Vandal Hearts II

"Vandal Hearts II is a welcome addition to any RPG collection"

Vandal Hearts II

Graphics: 7.5
Sound & Music: 9
Control: 8
Gameplay: 8.5
Replay Value: 6.5
Overall: 8

Vandal Hearts II is a great game that is a definate must in any rpger's collection. The graphics while not up to par with today's blockbusters like Final Fantasy VIII, can hold their own and work perfect in the type of game that Vandal Hearts II is. Where the graphics suffer is in the character portraits, I was so turned off by the characters ugliness that I almost didn't want to play anymore (wait till you get to meet Vlad in the game and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about). I hope the portraits weren't based on real people because I would be ashamed to be that ugly! The sound in Vandal Hearts II might not win any awards but the music just might. The music is implemented in just the right way that it makes for a much more fulfilling gaming experience. The sound is where the audio suffers, little sword slashes, a stupid little ditty for level ups, and absolutely no speech (no screams or anything... just “WHOOSH”). The control for a game like this is really hard to judge, you move from town to town on a set map and it works very well and that's almost all the moving you do out of battle. The battle control works really well, you can zoom in and out, and you can twirl the camera left and right around your characters, it almost feels like that thing they do in the movies when the person freezes and it seems like they camera twirls smoothly around them. Gameplay is where Vandal Hearts II really shines. The story is amazing, and the character development is done very nicely. One of the things I really like about this game is the technique system, each weapon contains some different skills, you use a weapon, learn the skill, and then you can implant that skill into any of your future weapons. You can have a sword with all your favorite skills. The game even has a percent counter on all the weapons that you found, so any of you that like the idea of collecting ‘em all will love this. Like every other rpg, Vandal Hearts II really sucks in the replay value department. The only rpg that I can remember going back and playing again are Final Fantasy VI, VII, and VIII. I might play through Vandal Hearts II again in awhile but I won't be putting it ahead of Grandia. Overall Vandal Hearts II is a great game that any rpg lover should have, if you play rpg's for story then run out and buy this right now! If you buy an rpg for the graphics then save your money and buy something else.

Similar Titles: Final Fantasy Tactics (The best rpg/strategy game... until FFT2), Vandal Hearts, Ogre Battle, Tactics Ogre.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/22/00, Updated 01/22/00