Squaresoft
Vagrant Story

Year of grace 2000: the advent of the 128-bit era.

Despite the mad rush to purchase the powerful new consoles (including myself, who at the time spent 985,000 lire to bring home the Play2 along with that masterpiece of chaos and fun, Dead or Alive 2), the 32-bit generation still had some of its best shots left..... It was indeed in this last period of glory that Squaresoft produced one of its greatest masterpieces: Vagrant Story.

The critical success was instant, and the title shot straight to the top of sales charts in the Land of the Rising Sun, even achieving a historic rating of 40/40 on Famitsu Magazine, THE video game magazine par excellence in the East, which since its inception (1986) has given such a score to only 11 games (and incredibly, FFVII is not among them). Such public success was, however, almost nonexistent in Europe and America (despite Western experts also labeling it as a masterpiece), resulting in the premature end of what could have been a new and exceptional saga...

The game catapults us into the mysterious land of Valendia, a realm torn apart by an exhausting civil war. Duke Bardorba's castle has been stormed and conquered by a sect of religious fanatics known as Müllenkamp, led by the enigmatic Sydney Losstarot; meanwhile, the situation worsens as Cardinal Batistum sends his troops, acting without any order from Parliament. The latter decides to remedy the situation by sending Knight Ashley Riot, a Riskbreaker, meaning a chosen soldier entrusted with the most delicate and risky missions, to the location. Despite his intervention, the hostages inside the castle are massacred, and Sydney vanishes into thin air. A week later, the Duke (spared as he was away from his residence at the time of the attack) is killed. All evidence seems to then point to Ashley, who soon after also disappears.

The game begins here, or rather in the week between the attack and the Duke's assassination, in a long flashback where we find ourselves exploring Leá Monde, a city with a glorious past now deserted, in ruins, and considered cursed after its prosperity was destroyed by an earthquake, a setting for an exceptional, long, and intricate plot, pulsating with political intrigue and power, moral ethics, and betrayal, gradually introducing fascinating characters, and leading the player to upheaval all the certainties they started with. Impossible throughout the adventure's duration not to wonder if the one we control really assassinated the Duke....

The graphic design, as one might expect, is the first aspect that catches attention, and it's not excessive to admit that what we face is a graphic engine that uses the dear old gray box's processor to the bone, leaving one literally astonished (naturally speaking in relation to the time... I remember being left speechless). The settings are highly detailed and suggestive though somewhat repetitive and with a not excessively varied color palette, yet the medieval fantasy-inspired design is truly exceptional. Catacombs, forests, underground caves, and ruins of old cities literally come to life on the screen, as do the characters that are splendidly characterized, both in purely accessory design (armor, weapons, clothing) and in the true character design. The music accompanying our wandering through these forgotten places is entrusted to Hitoshi Sakimoto, already a master composer of the small masterpiece that is the Final Fantasy Tactics soundtrack. Such fame is not contradicted, as the game's entire soundtrack is a true gem.

Regarding the game mechanics, Vagrant Story draws extensively from everything that Squaresoft (in its decades-long experience) has offered in gaming, blending them into a delightful cocktail of genre and characteristics. The game is based on overcoming various dungeons, filled with monsters and puzzles to solve. Ashley is controlled in real-time in the three-dimensional environments, where enemies are all visible. Random battles do not exist in Vagrant Story, and if an enemy confronts our hero, the encounter happens seamlessly. At this point, a reticle appears, indicating Ashley's attack range, outside of which the enemy is unreachable (almost identical to Parasite Eve also by Square, and also reviewed by me...ahahah).

Once the enemy is in our attack range and is assaulted, an exclamation mark appears on the screen for a fraction of a second. At that moment, by quickly pressing a button, it's possible to create a combo, called Chain, which can grow based on how quick our reflexes are at hitting the exclamation points that appear each time our sword strikes the enemy. But there's a catch... The more combo attacks hit, indeed, the more the RISK factor grows, markedly decreasing the accuracy and precision of our attacks, thus preventing endless combos and making it overly easy for the player. The Chain combo system is also identical to the defense system, where we can respond with appropriate reflex reactions to enemy attacks. It's also essential to note that in this title, damage is localized, meaning the effect depends on where you hit an enemy. Striking the legs results in reduced speed, the arm decreases strength, and so on. This applies to our protagonist as well. This system is certainly engaging and dynamic, encouraging the player to participate in the action with reflex attention and tactics.

Furthermore, to overcome obstacles Ashley will face, the player can customize their equipment almost infinitely in special workshops. The only flaw is the limited inventory management. This leads to having to abandon items along the way, but it's a minor defect compared to the magnificence of such a product.

Considering every aspect, Vagrant Story is indeed a masterpiece. With a capital M, to proudly place alongside Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VII, Chrono Cross, and all those dear old glories that today's players have missed... To my great regret, as a passionate gamer, I rarely find titles of such caliber.