As someone who finished the original I'm not sure what to feel about this game. Like I think the ideas are pretty solid with the story but have some stuff shoved in that I think don't really mesh well with me compared to the original. At the same time, however, I think those said flaws with the story and execution make me question: is this execution something worth it? Well, obviously we don't the answer to that yet but I trust the plan slightly. The positives I love about this game are the characters. They did so well writing them up and making them very expressful. Barret's love for his only-child as a parent, the Avalanche resistance team having those wonderful moments in the spotlight with their interaction for Cloud, Aerith having that vibe about that reminds me of her from the original, and more! All of this is great and I would love to see much of that in the sequel. In addition, the environments do well to emanate this atmosphere of Midgar where the top is neat and pretty and the slums are so cramped and dreary (for better or for worse). Problem is, that mentioned 'for worse' are those environments which kinda bothered me with those forced closed gaps shimmy sections in the game as they just got too frequent especially roaming in the slums; regardless, it's pretty stuff to look at with the amazing soundtrack playing. A major issue I have is the combat. It's an action rpg where you got that turn-based ATB bar and you use that to sling spells or weapon abilities. I don't really vibe with it for the most part since some bosses in the game are notoriously annoying or just frustrating to deal with and it becomes a problem. The fun materia system is still there of course which is a nice sight to see. My final complaint among this is that it makes me worried how very wild this remake is taking its direction in all of this, considering it is a game with multiple parts to emulate the OG. But by god I will this say: they better nail that landing in the end because it is very ballsy with what they're doing with the story of this game as a whole. Only time and the team's dedication for this will tell if this will be the biggest success or biggest flop ever.

A true work of art that is full of passion, ambition, professionalism, and creativity







Vagrant Story is the miracle of Yasumi Matsuno, his final game and magnum opus. While not without its flaws, Vagrant Story is a true testament to what video games could be when designed with mature audiences in mind. Its storytelling techniques are the absolute best I've ever encountered in the medium. It's beautifully written in an artistic,literary language that was unseen in videogames at the time,intertwined with masterful subtext, never babysitting the audience with meaningless plot expositions. It is a tale full of intricate characters; every piece of dialogue is quotable with an exquisite use of Shakespearean English,thanks to the brilliant translation by Alexender O. Smith,but also masterfully packed and well balanced with just the right amount of characterization and plot significance. Implicit storytelling places it farther than it's counterparts and closer to modernist novels,with how the player is expected to piece together the plot points they're given rather than explaining every single thing. This type of implicated storytelling still hasn't been fully replicated in the videogame landscape,a fact that is enough to represent Matsuno as a gifted writer and a unique auteur in the industry.
It is impossible to talk about Vagrant Story without mentioning it's technical aspects.Matsuno and his team pushes the PS1 hardware to it's absolute limits,without bogging down the experience with low framerate and slowdown issues.Diving into the development history reveals how team struggled to make the game run on a stable framerate with such detailed visuals,and spend 3 whole years to optimize the game with unconventinal techniques for the time, without limiting it's vision.And the result is a game that looks incredible for the hardware, both from a technical and stylistic standpoint.Immense attention to detail in every room,lighting effects,smooth animations,detailed facial expressions and striking designs of every character,monster and location gives the game a unique art direction that uses it's hardware limitations to it's advantage,and still holds up tremendously well.
With how Vagrant Story focuses on it's technical aspects and storytelling,it is easy to assume that gameplay was a second thought of the team,most of the modern games that are considered "cutting edge" doesn't usually offers deep mechanics and solely focuses on their high quality presentation.This is absolutely not true for Vagrant Story.With a mixture of traditional dungeon crawling and action RPG systems,combining menu selections with real-time combat and free movement, it is easy to classify it as an action RPG, however,the menu navigation part is more involved than most turn-based RPGs. With combat requiring the player to take advantage of several weaknesses of the enemies,whether that be the weapon type,body part,elemantal or class weaknesses, every combat encounter requires the player to analyze the enemies extensively before engaging them to decide which tool in their in their varied arsenal they should use, and more importantly, how should they use. Once you adjust your equipment accordingly, engaging the enemy has a whole other set of factors to consider when designing your strategy. The most prominent of these are chain attacks, which are timed button presses you need to do in order to deal damage, not unlike games such as Super Mario RPG. However, like everything about the combat system,these attacks can be deeply customized to have all kinds of different effects other than simply inflicting damage. These can be draining the opponent's MP or HP,inflicting status ailments such as silence or poison, renewing your weapon's damage point by small amounts, etc. These abilities mean that every encounter is like a puzzle with multiple solutions you can choose from. However, the player can't just rely on their reflexes to beat even the most powerful bosses, because the more you use these chain attacks, the more your "risk" bar rises. Risk bar is similar to a stamina bar, your limititation to attack endlessly; however,it is arguably a far more creative use of this concept. As your risk bar increases, the more you get hit and the lower your hit rate gets. This adds another important factor, in a game already dominated by numerous complicated systems, you have to figure out the most optimal way to play in order to conquer the game's challenges. There are a lot more to talk about,such as a crafting system,your weapon's damage point and phantom point,different types of enemies,box puzzles and actual dungeon crawling, etc. But for now, I'll keep it there.

The amount of complexity and density of the systems can be overwhelming for many, but for those who prioritize micromanagement, customization, and experimentation in RPG gameplay systems,it is very rewarding and satisfying to master the intricate gameplay,with subsystems upon subsystems to learn. Every single system complements each other to create an incredibly deep gameplay loop with tons of things to consider. It is easy to say, both in terms of story and gameplay, that Vagrant Story is not the kind of game you can fully comprehend and appreciate in a single playthrough. It is a short yet polished experience, to the point where it shines as one of the brightest gems in videogame history. It is a technical marvel,a work of art with experiential storytelling and direction techniques; a passion project; it is dramatic and theatrical,but not awkward or unnatural; it is mechanically rich and unique; sometimes cumbersome,yet always engaging. It takes a lot from a lot of different genres,while not truly belonging to any of them,and creates its own unique and memorable identity. It is a kind of masterpiece we'll never see anything similar to it ever again