Vagrant Story is an outrageous show of versatility and virtuosity by the same team that brought you Final Fantasy Tactics only a few years earlier. It's a stylish piece of video game history, often looked over in the grander scheme. It's a lot of things at once. A cinematic action game a la Metal Gear Solid, a throwback to old school dungeon crawlers, a love letter to the stylings of western fantasy novels as well as comic books, and possibly video games' equivalent to Apocalypse Now's adaptation of Heart of Darkness.

It's not really a difficult game, but it is difficult to understand. You have to settle into the game's rhythm, much like the characters do in the game itself as they begin to tap into the Dark and awaken abilities they can't wrap their head around. It's a massive feeling game in its themes and systems while also feeling extremely lean in its presentation and scope. Vagrant Story is at once well-composed and difficult to handle. The latter is certainly reflected in the way that its story pacing starts to taper off in the back half, ending with a final battle so rich with drama but betrayed by its irritating and tedious design. An ultimately minor but still frustrating blemish on a beautifully complex and vital video game.