Vagrant Story (Rpg)

Vagrant Story is one of the most beautifully cinematic games to date, easily toppling Metal Gear Solid. With character designs by the venerable artist behind Final Fantasy Tactics' noseless wonders, Akihiko Yoshida, Vagrant Story looks and feels like a living 3D comic brought to life. Each model is fluidly animated and textured with a sketch-like quality that gives the game a visual feel all its own. Topped off with impressive lighting and spell effects, Vagrant Story is a visual feast. Adding to the game's cinematic charm is yet another impressive score by Hitoshi Sakimoto, one of Final Fantasy Tactics' dual composers. The sound effects are well done and impressive, straying from Square's standard of synthed noise - from an audio standpoint, the only thing conceivably missing is voice - while the jagged comic dialog boxes are charming, one can't help but think this game could be more impressive with voice. However, avoiding Metal Gear Solid's glut of dialog is definitely a plus, especially given the literally perfect translation. Square's localization efforts have been lackluster and purely functional in the past, but Vagrant Story's is delightfully different. We can only hope that Chrono Cross' and other translations receive the same attention as Vagrant Story - you'll be spoiled from here on out.

In the end, Vagrant Story's disparate parts come together in a beautiful, cinematic experience. The game's story is compelling and constantly urges the player to press forward, giving the game the addictive quality of the finest RPGs. While a fairly short game, the depth and density of the story and gameplay contained within give Vagrant Story an intensity missing from most longer games, as well as a higher replay value thanks to the "New Game +" option. While the learning curve is a little high, even for RPG veterans, Vagrant Story offers an experience that's not to be missed.

Intro: