Vagrant Story

"Square re-invents itself with one of the greatest adventures ever created"

It's ironic, is it not, that on the brink of a new console age, some of the most outstanding video games emerged for soon-to-be-forgotten machines.
You'd think that Final Fantasy VII and VIII had teased and squeezed the creative juices from some of the most gifted and dedicated programmers in the gaming world. But on the contrary, Vagrant Story is top of the bill. Vagrant Story is, to all intents and purposes, Medieval Gear Solid.

But I'm running ahead, first things first.

So, about the title....it's kind of a nonsensical name for a game, and having 'tramped' through hour upon hour of subterranean discord to find out for sure, there aren't any vagrants. No irrational ramblings, cross-eyed demands for some spare cigarettes, evidence of soiled, crusty underpants. There are however so many facets to this role-playing game that to list them all would be impossible given the limited space and ability to stay awake, but I'll do my best.

A word about the plot. The story unfolds using the brilliant in-game graphics engine. As the first ten minutes unfold, there are a couple of interludes giving the player a brief taste of action, but nearly all of the prologue involves a tightly-scripted storyline that simply oozes atmosphere and sweeping camerawork.

The direction and animation is second to none, arguably the most absorbing and expert preamble I've seen on the Playstation.
The once fabulous city of Leá Monde, constructed by the priestess Mullenkamp, lies in ruins following a devastating earthquake 25 years ago. The hub of the narrative pivots around control for the legacy of 'truth' that lies in the midst of the warren of dungeons and great halls in and around the forgotten realm.

You play Riskbreaker Ashley Riot, a most excellent member of the Valendia Knights of Peace (VKP), who has been framed for the murder of Duke Bardorba and the abduction of his son. The game itself is set in the days prior to this, to let you, the gamer, find out what really happened in Leá Monde.

The immense caverns and intertwining catacombs of this place will leave you speechless. Gouged from solid rock, the in- and exteriors are rotatable through 360 degrees zoom in and out and feature walls which intelligently disappear as and when they should. There isn't a single moment where you loose track of Ashley's position.
The city holds countless secret areas and for that purpose a first person mode is available to provide an all-round view, although it's impossible to walk in this mode.

The monsters and other enemies you'll encounter are wonderfully animated and display a startling level of intelligence. Their combat abilities are wide-ranging and won't just throw themselves at you. They all come in many forms and so called 'classes'. Ie. demi-humans, beasts, dragons, etc.

Every creature has a weakness, though some aren't immediately apparent. If you find yourself entrenched in a fight with a unrelenting enemy, investigate its weak spot by using the Analyze spell. You may discover that hacking away at the reinforced toenail is a waste of time and resources.

Vagrant Story offers deep, immersive battle management. Once mastered, the raft of options is a pleasure to play with. It takes a while to master certain aspects, but patience is rewarded with a system of near infinite possibilities.

Like previous Square heroes before him, Ashley possesses a knockout range of dormant killing techniques, and it's your job to unlock them.
First a brief word on the fighting system, which is a perfect mixture of real time and turn based action. A 'sphere of influence' tells you how close your foe is, and once within range, which body areas can be targeted.
The first part of the fighting system is called battle Abilities, in which you must hit the correct button at the right time when attacking or defending. Three of each can be stored at once represented by your square, triangle and circle buttons. Mastering these abilities not only gives you more options, but it also means that enormous creatures can be destroyed without the need for magic or even armor.
Multiple moves can also be strung together by hitting a button when an exclamation mark appears next to the current monster. These chain commands consist of diverse magical attacks such as poison and paralysis.
Following enough training (there isn't any leveling-up as such) you might be able to string up to a hundred chain attacks. Precisely the same technique is used for defense abilities as well - injury is reduced and varying percentages of damage can be sent back to the enemy.
All abilities must be learned before new ones are acquired, so careful choice of each one is required when the opportunity arises.

Every weapon you come across, whether it's through battle or having forged a new one in a workshop yourself, contains a special combat technique called a 'break art'.
Where many of the battle techniques are supplemental to a standard attack, break arts are like devastating finishing blows and as such sap quite a portion of your HP. Stick with one weapon throughout the adventure to get the most out of this means of attack. Backfall to this is that some of the lesser used weapons fall behind in 'quality' and when you need their category (there's the cutting, the piercing and the blunt category) you're almost up to the impossible task of defeating the foes in question.
Weapons can be combined with a matching grip. it's vital to combine grips and blades of the same category if you want to create a decent weapon.
Another advantage of briefly entering a more relaxed state during or after battles is to reduce your risk bar, which builds up, often with frightening speed when multiple hits are unleashed.

There are a thousand and more reasons to adore Vagrant Story, such as the many traps and puzzles that await to tax your wits, sensational sound effects and learning 'grimoires' (spells) for offensive and defensive purposes.
Vagrant Story not only entertains and satisfies for all the obvious reasons, but there's something indefinable right about the way the depth of options slowly reveals itself to the determined Riskbreaker.
Minus points can be mentioned with a single lungful of air: there's no audible speech and the difficulty factor is reasonably high.
It's just quite a masterpiece.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/23/02, Updated 11/22/02