rooms until you tap the attack button. Now a dome / spherical grid appears displaying the range. Now you can attack an enemy and with the correct timing make a long chain of attacks if you hit the corresponding attack button (A ! mark is shown as help and you can use different types of attacks out of the available once and some have additional effects). Many say it is like a rhythm game and I agree. Beware that long chain have a negative effect. There is the “Risk” system. Long chains add risk points (the longer the more). With these your defense, accuracy and evasion is lowered which can be devastating. There are also defensive abilities that decrease damage or avoid status effects. Each weapon has some proficiency or elements. There is the type like slash, piercing or blunt, an element like fire, earth, water etc. and its usefulness against an enemy type like humans, lizards etc. The higher the rating the better the damage. Also using it against a type increase a value but can decrease the opposite too (Fire decreases water and vice versa for example). There is more to it as there are different materials, gems that can be inserted and special abilities for each of the many types of weapons. It is quite interesting to make or improve new weapons but can be overwhelming first. I use multiple weapons for different types of enemies. Then there is the exploration which is like a Metroidvania game. Lea Monde is huge and there is a lot to explore. There are optional areas, hidden secrets and shortcuts to unlock. It was already marketed with a slogan like “Your second problem is fighting this man and your first is finding him”. It is really enjoyable to explore the world but remember not everything can be found in the first playthrough. All this together make a remarkable gameplay experience. Maybe a bit to overwhelming for some would be my warning. The presentation looks amazing for its era. It was well done and the art style is so great done that I would buy an artbook. The locations have also a European medieval style and I read that they studied French architecture for inspiration for the game. Lastly the soundtrack is a hidden game that works amazingly well. Overall this is a somehow forgotten masterpiece that never got a sequel. I say it is still worth playing and should be recognized as classic game of its time.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
6. [Anonymous]

   Dec 27, 2005

   9

   Original and outstanding. Try it. I had any real complaints about this game.

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
7. Lucas92

   Mar 30, 2017

   9

   I gave this game a 10 because it was either that or a 9. And to me, the score that more closely represents this game is a 99/100.
   
   Before II gave this game a 10 because it was either that or a 9. And to me, the score that more closely represents this game is a 99/100.
   
   Before I go in-depth, I will tell you a few things you should know about Vagrant Story. It is a dungeon crawler, you play lone ranger Ashley Riot has he explores the ruins of Leá Monde searching for the antagonist of the game. This game's combat relies on combos executed through a rhythm mini-game, where you press a button of your choosing to execute another attack upon seeing an exclamation mark pop up above Ashley's head. I can't emphasize this enough: the game is HEAVY no the dungeon crawling. There are no NPCs for you to interact with: it is you, Ashley Riot, against the monsters inside the city of Leá Monde. Still interested?
   
   Okay. You should also know that the game heavily relies on equipment to defeat your enemies. Your stats only increase by defeating the bosses scattered throughout the game, all of which you will encounter as you advance through the main storyline. In addition to these increases, you may or not find stat increasing items, though this are rare. Because of this heavy emphasis on equipment, you will need to use every weapon at your disposal. Use the wrong weapon, and you may find yourself doing laughable damage to your enemy, or no damage at all. Even in the early game the "good" weapons still won't do much damage to the opponents. This is one of the frustrating aspects this game has for most players, made even worse by the fact the game lacks a proper switch-weapons hotkey. This is the only reason why I give this game a 99 out of 100. Still with me?
   
   Fine. I've already told you the reasons you may dislike this game:
   
   - Lack of NPCs.
   - Heavy emphasis on combat and dungeon crawling.
   - Dependence on equipment and the combo system.
   
   So now you will probably want to hear what is so good about this game, why is it a 99 out of 100? Before I say that, I want to mention a few things.
   
   - This is my first Metacritic review, and probably my only one.
   - I have played Morrowind, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Skyrim, Planescape: Torment, Fallout. Of these, none of them, I repeat, NONE of them, deserve anything higher than a solid 90 out of 100. Fallout 3 and Skyrim, to boot, deserve no score higher than a solid 70 out of 100. I say this because those two are some of the most popular RPGs ever made, so it is important that you have an idea of what I think of these "acclaimed" videogames.
   - I don't like JRPGs as much as I did when I was a teenager.
   
   All of that out of the way, here's why, if you don't mind about the disadvantages mentioned above, you should get this game:
   
   - Vagrant Story has the most engaging combat I've ever experienced in a videogame, bar tactics/strategy videogames. It has definitely the most engaging combat I've ever experienced in an RPG, and one of the most rewarding to boot. As you acquire new skills, your combos get progressively stronger and more interesting. These abilities can range from "do extra damage" to "drain some of the enemy's HP".
   - Your reliance on equipment is made more meaningful through the equipment combination mechanic. You can go to specific workshops littered throughout Leá Monde to combine your different swords, axes, spears, shields, armor, etc. and acquire better (or worse) pieces of equipment. The game also has a "material" system: the better the material, the better your equipment will be. But it is not as simple as "higher tier = better", as some equipment, particularly wooden protection, actually makes your magical skills better than the equipment that offers better protection against physical attacks.
   - Enemies have a good variety of skills and tricks, meaning you won't feel like you are battling the same enemy over an over again. This is in contrast to games like Skyrim or Fallout, where enemies pretty much differ from each other by how much damage they deal to you, and little else.
   - The dungeons have their own invisible traps (which you can make visible through a spell), and block puzzles, which you need to move around to access different sections of Leá Monde.
   - The musical score is exquisite. Moreover, the sound design is great as well, and you actually feel inside a long abandoned, cursed city. It's something to be experienced for sure.
   - The game is very well written, and uses "Shakesperian" english to great effort.
   - If you are a Final Fantasy Tactics fan, there are tons of references around through item descriptions. Vagrant Story actually shares its setting with FFT: Ivalice.
   - And the story... I'll keep it simple: my two favorite stories in videogames are Vagrant Story and Planescape: Torment, in that order. I can't say anything more without spoiling VS' memorable narrative.
   
   Overall, the best game I've ever played, and finally one japanese RPG that lives up to the "JRPGs have great stories!" moniker.… Expand

   • 2 of 2 users found this helpful
8. JonG.

   Jul 1, 2002

   1

   Way too long.

   • 0 of 7 users found this helpful

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