What is easily the best looking game for the Playstation 1, could use a remaster that goes into it like a director's cut. I want the visuals to stay the same, seeing all the facial expressions, all the animations for the characters, the great lighting and everything is impressive, but for one, it's too long and has balancing issues that hold back what actually is a pretty enjoyable experience. I like the unique combat system, that there's no typical leveling up but almost all stat improvements are tied to your equipment, the depth of its weapon customization. But later parts of the game just drag on and on, especially since enemies have a high priority on stat changing spells which turns the fights into a battle of getting nerfed and buffing yourself up again constantly - with unskipable, way too long animations.
This is a good game and there's potential for an even better game, if only Square Enix were to ever lay their finger on it again.

One of my most favourite games. When I first finished Vagrant Story, I immediately replayed it. That’s a good sign. As much as I like the gameplay and how weird and layered and obtuse it is mechanically, the crushing atmosphere, as well as the still great cutscene direction (it’s funny to think that this game that came out in 2000 has better cutscene direction than a lot of games that would come out over the next 10+ years), my favourite thing about it is the writing. I’m a big fan of Yasumi Matsuno’s games and especially his writing. They’re often devoid of a lot of the melodrama/anime-ness that you expect in a JRPG. Vagrant Story’s script (brilliantly translated by Alexander O. Smith) features very little exposition. This is the key, I think. It’s saved for when the characters themselves need something to be explained to them. It helps it feel so much more immersive. You end up having to piece together a lot of the finer details yourself. As such, it probably has some of my favourite video game writing ever. Unfortunately, it’s not all so amazing. Menu navigation sucks, level design is pretty repetitive and it feels like there isn’t much flexibility in regards to builds given how vital it is to exploit enemy weaknesses. Maybe I just need to experiment more? Excellent otherwise, though.

Incredibly impressive game. What they got out of the PS1 technically is incredible - lighting, facial animations (!), sound design, this is for me the prettiest PS1 game. Add to that the absolutely superb Shakespearean writing and a super captivating but sill smale-scale plot with an undercover agent twist on top. The presentation is very cinematic and even more impressive, considering that Vagrant Story was the developer's first 3D game.

The combat system is quite slow and very tactical, just the way I like it. Fighting in this game seems quite confusing at first, since you have all kinds of stats, weapon types, enemy types etc. that determine whether or not you'll be successfull in a fight. But once you dive a little deeper into the systems of the game and figure out how everything works and interacts with each other, you'll see that this game has some of the deepest and coolest mechanics of the RPG genre.

Some time-based puzzles are a bit annoying but otherwise this game is close to perfection. Maybe this is my favorite game of all time.

Vagrant Story é um dos RPGs que fechou o Playstation 1, dirigido por Yasumi Matsuno, responsável por outros trabalhos como Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together, Final Fantasy Tactics e Final Fantasy XII. Esse jogo, assim como os Final Fantasy citados, também se passa em Ivallice.
Seu sistema de batalha é o que o diferencia e um dos maiores motivos que fazem desse jogo um clássico atemporal, é um "Semi Turn Based", com um sistema de probabilidade e equipamentos bem detalhados, você anda, e ao apertar bolinha, o jogo congela e entra em uma esfera analítica, onde você escolhe parte do membro do inimigo que quer atacar, ai cada parte tem uma probabilidade de acordo com a posição que o inimigo está nessa esfera. Falando em outros fatores de jogabilidade, é um Dungeon Crawler muito bem feito, só que diferente de um RPG com um sistema mais convencional que você upa e fica mais forte, aqui você upa e ganha só uns mini stats a mais, pra ficar mais forte é necessário forjar novos equipamentos em pequenos pontos chamados Workshops com peças dropadas pelos inimigos do jogo, o que incentiva diretamente a experimentação e a busca pelo entendimento profundo dessas mecânicas.
Seu sistema é complexo e único, cada pequena batalha necessita de sua preparação e de domínio das mecânicas que o jogo apresenta, é bem desafiador e interessante. Para além disso, apresenta uma história política intensa e muito bem executada, a nível de todas aventuras em Ivallice. Gigante, complexo e perfeitinho!

If you ask me what game I think is criminally underrated, this will be my answer in perpetuity. Coming right at the end of the PS1 era, Vagrant Story is perhaps the most technically impressive game on the console. The art style is gorgeous, the magic effects are astounding, and the whole experience is just a feast for the eyes and ears. The gameplay might be the thing that kept some folks away from it, but if you can give it some time, I think it's a refreshingly different experience from a Square RPG! Crafting weapons takes some time and experimentation, but if you do it right and go into fights with the ideal equipment, you'll lay waste to your foes. And the rhythm element is easy enough to get. And then there's the story, full of intrigue and mystery as you explore the dead city of Leá Monde, attempting to stop corrupt forces from seizing an ancient and powerful magic. And as I highlight in a lot of my reviews, the music is another strong point, with Hitoshi Sakimoto providing one of the all-time great OSTs, pre-empting his equally phenomenal work for FF12 (which also takes place in the same world of Ivalice). I can't say enough good things about this game.

This is a bitter sour 4 star rating. But a true 4 star rating anyway.

First thing : the game might be the most beautiful game of the PS1. You can move your camera on your own to see hidden places, and believe me it's worth it considering how everything have a little detail on it that make it lovely to look at.

Second thing : This might be one of the best combat system of any RPG. There are a lot of detail to watch for, as for the player is implicated in each fights with a lot of human input required. Below is a list of details that make this system brilliant in my eyes.
- You have to aim your shots to touch specific parts of your enemy. OFC, a dragon doesn't have the same parts as a ghost or a human. If you wound this part enough, your enemy gains a malus depending on which part is hurt : silence for the head, slow movements for the legs...
- Each enemy IS actually something. This something is weak to a specific type of damage (skeltons dont like blunt damages) and a specific type of weapon specialty (skeltons are weak to anti-undead weapons).
- Each action has a range depending on which weapon you use. Do not hope to hit the tail of a dragon facing you with a dagger. But you can do so with an arbalest.
- Enemy chara design is wonderful. If it's blue and use water magic, then it's weak to fire. If it's white, then it's certainly made either of stone either of bones, which means it's weak to blunt damages.
- A ton of gauges to fill or unfill. Each weapon have a gauge of efficiency you want to fill and a gauge of durability you don't want to unfill. If a fight is long, you'll certainly fill your risk gauge, which increases your crits chances, but lessen your precision.
- A craft system which allow to fusion two weapons to obtain a new one of a new nature.
- A rythm system. You have to hit buttons exactly when you hit your enemy to deal another blow. This blow has an effect depending on which button you pressed : it deals more damages, it fills the weapon efficiency gauge, it deals poison to your target...
- A very good pace. I never had to farm to progress but advancing on the adventure wasn't easy in any way : a lot of bosses made my day a tough one.
That's why this game is a 5 stars. That's why I recommend you play it if you like RPGs (which I don't). But as every game, Vagrant has flaws, and that's what made me abandon it.

I am french and played it on my PS1. This might be a detail but believe me it isn't. French electricity network is PAL, and not NTSC as USA or Japan one. PAL is 50Hz, which means every PS1 game is 1/6 slower in France than it is in the USA or in Japan. Vagrant Story is japanese. In my opinion this explains why everything is that slow. It might be bearable to spend that hell of time in spell casting animation and/or menuing in normal speed, but it is absolutely unbearable in 50Hz.

That really is the only complain I have about this game. Everything is slow, plus the menus are... Simply horrible. Equiping items isn't in the same place as observing items, each part of your body (2 hands, 1 head, 1 body, 1 leg, 1 necklace...) has to be changed individually through dedicated sub-menus. If you change your equipment in fight (which you have to do considering the weaknesses system) while a spell is cast on you, it is sometimes uncast and you have to cast it again, spending mana points... In short : it is awful. Oh, and there are "boxes you must push" puzzles which are great, but way too complicated for this type of game.

But here again, I don't like RPG. Maybe if it's your type of game you'll enjoy that kind of details I found horrible. That being said, I must point out as a reminder this game gave me unforgettable memories. Like this time I put my mace in a chest and encountered a Stone Golem with only a dagger to fight him which led to... A stupid fight in which I dealt him 2 damages in case of critical hits. Or this time the chara design of a boss was so good I instantly knew what to equip, which buff to cast and which part of him to attack to... Actually one shot him. Thoses kind of moments, to be honest, I only ever lived them playing Vagrant. This deserves to be noted.

To be quick on the narration: It's good. Not wondeful, because it lacks voices and musics. But good, because some dialogs are well written and lead to interesting thoughts on death, religion, power and madness. For instance, I liked how they justified why an undead always want to attack the livings. Because he simply is terrified of being alone, and wants his living firends to join him to enjoy their moment together, which imply killing them because they currently see him as a monster. This is actually smart.

In conclusion, I think you better play it on a PSP. Because it is portable, which allows smaller and fragmented gaming sessions, which is always good when it comes to RPG. Plus, certain details might have been corrected and the console is certainly a bit quicker in France thanks to some technical tweaks.

What.... a beautiful ending.

The story was so well written. The dialogue extremely witty, which you hardly see in games. And the cinematography was just exceptional. From what I know, the developers were just fans of films. But they somehow delivered to a degree higher than most films you see. It is truly exceptional.

I did dislike the gameplay. If there is a remaster or remake, it needs to improve the quality of life for combat.

There is no experience. But instead your weapons get more "attuned" to killing certain types of monsters (from what I understood). But the problem is that you have to keep switching between weapons to optimally have strong enough weapons or else you will be doing 1 damage to all enemies. It is the slog of having to go through the menu multiple times that really holds back the game.

If that is improved, then this game would be more bearable and more of an enjoyable challenge. I enjoyed the concept of the gameplay and to recommend it to any hardcore jrpg player looking for a challenge.

But this game shines more in its story. And the story delivers.

I'll be honest, the combat in this game gets pretty repetitive but damnson, is that world immersive. Fantastic music, textures and top tier low poly design. It's a FEAST I say!
The game has a super interesting concept of training your weapons against type of enemies or armor. And it works pretty well! I ended up training a trash dagger from the beginning so well against a type of enemy it like 3 shot the first phase of the final boss. So that was satisfying.

The story is kindof a mess but the speech bubbles are entertaining and if you play with a friend you can criticize the NPCs curious fashion choices at the same time. Win win.

Overall while the minute to minute gameplay wasn't mind blowing it's a game that still left a mark and resonated from creating a world I wanted to entirely explore and it's a real shame there's no sequel to expand on the systems!

True fact: If you wonder why there is an intro with belly dancing that has nothing to do with the game it's because of my friend who I catsit for who worked on that scene and got really into belly dancing at that time. It's a question that had weighted heavily on me and now that I've learned that I can die in peace. Hopefully you too.

so i played this over the course of 2022 and 2023 and i have to say, trudging along through this game has been a challenge. i played without a guide for a while, but getting through that blasted forest maze was no fun whatsoever. and the complicated way weapon and armor stats change was unique, but ultimately not so riveting... still, i was determined to see this through, as my sole reason for playing this was hearing "truth" elsewhere and wanting to hear it in context. funny that the context was the ending of the game, or i may have stopped playing from fatigue.

the presentation of this game still holds up. amazing graphics, terrific writing, cutscenes that just effortlessly captivate. not to mention the timeless soundtrack that single-handedly motivated me to continue. gameplay mechanics be damned, this was a journey worth experiencing.

UNA TOTAL OBRA MAESTRA, aquí tenemos a uno de los mejores RPG qué jugaras en tú vida, un proyecto tan único e innovador qué siento qué sentó catedra para tantos rpgs de fantasía oscura qué saldrían luego.
Es imposible no admirar la dirección tan elegante, los gráficos espectaculares, una jugabilidad tan profunda he interesante y una de las mejores historias contadas en el medio con uno de los mejores villanos jamás vistos.
Vagrant es más qué un juego, es una experiencia qué tiene qué ser jugada por todos, incluso sí tú salud mental se puede ir al carajo ya qué realmente es un jrpg difícil.