After a string of PS1 successes in the late 90′s with games like Final Fantasy VII and VIII, Final Fantasy Tactics, Saga Frontier 1 and 2, Einhander, Xenogears, Parasite Eve 1 and 2, Legend of Mana, Front Mission 2 and 3, Threads of Fate, and Chrono Cross, Square was at the top of their game. Just two months after the 90′s ended, they unveiled their latest RPG offering:
Vagrant Story. It was a bit different from many of their other RPGs, in that it featured a semi-realtime battle system and full 3D graphics. It also took a more realistic art style for its characters and settings, rather than the anime-influenced style of previous Square RPGs. The title, headed by Yasumi Matsuno [known for his work on several Ogre Battle titles and Final Fantasy Tactics], received a perfect score from Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu and similarly high praise from American websites and magazines. However, it was somewhat overshadowed in its time by being squashed between the releases of Chrono Cross, Parasite Eve II, and Final Fantasy IX.
In terms of gameplay, Vagrant Story is a far cry from Square’s other RPGs. Rather than turn-based combat with parties of characters, the combat in Vagrant Story all takes places in near-realtime with just one player character [Ashley Riot, a member of the Valendia Knights of Peace]. To attack, the player must first enter battle mode by pressing the X button and then bring up the attack menu by pressing the O button. The attack menu displays all the opponents that Ashley can attack as well as which parts of their body that he can target. Different parts of the enemies’ bodies can result in varying amounts of damage and varying degrees of success. An opponent’s arm might be easier to hit while amounting in less damage, but an attack to the head might result in greater damage but be more difficult to land a blow. Once an attack is select, Ashley will carry it out. However, this does not mean that control is taken away from the player until the attack is finished. During the animation, the player can press either the X, O, or Square button to chain together different attacks or effects [based on which have been preselected before combat] but these must be done at exactly the right instant, otherwise the chain attack will fail. The game takes place in the dungeons and sewers of a large, Renaissance-style city and is decidedly a dungeon-crawler, as there are no towns or NPCs to interact with. Some people will looks on this as a bad thing, as most RPGs feature these two things prominently, but Vagrant Story is still able to tell a rich, dramatic story even without these things.
There’s also a bit of platforming in the game. Sometimes you’ll have to stack up and arrange boxes to access areas that are high up. It’s not really a big thing and most of these can be solved fairly quickly, but its…well…mildly interesting I suppose and something to do other than fighting all the time.
The graphics in Vagrant Story are completely in 3D and it is possible to zoom into a first-person mode and look around the room that Ashley is currently in. It definitely looks good for a PS1 game and the realistic art is a nice change from what is seen in a lot of other RPGs, but it really hasn’t aged well. The textures are heavily pixelated and there’s an abundance of texture shimmering [a common ailment of PS1 games with 3D graphics], especially in the cutscenes. There is a nice attention to detail, particularly in the environments [although they do tend to be a bit repetitive] and in the faces of the characters, which actually emote.
Item customization is a big factor in Vagrant Story, since getting new equipment is no longer as simple as finding a shop in the latest town. Weapons and armor can be broken down into their base components and then recombined to make entirely new pieces of equipment and there gems found throughout the game that can imbue equipment with various stat increases and other effects. Tweaking of equipment and making new equipment plays a major role in Vagrant Story and becomes essential as the game progresses. All the more so because there is no experience or leveling system. Sometimes after a boss fight or mid-boss fight, you’ll have a chance to get a stat bonus and fighting does unlock certain special moves, but that’s it.
Problems? Well, there are a few. For one thing, the game is very short. It can probably be beaten in about five or six hours, maybe a couple more if you try to find all the side rooms and such. For an RPG that’s practically miniscule. Another issue is that the underground dungeons get pretty repetitive after an hour or so. There’s just not a whole lot of variety to all the rooms and corridors, unfortunately. There’s also a spike in difficulty at around the two hour mark, when enemies suddenly see a huge boost to their defenses. Not their attack though, oddly enough. Theses are very real problems and they can make the game a bit frustrating to play.
Now, the question: is Vagrant Story still worth playing? Sure, just don’t pay a fortune for it, that’s all. It’s got its issues, that’s without question, but it’s still a fun little RPG from people who are masters of the genre.
http://greatrumbler.wordpress.com/2010/0...ant-story/
I’ve been working my way through the PS1′s massive catalog of titles for the past few days and one titles that I landed on and have gotten hooked by is
Parasite Eve. This action-RPG, headed up by Takashi Tokita [known for heading Chrono Trigger, Live A Live, and The Bouncer], is based on a book of the same name by Hideaki Sena. The game, released by Square in March 1998, takes some liberties with the story, liberties which also make it a bit unique among RPGs. In Parasite Eve, rookie cop Aya Brea goes to see a play at Carnegie Hall. While there, things take a turn for the worse when opera-goers suddenly burst into flame, everyone except Aya and the lead actress in the play, a woman named Melissa. A Japanese RPG set in modern-day New York? You heard right.
The plot is a bit ridiculous, even for science-fiction. Mitochondria are trying to take over the world, apparently, because they’re tired of being slaves to humans. See, they control every aspect of life, due to their being a source of energy and evolutions and so on, but they evolve faster than people, so now they’ve evolved to the point where they’re not just going to sit back and be our slaves. Their main weapons seem to be either lighting people are fire and burning them to goo or turning them into twisted caricatures of their former selves. Most of the characters are basically cop-drama stereotypes, like the veteran cop who’s black or the overweight chief and so on. It’s better than the animu-inspired hijinks seen in later RPGs, so I suppose I won’t bag on PE’s story too much.
The gameplay is similar to Vagrant Story, which came out two years later, but is considerably more basic. Battles are random, but are a combination of real-time and turn-based. There is an active time bar, like in Final Fantasy, but the player is free to move around the battlefield while the bar fills. Often it’s possible to avoid enemies attacks altogether. Aya’s main weapons are various pistols and machine guns, although she does have a back up club in case her ammo runs out. She also has very “magic spells” that she can cast during combat to heal or call up information about monsters. Keys are also important in Parasite Eve, as the place you need to go is often behind a locked door, but it’s nowhere near as bad as in games like Resident Evil. The keys usually aren’t difficult to find. All guns and armor can be upgraded by using tools, which are found in various locations, to take the stat boosts that have been put on one piece of equipment and then transferring them to another. The piece of equipment that the stat boost is transferred from is destroyed after the transfer, so be careful. Experience is gained through battles and levelling up boosts Aya’s stats and bestows bonus points. These bonus points can be used to boost the the stats on weapons and armor or increase the speed of the auto-time battle gauge.
Parasite Eve’s overworld is the entire city of New York, although only certain locations are available to travel to through the use of your partner’s police cruiser. The hub is the precinct station, where you can take a break from fighting, get new equipment, and store items that you don’t currently need. It’s also here that mission information is handed out, which gives you an idea of where you need to go next.
The graphics are similar to the PS1-era Final Fantasies, in that it features 3D characters against prerendered backgrounds. It also features a number of CG cutscenes scattered around to spice things up. Overall, it looks decent enough, about what you’d expect from a PS1 titles from 1998. The soundtrack, by Yoko Shimamura [best known for her work on Super Mario RPG, Legend of Mana, and the Kingdom Heart series], is very good, with a number of memorable tracks. There’s no voice acting and the sound effects get the job done, but aren’t anything special.
Parasite Eve isn’t particularly difficult and it’s fairly short, you could probably beat it in a day if you really set your mind to it. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting title and a unique entry into the JRPG genre. It’s worth checking out for the $20 that a used copy will warrant on Amazon.
http://greatrumbler.wordpress.com/2010/0...asite-eve/