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LTTP: Vagrant Story

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Finally finished Vagrant Story after 21 years (I never did get past the Wine Cellar).

Gotta say, I don’t think I would have ever finished the game when I was a child, the game is extremely reliant on equipping the right element all the time or else you’d definitely die. Not to mention 50% of my gameplay was on menu navigation, and that was my biggest issue: it takes too long to equip and unequip items and gems.

However, getting past those and understanding the intricacies of the game, I enjoyed it and put in hours playing the game. The story was pretty mature though the setting of the entire game looked pretty bland (well, that’s how I feel about Matsuno games: they mostly look bland).

Personally if they ever do a remake of this game, they should definitely simplify the menu, but the gameplay, concept, and story are great and stood the test of time.
 

_Ex_

Member
Vagrant Story is my all time favorite PS1 game, it's magnificent. My only issue with it, is the post-game dungeon should have been accessible immediately after beating the game. Instead you have to replay a significant portion to reach it. Other than that, just a brilliant experience. That said, it's not for everybody, I get that. The game has a byzantine story, technically complex mechanics, and a somber oppressive atmosphere. Which is why I love it.
 
Funny that just about an hour ago Playstation Access made a video about Vagrant Story.

I never played it back when it came and many times I've been close to buying in it for Vita.

Has it aged well? Is it good for people who don't have the nostalgia points for it?
 

lachesis

Member
I still want to give it a second shot. When I first played & finished the game back when it was first released, I was trying to understand all the intricacies in the system, but honestly I was lost. (English being my 2nd language didn't help, because I didn't want to read all that stuff). I was trying my best to keep up with it till halfway thru, but towards the end - just completely gave up... and rushed thru. I don't remember much about the story either. It was pretty convoluted stuff, which I was lost about it in the midst of dungeon crawling and trying to explore.

In the end, I think I chain-combo'ed the final boss (was it Sydney?) - doing 1 point damage for a very long, long time. I'm sure there were faster method of killing him, but I felt a quite a bit lost... and this was only game that ever happened to me like that.

Although I did love the game's premise - I do agree that the system could be better explained or streamlined better, and this is one of the reason that I try to avoid RPGs with overly complex stat properties and micro-managing its equipment.
 

longdi

Banned
the writing and screenplay was top notch for its era.
Imo it easily beat out MGS1.

FF12 was its spiritual successor, but only for half the game, as sadly the same director failed to handle the FF pressure and drop off midway. :(
 
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UnravelKatharsis

Gold Member
Ya I really really wanted to play it but I didn't take the time to understand it. I remember I ran into a boss and I was doing 1 damage per hit on him. This was way back when it had just came out and I had some other game beckoning me. I finally got frustrated and gave up....
 
In terms of narrative and world design it's incredible. The progression system and all the menuing are a real chore though. I was finally able to make my way through the game when I turned on cheats and just blasted through it.
 

nerdface

Banned
I loved the engine and art style of this game and tried to get into it multiple times.

I was just too dumb to math, I guess. I was hitting stuff over and over timing each button for almost no damage.
 
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8bitpill

Member
I played this right when it came out and I was 17. I loved it back then. I actually got all the way to the end but wasn't equipped or properly ready and I just couldn't get past it.

DearGracefulAsp-small.gif


The cut scenes in this game were shot like a movie!

I own it and I've been feeling nostalgia kicking around my head and been going back to PS1 and PS2 games as of late.

I've said this since I started playing Soulsborne games, but FromSoftware would be an amazing fit for this game. The dark story, fantasy, and detail set to combat, would be something else if it was remade by them.
 
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kingpotato

Ask me about my Stream Deck
Would be cool if an Android version was released similarly to the port that was done for final fantasy ix
 

SkylineRKR

Member
VS is one of the best games I have played but it is in need of a remaster with quality of life improvements, such as pre set builds. You don't really need to switch out gems though. It probably helps with min maxing and the absolute max damage you can deal but it largely comes down to a few types of blades; blunt, edged, piercing. And then train those on a type of training dummy each so that you have something that can deal with humans, phantoms etc. I think Pierce works against Dragons, and Blunt against Golems etc.

But this mechanic of raising damage, and the risk system I don't like. However change it, and the game isn't the same anymore. I think the obscurity of this games mechanics is also its charm. I just needs pre builds, and a more modern menu thats easier and quicker to access. I think I would keep its depth.

I beat the game without too much knowledge way back, but I always had something that would damage enemies appropriately. And I kept my Risk low. I think long combos are not recommended as it raised Risk.
 
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StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Gotta say, I don’t think I would have ever finished the game when I was a child, the game is extremely reliant on equipping the right element all the time or else you’d definitely die. Not to mention 50% of my gameplay was on menu navigation, and that was my biggest issue: it takes too long to equip and unequip items and gems.
Was an awesome game except I barely played it. I wasn't playing the game right.

I just dove in thinking I can explore and kill monsters thinking it was the usual adventure/RPG kind of game.

No wonder some fights I was doing 2 pts of DMG and got killed fast.
 

SkylineRKR

Member
What I remember is that say you raised a weapon on a human dummy and increased your damage against humans, then you are lazy and use that weapon on phantoms also the human stat will actually drop. This means it eventually becomes weaksauce against the next humans you're going to fight. This is why you need to switch out weapons against different enemy types a lot. An error lots of inexperienced players make is probably that they don't bother to switch out. This game is brutal. But its so fucking good.
 
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8bitpill

Member
One of the best games ever made, I swear to all that is holy. It is so different and the atmosphere, my god, that atmosphere! Ugh, I wish there were more games in the series.




Why, for the love of God, is it more than $200!!!??!? Ugh!
It’s definitely steep for some action figure dollies.

but they know who they’re marketing too. Adults that have money and nostalgia kicking around in their heads.
 

Dr Bass

Member
This game is exactly why the PS BC policy is horrible. It’s like losing The Godfather because it was made in the 70s. This stuff NEEDS to stay available. One of the best games I’ve ever played.
 

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
A marvellous game... The only remake I'm really wishing...

If they remake it, they should really fix the menu UX. One of my biggest hassles is unequipping and equipping gems.
 
This game is exactly why the PS BC policy is horrible. It’s like losing The Godfather because it was made in the 70s. This stuff NEEDS to stay available. One of the best games I’ve ever played.

100% agreed. At least there are emulators and even the most basic systems these days are able to run the PS1 emulator with full speed.
 

sublimit

Banned
You can always buy the physi
This game is exactly why the PS BC policy is horrible. It’s like losing The Godfather because it was made in the 70s. This stuff NEEDS to stay available. One of the best games I’ve ever played.
You can always buy the physical version. Yes you'd need a PS1/PS2 or a BC PS3 but if you are really commited in playing older games you'd already have these platforms. People were buying and playing older games even before the coming of the digital age.
 

Dr Bass

Member
You can always buy the physi
You can always buy the physical version. Yes you'd need a PS1/PS2 or a BC PS3 but if you are really commited in playing older games you'd already have these platforms. People were buying and playing older games even before the coming of the digital age.

“You can always buy the VHS.”
 

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman


Don your chaps, fellers! Cultists are out here trying to disrupt the status quo and I meet a demon.


00:00 - Intro
01:18 - History
08:27 - Story
28:22 - Spoiler Break
29:04 - Spoilers
01:11:09 - End of Spoilers
01:15:50 - Gameplay
01:31:53 - Sight/Sound
01:46:02 - Conclusion
01:52:23 - Credits
01:58:30 - End
 

GymWolf

Member
Loved this thing when i was young, the atmosphere was great.
One of the few ps1 games that still look somewhat decent even today.
 

Shift!

Member
Ashley Riot for Smash Bros!

This game has customizable weapons, just like Dark Cloud 2 and Rogue Galaxy, making it an instant favorite of mine.
 
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