Vagrant Story (PlayStation) Home Page
Release Data
Developer/Publisher: Square
Release Date: May 16, 2000
System: PlayStation
Genre: RPG
Players: 1
Description
Vagrant Story melds action, RPG combat, and puzzle solving into one game. Players assume the role of the Riskbreaker, Ashley Riot. He is called to action when the estate of a powerful duke is looted by a cult led by the enigmatic Sidney. The situation becomes even more complicated when the Crimson Blades, the Church’s military arm, get involved. Ashley faces off with Sidney, who flees to the ruined city of Lea Monde with the duke’s young son in tow.
Now, Ashley Riot must search Lea Monde for Sidney and the duke’s son. His task is not easy, because the deserted city has become a den of evil where monsters and undead lurk. The Crimson Blades and their leader, Romeo Guildenstern, are also actively hunting Sidney, but their goal is far different from Ashley’s as there is more to the story than what meets the eye. Can Ashley survive the deadly city and unravel its secrets?
In Vagrant Story, players control Ashley in real time. He is free to move around, jump, and can push blocks. Much of the actual gameplay is centered around exploring the city, finding keys to unlock doors, solving simple block pushing puzzles, and fighting monsters as well as bosses. Players will often find treasure chests filled with weapons and armor. Save points and storage containers are also scattered throughout the game.
When the player commands Ashley to attack, a sphere is displayed showing the range of his currently equipped weapon. Ashley can target and attempt to strike specific body parts of his foe as long as they are in range. The game calculates the likelihood that the attack will succeed based on Ashley’s agility and that of his target. Damage is calculated based on many factors including Ashley’s strength, the type of creature he is attacking (class), and the creature’s elemental affinity along with a few other things. Weapons become stronger or weaker against certain opponents depending on how often the are used against a specific type of creature. Ashley must wait a second or two after an attack before making another attempt.
Magic works much like melee attacks, though the player must select spells from the main or quick menus. Spells ignore the enemy’s class and mostly rely on elemental alignment for damage. Ashley must read grimoires found in chests or dropped by monsters to learn a spell. Some spells heal Ashley or make him stronger for brief periods of time. All spells cost set amounts of MP.
Vagrant Story features a lot of different weapon types such as swords, great swords, maces, daggers, spears, axes, great axes, great hammers, and crossbows. These weapons can be disassembled into their “blade” and “grip” components, then combined to create new blades which inherit the properties of their base components. Weapons can be further customized using gems that slot into grips to add various effects. Armor pieces can also be combined to create new types of armor.
Ashley has several types of special attacks in addition to his magic and regular weapon. The first is his Chain Ability, which allows him to strike a foe multiple times without interruption. To successfully execute a chain attack, players must press the Square, Circle, or Triangle button when an exclamation point appears over Ashley’s head after striking a foe. Doing so will result in a Chain Attack, which can add status ailments or extra damage depending on what Chain Skills the player added to the previously mentioned buttons. Players can also execute defensive skills to mitigate various types of damage.
Another skill is Ashley’s is the Break Art. Once enough enemies have been defeated with a particular weapon, Ashley learns a Break Art that deals extra damage at the cost of HP. Break Arts can be used on command as long as he had learned at least one for his current weapon.
Vagrant Story is roughly forty to sixty hours long. It is possible to replay this title from the start with all of Ashley’s gear, stats, and items after beating the final boss.
Gallery
Further Reading
Want to learn more about Vagrant Story for PlayStation? Check out these resources.
Walkthrough:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps/914326-vagrant-story/faqs/40255
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