Vandal Hearts Playstation

Vandal Hearts II is a tactical role-playing game for the PlayStation and the sequel to Vandal Hearts. Vandal Hearts Review It's a shame to see that Vandal Hearts does not live up to its potential. By Peter Bartholow on March 27, 1997 at 12:00AM PST.

Platform:Developer: KonamiPublisher: KonamiRelease Date: March 27, 1997Genre:Nerd Rating: 8 / 10Reviewed by RhutsczarHey all, seems like I just squeaked by into making it for Retroary. For those of you who have been coming back each Retroary, you may realize that I review some kind of classic RPG each year. I actually considered breaking this trendI genuinely did. Then as I was cleaning out my storage preparing for a move, I found it Vandal Hearts. I have played through this title so many times throughout my youth and it stayed refreshing each time. So, let’s stick with my RPG trend. Here’s to Vandal Hearts!

The Vandalier himself.Vandal Hearts is a story of political corruption at its core, as it begins thousands of years prior with the messiah Toroah spreading his teachings across the land and his followers taking power. This resulted in the formation of the Holy Ashah Dynasty, which ruled as a monarchy until 15 years prior to the game’s events. Another leader known as Arris the Sage radicalized the citizens and toppled the Ashah Dynasty, laying the foundation for diplomacy and a republic. Then he just disappeared. That’s kind of a lot to absorb in the first three minutes of the game, which is my biggest peeve with Vandal Hearts: It provides too much back story too quickly and that makes it too easily forgotten.So, now where do you fit in all this? You take control of Ash Lambert, one of the main soldiers of the Ishtarian Security Forces. The son of a traitor, Ash is often cast aside and belittled by his superiorsexcept for his immediate officer/long time family friend Clive Beckett.

You begin your mission by ridding bandits in the countryside and preventing unrest, but you quickly see that Ishtaria’s ruler (definitely not a dictator) Hel Spites is corrupt. This is readily evident in the first chapter as your unit witnesses first hand the massacre of priests by Spite’s Crimson Guard. Now it falls on you to rid the land of corruptioneven though at this rate it will just be corrupted in a number of years.As for the game play itself, it’s rather straightforward. Vandal Hearts doesn’t take any major risks, and rather performs as any other tactical RPG. You control your unit of soldiers whom you command across an isometric grid in order to kill all of your enemies.

Sounds simple, just like a giant game of chess. One major change from the tactical-RPG norm, however, is the party system. When compared to other titles in the genre, you typically have a large battalion where you would select a squad of 10-12 soldiers per skirmish.

In Vandal Hearts though, you don’t have that liberty since your party size is so small. Instead you control every character you have at your disposal, which can mean some sizable maps. We just need to clear out some bandits.Just like in most tactical RPGs (or just RPGs in general), Vandal Hearts does have a class system in place. While it isn’t as expansive as say, it does well for what it is. Each character comes with a base class and has a unique class tree. Simcity buildit pc download.

While two or three characters do have similar trees, their designs are vastly different. Once you upgrade any individual character, you are unable to return them to their base class. This does add to Vandal Hearts’ s replayability, as the game’s difficulty changes depending on the units at your disposal. I play rather differently then most folk, as I keep one of the strongest fighters in the game at his base class. This character, officer and loyal soldier Dolan, is encountered towards the end of the first act of the game. He is considered one of the tank characters in your roster, especially if you level him up to his 3rd class.

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The tank role can actually be taken by Clint or Grog instead and with ease. This is because Dolan’s speed is decreased incredibly when he piles on more armor. Sure, his attack isn’t as strong, but it is a god send on the battlefield when one of your knights can catch up to your archers and hawk-knights.

Just seems more useless to me the more you upgrade him. RAINING BLOOD!!!Vandal Hearts was released in 1997 and will be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Simply put, that’s cray cray! Besides that point, there are always one or two features that make a game not age as well as it should. In this case, it is the blood.

When you kill any character, their body gyrates and a FOUNTAIN of blood (insert Slayer reference here) spews out of their body. It is an incredibly generic effect too, as it really doesn’t belong at all. However, it sure is hilarious to look at. It just reminds me of how this was acceptable back in the late 1990s.As far as difficulty is concerned, Vandal Hearts really isn’t a difficult game. Sure, towards the final act it is rather stressful, but what RPG isn’t? However, there are hidden challenges that will allow the player to witness the true ending if completed.

These “Trials of Toroah” are what make Vandal Hearts a bitch to complete. There are six trials in total and can only be accessed by finding the six keys hidden throughout the game. While the first trial, Trial of Nova, is relatively easy that is about as easy as they are going to be.

The catch is that the enemies will scale to match Ash’s level, making the trials rather excruciating. A common strategy is to keep Ash a few levels weaker than the rest of the party, but he is often the tank and an excellent soldier so it can be difficult to complete.When you look at a game like Vandal Hearts, you’d expect an awesome soundtrack right? Well, it isn’t half bad, since it does make your blood pump as you slay through all of your enemies. The score was created by four separate composers, most notably Miki Higashino, who is known for her work on the series. While the score is orchestral and serves its purpose, I feel that it could be something more.

It definitely leaves something else to long for.Now, as we wind things down a bit, I want to touch on an interesting concept. What Vandal Hearts excels at is its use of time travel. While time travel and medieval-esque RPGs don’t normally mix, Vandal Hearts bends the rules that we know shouldn’t be bent. Without going into too much spoiler territory, Ash and a select few party members end up in an unknown dimension after messing with a mana stone and they spend roughly 1/3 of the game there. When they return however, the game analyzes the idea that time lasts at different speeds depending on the rules of the world.

Ash and his party arrive just in the nick of time and have only been gone for a single day. However, to the rest of the unit in our world, they have disappeared for three years. Ash isn’t the only character that falls into a temporal worm hole throughout their life, but I don’t want to ruin that one for you. This concept is interesting and has remained an example of decent time logic for me. I’l break the rules of time if I want to!Now do I recommend playing Vandal Hearts more than once? Not only is Vandal Hearts enjoyable, but it can be drastically different depending on how you build your characters.

For example, if you keep Diego (one of your original party members) as an archer, you won’t have as much mobility around the map as if he was a lancer. I also recommend that you play once for the original ending, which isn’t insanely satisfying, but then clear the trials and become a Vandalier. That true ending is definitely satisfying.Alright, there you have it! If you are looking for a solid TRPG with an interesting story about magic and possible time travel, Vandal Hearts has what you are looking for. If you are new to the TRPG genre or an advanced player, then Vandal Hearts can be a challenge for you to conquer.

Now if only they were to add some trophiesI would platinum the hell out it and become my own Vandalier.

Contents.Story Thousands of years ago, the holy man known to history as Toroah the Messiah traveled far and wide across the continent of Sostegaria, spreading his teachings throughout the land. After his death, his descendants and heirs assumed absolute political power over the region, forming the basis of the Holy Ashah Dynasty and ruling through a combination of religious doctrine and military power for millennia. The kings and queens of the Holy Ashah Dynasty, however, did not always rule wisely or justly, and, as time passed, the citizenry began to resent the power of their leaders.Fifteen years ago, this growing discontent found its ultimate expression in the person of Arris the Sage, who united the desperate and resentful anti-royal factions throughout Sostegaria and shaped them into a powerful army. Under the cunning leadership of Arris, this Liberation Army managed to outwit and outmaneuver the Royal Army, and finally smashed through to the palace of the Ashah Dynasty itself, and burnt it to the ground.With the monarchy dissolved, the rebels establish a ruling council founded on the principles of.

From the ashes of the Holy Ashah Empire emerges the Republic of Ishtaria. The leaders of the revolution naturally assumed leadership positions within the new republic: all, that is, except for Arris himself, who suddenly disappeared and has not been seen of, nor heard of, ever since.Today, the fledgling republic is in increasingly dire straits: the autocratic Minister of Defense, Hel Spites, and his elite squad, the Crimson Guard, are using ever-increasing force to stamp out the last vestiges of resistance to Ishtarian rule, while they allow to roam the countryside and to sail the seas. Meanwhile, Ash Lambert and his colleagues at the third battalion of the Ishtarian Security Forces begin to suspect a conspiracy at the highest levels of government. Ash's attempts to draw attention to the situation, though, only draw the ire of the conspirators themselves, leaving only Ash and his allies to foil their plans and restore order to the nation.In Chapter 1, we meet Ash, Diego and Clint, who are posing as merchants. A group of thieves comes to rob them, only to find out that Ash is a member of the Security Forces.

Ash, Diego and Clint dispatch Zoot Gach and his thieves. Despite Diego wanting to end Zoot's life at that point, the three companions head back to the capital Shumeria. Ash reports on what they found in the valley to their boss, Clive Beckett. Clive wants to know more when the meeting is interrupted by a citizen reporting a riot in the Dover District. This is a slum where the former nobles who lived the rich life under the Ashah Dynasty still live. Diego, Ash and Clint assault a church, and meet up with Kane, the leader of Hel Spite's elite Crimson Guard. Ash and Kane trade some words, and the three beat back the monsters that appear and head to the church.

There, they meet up with Count Claymore, who instigated the riot in the first place. Kane shows back up and arrests Claymore, simultaneously killing the remaining nobles in cold blood.

Clive shows up as Ash is ready duel Kane, and cools the two off. The next day, a mysterious man by the name of Dolf shows up at Clive's office with a mission. Three months before, General Magnus Dunbar left for Gilbaris Island on a secret mission.

He and his companions disappeared, and are presumed dead. Ash is to find out what happened to the general and report back to Dolf. Ash leaves with Clint and Diego, most think they are on leave because of what happened in the Dover District. As they pass through the ruins of the Ashah Dynasty's castle, they run afoul of some clay golems created by Eleni Dunbar, the daughter of General Magnus. She and her manservant Huxley Hobbes join up with Ash.

They also run into some brigands guarding a bridge, where another archer named Kira also joins the band. When the make the port to take them to GIlbaris Island, Grog Drinkwater refuses on account of Hassan the Pirate, who killed Grog's sailors and brother. Ash and his companions go to the desert to kill a sand creature that is stopping overland trade with a neighboring nation. Once they slay the beast, Ash confronts Grog, saying that 'drinking won't bring back the dead.' Grog joins the party and they confront Hassan.

After whipping the pirates, they find out that Hassan is actually Grog's brother, and that the life of piracy 'killed' the man who was Grog's brother. The party then travels to Gilbaris Island after burying Hassan at sea.Gameplay Gameplay is carried out through an. Battles are carried out on a series of grid maps, which include cells not accessible like water, trees and buildings. Although the environment is with a perspective that can be rotated by the player, the characters are two dimensional. A character's movement allowance for a turn can be used all at once or split, between two or more movements.

Turns are on a side-by-side basis; the player moves all of their characters before the AI is allowed to take its turn.Most stages are completed by killing all the enemy characters. Other stages have different victory conditions, such as killing one particular enemy character, moving characters to a specific location on the map, or killing certain enemies while saving others. In every battle, the death of the party leader results in an immediate loss. Losing other characters in the party causes the loss of gold.

The character is gone from the current stage and can return in the next stage. On stages that include rescuing other characters, the death of these characters also results in a loss.Classes A variety of characters join the battle party throughout the course of the game. Every character fits into one of seven: Swordsman, Armor, Archer, Hawknight, Monk, Mage and Cleric. The strengths of each class are determined through a hierarchy similar to the (and, another tactical role-playing game released in 1996): melee fighters (such as Swordsmen and Armors) are most effective when fighting against Archers.

Archers are most effective when fighting against airborne characters such as Hawknights. Hawknights are most effective when fighting against Swordsmen. The other three classes are magic-users: the Monk pairs healing magic with average physical strength, where the Mage specializes in attack magic, and the Cleric specializes in healing magic. In addition, Mages are also most effective against Armor.

Most magic-using classes have weak defensive capabilities when compared to other classes in the game and most attacking magic spells are stronger against heavily armored opponents.Reception ReceptionReview scoresPublicationScore8.675/10 (PS1)7.1/10 (PS1)(PS1)MAN!AC76/100Vandal Hearts received mixed to positive reviews. Critics generally praised the incorporation of three-dimensional terrain and positioning into combat strategy, the sound effects, and the visual spectacle of the spells. However, most critics disapproved of the linear progression of the gameplay and story.Reviews in both and likened Vandal Hearts to a bare bones reduction of the games, eliminating the exploration, town wandering, and replay elements that had helped make those games classics. Next Generation nonetheless had a firmly positive overall assessment, arguing that 'the lack of exploration is offset by the extremely engaging combat sequences.'

GameSpot instead considered it a 'fatal flaw', and deemed Vandal Hearts a typical example of a fifth generation game with solid design and impressive graphics but less advanced gameplay than games of previous generations, though the reviewer highly praised the strategy involved in the battles. Robert Bannert at MAN!AC was positive about the game, but said it lacked depth and has little replay value. He cited the lack of hidden characters and an interactive storyline as weakness of the game, but praised the variety of the 3D terrain.Art Angel of found several elements of the gameplay unusual and refreshing, such as the ability to choose each character's class, and was especially pleased with the cutscenes.

He concluded, ' Vandal Hearts ' original gameplay and strong graphics and sounds should satisfy even the most particular RPGers.' Dan Hsu of criticized that the game sometimes its own plot twists through its use of, for instance by showing that the player characters are being betrayed before they learn it themselves. However, he praised the enemy AI and said the variety created by the different character classes 'won me over.' He and his three co-reviewers gave it EGM 's 'Game of the Month' award.

References. From the original on 2017-07-10. Retrieved 2016-01-23. CS1 maint: archived copy as title. Harris, Craig (August 10, 2004). From the original on June 13, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2018.

^ Bannert, Robert (2019-01-01). MANIAC.de (in German). Retrieved 2019-05-11. ^ 'Vandal Hearts: Konami Makes American Graffiti'.

P. 103. ^ 'Review Crew: Vandal Hearts'. P. 52. ^ Bartholow, Peter (27 March 1997).

From the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018. ^ 'Pulse Pounding'. P. 146. ^ 'Vandal Hearts'. P. 112.External links. at.