Vagrant Story

"A True Masterpiece"

Imagine being submersed into a world filled with darkness and magic; a world filled with evil and the unknown lurking around every corner; a world where a hellish plot twists and turns at every possible opportunity. This is the world of Vagrant Story, a fantastic game that is ground breaking in every way possible. Vagrant Story combines incredible gameplay, a cryptic plot, beautiful graphics, and phenomenal music to create an experience that no gamer should miss.
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Ashley Riot, Vagrant Story's protagonist, is a Riskbreaker. Riskbreakers are assigned by the VKP (Valendian Knights of Peace) to apprehend major felons in the world of Vagrant Story. Riskbreaker is a dangerous occupation, with little people surviving through the missions. Ashley is different though. He is always cool, always calm, and never questions his assignments from the VKP. Ashley successfully completes all of his missions, and he is known as the greatest of all Riskbreakers. As the greatest Riskbreaker, Ashley is ordered to apprehend Sydney Losstarot, a dangerous felon and the leader of the Mullenkamp Cult. However, after meeting Sydney, everything changes for Ashley.

Ashley is informed that Mullenkamp Cult is an anti-government organization that has been involved in some shady business, including attempted regicide. After meeting the Mullenkamp leader, Sydney, Ashley learns of the Dark. Sydney escapes his first encounter with Ashley by entering the dangerous city of Lea Monde. Ashley follows because of his mission assignment and his yearning to learn more about Sydney.

The plot of Vagrant Story unfolds in the dark city of Lea Monde. Lea Monde, a city abandoned because of a huge earthquake, is forbidden access because of the Dark contained inside. It is in Lea Monde that Ashley learns of magic and begins to question his own existence and the VKP itself.

The story unfolds with Ashley following the videogame's antagonist, Sydney, throughout Lea Monde. However, there are other enemies all around Ashley. Romeo Guildenstern, a leader of the Cardinal's military, is also following Sydney for an unknown reason. The Duke Bardorba, an important political figure, is also supposedly conspiring with Sydney. In addition, there are monsters everywhere in Lea Monde.

The cutscenes during Vagrant Story are a cinematic experience. The shot angles make the game's story feel more intense and exciting. The scenes are implemented very effectively, and they are all fantastic. Some of the story's scenes can be terribly intense or very somber and sad. The final dungeon in the game had me on the edge of my seat with excitement, while some of the cutscenes about Ashley's past had my eyes on the verge of tears. The cutscenes are all fantastic because of the amazing graphics, interesting shot angles, fantastic dialogue, and beautiful music.

Matsuno does a fantastic job bringing the plot of Vagrant Story to life. With fantastic dialogue, near perfect translation, and an interesting premise, Vagrant Story contains one of the greatest storylines on any videogame.
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The gameplay in Vagrant Story is phenomenal. Vagrant Story features a real time battle system, unlike the turn-based combat in the Final Fantasies. Ashley has two modes throughout the game: Normal Mode and Battle Mode.

Normal Mode allows Ashley to regain lost Health Points (HP), Magic Points (MP), and lower his Risk Points. Risk Points are points gained by fighting excessively. The higher Ashley's Risk Points, the more damage Ashley takes, and Ashley has a lower chance of hitting an enemy during battle. Most puzzles and just running around will be done in Ashley's normal mode. Pressing the “X” button during Normal Mode will change Ashley to Battle Mode.

During Battle Mode, Ashley combats his enemies. The battles take place during real time, and Ashley can attack an enemy when the gamer presses the “O” button. Initializing an attack with Ashley brings up a giant sphere signifying the weapon's range; the larger the sphere the greater the weapon's range. Any enemy in the sphere can be attacked. However, the gamer must choose which body part to target and attack on an enemy. Certain body parts yield a higher damage, while others yield a higher miss rate, so it is important to choose carefully. Pressing the “X” button while in Battle Mode will change Ashley's mode to normal.

Ashley must create his weapons through workshops scattered throughout the game. Ashley has nine weapon types (daggers, short swords, axes and maces, great swords, great axes, heavy maces, crossbows, polearms, and bare fists) at his disposal throughout the game. In a workshop, the gamer must combine these weapons to make stronger weapons for Ashley to employ in battle. The gamer is also given the ability to create and combine stronger armors and shields inside a workshop. This addition allows for more involvement in the gameplay and the battles.

The weapons, armors, and shields at Ashley's disposal are given many statistics of their own. Each equipment piece has an affinity with the monster types (beasts, humans, dragons, undead, evils, and phantoms) presented throughout the game. All of Ashley's equipment also has affinity with the elements (physical, fire, water, air, earth, light, and dark) in the game. Lastly, the equipment also has an affinity with the three attacking types (edged, blunt, and piercing). These affinities can be gained by attacking or guarding against certain monster types, elemental types, or attacking types. Each equipment piece also has statistical values in Strength, Intelligence, and Agility. Weapons also have stats for their range, which affects the size of the attacking sphere. The equipment pieces themselves have an immense amount of depth involved in their statistics.

Unlike most Role Playing Games, Ashley does not gain statistics by obtaining experience and leveling up. Instead, Ashley must find items scattered throughout Lea Monde and use them on himself to grow in statistics. Ashley also learns magic through items known as Grimoires. Grimoires contain magic, and using a Grimoire during battle will enable Ashley to learn the magic, and use it without the help of the item. There are four types of magic. Shaman magic heals Ashley's status effects and HP. Warlock magic attacks enemies through the elements. Sorcerer magic changes the statistics of Ashley and his enemies. Enchanter magic either protects Ashley from certain elemental attacks, or allows Ashley to align his weapons with a certain element. Magical attacks expend Ashley's MP in order for usage.

Ashley can also use special attacks, known as Battle Abilities during combat. Ashley gains Battle Abilities throughout the game, and the gamer can assign three Battle Abilities to the “Square,” “Circle,” and “Triangle” buttons. The objective is to chain these battle abilities. When an exclamation point (!) appears above Ashley's head, the gamer must press either the "Circle," "Square," or "Triangle" button to chain one Battle Ability with another. These chains can be virtually endless, however chaining Battle Abilities for extended periods of time causes Ashley's Risk Points to rise dramatically; the gamer must chain Battle Abilities wisely in order to survive the game's battles. The Battle Abilities allow combat to be far more involving and fun, and it is a very interesting and entertaining addition to combat.

During battle, Ashley can also use Break Arts. Break Arts are basically special attacks for each weapon type. Each weapon type has four Break Arts that can attack enemies by expending Ashley's HP. Break Arts are very useful to battle, however I found myself not using these abilities very often.

The gamer is also expected to complete many puzzles throughout the game. The puzzles become progressively difficult during the game, but they are generally very entertaining and interesting.

The gameplay in Vagrant Story is fantastic and truly ground breaking. Very few Role Playing Games offer the gamer an involving gameplay experience like Vagrant Story's. From the epic battles to the fun puzzles, Vagrant Story has a phenomenal and unique gameplay system.
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Vagrant Story is an aesthetically beautiful videogame. Using some impressive graphics, Vagrant Story's character and environmental designs are very detailed and very stunning. Vagrant Story has the best-looking graphics of any Playstation game, and its graphical prowess rivals some Playstation 2 games.

The people in Vagrant Story walk very fluidly and realistically. The characters also have phenomenal facial expressions that look very natural. Every character is gorgeously detailed and looks incredible in Vagrant Story. The game implements some fantastic textures that make every character and environment look very realistic. The magical and special attacks in the game look stunning and are striking to the eye. Each area is also fully three dimensional, which allows full rotation of the camera at the gamer's discretion.

Vagrant Story's graphics are fantastic and are by far the greatest of any Playstation game.
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The sound in Vagrant Story is inspiring and beautifully done. The game does not implement voice acting, however the characters can often be heard grunting in a fairly realistic manner. The music in the game is utterly phenomenal, and it gives the game's story a more epic and fantastical feel. The musical pieces presented during the cutscenes are brilliant. The music makes the game's story feel more personal, and the music is always fitting. Some of the songs are filled with such sadness that I felt compelled to cry just by listening to them. The music also makes the game feel very intense and suspenseful at appropriate times.

The music and sound in Vagrant Story is top notch, and it makes the game feel much more epic.
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For a Role Playing Game, Vagrant Story offers an amazing amount of replay value. After completing the game, the gamer is given the option to play through a second time with all of Ashley's equipment, magic, and stats from the original game; basically a New Game +. On a second playthrough, you are offered more dungeons and bosses to fight, however Vagrant Story's fantastic plot should be enough to bring any gamer back for a second time around.

Vagrant Story offers an amazing amount of replay value. If you enjoyed the first playthrough, I can guarantee that you will play through a second time.
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Vagrant Story is ground breaking in almost every aspect. The game effectively combines fantastic gameplay, beautiful graphics, a phenomenal story, and touching music to make a videogame experience like no other. Because of Vagrant Story's immense depth, any person that plays through this game will enjoy it immensely, and any gamer should purchase Vagrant Story immediately.
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Story 10/10:
Vagrant Story contains a mysterious plot unlike any other game. It is one of the best plots in any game thus far.

Gameplay 10/10:
Vagrant Story offers a very deep and unique gameplay system that is fun and addicting to use.

Graphics 10/10:
Vagrant Story implements the best-looking graphics for any Playstation game, and its graphical prowess rivals some videogames' graphics for the Playstation 2.

Sound 10/10:
Vagrant Story consists of some of the greatest and most touching music in any videogame to date. The sounds from the weapons and characters are also fantastic and realistic.

Replay 10/10:
Vagrant Story offers some excellent multiple playthrough extras that should get any gamer coming back for more. However, the excellent story, gameplay, graphics, and music should be enough for a second playthrough.

Overall 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/08/04