#Vagrant story genres series#

When you command Ashley to attack, a wireframe surrounds him all enemies within this wireframe are within his range of attack. Once you enter combat, Vagrant Story’s gameplay is best described as a more complex version of the battle engine used in the aforementioned Parasite Eve. You can see your enemies before they attack, and you can have Ashley enter combat mode by drawing his weapon and shield when they threaten him. Ashley moves through the maze of polygonal environments, solving puzzles and finding new paths to allow him to progress through Lea Monde. Outside of battle, Vagrant Story is an overhead action RPG that plays somewhat similarly to Konami’s Metal Gear Solid. The storyline does progress somewhat slowly, however, particularly in the beginning of the game after the prologue.Īnother one of Vagrant Story’s strengths is its complex gameplay. Although character development is minimal, the event-based portions of the plot do a good job keeping the player engrossed. Vagrant Story’s plot is generally quite strong, featuring a plethora of devious political maneuvers. As the player, you’ll get to discover both the secrets of Lea Monde and whether the government is justified in naming Ashley a murder suspect. The tale told in Vagrant Story is that of the events experienced by Ashley during the week in which he was first found to be missing. But the only clues of Ashley’s whereabouts lie in Lea Monde, a sealed ancient city that Ashley traveled to between the Mellencamp occupation of the Duke’s manor and the actual murder of the Duke. Back in the present, the government has declared Ashley a suspect because of his involvement in the occupation of the Duke’s manor. However, no one has seen him since then.Ī week later, the Duke was found murdered.

#Vagrant story genres series#

After a series of struggles, Ashley succeeded in liberating the mansion from Mellencamp. In an attempt to stop Sydney, Ashley had entered the mansion as well. Although the large-scale intentions of Sydney Losstarot, Mellencamp’s leader, were unclear at this point, he was unable to capture the Duke, who was in hiding at a second residence. One week before, a religious cult group known as Mellencamp had successfully taken over the Duke’s mansion.

As the game opens, Ashley is wanted for the murder of Duke Bardorba, a senior statesman in the kingdom of Valendia, and he has been missing since a week before the actual murder took place. Vagrant Story’s plot revolves around Ashley Riot, an agent of a secret group called Riskbreaker. The finished product proves to be another strong showing by the world’s most popular RPG publisher. Featuring the developmental partnership of Yasumi Matsuno and Akihiko Yoshida, both integral members of the Final Fantasy Tactics development team, Vagrant Story has been eagerly anticipated ever since it was nothing more than a rumor reported on numerous RPG websites, and for good reason.

Vagrant Story is the second game from Square that utilizes the action RPG/traditional RPG hybrid battle engine first introduced in the horror-themed Parasite Eve. Note: This review is based on the Japanese version of the game.