Vandal Hearts

"11 years later, this game aged pretty well."

Vandal Hearts is a strategy RPG (SRPG) released in 1997 for the Playstation. At that time, at least in America, there were few SRPGs to choose from, and so for many Vandal hearts was a first. This game is similar in fighting style as Nintendo's still continuing series, Fire Emblem, in therms of gameplay. Though by no means is this game perfect, it's still a good SRPG and a great game for starters.

Story- 8/10
The story seems pretty simple at first. A young Ishtarian Security Forces platoon leader, Ash Lambert, along with his partners Diego Renault and Clint Picard, search for criminals in hope to bring peace in Ishtaria. eventually as Ash's small group rises in numbers, he ends up creating a large rebellion army to help save the world. It's hard to continue without going deep into spoilers, so I will leave it at that. Controversial with its religious references, but to most people that don't get offended at such things, it's a good story. It's pretty entertaining and has something new to learn each time the game is played, and unique to boot. Not the most entertaining story around, but still good.

Sound- 8/10
the music in the game is a little repetitive, but what you do hear is good all around. Definitely not a bad soundtrack. Most of the sound effects are pretty accurate to what one would normally hear, with two big exceptions which will get annoying after a while. The killing and the blocking sound effects are definitely off. The killing noises all the same (with few exceptions, such as stone golems) having the enemy make some kind of screech as you hear the blood spray out of the body. The sound effect is the same for every character, man, woman, monster, enemy, or ally, it all is the same death noise. After a while, it'll get to you. The blocking noise is just off for most characters. There are two noises for blocking, one for blocking with a wooden weapon, one for blocking with metal. Although the wooden block sounds good, the metal sounds like a church bell is being rung. It fits certain characters with heavy armor, but most character the noise just doesn't fit. Other than that everything is top knotch.

Graphics-6/10
Vandal hearts has plenty of great things. It's graphics, however, are not one of those things. Even though this is an early PS1 game, it does not in any way show the capabilities graphically of the PS1. The characters are average looking sprites in a very polygonal area that is not very detailed. The graphics aren't horrible, and some of the magic animation is pretty cool. However, after that the game is lacking graphically. but hey, it's not graphics that make a game, it's the gameplay.

Gameplay-9/10
The gameplay in this game is fun. If you've played a game like Fire Emblem, Disgaea, or Final Fantasy Tactics, you know how the gameplay works. A set number of characters, each with their own class, fighting other character across a grid and attack/counter attacking. when a character dies, they are off the field, and the fighting style takes place in a rock-paper-scissors style. Melee characters have the advantage over long-range characters. Long-range characters have the advantage over flying characters. Flying character have the advantage over melee characters. The characters can upgrade in a way similar to that of in Fire Emblem:The Sacred Stones, where a character can choose what they will upgrade into (with Ash being the only exception). Using strategy, the battles involve trying to have Ash (and occasionally other characters) survive the battle, gain experience and upgrade to more powerful characters. A great fun style of RPS, very fun to play.

Overall- 8/10
This game is really fun to play, and although the story and graphics aren't fantastic, the overall game is good. This game is rare now, so chances are finding it won't be easy outside of eBay, but it's still a good SRPG and a good addition to Konami's unbelievable collection.

Buy or Rent? Buy. If you can even FIND this game anywhere for rent, go ahead and rent, you can beat it in a week. However, this game is pretty rare and hard to find outside of eBay. If you do happen to find it for $25 or less, give it a try. it's a good game that deserves a chance for any fan of SRPGs, Konami games, or just wants to try something new.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/06/08

Game Release: Vandal Hearts (US, 1997)