Vagrant Story Review by: EvilAlu - 8.6/10
Vagrant Story Review.Description - Vagrant Story is a single player role playing game (RPG) on the PlayStation, developed by Square product development division 4 and published by Square. Released in the year 2000, Vagrant Story has also been re-released on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable consoles, and can be purchased via the PlayStation Store.
Story - The game takes place in the kingdom of Valendia and the city of Lea' Monde, you play as the young Ashley Riot, an agent known as a "Riskbreaker". You must travel to Lea' Monde and investigate a link to a cult leader and a senior Valendian Parliament member, Called Duke Bardorba. As you will see in the prologue, you will be blamed for the death of Duke Bardorba, and you will then see the events one week prior to the murder.
To avoid spoiling any of the story, I won't go to deep in to it. For its time Vagrant Story is in a league of its own as a console action adventure RPG style game, it is unique in the fact that it offers no interaction with other characters, and there are no shops within the game story that you can visit. Instead, the game focuses more on weapon modification and creation. The story also offers puzzle solving opportunity's, and some interesting dialogue. Though some people may find the lack of character interaction within the story rather dull, it doesn't take away anything from the game in my opinion. For anyone willing to take the time to read through the huge amount of text within the game as the story progresses, which I am sure many people are accustomed to already, with some other earlier RPG style titles. You should find yourself enjoying the experience as a whole.
Combat - The combat was rather interesting for an early title, upon pressing the O button a cage will surround your character. While in an enemy encounter, any part of the opponent within this sphere can be targeted, allowing you to take down individual body parts to best suit your method of attack. Your overall goal while in combat is to chain different attacks together and in doing so create large chain combos, to maximize the damage you inflict. You can learn magic in the game by collecting items defeated enemies drop, known as "Grimoires". Once you acquire these, you can use them on yourself, and the spell attached to it can be used at any time. Another thing to keep track of in combat, is something called the "Risk Meter" this is kind of like a fatigue meter you might come across in some other games. It is very important to keep tabs on this, as the higher your risk is, the more sloppy your attacks and defense will be. The risk meter can be problematic, especially in long drawn out battles with boss monsters, but as long as you maintain it you shouldn't have to much trouble. Combat can at times feel slow and clunky, but as this was an early title you couldn't expect anything better for the time.
Graphics - The graphics for what they were are good, the developers goal in Vagrant Story was to create a rich gaming experience, that was completely 3D with no rendered backgrounds, and for the era a rather complex lighting system. The result of this was amazing for the time, and to this day reviewers consider this to be a modern classic when it comes to graphics. My first reaction to the graphics weren't good, but as I ventured farther in to the game, they did start to appeal to me. The characters as a whole are well animated, the environments have a good amount of detail and even facial expressions shine through the low quality textures. Anyone who might think of playing this game, should grow to appreciate the graphics as you delve deeper into the game.
Sound - There wasn't really any vocals to speak of within Vagrant Story, the closest thing being sounds you and enemies make while attacking or being hit. But this didn't take away anything from overall sound quality, as each sound came across as realistic and really made you feel like a part of the combat. Music throughout the game fit well with the overall layout of the games locations, and added charm to it. As a whole, sound was spot on for its time, making the smallest things such as foot steps sound real. Which I personally appreciated as I played through the game.
Depth - This isn't the longest game ever, but it will still offer a good amount of content to the player. The main story can be beaten in around 21 hours give or take, and for players wishing to extend their overall gaming session, there is always the option to take on all the other little side things. I never did this personally, but my research indicates that this can boost your total play time to about 85 hours. Though the main story is quite short, it is still one of the best I have played, and I would recommend it to anyone looking to play a good classic RPG game.
Addictiveness - Vagrant story had its moments, but wasn't to addictive to me. There was never really a moment within the game I felt like playing non stop, there were times I had to take a break from the massive amount of text, as it started to feel repetitive to me. Even though I wouldn't rate this game as high as others for its addictive nature, it still brought a nice feel to the game for me. At the end of the day, it all depends on the player, and how hooked they will be to the game.
Difficulty - I didn't find Vagrant Story to be to difficult, the most challenging aspect to it being boss battles and the risk meter. But as I have previously stated, as long as you keep on top of your risk status, it shouldn't prove to difficult. Puzzles were more amusing than a challenge, and are easily navigated. But despite them being simple to myself, they were still enjoyable. The Save system was rather annoying, and I would class it as a difficult option, as you would only have a few save points in each area. I found this to be problematic early on, as in most cases there would be a save point at the start and finish of that area. This meant being careful, because if you die you then have to go through all those rooms again from the start point. If you are new to the game, some areas could be tough at first, but with a little time you will most likely find yourself getting through it quite easily.
Overall - All in all Vagrant Story was a good game for its time, with some interesting text and a unique battle system, playing it really made me feel like a part of the action. It may have some slight issues here and there, but I am sure any RPG fan could grow to appreciate the game. So if you are looking for something classic and entertaining, I would suggest Vagrant Story.
Graphics
5 Sound
5 Addictive
4 Depth
5 Story
6 Difficulty
4
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