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Vagrant Story

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Vagrant Story<tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: center;"></td></tr>
Developer(s) Square Co., Ltd.

<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)</th><td>Square Co., Ltd.</td></tr>

Release date(s) JPN February 10, 2000
NA May 15, 2000
EUR June 21, 2000
Genre(s) Role-playing game
Mode(s) Single player

<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)</th><td>ESRB: T (Teen)
ELSPA: 11+
OFLC: M15+</td></tr>

Platform(s) PlayStation

<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media</th><td>1 × CD-ROM</td></tr>

Vagrant Story (ベイグラントストーリー Beiguranto Sutōrī?) is a unique action RPG released for the PlayStation in 2000. The game, designed and distributed by Square Co., Ltd., features a focus on weapon modification and creation.

Contents

[edit] Gameplay

In its broadest sense, Vagrant Story is a solo dungeon crawl, in which Ashley explores the ruined city of Leá Monde and its caverns and catacombs. Crimson Blade knights patrol the streets above, hunting for Sydney; the corridors below are infested with foul beasts, goblins, phantoms and the undead.

The battle system of the game involves the player chaining different attacks to achieve large combos and deal damage to the enemy. This is done by pressing buttons in timely succession; in this way, combat almost resembles a rhythm game. The player can target different areas of the body, and damage is done according to the part of body attacked and the affinity of the weapon used by Ashley. The longer Ashley fights, the more his Risk raises, making it harder for him to concentrate, lowering his accuracy but increasing critical hits. Defense abilities allow Ashley to reduce or reflect damage, or avoid status ailments; a variety of spells can be used to attack, heal, buff, and debuff. Lastly there are the Break Arts, powerful attacks that drain Ashley's hit points.

In addition to fighting, Ashley can run, jump, and push a variety of crates and cubes to get around impassable obstacles, adding a minor puzzle and platforming element to gameplay. During the course of the game, the player will run into a variety of block puzzles requiring the player to solve them to continue the story. When the player returns to any room containing a completed block puzzle, a time-attack mode called 'Evolve or Die' will begin, requiring the player to reach the end of the room, solving the puzzle, in the shortest time possible. A ranking will be given to assess the player's performance in solving puzzles.

Vagrant Story's crafting system nearly constitutes a game in itself. In designated "workshop" areas, players can customize and create weapons and armor which have different ranges, strengths, and statistics. All weapons fall into one of three main damage types: the familiar RPG classes of blunt, piercing, and edged. In addition, there are six "creature type" affinities and eight "elemental" affinities. Weapons gain the affinities of the enemies they're used to attack; armor gains the affinities of attacks it receives. What a weapon or piece of armor gains in one area it will lose in another ( not always, gaining is far more common ), so no single weapon or shield is equally powerful against all foes. However, powerful weapons and armor can be combined, merging their affinities (and possibly creating a new type of blade or armor in the process). The key to defeating most foes in the game is carrying a weapon of the right damage type; inherent affinities add a considerable bonus but are not as important, as gems that improve affinities or spells that imbue a weapon with an element are readily available.

[edit] Plot and setting

Vagrant Story centers around a Riskbreaker named Ashley Riot who was sent to break a fanatical religious cult's hold on the manor of Duke Bardorba. Shortly after this incident, the leader of the cult, Sydney Losstarot, disappeared and the Duke was murdered. Ashley Riot was named as a suspect in the murder case. The player takes the part of Ashley during the week before the murder, following Sydney into the deserted ruins of the cursed city Leá Monde.

[edit] Setting

Most of Vagrant Story takes place in the fictitious city of Leá Monde, situated within the kingdom called Valendia which has been engulfed by civil war. Historically, Valendia was founded 1,500 years ago by King Nalzarc, the first king of Valendia. For 1,200 years the House of Nalzarc continued to rule, until the government was handed to the regency of Gurunas and Valendia declined. 36 years ago, a civil war erupted when the House of Nalzarc and other noble families, most notably the Bardorba family, fought against the Gurunas family to regain control of Valendia.<ref name="ultimania">Square (2000). Vagrant Story Ultimania PSX Game Guide Book (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff & DigiCube. ISBN 4-925075-75-6.</ref>.

Image:LeaMonde.jpg

As for Leá Monde, it is a fictitious medieval town and the main setting of the game's story. It is described as an old town with a history of over 2,000 years. Sitting atop an island and surrounded by reefs, its walls have been the witness of many battles and was quoted to be a fortress stronger than the mightiest forts of Valendia. The Grand Cathedral towers over the town centre, a symbol of Leá Monde's indomitable spirit, and is the ground of the devout Iocus priesthood. During its peak, Leá Monde was a thriving community of 5,000 inhabitants. However, a great earthquake that struck the town 25 years ago ended Leá Monde's grand history, and from the bestiary it is found that two daevas of water and earth, Marid and Dao were summoned to cause this earthquake. The grounds of Leá Monde have not been stable ever since.<ref name="ultimania">Square (2000). Vagrant Story Ultimania PSX Game Guide Book (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff & DigiCube. ISBN 4-925075-75-6.</ref> Later in the story, while seeking the ultimate codex of sorcery called the Gran Grimoire, Guildenstern discovers with the help of Rosencrantz that the whole town was actually the Gran Grimoire itself.

Locations include the Grand Cathedral and the Temple of Kiltia, an abandoned mineshaft and limestone quarry, the darkened labyrinths of the Undercity, the maze-like Snowfly Forest and the secret and deep Iron Maiden dungeon. While Valendia is fictitious, the game's scenarios are inspired to some extent by real-life landscapes of the South West of France, notably the city of Saint-Emilion.

Other locations include the Graylands, the setting for the prologue event; and Valnain, the city where the Valendia Knights of Peace's Headquarters is located.

[edit] Characters

Promotional drawing showing main characters Ashley Riot and Callo Merlose, drawn and signed by Akihiko Yoshida. Ashley Riot: The protagonist and player character, Ashley is a member of the Valendia Knights of the Peace. After the murder of his wife and son, he transferred into the elite Dangerous Criminal Task Force (or "Riskbreakers"), where he becomes known for quickly and efficiently completing all missions given to him. Ashley has largely suppressed all memory of his past, until Sydney forces him to relive a painful incident in a series of flashbacks; other characters later lead him to doubt even the truth of those. Ashley is skilled in all manner of weapons, and over the course of the game recovers powerful battle techniques from his suppressed memories. He also absorbs no small measure of power from the energies of the dark city itself. Ashley also gains the ability to see through other characters' eyes, giving him insights into the plans of Sydney and the Crimson Blades. By game's end, he has been forced to accept the role of Roodbearer and avatar of the Dark, housing inside of him all the Dark-touched souls left homeless after Lea Monde's final destruction.

Callo Merlose: Ashley's partner in the Leá Monde incident, Callo spends most of the game as a captive, trying to discern Sydney's true motives through conversations with John Hardin, Sydney's second-in-command. Like Ashley, her true potential awakens while in Leá Monde. Hardin refers to her as a "Heart-Seer," as Callo can see the true thoughts of a person by observing a shadow that speaks a person's true intent.

Sydney Losstarot: An effeminate, beautiful man with metal prosthetics instead of arms and legs, Sydney is the leader of the apocalyptic cult group called Müllenkamp. His intense personal charisma and skilled rhetoric distinguishes him from other self-proclaimed prophets. He has the power to read the minds of others and summon beasts long thought to not exist. Sydney appears to be immortal; not even a crossbow bolt through the chest fazes him for long. Sydney delights in the thrill of the chase, and is leading Ashley Riot through Lea Monde in order to prepare him for inheritance of the Dark - and prevent Guildenstern from stealing that power for himself.

Romeo Guildenstern: Commander of the Crimson Blades, the knightly order of the Iocus church. He has come to Leá Monde to hunt Sydney down, but is also seeking to harness the city's dark powers for his own.

Jan Rosencrantz: A former Riskbreaker who continues to hold to the title, he works for Duke Bardorba and knows many secrets about the true nature of Leá Monde and Ashley's past. Apparently he is immune to the powers of Darkness.

John Hardin: Sydney's second in command; a tireless, faithful servant pushed to join the cult after the government betrayed him. He possesses the power of scrying on events far away and proves himself heart-breakingly gentle by the end of the game.

Joshua Corrinne Bardorba: Son of the powerful Duke Bardorba, kidnapped by Sydney and Hardin during the game's prologue for unknown reasons. He remains mute, traumatized by the events unfolding, until the death of John Hardin to whom he was comfortable with.

Duke Aldous Byron Bardorba: A hero of the Valendian Civil war and now an ageing political figure. He has long retired from fighting in battles, but his grip on the Parliament is unrelenting. He is married and is the father of two sons, Sydney and Joshua. His life and Sydney's are inextricably tied together after a rite performed years ago to save young Sydney's life. When he slays Sydney at the end of the game, he is also slaying himself. He is also found to have financed the Müllenkamp cult.

Commander Grissom: One of Guildenstern's key Commanders going into Lea Monde, and a warrior-cleric. After his brother Duane is murdered by Ashley Riot, he pursues the Riskbreaker into the Snowfly Forest in order to have his bloody vengeance. Unfortunately his plan goes awry and he is killed, then revivified as a walking corpse by the city's cruel magick.

Commander Samantha: One of Guildenstern's key Commanders going into Leá Monde, Samantha is also known to be Guildenstern's lover. She becomes an unwilling sacrifice for him to receive the dark powers of Leá Monde.

Commanders Neesa and Tieger: Two of Guildenstern's key Commanders going into Leá Monde, Generals Neesa and Tieger are close to one another. While escaping Leá Monde, Tieger urges Neesa to flee while he confronts a zombie Grissom.

Tia and Marco Riot: Supposedly Ashley's wife and son respectively. It is unknown whether they really existed as part of Ashley's family, or whether they are characters modeled to brainwash Ashley's mind.

Steward LeSait and Inquisitor Heldricht: LeSait commands the VKP, while Heldricht is one of the main Inquisitors of the VKP.

Cardinal Batistum: Head of the Iocus church. While seemingly following the holy teachings, the Cardinal had also ordered the mastery of the darkness by the Crimson Blades, and seems to be seeking immortality.

Müllenkamp: The ancient dancer-priestess of Kildea, whose cult based their activities in the cursed city of Leá Monde.

[edit] Development

The programming team was largely the same as the team responsible for Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII. Team members include:

The English localization, credited to Alexander O. Smith, is considered one of the finest Japanese to English video game translations existing today.<ref>Vagrant Story Game Review http://terror.snm-hgkz.ch/mirrors/thegia/sites/www.thegia.com/psx/vgst/vgst.html http://psx.ign.com/articles/162/162288p1.html </ref>

[edit] Music

Image:Vagrantstoryost.jpg

All the tracks of the Vagrant Story Original Soundtrack album are composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto. The album was first released on two Compact Discs by DigiCube on March 8, 2000 bearing the catalog number SSCX-10042, and was re-released by Square Enix on March 24, 2006 with the catalog number SQEX-10068/9. The CDs featured 57 tracks, of which two are bonus tracks and did not appear in the game.


[edit] Track Listing

[edit] Disc One (73:08)

  1. "Opening Movie" (1:17)
  2. "Valendia Knights of Peace ~ Duke Bardorba's Manor" (4:27)
  3. "Climax of the Graylands Incident" (11:52)
  4. "Graylands Incident Investigation Report" (2:20)
  5. "Closed Leá Monde" (3:20)
  6. "Minotaur" (2:42)
  7. "Reminiscence" (1:26)
  8. "Catacombs" (4:34)
  9. "Dullahan" (1:57)
  10. "A False Memory" (5:12)
  11. "Sanctum" (2:17)
  12. "Golem" (2:18)
  13. "Traps Set by the Rabbit" (1:21)
  14. "Abandoned Mines Level 1" (2:43)
  15. "Crimson Blade" (1:59)
  16. "Wyvern" (1:43)
  17. "Town Center of Leá Monde" (3:19)
  18. "A Meeting" (3:03)
  19. "Snowfly Forest" (2:55)
  20. "Lizard Man" (1:24)
  21. "Another Riskbreaker" (1:20)
  22. "Interior of the City Walls" (1:58)
  23. "Brainwashing" (1:29)
  24. "Rosencrantz" (1:57)
  25. "Undercity" (3:46)
  26. "Game Over" (0:29)

[edit] Disc Two (74:17)

  1. "Factory" (2:36)
  2. "Tieger and Neesa" (3:13)
  3. "Kali" (1:37)
  4. "Joshua 2" (0:59)
  5. "Nightmare" (1:41)
  6. "Awakened" (1:32)
  7. "Joshua" (2:06)
  8. "Abandoned Mines Level 2" (4:20)
  9. "Iron Crab" (1:46)
  10. "Bloody Sin" (1:16)
  11. "Tattoo of Reverse-ank" (2:08)
  12. "Remembering" (0:46)
  13. "Limestone Quarry" (2:40)
  14. "Dark Element" 2:14
  15. "The Last of Rosencrantz ~ Kali" (2:12)
  16. "Ogre" (2:08)
  17. "Temple of Kiltia" (2:10)
  18. "Great Cathedral" (1:16)
  19. "Ifrit" (3:03)
  20. "Fanfare" (0:36)
  21. "Power of the Last (1:19)
  22. "An Attic of the Great Cathedral" (2:00)
  23. "Banquet of Transmigration" (2:08)
  24. "Truth" (3:50)
  25. "An Odd Looking Creature" (2:10)
  26. "Escape" (2:09)
  27. "Epilogue" (1:06)
  28. "Dawn of Leá Monde ~ Vagrant Story" (2:49)
  29. "Staff Roll" (7:28)
  30. "Opening Movie "Fight Mix" (5:21) - bonus track
  31. "Dungeon Robot Mix" (3:38) - bonus track

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[edit] Connections

One of the more often underrated aspects of the game (and hidden to most) is the subtle connection to Yasumi Matsuno's other works (such as Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII), and indeed, the stories, while different in scale and focus, do hold some similarities in themes and stylistic presentation. The most significant connection, however, is the quote from an "A. J. Durai" that appears at the very beginning of Vagrant Story; this same Durai is the narrator in the frame story of Final Fantasy Tactics and the descendant of another character who participated in that game's story. Additionally, many of the items that can be found in the game (particularly the necklaces and gems), have names which allude to some of the key characters of Final Fantasy Tactics, e.g. "Agrias's Balm".

In Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, the player can acheive the clan rank of 'Riskbreaker'.

A few references to Vagrant Story appears in Final Fantasy XII; e.g. one "clan rank" the player character party can earn is 'Riskbreaker', and the calendar of Final Fantasy XII follows that of Old Valendian, the country mentioned in the story. Additionally, a holy site of the Kiltea religion that was dominant in Lea Monde is present in Final Fantasy XII, complete with the rood symbol.

There are a few references to Shakespeare as well, the most obvious being two characters named Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

[edit] Trivia

  • Many weapons found in the game are actually named after alcoholic beverages. For example, the Pink Squirrel club and Tovarishch hand axe, which are found early on the game.
  • The game was a commercial failure, partially due to a weak advertising campaign and lack of localization to European languages. However, it was a critical success, and remains held in high regard in the action/RPG community.
  • In the 2005 GameFAQs Best Game Ever competition, Vagrant Story came #95.
  • Vagrant Story was the third game in history to receive Famitsu magazine's perfect score of 40/40, an honor held by only six video games to date, and the first earned by Squaresoft. This honor was not even achieved by one of Square Enix's most popular franchises, Final Fantasy, until March 2006, when Final Fantasy XII received a perfect score. Final Fantasy XII was also written and mainly directed by Yasumi Matsuno, making him one of only two directors to have earned the honor multiple times. (The other is Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto.)
  • The Iron Maiden is a secret dungeon in Vagrant Story, named after a torture device and shared by a heavy metal band, and only accessible after the game has been completed once. It is filled with much more dangerous enemies who also drop immensely powerful items on occasion. Many of the rooms in the dungeon are named after either Iron Maiden songs and themes or other torture devices.

[edit] References

<references />

[edit] External links

es:Vagrant Story eo:Vagrant Story fr:Vagrant Story it:Vagrant Story ja:ベイグラントストーリー pl:Vagrant Story sq:Vagrant Story sv:Vagrant Story

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