Produced by: Square Japan

Genre: Action RPG

Players: One

Despite the recent mainstream acceptance of RPGs, the genre is still seen as somewhat "geeky". Titles such as Final Fantasy and Zelda have pushed the RPGs into "triple A" status, but action adventures, sports titles, fighters and racers are still more popular (in the West, at least). Vagrant Story (let's call it VS from now on) is Square's attempt to break the preconception that RPGs are dull and actionless. Programmed by the team behind the seminal Final Fantasy Tactics, VS is a cross between Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy and (surprisingly) Beat Mania. I'll explain more about that strange comparison later. The plot is a confusing affair (much like FF Tactics was) involving murder, kidnapping and the occult. You play the role of Ashley Riot, a government agent or "Riskbreaker". I don't want to give too much of the story away, but your primary aim as the game begins is to capture the fanatical cult leader Sydney Lossarot, who, after the murder of Duke Bardorba, has escaped to the deserted magical city of Lea Monde. However, the blame for the murder has been pinned on Ashley, and he must clear his name as well as come to terms with violent flashbacks that hint at a sinister past.

Chances are, for the first half an hour of VS, you'll think it's the greatest game you've ever played. The introduction is made up of cutscenes and playable sections. All of the cutscenes make use of the stunning game engine, so the two blend seamlessly, and avoid the jarring nature of prerendered FMV (as seen in FF8 and Resident Evil). It may not look as pretty as FF8, but it's much more convincing and allows the game to flow more satisfyingly. The introduction is a masterpiece of cinematic plotting and timing. Everything is perfect - the music, the camera positions, even the dialogue - which is a miracle considering the terrible RPG translations that have been inflicted on us in recent years. The intro ends with Sydney escaping whilst Ashley does battle with a well animated and suitably imposing Wyvern. Trust me - in terms of drama, this intro beats any FMV you've ever seen.

It's a shame then, that the bulk of the game that follows after is so dull. The creators of VS stated some time ago that they wanted to create a "Metal Gear Solid" style RPG which would have a similar lifespan to Konami's classic - about six hours. Clearly, they soon realized that this would be too short, so they've strung the game out to a tedious length by adding hours of repetitive enemy encounters. That's not to say that the battle system is bad - in fact, it's one of the most original and refreshing systems to be employed in an RPG. It's part turn based, part real time. When an enemy is nearby, pressing the attack button brings up your "Battle Sphere". Any enemies that fall within this sphere can be attacked - sometimes you're able to target a specific body part, such as a leg or an arm. Once your target is selected (the game freezes to allow you to do this) you strike by again pressing the attack button. When your first attack hits home, a "!" appears above Ashley's head - a well timed button press (that's the Beat Mania connection, you see?) allows you to continue your assault. (A similar system is used in Sony's Legend Of Dragoon.) However, you can't just keep chaining attacks forever - each chain adds to your "Risk" count. Risk points are gained whenever you perform an action like using an item, attacking, defending or casting a spell. When your Risk count is low, your attacks have more chance of hitting home, and enemy attacks do minor damage. When your Risk is high, your attacks become less accurate, and when an enemy strikes back, the damage is greater. The only way to reduce your Risk is to put away your weapon or use a special item. That may sound long winded, and that's because it is. Like FF Tactics, VS requires the player to spend a great deal of time and effort to understand the game system fully. If you want a "pick up and play" RPG like Zelda or Alundra, you won't have much fun with this.

When not fighting the good fight, you're faced with puzzles to complete to progress through the game. This is the "Tomb Raider" section I was referring to. The puzzles can be quite taxing, but they all boil down to "find key for door" and "move box from point A to point B to reach door", you know the sort. This section of the game also becomes dull quickly...the puzzles do get slightly more complex but at the end of the day you're still just moving boxes. It's a real pity that Square didn't fill these sections with NPCs to interact with, or more diverse locations to visit. The fact that the game takes place in a deserted city doesn't help matters much. Apart from the various undead monsters you have to fight, you're all alone...and boredom sets in fast. In the end, you just fight through the battle sections to get to the next cutscene and see the next part of the story.

The weapon system throws up more problems. You don't just find weapons and equip them in VS - you have to link different weapon parts together to "forge" weapons. For example, to create a sword, you need a handle, a hilt and a blade. Each component alters what type of weapon it will become (piercing, striking, blunt, etc). This may seem a nice idea on paper, but in practice it's just annoying. When you create a weapon, you don't know for sure that'll be any use until you actually get out into the field, because the statistics screen is almost incomprehensible. Even if you do manage to create a half decent sword or axe, it only works well on certain enemies, which means that in battle you're constantly having to drop back to the equipment screen to switch weapons, and this soon becomes tiresome. Full marks to Square for trying something new here, but it just doesn't quite work.

In terms of visuals, sound and control, VS is perfect. But the fact that it's just so damn dull and repetitive in parts stops it from being a classic. I'd rather have seen VS offer 8 hours of play (similar to MGS) than the 30 or so hours of samey gameplay it actually gives you. The story is fantastic, and the cutscenes are a joy to behold - but it's just the bits inbetween that you have to wade through that spoil the whole thing. I really want to give VS a good mark, because in many ways it deserves five out of five. The best way to sum up is to call VS a "rough gem". I'd still recommend it to anyone who considers themselves an RPG nut, I'd even suggest that casual RPGers give it a go, but for the casual gamer who prefers action over story, I'd have to say steer clear.

3 1/2 out of 5