Let’s just jump right back into the fray.
I started by doing a bit of sword combining to get a higher quality sword than the one I was using. I also beat-up a dummy to raise my class against evil enemies, which I read was good, and then went back to the boss.
Guildenstern, round one, went down easier than last time, not even getting an attack in so my new weapon is doing well so far. I skipped the cutscenes that followed, which proves that Vagrant Story is a game ahead of its time and deserves a full star just for it, and continue on to Round 2.
And I feel cheated. I absolutely destroyed the poor boy. He never hit his special attack, Blood Sin, and he only did one attack against me. I hurt myself more than he hurt me. I, more importantly, hurt him more than I hurt me. I was only really doing double the damage I did last night, 3 to 6, but I managed to take him out in three or four "rounds". All this build-up and it’s a bit of a letdown; not gonna lie. I even started playing earlier in the day to accommodate for these fights. Unbelievable! But, regardless of my hangups, I beat the game and I’m relieved to see the results of my hard work and conclusion to the story.
The first scene is The Teleported, Merlose trailing behind Hardin, with a living Joshua on his shoulder as they’re running through a corridor as another earthquake hits.
A...fun (?) scene with denizens of the Undercity running around in terror.
The next scene involves the not forgotten Nessa and Treigor facing off with Grisson. Treigor tells Nessa to leave and “tell them what happened here” as he and Grisson prepare for battle. “A great tomb we have here.” The scene changes before any blow is thrown.
We then cut to our hero, Ashley, trying to carry a wounded Sydney through a different corridor before the camera pans around and we see a familiar pattern forming on Ashley’s back.
Another simple scene with a skeleton and a dragon disappearing by turning in to shiny dust.
The last scene of Leá Monde is on the same hill overlooking the city, now glowing red with either magik or fire, which the game started on. Hardin is sitting against a wall while young Joshua grabs Merlose’s hand. The boy finally speaks as he begs Hardin not to go, to which the Hero apologizes for as he lies a hand on the boy’s shoulder and turns to shiny dust. I’m still sad that Hardin ended up dying, but I take solace in that he died a hero. He succumbed to hos injuries making sure Joshia stayed alive. The sun begins to rise.
One final shot is the upper body of Guildernstern falling into the glyph the final battle took place on as the screen goes black and we jump forward a week to Duke Aldous Bardoborba’s manor.
We see Ashley being escorted into the Duke’s bedchamber as he then turns in to Sydney, who’s wearing a doctor's robe, but no shirt, as he gives the Duke a dagger for some reason. Aldous laments that he was a bad father and he agrees with his son’s plan for Ashley. The embrace as Sydney then turns to shiny dust as another dagger concealed in his chest falls to the floor. The, as I guessed, not evil son was silent for the entirety of the scene. The Duke then perishes after.
We then cut to outside the manor and we see Merlose being interrogated by a guard. She shows she’s allowed to be there. The guard apologizes. She forgives; rank and whatnot. She then turns toward a dark alley to reveal she was Ashley in disguise the whole time. The words. “And so began the story of the wanderer. The Vagrant.“ appear onscreen which give way to the words “The Phantom Pain” as the credits roll over concept art. And thus ends the game, and our story of Ashley Riot.
I finished the game with a Score of 3.33 million, 85% map completion, and a Riskbreaker Rank of Destroyer in about 26 hours. And, on my 100th save, I officially set the clear game flag and ponder New Game+.
I really enjoyed “re” playing Vagrant Story. I’m not usually into games devoid of noticeable plot, but the characters and game mechanics are just interesting enough to make me wonder what’s going to happen next. I enjoyed wandering aimlessly through Leá Monde proper and a lot of the buildings. The slow and melodic music was top notch and really puts you into Ivalice and I wish the OST was on Spotify so I could chill to them.
I do wish the game had more resolution. What happened to Merlose and Joshua? What was all that about a bloodline? How is the child Duke going to rule in this corrupt world?
What of immortal Sydney? Nessa and her compatriots? How is Ashley getting on, seemingly, as the new ruler of the city of darkness with his ability to shapeshift?
Who the hell is The Cardinal? A seemingly all-important character who doesn't even a face. I don’t like games that do this and Vagrant Story does this to the extreme. Not even one clear resolution.
Not even just an ending, but a beginning. Other than Hardin and Ashley, no one has backstory. There's some implied here and there between Hamlet's Heros and major things about Sydney, but who is Gallo Merlose? What's Joshua's role in everything? I'm left with more questions at the end than I had at the start which usually isn't good. The game only takes place during a twelve-hour period, so I guess, if I want to excuse the problems, there's no time to give details. The game starts in the middle, not at the beginning.
I also found to combat to be a bit, meh. Maybe too simple is the word. There’s no real challenge (says the guy who died a bunch) once you get the trick to buff up and press a button at the right time. If you're good, even the hardest bosses can be taken down without doing any damage. I'd suggesting a counter system, but I fear that makes the game more annoying. Maybe a harder difficulty with that mechanic might be fun for veterans. I also question the viability of attack magik. With MP being at such a premium and magic damage never seeming to do much while having such a terrible hit chance, it just seems like a waste.
All the extraneous stuff seems insignificant. I'm talking of the class and affinity stuff on weapons. Maybe it's because they weren't tutorialised or explained, I only gave a cursory look at them, just to make sure my numbers were going up. Or they're increased in such a gradual, natural way, that it works just perfectly. Like, as God from Futurama once said, "When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.".
My final thoughts are that I really enjoyed the game. I am so, so pleased that I played this, right out of the blue. Despite its flaws, I see why I once met a small, but dedicated, community once upon a midnight dreary. I had fun, it’s kinda short, and despite it feeling like Matsuno wanted to make a grand franchise out of this bit didn’t, I kinda want to go replay it on New Game Plus which, at the end of the playthrough, is the best thing you can say about a video game. Square seems to be a remake frenxy the last few years, and I hope this is one they consider remastering. Fix the flaws, update the graphics, do something about the first attack neededign to hit in order for you to have no wasted a round, and this could be just as good as The Trails Remakes for the Switch. Time to go scour for fan theories or rumors about stuff that’ll never happen.
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