Vagrant Story

[NovumVeritas]

I've been playing through Vagrant Story on Duckstation for the last few days. It ran without any problems, and save states are always a blessing, especially with a game like this. When I played it when it first came out, I didn't understand the combat system and mechanics at all, and many battles ended with 0 or 1 damage. But this time, it clicked, and I successfully completed it. The music was really cool; it sounded like a mix of Resident Evil and Devil May Cry, and the fact that the game was a dungeon crawler didn't bother me at all. It's a shame that it ended after that installment, because Squaresoft had apparently planned to turn it into a game series. I would have found it interesting to see Ashley roaming the world of Ivalice as a “vagrant” with the Blood-Sin. Once you understood it, the combat system was also very intuitive for its time, and there were so many spells to learn from the grimoires. The final boss took quite a while to defeat, and you always had to be careful to maintain Herakles, Luft Fusion, and Magic Ward. When I saw that the game was from 2000 and also from Squaresoft, I felt old, lol.

What was your experience with Vagrant Story?

 

[Felipe]

A bad experience i had. The timing of the combos sometimes isnt syncronized like it should. Exactly the same problem that Legend of Dragoon (PS1) has. Also, the lack of healing right in the beginning where your only salvation is the healing trap (which doesnt last forever) make it hard to like the game.

 

[bjork]

A game I bought at release, poked at for about an hour and then promised I'd come back but still never have. Not for lack of desire, I just always forget. It looks great I have a couple of friends who have it as a top-10 all timer, so I do need to get to it and see for myself.

 

[What's His Face]

I've been playing through Vagrant Story on Duckstation for the last few days. It ran without any problems, and save states are always a blessing, especially with a game like this. When I played it when it first came out, I didn't understand the combat system and mechanics at all, and many battles ended with 0 or 1 damage. But this time, it clicked, and I successfully completed it. The music was really cool; it sounded like a mix of Resident Evil and Devil May Cry, and the fact that the game was a dungeon crawler didn't bother me at all. It's a shame that it ended after that installment, because Squaresoft had apparently planned to turn it into a game series. I would have found it interesting to see Ashley roaming the world of Ivalice as a “vagrant” with the Blood-Sin. Once you understood it, the combat system was also very intuitive for its time, and there were so many spells to learn from the grimoires. The final boss took quite a while to defeat, and you always had to be careful to maintain Herakles, Luft Fusion, and Magic Ward. When I saw that the game was from 2000 and also from Squaresoft, I felt old, lol.

What was your experience with Vagrant Story?

#357 on my backlog.

 

[Strategist's icon Strategist Strategist]

Vagrant Story is a tough game to evaluate. I bought it when it was released back when I would buy anything with the Squaresoft label on it. I love everything about it, style, presentation, story and even the gameplay to a certain extent. But my first playthrough I softlocked myself because I didn't understand the mechanics of the game. It took me another 10 years to give this game another chance and finally beat it. I think it is a classic of videogame storytelling, but the gameplay is a little too obtuse to be understood without walkthroughs. I do appreciate the game not spelling out everything and this game reminds a bit of the souls series in a good way. But the Souls game is a little less complicated in having to keep track of elements and affinities.

 

[garbodorman]

great game. farming the minotaur lord huge mace, use 3 weapon method to max it's stats and use it against the final boss is funny. too bad it's only hagane. imagine a damascus one.

 

[Silvergun_Raven]

One of my absolute favorite games from not only Squaresoft, but on the PlayStation. Last time I played it was in the Summer of 2007, but it's one of those games I think about to this day and I still listen to the masterpiece of a soundtrack by Hitoshi Sakimoto; it definitely has that Resident Evil creepy vibe to it on certain tracks! I still think to this day, the opening credits in Vagrant Story is the best I've ever seen in a videogame; the fade to black when Ashley cuts the rope and it slams to black and the sun shining through the broken window at the end of the "tutorial" section that cuts to the Vagrant Story logo.

Matsuno-san and Yoshi-P have expressed huge interest in remastering or remaking Vagrant Story, based on some things they said online when Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles was about to release. I think we may see it in 2026 or 2027, maybe 2028. All it really needs is a QoL feature with quick weapon swapping, easier menus to navigate or shorten it and make the weapon crafting a bit easier for new players.

 

[Xenvik]

A game I bought at release, poked at for about an hour and then promised I'd come back but still never have. Not for lack of desire, I just always forget. It looks great I have a couple of friends who have it as a top-10 all timer, so I do need to get to it and see for myself.

Exactly my case too, but I bought it 2-3 years ago on PS3. Played for an hour on new years eve, decided to come back, never did.

 

[TinRattler]

Own it is in my backlog for 2026