Michael is Low on Hit Points

Some annoyances can be overcome, and Vagrant Story offers compelling reasons to work through its issues

• Posted  June 6th, 2009 at 11:38 PM ET
• Subjects  Vagrant Story
• Tags  impressions
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Much like Okami and Odin Sphere, Vagrant Story is a game that many would argue never got the attention it deserved. You can take this post as the companion piece to my last one on those two aforementioned games -- the flip side of the coin. While the game has its share of poor design decisions, I feel that none of them ruin the experience.

Vagrant Story is complex.

That's putting it mildly. The setup dumps you right into the game without giving you any instruction on how to play the game, nevermind even a single tutorial. You're immediately left to fend for yourself. This may be disparaging to newbies, but repeat and quick-to-learn players will love the lack of hand holding.

This first flaw is easily overcome if the torrent of game mechanics is too much for you. Effort, determination, and a little time with either the instruction manuel or online tutorial will set you straight. The game could provide a softer landing at the start, but it's not an insurmountable flaw.

You'll definitely want to bookmark that online strategy guide, as the weapon and armor upgrade system is the next design mistake. It's needlessly complex. There isn't much rhyme or reason as to what combines with what to make a better piece of equipment.

If you go at it alone, the upgrade system will be an annoying trial and error affair. A handy online list of what best combines with what will end most of your woes. Once again, this is not optimal, as the game shouldn't be so unnecessarily complex. But it is an easy hoop to jump through.

And so we arrive at the hardest flaw to surpass: the weapon swapping system... or lack thereof. Individual weapons build up affinities as they repeatedly strike down enemies of the same class. Using that specific weapon against another class will cause most other affinities to lower. Thus you'll want different weapons for different enemy types.

Though you'll build up an impressive arsenal of different weapon types with different affinities, there is no quick and easy way to swap them out for one another. You have to bring up the excruciatingly slow menu (thanks PS1) and flip through that until you reach the point in which you can actually change weapons. It becomes a major annoyance the more often you have to swap.

So how do you avoid this cumbersome process? You're options are limited. The best method -- I found -- is if there are four enemies in the room of one type and one more of another, then just take the so-very-minor penalty and don't bother switching weapons. This may bug the perfectionist, but simply dealing with the annoying menu system probably isn't worth it to you.

This all could have -- should have -- been avoided. It's bad game design, pure and simple. But unlike the aforementioned Okami and Odin Sphere, none of these issues ever reach the level of frustration that those two titles bring upon me. Of course, you're mileage may vary. Different people will react to all of these issues differently. But out of three supposed masterpieces, I could only stand one enough to find out what truly made it all shine.

And Vagrant Story is truly excellent. A well laid out dungeon crawl, there's a unique and rewarding combat system at play. The game is brilliantly scripted and features a twisting plot with exceptional characters. The graphics have aged surprisingly well, probably thanks to its pseudo comic book style. The music is suitably moody, and the atmosphere is top notch. A true work of art in gaming, and one of my highest recommendations.

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