Vandal
Hearts
MSRP: $21.99
Number of Players: 1
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Reviewer: Andrew Broas
Every
now and then, a game will come along that is the first of its kind.
There won't be anything else like it and it will be a great new experience.
For the PlayStation, Vandal Hearts is one of those games.
Released back in 1997, Vandal Hearts included a new way to play
both the strategy and RPG genres. You take control of Ash
Lambert as he leads a rebellion against the unruly king of
Ishtaria. Along the way, you run into multiple characters who
either join Ash on his quest, or challenge him and his allies.
The gameplay consists almost entirely of 3D battles where your party
must complete different objectives such as keeping a certain party
member alive, guarding a certain area of the map, or just annihilating
every enemy in sight. It's much more varied than that might
sound and listing all the ways battles are fought could take a long
time. In a nutshell, Vandal Hearts is like an advanced
version of chess with mission objectives for each battle.
The
game is divided up into six chapters with a well-animated sequence
between each chapter and some story telling between each battle.
This helps move the excellent story along quite nicely. It's
interesting to watch the story unfold and, unlike most RPGs, it isn't
overly complicated. Each character is very memorable and unique
in appearance. Each character is also put into a class which
determines how they work in battle. Over time, a character's
appearance will change as he gains experience and advances in his or
her class.
The classes that you choose for each character will play a major role
in how difficult the game is. You must try to have an even
amount of each class for the best results in battle. Having one
too many fighters and not enough archers can cost you in the long run.
The classes also work in the turn-based battle like paper, scissors,
rock on a larger scale. Archers can take out flying enemies, but
flying enemies can take out swordsmen and swordsmen can take out
archers. There are 7 classes in the game and each one is
superior to another one, yet inferior to another one still.
Along with having an even amount of characters in each class,
positioning also plays a large part in battle. If your archer is
two stories above his target, his arrow will be that much more
effective. If his target is higher than him, he won't do much
damage. So, positioning makes battle that much more of a
thought-provoking process and adds a good deal of strategy to each
battle. Stopping at nearby towns to pick up the latest and most
powerful items and weapons is a necessity.
Now,
with a great battle system in place, you might be tempted to think
that Konami might skimp on the sound effects and music to get the game
onto retailer's shelves. Well, you'd be wrong. Konami
provided Vandal Hearts with an incredible soundtrack. The
songs in the game are the kind that you'll find yourself humming at
work or school after you've got some play time under your belt.
The sounds of swords crunching through metal armor and arrows piercing
wooden shields round out the audio experience and really bring the
battlefield into your game room.
Overall, Vandal Hearts is old, but still a lot of fun. It
is most definitely worth a look for any role playing or strategy fan.
Konami already has a sequel planned for fall of 1999, so if you
haven't played Vandal Hearts yet, it may help to check out the
original in order to prepare for the sequel.
Graphics
6.5
It's
very old-school with every character being hand drawn, but the spells
and attacks are all well animated.
Sound & Music
10
The sounds
are excellent. Attacks all sound how you think they would in
real life and the music is outstanding.
Control
10
Control is
a non-issue with this game. You can always get your characters
to do whatever you want them to.
Replay Value
8.0
I played
through the game three times in a row without playing another game
just because its so much fun. There is also some secrets which
lead to a whole new class for the main character.
Fun Factor
9.5
Its
imperfections can easily be overlooked and a good time is almost guaranteed
with this game.
Overall
9.5
It's
an older game with dated graphics, but it's still fun as hell and
worth looking into while waiting for the sequel to arrive.
Every
now and then, a game will come along that is the first of its kind.
There won't be anything else like it and it will be a great new experience.
For the PlayStation, Vandal Hearts is one of those games. 
The
game is divided up into six chapters with a well-animated sequence
between each chapter and some story telling between each battle.
This helps move the excellent story along quite nicely. It's
interesting to watch the story unfold and, unlike most RPGs, it isn't
overly complicated. Each character is very memorable and unique
in appearance. Each character is also put into a class which
determines how they work in battle. Over time, a character's
appearance will change as he gains experience and advances in his or
her class. 
Now,
with a great battle system in place, you might be tempted to think
that Konami might skimp on the sound effects and music to get the game
onto retailer's shelves. Well, you'd be wrong. Konami
provided Vandal Hearts with an incredible soundtrack. The
songs in the game are the kind that you'll find yourself humming at
work or school after you've got some play time under your belt.
The sounds of swords crunching through metal armor and arrows piercing
wooden shields round out the audio experience and really bring the
battlefield into your game room.