Otaku World
An Otaku World review of

Vagrant Story

SquareSoft

Reviewed by Jennifer Diane Reitz, May18 2000
Jennifer Diane Reitz
Jennifer Diane Reitz
Platform Reviewed Playstation
Genre Action RPG
Number of Players One
Multiplayer Value None
Length 30 hours or more
Difficulty Moderate
Skills Required Reading, Thinking, Puzzle Solving, Tinkering with Details
Interface Devices Joypad
Interface Design Excellent
Programming Excellent
Game Design and Playability With an advanced form of the Parasite Eve battle engine, a full featured crate-puzzle mode, amazing camera work, and a riveting story, Vagrant Story is one of the best novels you will have ever played.
Type Of Fun Dark, Gothic Fantasy Detective with a Sword
Replay Value Good to Excellent
Overall Value Exceptional!
Quality Exceptional!
The Best Unbelieveable camera work, scene changes and general theatrical effect make this medieval fantasy detective drama possess the power of a movie with the gameplay one would expect from the best action RPG's
The Worst The Playstation 1 just looks less amazing since the Dreamcast came out, and with the Playstation 2 coming. Some of the tinkering with weapon and tool parts, to create better weapons might be too detailed for some folks.
How much I would pay for this 60 bucks!

  Description:

An action Role Playing Game with two interweaving plots, a powerful and entrancing story, entire new sections with each replay, and a rich and subtle battle system. 

  Story:

Two 'Risk Breakers', medieval gothic fantasy detective/enforcers, face a difficult case involving an authentic case of the forbidden use of magic, a seemingly immortal and eerily androgynous man of mystery, a curious plot, and a web of intrigue, deception, and political machination that would spin the head of Machievelli himself.

  Review:

There is little more to say. This is one of Square's best efforts. The entire whole of Vagrant Story came to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and the game has been out of bubblegum for as long as anyone can remember. It could be longer. It could be a little less fussy about details and subtle arrangement of statistics. Other than that, it is just simply a cracking good game. Very, very recommended.

 
 



Jennifer Diane Reitz is a Game Designer and Computer Artist, one of the co-founders of Otaku World, and, in an earlier time, a co-founder of Happy Puppy Games OnRamp (where she was also wrote many game reviews).  She is the creator of numerous games and software products, including Boppin', Kokoro Wish, and many others. She has worked for such companies as Activision, Sculptured Software, Epyx, SRI, and Electronic Arts, and founded Accursed Toys. She has been active in the computer gaming industry since its earliest days. She considers games to be works of artistic merit and achievement, and views computer entertainment as the most important media of our era.