Vagrant Story discussion thread

[Ruldra]

Just a heads-up. For this week only, you can get Vagrant Story for 3 bucks from the US Playstation Store. Never got to play it back in the day (only played briefly via emulator), and I have about $5 sitting in my account so I'll be getting this.

So from the little I know about the game, you need to have one weapon for each kind of enemy. Is that correct?

[Ed Oscuro]

Not exactly; my memory is that there's a variety of affinities, and weapon parts that carry them. Affinities can help make weapons more damaging against an enemy type, but I paid more attention to crafting new items with part combination. There's really not all that much leeway in the main game on affinities, and by the time you can do something, you'll be crafting new weapons. Getting the right type of weapon to fight an enemy is quite important, but a lot of weapons work for multiple enemies. I forget what kind I used.

Actually - if you want the gory details, this looks to be a good starting point:
http://vagrantstory.wikia.com/wiki/Affi ... rant_Story

Note that there are six affinities, and they've argued for designating three weapons (each covering two types). This is because raising one affinity lowers another.

Of course, after your first time through the game things get really easy. Additionally, all this class/affinity stuff doesn't really matter much because you're not a scrub and you'll figure out how to play even with a minor handicap. Managing RISK is more important than affinities.

Enjoy the game!

[xorthen]

Back on old gamefaqs I lurked the Vagrant Story board. So much shit in that game and it kicks your ass the first playthrough. I played the hell out of it. Damascus Hoplite shield FTW.

[ACSeraph]

One of Square's best games imo. I actually have the original physical copy sitting on my shelf, I think it's about time I went back and played it again.

For those that haven't played it, don't discount this game's reputation as just being Square fanboy hype. This was a legitimately excellent and very original title that was mostly ignored by the FF fanboys when it came out. If anything it was underappreciated.

[Bananamatic]

You want to have all 3 attack types - blunt, piercing and slash
the rest like affinities and elemental can be adjusted a lot just by equipping the weapon with gems, no need to worry about that

[Pretas]

The only game to receive a unanimous perfect score from Famitsu that actually deserves it.

[EmperorIng]

The only game to receive a unanimous perfect score from Famitsu that actually deserves it.

That's high praise. I feel like I need a PhD to understand the game's combat system though.

I never finished it, and at the time I was a little disappointed that there were no towns to speak of - just [essentially] one GIGANTIC dungeon. Though that's a complaint that's easily put to bed now that I expect that to be the case.

[Skykid]

The only game to receive a unanimous perfect score from Famitsu that actually deserves it.

Estebang and his overarching statements.

That's plainly untrue - although I'd agree only a tiny percentage deserved the accolade.

[Mortificator]

Any scoring feat Nintendogs could achieve isn't worth bragging about.

[Skykid]

Any scoring feat Nintendogs could achieve isn't worth bragging about.

They're mostly full of shit. Kid Icarus Uprising? Not with that control system.

[BrianC]

Any scoring feat Nintendogs could achieve isn't worth bragging about.

They're mostly full of shit. Kid Icarus Uprising? Not with that control system.

I don't agree with the score, but I didn't find the controls to be bad when using the included stand and the L button for fire. The stand makes things a bit more comfortable and even works with the 3DS XL.

[No_not_like_Quake]

This is one of those games I tried upon release, did not really know what I was doing, and dismissed. Around a decade later, I picked it up again and it clicked. About 30 hours in, things came up and I had to put the game on hold. A few months later, I came back to my saved game and had forgotten where I was going and a large part of how the game worked. I'd like to restart the game sometime, and this time play until completion.

[Skykid]

Any scoring feat Nintendogs could achieve isn't worth bragging about.

They're mostly full of shit. Kid Icarus Uprising? Not with that control system.

I don't agree with the score, but I didn't find the controls to be bad when using the included stand and the L button for fire. The stand makes things a bit more comfortable and even works with the 3DS XL.

Come now, Uprising has the potential to be an incredible game, but it's totally (royally) screwed by lack of circle pad pro support. The foolishness of not including a control scheme using the second analog stick is suicide. Sakurai should be flogged, firstly by his team who put in such an enormous amount of effort, and then by the games playing public.

[Ruldra]

Thanks for the tips Ed and Bananamatic. I'll try playing it on my own at first, then check out some guides if things get rough.

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

Come now, Uprising has the potential to be an incredible game, but it's totally (royally) screwed by lack of circle pad pro support. The foolishness of not including a control scheme using the second analog stick is suicide. Sakurai should be flogged, firstly by his team who put in such an enormous amount of effort, and then by the games playing public.

The game would only be held back by analog aiming. Either the game would have to be toned down to fit it or it would just end up being useless.

As for Vagrant Story, I am definitely going to buy it now. I've been kind of interested for a while and this is enough to push me over the edge.

[Ed Oscuro]

You want to have all 3 attack types - blunt, piercing and slash
the rest like affinities and elemental can be adjusted a lot just by equipping the weapon with gems, no need to worry about that

Yes, this + RISK = the vast majority of the combat. Of the rest, chain arts and items should fill most of the rest of the gaps.

It sounds complicated as hell, but it really isn't. Once you're near enemies you have all the time you need to select the right weapon type, and actual combat (+RISK) is dead simple actually.

[Bananamatic]

You want to have all 3 attack types - blunt, piercing and slash
the rest like affinities and elemental can be adjusted a lot just by equipping the weapon with gems, no need to worry about that

Yes, this + RISK = the vast majority of the combat. Of the rest, chain arts and items should fill most of the rest of the gaps.

It sounds complicated as hell, but it really isn't. Once you're near enemies you have all the time you need to select the right weapon type, and actual combat (+RISK) is dead simple actually.

Don't forget about Phantom Points, you first need to build up PP for a new weapon in order for it to be useful. There's also a chain skill that significantly speeds up the process. And yeah, after 10 chain or so the RISK starts skyrocketing.

[Mortificator]

Come now, Uprising has the potential to be an incredible game, but it's totally (royally) screwed by lack of circle pad pro support. The foolishness of not including a control scheme using the second analog stick is suicide. Sakurai should be flogged, firstly by his team who put in such an enormous amount of effort, and then by the games playing public.

The game would only be held back by analog aiming. Either the game would have to be toned down to fit it or it would just end up being useless.

I would do things for a Wii / Wii U port of Uprising with controls like the second Sin and Punishment. Bad things.

[xorthen]

I miss the old days when Squaresoft actually made great games.

[ACSeraph]

^Me too man, me too

I blame the fans for the direction square went though. Look at how the fanbase reacted to FF12 when it came out. That was one of the best games Square ever produced and yet everyone hated it because it was too different and complex and didn't have enough zipper-pants. It's no wonder they just decided to just keep spoon feeding their fans Nomura's bullshit to make fat cash instead of investing in new quality titles.

[Skykid]

Come now, Uprising has the potential to be an incredible game, but it's totally (royally) screwed by lack of circle pad pro support. The foolishness of not including a control scheme using the second analog stick is suicide. Sakurai should be flogged, firstly by his team who put in such an enormous amount of effort, and then by the games playing public.

The game would only be held back by analog aiming.

As opposed to not being held back by stylus aiming?

That's funny.

[BrianC]

I don't know if it would control better with a second analog stick since the touch screen allows for more precise aiming than the analog nub.

[Skykid]

I don't know if it would control better with a second analog stick since the touch screen allows for more precise aiming than the analog nub.

You guys are seeming to forget that the stylus is used for camera control and aiming simultaneously.

There's absolutely no way you can spin it that would have me believe it would work better without circle pad support. The game's tailored challenge is crying out to be abused in high level play, but with no optimum control method, it's sincerely and very sadly scuppered.

[ACSeraph]

^I gotta agree with Skykid on this one

There's really no excuse not to offer both control schemes as an option

[BrianC]

You guys are seeming to forget that the stylus is used for camera control and aiming simultaneously.

I didn't forget, but I have gotten used to using the stylus to aim the camera. I rather the game offer both schemes as well, but the nub feels less percise than some other analog controls, though it works fine in Nano Assault EX. What the game could really use is a control scheme that doesn't use double tapping of the analog nub for dodging and dashing.

[Skykid]

You guys are seeming to forget that the stylus is used for camera control and aiming simultaneously.

I didn't forget, but I have gotten used to using the stylus to aim the camera. I rather the game offer both schemes as well, but the nub feels less percise than some other analog controls, though it works fine in Nano Assault EX. What the game could really use is a control scheme that doesn't use double tapping of the analog nub for dodging and dashing.

The analog is by and large useless for the precision the game requires. If I remember, my optimum setup involved very quickly moving primary movement to the d-pad exactly because double tapping barely works otherwise.

Problem is d-pad and analog are on the same side. Circle pad on the other side coupled with d-pad for primary movement would also mean that you could centre the camera with the shoulder button - something that's basically impossible when holding the stylus and resting it on the stand.

As I said, there's currently no perfect - and certainly no comfortable - setup, but circle pad plus reticle sensitivity tailoring would boost it ten times.

Sakurai stated he purposely refused the add on to force people to get involved in a new style of play. Well thanks for Kirby sir, but that's an epic faux pas for your game designing credibility.

[BrianC]

I wish Kid Icarus 3DS had a mode that strung a bunch of the Star Fox style stages together a la Xexyz and Guardian Legend. The game is certainly long enough for it. I'm probably in the minority, but I actually liked the ground stages. I wish more games had a difficulty setting like Kid Icarus. It reminds me of the very first Kirby where you could tweak the game (though the extra modes were hidden). The original Kirby lacks the power ups from enemies, but is fun in its own right and has one of the best hard modes of any game. Some of Sakurai's recent comments perplex me, but I still feel that he did some of the better Kirby games (Super Star and Kirby's Adventure are good stuff too).

[brentsg]

This thread is now about Nintendo stuff.

[CMoon]

Too bad, I was really looking forward to a vagrant story thread.

[BrianC]

I did rent Vagrant Story once. My memory is a little vague, but I remember liking the battle system quite a bit. I remember the dungeon strangely reminding me of games like Solstice.

Edit: It looks like it sells for cheap used. I might pick it up.