Vandal Hearts

"An enjoyable, straight-forward strategy effort by Konami"

Vandal Hearts was my first strategy RPG game, and it will not be my last. It is an older Playstation game, but is still quite enjoyable. The game mixes strategic thinking, with a good story.

Gameplay - 8/10
This game is a menu-based game, throughout the various towns you visit, and the maps. It cuts down greatly on secrets, but it is still easy to enjoy after a little while of playing. Navigation in towns is also quite easy as you can select which building you want to go to, and who you want to talk to. The combat battle system is very enjoyable and well done. There is a good balance of both simplicity and difficulty in the many battles you face over 6 chapters of gameplay. Most of the missions are fairly easy, but there are a few that may require a lot of though. Missions range from killing all enemies, or a certain enemy, to reaching a certain point on the battlefield or accomplishing a certain task within a set number of turns.

Graphics - 7/10
Keep in mind when you play this game that it was released during the earlier life of the Playstation. Graphics are not nearly as good as some games out today, but they are nothing to complain about, and don’t hinder the game in any way.

Sound - 9/10
There are some very good sound effects in Vandal Hearts. With every enemy, or ally that is killed, you get to hear the weapons attacking them, and the blood splashing. These sound effects were done fairly well

Music/Voice-Acting - 9/10
Very enjoyable music to this game. It succeeds in setting a good atmosphere, and inspires you in your battles. Voice-acting was used to introduce each of the six chapters of the story, and was done very well in my opinion.

Story - 7/10
The story of Vandal Hearts is a good story, containing many plot twists. It isn’t the most amazing story out there, but combined with all other elements of this game, it is well worth your time.

Replayability - 6/10
The main replayability in this game is in the battles, and is due to the different classes of characters you can choose. When a character reaches level 10, they can choose one of two classes to advance to. Each choice acts differently from the other, providing layers of new strategies for those that would replay the game for the battles. Since the game is very linear, there are not many hidden items, or secrets, and you will probably be able to get most of them the first time through the game.

Overall - 8/10
This is a very good game by Konami, and is well worth the time, and money to play. If you can find it to buy, you can probably pick it up very cheap. Since it is fairly short, you could probably get through it in a few rentals. If you have the patience, and would like to play a good strategy RPG, I highly recommend Vandal Hearts

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/20/01, Updated 07/20/01