Vagrant Story coming to Euro PSN

By Oli Welsh Published 11 November, 2009

Square's classic RPG re-released.

Square Enix is releasing its PlayStation RPG Vagrant Story on PSN in Europe, so both PS3 and PSP owners can play it.

The news comes via the European Square Enix newsletter, as reported by Kotaku. The newsletter initially gave a release date of 12th November, but the company has retracted that and now says it's simply "coming soon".

Vagrant Story was released on the Japanese PSN back in August. There's no concrete word on a North American release yet.

The game's debut back in 2000 was met by a perfect score from Famitsu magazine and almost immediate cult status. It was produced and directed by troubled genius Yasumi Matsuno, who also made Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII, and shares the setting of Ivalice with those games.

Unlike them, however, it's a solo dungeon crawl with no shops or interaction with other characters, and a focus on crafting, strategy, puzzle-solving and even platforming, with a rhythmic chain system to battles: a brilliant, and to this day unique, blend. The fine story follows Ashley Riot who travels to a ruined city to unravel a conspiracy involving a cult and a murdered political leader.

It's a must-have.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (38) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • andywilkie35 #1 2 years ago

    Get the fuck in. One of the most perfect games being released on PSN after my disc has been worn out through being played too much? Wahey!

  • Stoatboy #2 2 years ago

    Awesome game (poxy teleport maze excepted). It would be in my top 5 ever, I reckon.

    Would perhaps be an ideal subject for a retrospective...

  • Zoro #3 2 years ago

    A timeless classic, this one. Popped this bad boy in my good ol' PSone a couple of months back and it's still every bit as good as it was back then. The crafting system is pure genius.

  • HermitArcader #4 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • muters #5 2 years ago

    Good stuff, I've been tempted to pay around £15 on eBay for this for a while now.

  • ZuluHero #6 2 years ago

    @andywilkie35

    Is it even possible to wear a disk out? ;) I still play my much loved copy, it still looks good today. The young 'uns are in for a treat, but perhaps they will find it a tad hard with current gaming trends. The youth of today eh? Mumble mumble, i remember when this was all fiel...

    /falls asleep

    EDIT: @Stoatboy: yeah the maze... /shudder

    Edited by 1 at 11/11/09 @ 09:21

  • Zanuah #7 2 years ago

    Indeed one of the best games on the PSX back then. People should really give this a go.

    One of the best things actually imo is the replay value it has... Not many games have that nowadays.

  • comedian #8 2 years ago

    Wow, that's come out of nowhere.

    I am now too excited to do any work today.

  • KujiGhost #9 2 years ago

    I remember this came out around the same time as Front Mission 3 back in the day. That was a good month for gaming!

  • HermitArcader #10 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • Doctor_What #11 2 years ago

    I really didn't get the fuss on this one. I played for a couple of hours, met up with a boss, couldn't work out how to do more than 1 point of damage to it, tried everything I could think of, figured that I'd played myself into a corner, gave up. Ho hum.

    Perhaps I had completely missed the crafting system? Either way, I suspect that it's not going to appeal to modern gamers.

  • HermitArcader #12 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • Stoatboy #13 2 years ago

    @Doctor_What: One of the game's failings is that it never explained how to specialise your weapons. By the time I figured it out I'd completely unspecialised them all, meaning I was dishing out a solid 1 point a hit to pretty much everything I fought.

    Use a specific weapon on a specific enemy type consistently and it'll get better against them. Use the same weapon against everything and it'll become crap against them all.

  • drewster #14 2 years ago

    Jackanackanory !!! Lost my original in a house move a few years ago. One the best games ever made imho.

    Not sure how good it's going to look nowadays, but it's the gameplay that matters to me, but would be nice if it got a minor lick of paint.

  • Widge #15 2 years ago

    I fell foul to Stoatboys issue... in fact I didn't know that was a solution!

  • The_Inquisitor #16 2 years ago

    Yes, I also had to concede defeat at one point, due to me basically being crap. I can't wait to have another shot at it though; the art direction and music were absolutely fantastic. In fact, I still have the soundtrack which I picked up in Japan, must listen to it again.

  • dominalien #17 2 years ago

    It seems this is what the PSP was made for. A bit sad, really.

    The last couple of games I played on the PSP: Silent HIll, Resident Evil, now Wild Arms 2 and apparently Vagrant Story next. Top class entertainment.

    I'm catching up on the years I was a PC-only gamer :-)

  • superjag86 #18 2 years ago

    Here's hoping FF8 isn't too far behind!

  • scorpius45 #19 2 years ago

    The only bad thing about this game is the story was left open for a sequel that never appeared.

  • Toothball #20 2 years ago

    Something is being released on the Euro PSN? This is pretty big news for a change.


    @ZuluHero:

    I played a copy of Phantasy Star Universe so much that the disc cracked. Lasted about eighteen months of hard labour, sometimes being used for over twenty four hours on some weekends and usually several hours most nights.

  • HL706 #21 2 years ago

    What about Euro FFVIII? :(

  • TruSmiles #22 2 years ago

    A PS1 game with PS1 graphics? Am I missing the irony here, notmyrealname?

    I still have the old game too, and also struggled with it for reasons mentioned above. But I'm happy to try again whilst waiting for FF8.

    @Toothball: My old copy of PSU also has a crack in the middle from play, what a odd coincidence :o

  • davisorle #23 2 years ago

    Wow.. Once I read the title I was trying to remember which game this is... Once I remembered I really said "wow". Unique and awesome game which I had almost forgot about. Might look like crap now but it was just amazing. A transfer to this gens expectations graphically or a second Vagrant story would be freaking great.

  • VMerken #24 2 years ago

    This game is absolutely brilliant, but I do hope they don't release the PAL version over here, as it's plagued by 50Hz slowness, black bars, and disproportionate graphics. The PSP and PS3 should be capable of handling the NTSC version instead.

    With that said, I think this game could benefit enormously if it was remade. With current-gen graphics and effects, Ashley could effectively, visibly wear the armour he collects along the way, which would make the game even more of a blast to play. The story could then also be told in full, because I have the distinct impression and suspicion that the final parts of the story were "rushed", that they were supposed to be more elaborate but weren't due to time pressure.

    Anyway. Even the original game still is a gem: full 3D, beautifully crafted to look as good as the concept art. Best graphics on PSX hardware, period. The music, top notch, fits the game like a glove. Story, while rushed near the end, is well written and is a delight to see develop. Game system is lovely, and you will sink in quite a few hours until you've got the ultimate weapons and armour. Anyone up for making an ultimate silver Brandestoc?

    Oh, and Zuluhero, I wore out several Resident Evil CDs. Those things scratched easily in the PSX for some reason. That, and I played them day after day for months on end.

  • blueheat #25 2 years ago

    This is good news, haven't played this game in years. Actually, playing lots of Demon's Souls recently, and that game reminds me of Vagrant Story in a few places. I'd certainly recommend fans of either game to check the other out.

  • VMerken #26 2 years ago

    Oh, and to the people who had trouble with their weapons: it's very possible (and not that hard) to complete the game using only one weapon, which eventually only dealt 0 to 1 damage to enemies. I remember playing the Japanese version, not understanding a single word of the menus and the story, and I got through using the default Scimitar and Ashley at 250HP. Allow me to digress.

    The trick is: chain attacking and taking damage, quite simply. Use the Scimitar and set Heavy Shot and Raging Ache as your chain abilities as soon as they come available (use Temper until Raging Ache is go). This combo is incredibly easy to chain with a sword, so you won't have any trouble getting Combos of 15 and up. Hence, combos of 8 are easier still, and it's combos of 8 you want (if your combo goes 9 or higher, RISK skyrockets which makes you incredibly vulnerable against attacks, therefore don't go past 8).

    Okay, now play the game. You'll invariably get hit and suffer damage. Don't heal yourself, because being low on health will boost Raging Ache, which is exactly what you need.

    Right, so after a while, you're deeper into the game and your Scimitar will become "'useless" and only does 0 or 1 damage. Boohoo. However, Raging Ache's effect doesn't care about this, so it will become your main source of damage. Simply run up to your enemy with 0 RISK and 9 HP or less, and (if Ashley has 250HP) with a Heavy Shot/Raging Ache Chain of 8, you may do something like 0+24+1+26+3+28+5+30 = 117HP damage. Not too shabby, considering basic enemies have only 100-400HP. Hence, with three to four 8 combos, you'll get past all enemies except the bosses (which require a few extra Chains, but nothing overly dramatic). Once the room is clear of enemies, you'll have high RISK, so allow it to cool down to 0 before entering the next room. Lather, rinse, repeat. (of course, at some point during this process, enemies might be allowed to hit Ashley. Heal before this happens)

    At some point, you'll have cleared Snowfly Forest - hurrah, Magic Ward becomes available. Cast it immediately and cast it again whenever the Ward is broken, because you absolutely need the protection. Beyond Snowfly Forest , magic-using enemies frequently appear and they will crush you with instant KO or 250+HP elemental damage attacks. That's where Magic Ward kicks in and saves Ashley's butt cheeks, time and again.

    With the above strategy, I was able to finish the game in about 4 hours using the default "crappy" Scimitar and default "papier mache" armour. In the second walkthrough, I kept using the same tactics (and weapons/armour) and was able to easily get 100% map coverage. You don't have to use it (or finish the game in a hurry), of course, but it's nice to fall back on and an interesting play method, as it "solves" the game and is entirely weapon/armour/magic independent.

    Better stop now, as "tl;dr" alarm bells are going off.
    Edited by 1 at 11/11/09 @ 11:44

  • mkreku #27 2 years ago

    I actually read all that. Good post, makes me want to try this game (for the first time) even more.

  • cianchristopher #28 2 years ago

    tl;dr

  • quantumsheep #29 2 years ago

    I *AM* the reinforcements! :p

  • ParanoidZombie #30 2 years ago

    Best game ever. Best soundtrack, best story and best art design at the very least.

  • WinterSnowblind #31 2 years ago

    I've been waiting for this, along with the other two Final Fantasy games.
    But I'd rather wait and buy them from the US store to get the full speed versions.

  • Sonic_D #32 2 years ago

    Didn't ghet to complete this game on the PS1, look forward to playing.

  • telboy007 #33 2 years ago

    Pretty much THE best game Square have ever done, and they spelt armour correctly in the english translation. Well done Mr Moresby.

  • ZuluHero #34 2 years ago

    @Toothball

    I guess i've just been lucky then.

    I used to leave games on pause overnight on many occasion (thanks to infrequent saving and harder difficulty settings) and never cracked a disk. I wonder if taking games on and off the spindle in the dreamcast and PS1 a lot weakened the disks at all?

  • legendmir #35 2 years ago

    best game square have ever done...yes i have to agree, even besting secret of mana i think..

    @ QUANTUM SHEEP "I *AM* THE REINFORCEMENTS" that made me properly lol

    the game has one of the most wonderful intros ive ever played, i fell in love with this game straight away, even though it was difficult to damage enemies to start with it was clear that it was so well made i had to carry on and work out how the heck you were supposed to do damage.

    i got the two best swords after hours of trying lol.. what were they called.. rude something.. and the really ong single handed sword... bah1

  • VMerken #36 2 years ago

    @Legendmir
    Ah yes, the Damascus Holy Win and the Damascus Rhompaia. Great weapons (awesome design), but if you're really looking for something broken (the "Infinite Rocket Launcher" of Vagrant Story), you should get 4 Hagane Hand of Light weapons from the Minotaur Lord in the room where you obtain the Silver Key (about 8% drop chance), and turn it into one ultimate Hand of Light blade with an Elephant grip.

    The above process takes about 4-5 hours but then you get a weapon which has an enormous range, chains very fast, chains very easily and deals 200+ damage to any enemy you encounter. Beware: this makes the game ridiculously easy (hence "Infinite Rocket Launcher";). Also, when Ashley draws the weapon, it looks like he is holding a giant Chupa Chup. The only downside to the weapon is that it's two handed, so you can't carry a shield, but that really doesn't matter since you'll be hitting enemies long before they'll be able to attack.

    Finally, the Hand of Light takes the cake in my book as it's available in the first walkthrough, whereas the Holy Wins and Rhompaias can only be unlocked in the second round (and up). I have two saves, one of the first walkthrough and one of the second, and in each of them I'm trying to create the best gear possible (armour+weapons+maxing Ashley's stats). The results you get are quite different for each of the saves.

  • itsfuzzy #37 2 years ago

    Never played this. But heard the weapons upgrading system is brilliant.
    Similar to Dark Chronicle / Dark Cloud 2.
    Can anyone who has played it confirm?

  • Floura #38 2 years ago

    This is so awesome. Damn, i want a PS3.