Vandal Hearts

I don't play a lot of RPG/strategy titles, but Vandal Hearts won me over in a big way. This is truly one of my all-time favorites. You control a band of warriors caught up in an intricate storyline far too complex to explain here.

The sequel is so much better in every way. I love the gameplay engine in Vandal Hearts, but the short playtime, extreme linearity and lack of replay incentive hurt this game a lot. Even by 1996 standards (Japanese release), that wasn't a lot. Suikoden itself is twice as long. Highly recommended if you can find it for 20 bucks.

This game is so ridiculously addictive, you'll soon find yourself taking time off from work to play it. Its combination of a good story, great control, and strategic play set it apart from all the other games on the market today.

My biggest gripe with Vandal-Hearts is its shortness. Yes, many hours passed, but still not the kind of hours you’ll see fly by while playing games from the Final Fantasy or Phantasy Star series. There is also no sense of exploration, which leads to less game time, which will lead to disappointment to most RPG fans. I can personally live without RPG’s, but Vandal-Hearts was an enjoyable TIME

Overall, Vandal Hearts is grim and smooth and sweet, like having your rich parents buy you a chocolate cone at a war atrocities exhibition. At the end of the story, you are flatly told, amidst images of trash-filled streets and crumbling walls, that all your work has done nothing to improve the life of the common people.

It's no secret, time-based games are hard to enjoy because they simply lack depth. Vandal Hearts on the other hand defies this stereotype. The story alone makes this game worth buying. With unexpected deaths and temporary alliances, this game definitely keeps you alert and on your feet.

Along with Square Soft's Final Fantasy VII, Vandal Hearts is in the vanguard of a new wave of Japanese-bred RPGs. Konami's example is role-playing with a truly Nipponese feel and owes more to battling miniatures of the Warhammer variety than it does to Dungeons & Dragons; in computer game terms, the X-COM series is its closest relative in the west.

Considering how much it borrows from classic strategy/role-playing games, it's a shame to see that Vandal Hearts does not live up to its potential.