This is one of the most polished, quality games I have ever played. If this game got remade, the only things I would want changed are the graphics being completely remade for the newest console generations, along with the possible addition of full voice acting. Those are really the only things this game needs. Other than how it looks being dated now, this is pretty close to an absolutely perfect game in my opinion. The soundtrack alone is one of the best I have ever heard in a video game and feels like a classical symphony
I'm glad to see that your sentiments mirror my own. I certainly understand some of the complaints people have with it, I just didn't feel they lessened the wonderful experience and truly underrated story.
I've always found that using Break Arts is often more useful than chaining attacks, for only a small hit to HP you can usually find a way to inflict massive damage and without adding Risk, best used for bosses or when in danger. It was also not an option to quick-swap weapons from the shortcut menu because they were already pushing the memory to its limits, there were simply too many variables to account for compared to casting a spell or using an item.
I may be biased since your tastes look a lot like mine, but your reviews are really thorough, full of concrete and objective facts and mechanics. It's amazing how deep you go in about 10 mn and shows the quality of your summary and script. Now I'v got to play Vagrant again, it's been 4 years already, and I lost my save...
I somehow missed this game when it first came out. I never heard anything about it until recent years. I finally got the PS1 classics version of it so I can finally check it out on my Vita. Fantastic review, so much great detail! Looking forward to what you review next!
Wow! so in depth , excellent research. I'm currently trying to complete Suikoden 2, and now you convinced me to try Vagrant story while I wait for World of Final Fantasy 😊
my favorite game og of all time. IT Would benefit strongly from an update. everything loads so slowly and the limited inventory is a real hassle. using the storage takes forever and using spells is actively discouraged by a low mana pool, high cost and simply taking to long to cast.
hey man! I've been a sub for a while now but I've gotta say it's like every review you put out is amazing like the script is great abd your voice is pretty soothing. well that's all I gotta say , good shit man!
Rommel Riot here bro... ;) Thanks for the review... For that, I love you. It makes me so happy everytime i Rarely hear that someone knows & can actually relate to this game.. BTW, FYI, once u have finished this game, it wouldn't make ur map 100%... U have to play it again... Just informing you (only if u havent finished it) ;). I haven't accomplished the 100% map though... but it's in my bucketlist ;)
Vagrant Story is a game that I have yet to play for myself. It is on the list of eventual "must plays". It is just a matter of getting to it. :P I have heard this game's battle be compared to Parasite Eve rather often. The sphere that appears in battle definitely gives me flashbacks of it. And Vagrant Story does blend action and turn-based combat in a similar way to Parasite Eve. I like the idea of locking on to various body parts. Do they affect how the enemy will act (like, will attacking a leg cause the person's movement to slow down)? It would be a nice touch if so. The literal "risk" system sounds fantastic! Great way to balance risk and reward and allow players to set their own difficulty, in a sense. Great review! I will do my best to get a copy of this game to play for myself soon. ;)
Merely targeting a limb will not cause any special effects, but doing enough damage to a certain body part does disable the foe (and they can do the same to you!). Crippling legs reduces the target's movement speed, head: prevents magic use, left arm: reduces probability of blocking/parrying, and right arm: reduces damage dealt.
The developers must have watched a lot of X-Files episodes to listen to the music, because many of the game's characters are named after characters or staff from the show.
There should be a remake or spiritual successor for this game. I did enjoy this game a bit when I was a kid but I felt it was too much for me to comprehend at the time. I was about 13 when the game came out so I was no Einstein and just beginning to understand the world around me o the whole French thing was something hard for me to get into. Now, I don't know if I would have the time or patience to play this game since I have so many other games (both old and new) that I am playing, investing in and some scratching off my list. So if a remake of some sort of this game came out, I would be all about it. Either way, everyone I know who played this game always had great stuff to say about it.
Dan Zena Hehe.. Indeed my friend.. This game is epic... As u might have noticed, my code name is rommel"riot" coz of Ashley Riot. This game is everything to me. Lols. Finish it bro... I have... You would never regret it.. I have finished it once, & wanted to finish it again to hit a 100% of the map, but I haven't..... :).
This game is a one of a kind master piece that everybody should have played. It is so unique and well put together and so atmospheric and fun to play. Definitely give this one a try. I remember it was maybe the last game I played on the system.
For a game that relies so heavily on changing weapons, I definitely agree that it was a huge mistake for them to not have any kind of quick-change option. It's really what prevented me from finishing the game. It's a shame too, because the story and presentation are so well done.
A friend of mine showed me this game back in the PS1 days, and I wasn't really as interested in the game as he was. Mainly due to the fact that the main character's design is very conflicting in my eyes. We have a big He-Man type muscular man who wears a sexy feminine top with exposed arms, back and sideboobs, and pants with exposed buttcheecks. Plus HIS name is Ashley. It was too much for me to even consider playing the game even with the interesting RPG elements. This was a good review, Andrew. May I suggest putting some audio from the game itself in certain parts? It doesn't change your review points, but some people may not have seen/heard about the game you're reviewing.
TBH, there's a lot of ass in general in Vagrant Story. lol Does make me wonder if the character designer really likes butts or something. Nevermind the fact that Rosencrantz wears a skintight bodysuit and a very obvious codpiece over top. :| Though it never bugged me, since it's a JRPG, and often their outfits make little to no sense.
The only bad things I can name about the game are: 1.- No voice acting 2.- Difficulty (The game is too easy and can be beaten with 3 weapons with barely any upgrading if you abuse a certain combo) 3.- Can't change weapons without entering the menu. Since newer consoles have dual sticks, shoulder buttons could be used to change weapons on the go. If they remade the game with newer graphics and fixing these three aspects, it would be a best seller when compared to other recent JRPGs. The combat system doesn't feel dated because honestly, only Vagrant Story and Parasite Eve did it.
Vivi avatar, no final fantasy IX review :( Subbed btw, dunno why it's fun watching reviews, just nice hearing someone talk about things you're interested in i guess
the battle system of this game is insanely confusing. i can bet that regular gamers are gonna be frustrated after just fighting the second of third boss 😓
I feel like I should adore this game, and it absolutely has all of the elements I love in a video game. I honestly just believe it was released on the wrong console at the wrong time. The gameplay elements are terribly explained and everything about the constant pausing and menu navigation made me grow to hate every moment I spent exploring and fighting; only doing it so I could get to the next wonderfully written cutscene. But see, while the characters are amazingly designed and written, the lack of voice overs really throws off my interest. While I've no problem with games without them, games with them earn a whole new level of quality and substance, and this was a game that would have absolutely benefited from it ten-fold. I have no doubt that with this inclusion, I would have continued to struggle through the dated combat and found a great game. I was also incredibly underwhelmed by Hitoshi Sakimoto's score, with only one song staying with me - the one that plays in workshops. Considering Final Fantasy 12 is my favourite game of all time, and one that utilised Sakimoto's talents beautifully, I was very disappointed. I'm wishing this game would get some sort of update, remaster or remake or whatever. Something that can streamline the clunky gameplay features, add FF12 god tier quality of voice overs, and re orchestrate that soundtrack. Because as it is, I don't think I could recommend it to anyone who hasn't already played Let us Cling Together, FFTA, FFTA2, War of the Lions, FF12, Revenant Wings. Once all of Matsuno's more recent, refined games have been absorbed and you just need more of him, that's when Vagrant Story, in the state it's currently in, should be played. Alas, I was expecting more FF12, and for the most part I got that, just not in the way that mattered. The best aspects are completely squandered. The world of 12 helped Sakimoto use so much magic in his music, yet Vagrant Story is almost always in a dreary dungeon with little to no music. The gameplay feels like a proto-12, with the pausible ATB concept, but obviously not handled as well. Comparing games that released years apart seems rude, but I came into the game expecting a game that shared a lot of the wonder of 12, but in a more rustic and infantile state. The only area that holds true is the language and characters of Vagrant Story, and that's truly upsetting.
Ha, thx! And thx for the reviews. Since I found out you can buy ps1 games for psp (and that they're still worth playing), your channel is like a guide through the expansive library of ps1 games :P.
i really enjoyed this game..the hardest part of this game is in the forest that is like a maze..i really like the chaining of attacks..if i remebered correctly my highest chain in this game is 73..
You equip different attacks to the controller's face buttons, which you can chain together. However, each move has its own animation and timing, and in order to chain attacks, you have to press the next attack button at a particular moment (just before the weapon hits the enemy, generally speaking). The game does help you by showing a large exclamation point above Ashley's head when you're supposed to press the next button (though you can turn it off if you want). Since you can only have three weapon skills equipped at once and you can't chain two of the same attack in a row, chaining attacks requires you to get into a certain rhythm of button pressing.
endlessrepeat kinda like legend of dragoon? or nah? man that sounds fucking great i was reading up about the battle system a few days ago and i had to order the game right away lol. i couldnt tell by just looking at it but what i read sounds really exciting
This is one of the most polished, quality games I have ever played. If this game got remade, the only things I would want changed are the graphics being completely remade for the newest console generations, along with the possible addition of full voice acting. Those are really the only things this game needs. Other than how it looks being dated now, this is pretty close to an absolutely perfect game in my opinion. The soundtrack alone is one of the best I have ever heard in a video game and feels like a classical symphony
I'm glad to see that your sentiments mirror my own. I certainly understand some of the complaints people have with it, I just didn't feel they lessened the wonderful experience and truly underrated story.
backroomgentleman I find it hard to imagine this game without its art style. I really want to see how it would look with better graphics
If PSONE emulators could allow retexturing that would be a reality.
Part 2 for the PS4 is coming out
@@JohannDmusickVortex What??
Congrats on 1k subs!! It has been awesome watching you grow. Already looking foreword to your next video. :D
You're the man.
I've always found that using Break Arts is often more useful than chaining attacks, for only a small hit to HP you can usually find a way to inflict massive damage and without adding Risk, best used for bosses or when in danger.
It was also not an option to quick-swap weapons from the shortcut menu because they were already pushing the memory to its limits, there were simply too many variables to account for compared to casting a spell or using an item.
I may be biased since your tastes look a lot like mine, but your reviews are really thorough, full of concrete and objective facts and mechanics. It's amazing how deep you go in about 10 mn and shows the quality of your summary and script. Now I'v got to play Vagrant again, it's been 4 years already, and I lost my save...
I somehow missed this game when it first came out. I never heard anything about it until recent years. I finally got the PS1 classics version of it so I can finally check it out on my Vita. Fantastic review, so much great detail! Looking forward to what you review next!
Thank you very much. Really appreciate that.
Wow! so in depth , excellent research. I'm currently trying to complete Suikoden 2, and now you convinced me to try Vagrant story while I wait for World of Final Fantasy 😊
best review on yt. thanks for this, i was debating on playing it again after a 18 year hiatus but seeing this re-sparked my interest entirely.
Congratulations on 1k subs man.
To be honest you deserve way better than that but it's ok.
I'm sure you will make it there.
my favorite game og
of all time. IT Would benefit strongly from an update. everything loads so slowly and the limited inventory is a real hassle. using the storage takes forever and using spells is actively discouraged by a low mana pool, high cost and simply taking to long to cast.
love your reviews .
people need to know the good ol' games.
hey man! I've been a sub for a while now but I've gotta say it's like every review you put out is amazing like the script is great abd your voice is pretty soothing. well that's all I gotta say , good shit man!
*and
Thank you so much. Really appreciate that.
Rommel Riot here bro... ;)
Thanks for the review... For that, I love you. It makes me so happy everytime i Rarely hear that someone knows & can actually relate to this game.. BTW, FYI, once u have finished this game, it wouldn't make ur map 100%... U have to play it again... Just informing you (only if u havent finished it) ;). I haven't accomplished the 100% map though... but it's in my bucketlist ;)
I didn't even get close to 100%. I think it's meant to be played through MANY times. I really appreciate this comment, thanks Rommel!
Vagrant Story is a game that I have yet to play for myself. It is on the list of eventual "must plays". It is just a matter of getting to it. :P I have heard this game's battle be compared to Parasite Eve rather often. The sphere that appears in battle definitely gives me flashbacks of it. And Vagrant Story does blend action and turn-based combat in a similar way to Parasite Eve. I like the idea of locking on to various body parts. Do they affect how the enemy will act (like, will attacking a leg cause the person's movement to slow down)? It would be a nice touch if so. The literal "risk" system sounds fantastic! Great way to balance risk and reward and allow players to set their own difficulty, in a sense. Great review! I will do my best to get a copy of this game to play for myself soon. ;)
Merely targeting a limb will not cause any special effects, but doing enough damage to a certain body part does disable the foe (and they can do the same to you!). Crippling legs reduces the target's movement speed, head: prevents magic use, left arm: reduces probability of blocking/parrying, and right arm: reduces damage dealt.
endlessrepeat Ah, I see. Sounds like a great combat system. Thanks for the info! :)
I'm still pretty new to this channel, but congrats on the 1k subs, your videos are definitely higher quality than most new youtubers, so keep it up.
The developers must have watched a lot of X-Files episodes to listen to the music, because many of the game's characters are named after characters or staff from the show.
Really? that's pretty cool.
There should be a remake or spiritual successor for this game. I did enjoy this game a bit when I was a kid but I felt it was too much for me to comprehend at the time. I was about 13 when the game came out so I was no Einstein and just beginning to understand the world around me o the whole French thing was something hard for me to get into.
Now, I don't know if I would have the time or patience to play this game since I have so many other games (both old and new) that I am playing, investing in and some scratching off my list. So if a remake of some sort of this game came out, I would be all about it.
Either way, everyone I know who played this game always had great stuff to say about it.
Dan Zena Hehe.. Indeed my friend.. This game is epic... As u might have noticed, my code name is rommel"riot" coz of Ashley Riot. This game is everything to me. Lols. Finish it bro... I have... You would never regret it.. I have finished it once, & wanted to finish it again to hit a 100% of the map, but I haven't..... :).
rommelriot dude I can talk to u about this game all day long
rommelriot yeah dude write me back I got some tips for u
Please Square Enix, bring Matsuno back.
Man all I did was 2 damage I was so horrible at this game, I really wanna go back and beat it sometime soon
This game is a one of a kind master piece that everybody should have played. It is so unique and well put together and so atmospheric and fun to play. Definitely give this one a try. I remember it was maybe the last game I played on the system.
forging your weapons into real slayers was the single best mechanic in any RPGs,
Fuck you Dragons, i made a blade JUST...FOR...YOU.
For a game that relies so heavily on changing weapons, I definitely agree that it was a huge mistake for them to not have any kind of quick-change option. It's really what prevented me from finishing the game. It's a shame too, because the story and presentation are so well done.
BawesomeBurf I agree. Saving setups would've made this game a 10 out of 10.
excellent review, vagrant story is one of my all time favorites.
Appreciate that! It's great and has a truly unique feel.
A friend of mine showed me this game back in the PS1 days, and I wasn't really as interested in the game as he was. Mainly due to the fact that the main character's design is very conflicting in my eyes. We have a big He-Man type muscular man who wears a sexy feminine top with exposed arms, back and sideboobs, and pants with exposed buttcheecks. Plus HIS name is Ashley. It was too much for me to even consider playing the game even with the interesting RPG elements. This was a good review, Andrew. May I suggest putting some audio from the game itself in certain parts? It doesn't change your review points, but some people may not have seen/heard about the game you're reviewing.
TBH, there's a lot of ass in general in Vagrant Story. lol Does make me wonder if the character designer really likes butts or something. Nevermind the fact that Rosencrantz wears a skintight bodysuit and a very obvious codpiece over top. :| Though it never bugged me, since it's a JRPG, and often their outfits make little to no sense.
VenomousSoliloquy Draws
He does. Akihiko Yoshida is well known for being an ass man 😁
Is it me or you've used some kind of texture upscaling? I didn't remember the game looking so good!
my favorite game when i was a kid damn
this game is really good, But i couldnt keep playing because I HATED the risk system.
What did you use (and settings) to get the game to look this good????
This game should have remake/remaster :) or anyone knows way how to play it. I still got ps3 and heard can be downloaded there?
The only bad things I can name about the game are:
1.- No voice acting
2.- Difficulty (The game is too easy and can be beaten with 3 weapons with barely any upgrading if you abuse a certain combo)
3.- Can't change weapons without entering the menu. Since newer consoles have dual sticks, shoulder buttons could be used to change weapons on the go.
If they remade the game with newer graphics and fixing these three aspects, it would be a best seller when compared to other recent JRPGs. The combat system doesn't feel dated because honestly, only Vagrant Story and Parasite Eve did it.
+SolidShinoda number 3 was so frustrating lol
Vivi avatar, no final fantasy IX review :(
Subbed btw, dunno why it's fun watching reviews, just nice hearing someone talk about things you're interested in i guess
+saedt I'm planning on doing it eventually; i just want to ensure that I'm going to do it justice
+saedt and thanks! I appreciate it.
Cool! Keep up the good work :)
A channel that reviews old JRPGs? Subscribing!
Thank you! I appreciate that.
the battle system of this game is insanely confusing. i can bet that regular gamers are gonna be frustrated after just fighting the second of third boss 😓
I agree completely. Not realizing why you're doing 1-2 damage a hit on the second boss is going to ruin some people's experience.
I feel like I should adore this game, and it absolutely has all of the elements I love in a video game. I honestly just believe it was released on the wrong console at the wrong time. The gameplay elements are terribly explained and everything about the constant pausing and menu navigation made me grow to hate every moment I spent exploring and fighting; only doing it so I could get to the next wonderfully written cutscene.
But see, while the characters are amazingly designed and written, the lack of voice overs really throws off my interest. While I've no problem with games without them, games with them earn a whole new level of quality and substance, and this was a game that would have absolutely benefited from it ten-fold. I have no doubt that with this inclusion, I would have continued to struggle through the dated combat and found a great game.
I was also incredibly underwhelmed by Hitoshi Sakimoto's score, with only one song staying with me - the one that plays in workshops. Considering Final Fantasy 12 is my favourite game of all time, and one that utilised Sakimoto's talents beautifully, I was very disappointed.
I'm wishing this game would get some sort of update, remaster or remake or whatever. Something that can streamline the clunky gameplay features, add FF12 god tier quality of voice overs, and re orchestrate that soundtrack. Because as it is, I don't think I could recommend it to anyone who hasn't already played Let us Cling Together, FFTA, FFTA2, War of the Lions, FF12, Revenant Wings. Once all of Matsuno's more recent, refined games have been absorbed and you just need more of him, that's when Vagrant Story, in the state it's currently in, should be played.
Alas, I was expecting more FF12, and for the most part I got that, just not in the way that mattered. The best aspects are completely squandered. The world of 12 helped Sakimoto use so much magic in his music, yet Vagrant Story is almost always in a dreary dungeon with little to no music. The gameplay feels like a proto-12, with the pausible ATB concept, but obviously not handled as well.
Comparing games that released years apart seems rude, but I came into the game expecting a game that shared a lot of the wonder of 12, but in a more rustic and infantile state. The only area that holds true is the language and characters of Vagrant Story, and that's truly upsetting.
REMAKE! REMAKE! REMAKE!
Thanks for the fantastic review!
Another amazing review!
This has to be the best looking game on ps1.
my favourite game ever! I'm not sure if I want a remake/new game, since games now are a lot different
what are the games in the opening anyone?
In order: Xenogears, Final Fantasy IX, Azure Dreams, Wild Arms, and Grandia.
Brutoom Xenogears is the BEST rpg ever made!
i really wanted to like this game but i couldn't get into it because of the battle system and the weapon switching etc..
feels like darksouls + final fantasy, but plays more like the first two fallout games.
berwwtje that's actually a spot on comparison
Ha, thx! And thx for the reviews. Since I found out you can buy ps1 games for psp (and that they're still worth playing), your channel is like a guide through the expansive library of ps1 games :P.
i really enjoyed this game..the hardest part of this game is in the forest that is like a maze..i really like the chaining of attacks..if i remebered correctly my highest chain in this game is 73..
for all the ppl that said that they couldn't finish the game. I say you guys lake skills to play a real game just saying...
Another solid review! Thx High Level
Man I thought I was the only one who remembered this game!!
what do you mean by rhythm based combat system ?
You equip different attacks to the controller's face buttons, which you can chain together. However, each move has its own animation and timing, and in order to chain attacks, you have to press the next attack button at a particular moment (just before the weapon hits the enemy, generally speaking). The game does help you by showing a large exclamation point above Ashley's head when you're supposed to press the next button (though you can turn it off if you want). Since you can only have three weapon skills equipped at once and you can't chain two of the same attack in a row, chaining attacks requires you to get into a certain rhythm of button pressing.
endlessrepeat
kinda like legend of dragoon? or nah? man that sounds fucking great i was reading up about the battle system a few days ago and i had to order the game right away lol. i couldnt tell by just looking at it but what i read sounds really exciting
This video made me subscribe
remake of this game would be remarkable... :,)
I see Vagrant Story, I like
Too bad looks a lot more pixelated on ps3.
Hmm gonna give it a try.
this game...some of the animations can be seeing on ff12
Great Review !!!
Dark Souls?
Thirteen 1355 you're suggesting I review it?
High Level Reviews Your take on Vagrant Story reminds me of Dark Souls.
That makes a lot of sense actually.
Have you ever played Mother 3?
+Thirteen 1355 yes I have! One of my favorite games! I certainly plan on reviewing it.
Worst jrpg ever. (said in the voice of Comic Book Guy)
gah this game was terrible...