RGT Nostalgia Society #2 - Vagrant Story

[dem6n dem6n]

Hey everyone!

Welcome to the RetroGameTalk Nostalgia Society! We're a group that gets together each month and plays through a specific game together. We play through the game on our own time, and use this thread as a way of communicating about our experiences together. Last month's game was Parasite Eve. I had a lot of fun, and I hope everyone else did, too!

Our second monthly game, by tiebreaker decision, is Vagrant Story!

Vagrant Story came out in the year 2000 for the PlayStation. It's a turn-based fantasy JRPG, but similar to last month's game, combat is handled by navigating an arena and selecting specific body parts of an enemy when attacking.

The game takes place in the kingdom of Valendia and the ruined city of Leá Monde. The story centers on Ashley Riot, an elite agent known as a Riskbreaker, who must travel to Leá Monde to investigate the link between a cult leader and a senior Valendian Parliament member, Duke Bardorba.

One thing to note is that Vagrant Story was the first game to take place within the universe known as Ivalice. Other games that take place within Ivalice would be Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII.

I hope you all have fun!

 

[bigstinkie]

in their story vagrants
i will love you all individually
but first i give a big hug to life and all those in it

 

[Tetro]

Not everyone will make it to the end.

 

[Strategist's icon Strategist Strategist]

Not everyone will make it to the end.

People will probably rage quit at the midgame once their attacks start doing close to zero damage. I know I did the first time around.

 

[χKai]

I voted for Vagrant Story.

 

[moonbits]

Alright, let's do this godammit I will beat this game once and for all.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 9:43 PM

Not everyone will make it to the end.

 

[dem6n dem6n]

I must say, the visual design of this game is pretty damn good. Feels like you really are slugging it through an old, groggy dungeon. Hoping there's some zombies/undead or skeletons in this game later on. They'd match the vibe perfectly.

 

[moonbits]

I must say, the visual design of this game is pretty damn good. Feels like you really are slugging it through an old, groggy dungeon. Hoping there's some zombies/undead or skeletons in this game later on. They'd match the vibe perfectly.

you'll regret this

 

[DanCalibur]

Not everyone will make it to the end.

 

[Sir Auriel of Lionel]

I think I'll give it a try to beat by the 11th. I wonder can we get a tag for a thread like this? I didn't know it went on last month.

 

[Strategist's icon Strategist Strategist]

Hey everyone!

Welcome to the RetroGameTalk Nostalgia Society! We're a group that gets together each month and plays through a specific game together. We play through the game on our own time, and use this thread as a way of communicating about our experiences together. Last month's game was Parasite Eve. I had a lot of fun, and I hope everyone else did, too!

Our second monthly game, by tiebreaker decision, is Vagrant Story!

View attachment 85762

Vagrant Story came out in the year 2000 for the PlayStation. It's a turn-based fantasy JRPG, but similar to last month's game, combat is handled by navigating an arena and selecting specific body parts of an enemy when attacking.

The game takes place in the kingdom of Valendia and the ruined city of Leá Monde. The story centers on Ashley Riot, an elite agent known as a Riskbreaker, who must travel to Leá Monde to investigate the link between a cult leader and a senior Valendian Parliament member, Duke Bardorba.

One thing to note is that Vagrant Story was the first game to take place within the universe known as Ivalice. Other games that take place within Ivalice would be Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII.

I hope you all have fun!

I don't want to nitpick but there are a few things wrong with this blurb. Vagrant Story isn't a turn based game, it is a real time with pause action/turnbased hybrid. And Vagrant Story wasn't the first game to take place in Ivalice. That would be Final Fantasy Tactics, that came out in 1997 (Vagrant Story was released in 2000).

I don't plan to play the game, but I know this one by heart having finished it three times, so I'll be commenting here and there. Interested in seeing how people take to some of the more obscure mechanics of this game.

 

[Cantarella]

sydney is hot

 

[KaiserMk7]

sydney is hot

as well-groomed, tastefully skinny boys with long hair and hip-resting pants tend to be

 

[diapered]

Not everyone will make it to the end.

People will probably rage quit at the midgame once their attacks start doing close to zero damage. I know I did the first time around.

PE pissed me off last month multiple times, this is gonna be worse? O_o Guess that makes it more fun to talk about by adding rage and frustration >_> Was this your plan all along @dem6n

Oh well...

 

[KaiserMk7]

If a former player may chime in...
I gave up fairly early on, virtually just after making it out of the underground area and into the city. I don't recall whether I just couldn't figure out how to progress or got walled by a fight.

 

[moonbits]

My favorite part: Reading the manual

 

[Cantarella]

PE pissed me off last month multiple times, this is gonna be worse? O_o Guess that makes it more fun to talk about by adding rage and frustration >_> Was this your plan all along @dem6n

Oh well...
View attachment 85812

if you make an anti-skeleton weapon early on and keep it in your back pocket you'll be okay. same goes for... other things... you might encounter.

the real question is if you'll survive the menuing.

 

[KaiserMk7]

Are there any entry barriers to joining this hobby circle?

 

[bigstinkie]

Are there any entry barriers to joining this hobby circle?

it is typically an unspoken rule that to enter this circle you must give me one great big hug, and then you're in

 

[UnDubious]

There are three types of weapon damage IIRC. I want to say it's Blunt, Slash and Piercing or whatever? Enemies are usually weaker to one of those, so just make sure you have a decent weapon for each as the game progresses. It's not too hard, you can make them.
Status enhancement spells make a world of difference too, get in the habit of casting the one that boosts your attack power pretty much all the time. I played the game blind doing this and never struggled all that much (you do have to stay on your toes, though).

 

[KaiserMk7]

There are three types of weapon damage IIRC. I want to say it's Blunt, Slash and Piercing or whatever? Enemies are usually weaker to one of those, so just make sure you have a decent weapon for each as the game progresses. It's not too hard, you can make them.
Status enhancement spells make a world of difference too, get in the habit of casting the one that boosts your attack power pretty much all the time. I played the game blind doing this and never struggled all that much (you do have to stay on your toes, though).

Doesn't this game have a system where any piece of equipment, even beyond the scope of basic damage types, can be specialized hard against one category of enemies because every hit you deal or take increments the item's effectiveness against that enemy type and decrements it for a couple of other enemy types?
Like Final Fantasy 2's stat growth system but for equipment damage and hit modifiers instead and less permanent?

 

[Strategist's icon Strategist Strategist]

There are three types of weapon damage IIRC. I want to say it's Blunt, Slash and Piercing or whatever? Enemies are usually weaker to one of those, so just make sure you have a decent weapon for each as the game progresses. It's not too hard, you can make them.
Status enhancement spells make a world of difference too, get in the habit of casting the one that boosts your attack power pretty much all the time. I played the game blind doing this and never struggled all that much (you do have to stay on your toes, though).

Pro Tip: If your weapon suddenly starts dealing close to zero points of damage it has to do with the weapon type. Also consider that weapons develop affinities to certain monsters the more you kill the same type with one weapon. Affinities have the hidden side effect of making the weapon suck against certain enemy types.

 

[KaiserMk7]

it is typically an unspoken rule that to enter this circle you must give me one great big hug, and then you're in

Hmm... Disinclined to hug in most cases.

 

[Clippy]

I remember playing the game once ages ago and giving up on it less than an hour in because the combat system pissed me off beyond belief. I guess this is an opportunity to give the game a second chance,

 

[moonbits]

Didn't know you could disable the puzzle mode.