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One of the greatest RPGs ever made.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 25
Date: May 22, 2000
Author: Amazon User

"Vagrant Story" is one of those games you keep coming back to, no matter how ticked at it you get. I suspect VS may get overlooked in the summer RPG rush, but I certainly hope it gets the attention it deserves.

Part Tomb Raider, part Parasite Eve and part Metal Gear Solid, VS is brought to you from the team that brought you Final Fantasy Tactics and it shows. The storyline is complex and engaging, the combat system has depth that has to be seen to be believed and the amount of time the game will suck up is incredible.

Even more than Parasite Eve, VS is a completely cinematic experience, from the opening shots to the last crash.

If you haven't found yourself enjoying the heavy combat-based games Squaresoft has released over the last year (FFT and Front Mission 3) then you may want to gloss over VS, or at least rent it first.

Any true RPG fan, though, this is one game you need to pick up.

Are you a Vagrant?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: June 25, 2000
Author: Amazon User

If you are even remotely considering buying this game, I urge you to do so. Or if it takes more convincing to turn you into a Vagrant, read on...

The graphics in Vagrant Story are superb. The cinematic cutscenes are especially well done, and the voice acting is top notch. The translation of story to English is one of the better translations in an import game. The cutscenes appear when needed and flawlessly move the engrossing story along.

The music is excellent, as you would expect from a Squaresoft title. If you havent bought many or any of Squaresoft's games, then rest assured, you're in for a treat, they almost always have unforgettable little music pieces here and there, and great mood setters for different areas, and Vagrant Story is no different. Whether its from the Abandoned Mines, or the Great Cathedral, you'll find yourself enjoying the music as well as the action.

The story is quite involving, easily one of the year's best plots so far. Basically you play through the game as Ashley Riot (dont you love guys named Ashley?) a member of an elite group of guardsmen, known collectively as the VKP. What they do, when not taking themselves too seriously, is track down doers of great evil, (or even minor evil) and give them a swift, but brutal tongue lashing, or, failing that, a nice duel to the death. Anyway a naughty (and presumably evil) man called Sydney kidnaps Duke Bardova's only young son and escapes, forcing Ashley to pursue him to a town called Lea Monde. What Ashley dosent know is that Lea Monde is one troubled city, filled with evil, and it soon becomes apparent that Sydney isnt the only evil guy around. The story runs rampant with enough conspiracies, backstabbings, plot twists and action to make even Sherlock Holmes blink.

Vagrant Story also has replayability. Why play it once you've killed the Last Boss. You feel good about yourself, having killed him, why do it again? Because you uncover more to Lea Monde the 2nd or 3rd time around. You can save after finshing it and experience the city anew, with your new weapons, armor, and most items. And you can unlock new doors that you couldnt before, find new secrets, and even uncover new areas and treasure that was never found the first trip through Lea Monde.

After reading all this, you've got to ask yourself:

Am I a Vagrant?

Patience is a virtue...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: January 07, 2001
Author: Amazon User

...and you need it for this game. I absolutely loved it, but I know many people do not have the interest or patience for a long, difficult game. The story revolves around a Riskbreaker named Ashley Riot, send to the abandoned city of Lea Monde to track down a cultist, Sydney Losstarot. Most of the game takes place in Lea Monde, so make yourself at home there.

Vagrant Story will probably take around 30 to 50 hours to beat on the first play, depending on how long you spend looking for weapon componants and spell scrolls. No, not gaining levels, this game is not level-based. You can only increase your stats, health, and magic with oh-so-rare potions and beating bosses. (I started the game with 250 health and finished with 280.) Most of the 30-50 hours is spend dungeon crawling and fighting with the occasional pause for plot scenes. Be warned, the battles in this game are HARD. Normal enemies can take a lot of effort to kill, especially if they gang up on you. And you WILL die at bosses until (and probably even after) you get the hang of the battle system. It's not complicated, just heavily based on timing your attacks. There is some emphasis on problem solving and puzzles, mostly block puzzles, but not as many as other games (ie, Soul Reaver). The graphics are a little bit blurry close up, but in general they are very fluid and well-done. The characters are given facial expressions and moving mouths when they speak, and the cut scenes (while not CG) are impressive.

The best part of this game is definately the plot. Months after playing it, I'm still discussing the plot and characters. There are heavy religious and political themes (another thing some people have no interest or patience for), and some very good plot twists even for the minor characters. If you enjoy a good, dark story and an ending that's not ridden with sappy cliches, you will probably like Vagrant Story. On the more solid end of things, the battle system is a nice change from battle-screen combat (Final Fantasy games, for example). It's a bit like Secret of Mana in that you just run up and attack enemies. There is a variety of weapons and armour, so you can customize Ashley however you like.

The bad points of this game would have to be how linear it is. There's basically only one major thing to do that's not required (beat the Iron Maiden), but you can't get there until you beat it at least once. It's pretty much a straight path from beginning to end with no side quests, secrets, or prolonged breaks from dungeon crawling. There are some time trials, and the challenge of building up your weapons and armour, but in general there isn't much to distract you or many secrets to discover. The plot makes up for it, in my opinion, but a few side-quests and extra development for the minor characters (Grissom, Samantha, etc) would have been nice.

I'd give Vagrant Story about a four. Supurb plot, good battle system, nice graphics. But a major minus for the lack of extra things to do. If you like a good story and enjoy a challenge, this game is for you. If you're the kind of person who likes plow through games without much effort and has no patience for battles or appreciation for a wonderful plot, pass.

One of the Greatest Games Ever Made for Fantasy Fans

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 11
Date: January 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Recently on G4 Tech TV I was watching "Filter", and they were counting down the top 10 underrated games of all time, and to my amazement and joy, Vagrant Story was rated the #1 most underrated game ever. There could be no title more worthy, and it saddens me that it has a 4 star average here on Amazon, though it's not really suprising.

Vagrant Story was one of the final Square games to come out for the PS1, and went by almost unnoticed. I didn't actually play it until it was a couple of years old. The graphics are without doubt some of the best ever seen on the PS1. I wish we could have had voice overs in this game, but such things were still pretty uncommon on the PS1. The sound is very good, light on music and heavy on creepy, atmospheric sound effects that really enhance the feeling of being lost in the huge mazes of buildings, tunnels, and dungeons.

As it is, the dialogue is absolutely exceptional, and the story is complex, twisting, and really makes you think. Good and evil end up not being quite what you think they are. The story has a heavy emphasis on a religious, crusader/inquisition type group of characters, as well as incorporating sorcery and magic. I could never explain how great the story and characters of this game are...it's just magical. The world just sucks you in.

The entire game takes place in an old abandoned ghost town on an island called Lea Monde. It is one of the most phenomenal environments ever created for a game. Much of the game takes place underground in old tunnels, vaults, caves, storage areas, and a huge variety of buried rooms, but there are also many areas where you emerge and have to explore the city aboveground. The feeling of the game is very lonely, and the old abandoned town of Lea Monde is amazing to explore.

The amount of detail that was put into this game is just incredible, and it is evident at every moment just what a labor of love it was for those who made it. Not only is the game itself exceptional, but the plethora of details they incorporated makes it an all time classic. For example, on the map screen, every single room in the game (and there are a lot) has it's own unique name. There is one dungeon where every room (and there are at least 30) is named after an implement of torture! It's just great.

There is a huge variety of enemies, and an in game encyclopedia that fills up as you encounter them. Combat is very difficult, and it seemed to me at first even too difficult, but once you get the hang of it, this game has one of the most fun, and definitely most unique, combat systems ever devised. With each swing you take, you can choose where to aim on the enemy (left or right arm, legs, body, or head!), and depending on the enemy, armor, and what type of weapon you are using, you will have a different %chance of hit and damage. There are about 6 or 7 types of weapons (blunt, piercing, slashing, etc.) and a HUGE variety of different weapons within these categories. Within this there are different gems that can be attached to your weapons to make them more efficient against certain types of enemies, give them elemental attributes, etc.
Truly, this game has an almost intimidating amount of detail, but that's what makes it so great. You can armor all parts of your body, and every single weapon and every single piece of armor is customizable by combining lesser weapons and armor in workshops that can be found among Lea Monde. Materials range from course materials like wood and iron early in the game to silver and platinum materials later. Weapons have to be created and specialized in for different creature types. For example, I usually had a spear I used against dragons, a holy mace and a holy dagger for undead and zombies, and an axe that was most effiecent against humanoid creatures. Plus, you can actually name every weapon you create, which adds an awesome finishing touch to your arsenal.

There is so much about this game that is great that I could go on for another hour and hardly scratch the surface. This game is thought provoking, its deep, and it is CHALLENGING. Not for wimps! There is so much to explore, so many hidden features, such endless customization, this game just never gets old. And, it has a new game plus feature, so you can replay it with all the skills, equipment, and magic you've acquired. Damn, I didn't even touch on the magic...there is a huge variety of magic spells you can learn as well!
I've played through it probably 3 times over the past few years, and it remains fun every time I play, and I still haven't maxed out Ashley Riots potential.

This game may not be for everyone. It is hard, confusing, and very deep. But for those of you that love fantasy games, a good story, great characters and dialogue, tons of character/equipment customization, and a big challenge, give this game a try. You can get it for cheap now, and even though it's a little dated, it may be one of your best game purchases in quite awhile.

On a final note, I'm thrilled to know that the people who are responsible for this game and for Final Fantasy Tactics are the main creative force working on Final Fantasy XII right now. It should be phenomenal! I can't wait.

An excellent game with a few quirks.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: August 04, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Graphic : Excellent, the best you can get with Playstation right now. Comparable to FF7 series and on. You can easily make out the character's faces and overall shape.

Gameplay : Excellent, a little bit hard to get used to (if you play Parappa the Rapper, you will feel like home with the combo system). You have to press at certain pre-determined time in order to chain your attacks. The most innovative feature is RISK which basically measures how tired your hero has become, the higher the RISK, the worse the shape of your hero (i.e. receives more damage than usual, can't aim accurately, etc).

Storyline : OK, but not great. Usual good vs. evil sort of thing.

Control : Tight and precise. The movement resembles the smooth movement in MGS and Soul Reaver. You can jump, run and rotate the camera 360 degrees without any difficulty. It even allows you to get 1st person view if you press start, and you can see the detail of your enemies' faces if you stand close enough which is very cool.

Weapon & Armor System : Cool. You can blend different types of weapons and armors in hope of better ones i.e. weapon A + weapon B -> weapon C, also you can also do weapon A + armor B -> ? So there is this little 'chemistry' in creating your ultimate weapon set. Each part of your body(head, right arm, left arm, body, legs) wears different armor sets and they all have their own statistics which will affect the result of attack on a particular body part. It's your decision when it comes to which body part is more important to be protected.

Now the quirks :

- Level up effect is RANDOM, if you drink a certain potion let's say for HP-up, it will be between +1 HP to +4 HP. Also, whenever you defeat a boss, you are presented with a roulette system for attribute level up (e.g. INT+1, INT+4, HP+4, MAG+1, etc). I don't think this is interesting at all considering all the hardwork you have done to attain those level-ups and be rewarded randomly. This reminds me of another great game Baldur's Gate which also exhibits this quirk, i.e. random bonus points for level up. This is the only reason I give it a four star because it's just plain annoying.

- Most of your explorations are dungeon based (although the dungeon is beautifully made), I have to admit that it is an eyesore to be in dungeon most of the time. If you play a lot of Diablo, Soul Reaver, Duke Nukem and the sort of dungeon oriented games, I don't think this is a problem.

Overall, a great game outside the sphere of FF series.

Perfect? Not quite...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 14
Date: January 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is not perfect as the Famitsu review would lead you to believe. Famitsu has only given like 5 games a perfect score... this being one of them.

The characters, design, music, story, atmosphere, and presentation are all top notch and beautiful. The story is sursprisingly mature and the characters are all memorable, especially that mystery man Sydney.
So if all of those things are so good and put together, why did this game 'ultimately' fail when it was released? Because of its gameplay.

The gameplay 'could have' been fun and classic but the makers decided to bog it down with a tremendously confusing, tedious, and unintuitive menu and weapon system.

The base of this game, its weapon system, is beyond complicated. Each weapon can be either piercing, blunt, or edged like a edged sword or a blunt hammer. Then each weapon has about 20 'affinities' such as light, water, physical, undead, etc. Then throw in the fact that each weapon must be made from seperate parts such as a blade, a grip or hilt, plus 1-3 gems. Lost yet? You should be.

But thats not all. Each weapon has damage points, kind of like health for weapons, and phantom points which inscrease special attacks. Throw in the fact that the longer you fight the more tired or excited your character gets, which leads you to miss more often and take more damage as the battle goes on.

This game does have an awesome quick menu that can be used with the L2 button. This menu lets you do anything from find items to use magic with one push of a button. However, for some reason there is no weapon quick menu in a game almost totally based around your weapons! To change weapons, and you will often, you have to make about 5 clicks through slow menus which can take anywhere from 10 secs to a minute.

This games difficult learning curve has turned away so many players without the patience to learn this games ridiculous systems. After all, hitting a boss for 1 damage, when he has 500 health, can be very frustrating, and i dont blame them.

In the end, this game is both brilliant and ridiculous. It has been voted one of the greatest games of all time and for good reason. But it also failed on a commercial and gameplay level by not selling enough copies. And thats for a good reason too...

A wonderful game, but not for everyone.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: August 11, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Rating says the game is good, but it's definitely not for everyone. Those who are used to the Final Fantasy series by Square will probably be disappointed by this game because, quite simply - they are of different genres. FF is a pure, solid, RPG game without a trace element of Action, Adventure, or Puzzle. Vagrant Story, on the other hand, is a combination of all 4 above genres - and the result is not only fun and entertaining, but exciting as well.

Breakdown-

Graphics - Absolutely beautiful detail, high polygonal characters with lush backgrounds and well-designed dungeons. It's good to see that Square does really good work with graphics even without touching CGI FMV. Lots of little graphical tweaks (like accurate shadows, detailed faces) make this game beautiful to watch. Best of all, all of the cut scenes are presented using in-game graphics, with almost cinematic camera shots and techniques - it feels like you're watching a movie.

Music/Sound - Great for atmospherics, but nothing too memorable for me other than the intro music (played alongside the only FMV sequence in the entire game). This is probably the poorest section of the game, especially given Square's reputation for hiring composers such as Nobuo Uematsu to do their wonderful orchestrated music.

Storyline - Two thumbs up, the story progresses at a nice, even pace and there aren't any ridiculous twists and turns in the plotline that make it sound forced. The ending is one hell of a clincher...and definitely some of the clearer work that Square has done recently.

Characters - Well developed, etc. etc. I like the characters. We get to know them relatively well, and any information that we don't receive isn't very important to begin with.

System - This is where the game shines. The Parasite Eve style battle system, offence/defence chain abilities, and workshop ideas are all awesome. Plus, for the hardcore gamer, technicalities such as weapon vulnerability, elemental affinity, and monster type all play a role in effecting the damage you do.

It's a great game. Buy it. But only if you're not one of those narrow minded people who thinks there is no Square outside of Final Fantasy.

Final Fantasy Who?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: November 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

First of all, I have to say that I am a BIG fan of the Final Fantasy frenchise, I especially find the SNES and PS1 games to be some of the best Rpg's period (if only we could erase FFX2 the world would be a better place) I will not go on detail about the story itself, but I have to tell you that I find this game to be superior in every way.

As soon as I saw the cover of this game I fell in love with it. I didn't know what it was about, but I knew I had to have it.
My first impresion was WOW! When I saw that intro, the movie like experiece gripped my soul, I thought... well, I'll be spending quite a few hours in front of my TV. As it turned out, I didn't, I found the game to be hard, beautiful, but hard. The fighting system was completelly different to anything I'd seen before, and I was not getting it.
This was five years ago. Regardless of that, I kept starting it over and over again telling myself 'This time I'll finish it!'The story just grips you that much, and the characters personalities leave you wanting to know more. Sure enough, I became a pro in the 'arts' ,weapon affinities and such, and I finished my game... again and again, and again. In short, this is in my opinion one of the greatest RPG's, if not game, of all times. But it is a bit hard to get used to it, or even become good at it (unless I'm just an idiot...which is entirely possible) but once you get the flow of the fighting system, you will not be able to stop. So please do not cast it aside! just keep trying, and your reward will be gratifying.

Good...but not great.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 11
Date: June 20, 2000
Author: Amazon User

The biggest problem with FF7 is that Square has never been able to top it, and Vagrant Story is no exception. Along with FF8, Xenogears etc, it is a good game, capable of keeping the player amused for hours, but it's not a GREAT game, it just doesn't go that extra mile. After walking through dungeons for an hour I was reminded of a boring game of D&D after the DM has run out of ideas. It does get a little samey. There isn't a very wide variety of foes to battle, and it is easy to confuse rooms as they get quite similar. On the plus side though the graphics are detailed and well drawn, the scrolling is smooth (no jumpy screen rotating like Xenogears), and the puzzles are a nice touch. The story is the same old stuff we're used to ........................................, but it isn't by any means boring. The battles are easy to get the hang of, the magic is simple to use and organize, and it seems that there's a new weapon around every corner. But if constant battles and long stretches of no story bore you then maybe you should skip this game.

Flawless

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 14
Date: May 03, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game teaches us how great Squaresoft is. With the delay of PArasite Eve 2 I'm glad they found such a good Spring/Summertitle. Think FF8+Parasite Eve+Chrono Triger

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