Vandal Hearts

"Masters of Final Fantasy Tactics and a true classic not to be missed"

It was one year ago since I completed the game, so I hope that I still can give a good review of the game. Firstly, I would strongly encourage gamers who enjoy games such as Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre to buy it. (If you can still get your hands on it) Although the game does not show impressive graphics but I feel that the interesting plot draws me into playing and util I completed the game.

Graphics-7 The graphics of the game is not as impressive as Final Fantasy Tactics, with chunks of polygons during close-ups-which is common in many Playstation games in the past. (Please don't expect the graphics to be excellent because it was released in 1997)

Sound-8 The atmosphere of the game is brought out by the appropriate music during the game. The music follows the plot and during exciting moments the music is of a fast pace, but the music does not left me with a very deep impression.

Gameplay-8 The game is intense and it is filled with lots of blood shed. The game takes about fifteen hours to complete but I felt it was worth my time because the story was not very complicated and the twist in the plot brought out the true taste of the game. The controls of the game is of the average (not to difficult to learn ) The game introduced an interesting aspect, which was lacking in games during that time, that is the ability for the characters to change classes.

One aspect that I felt was lacking was the ability to train your levels in the game. The game brings you to your destinations and so there was no exploring or extra trainings to raise your levels. There are many types of magics spells to use and each character had their own abilities, which made each character unique to the game. What the game really lacks is replayability because there is just one ending and its quite a good one and there are no secrets that that you will miss out during the first play that makes you want to play it again.

I would recommend you to rent it or if you can still find it to fork out money to buy it ( A true classic not to miss out)

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99