Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of this long overdue, yet nonetheless valuable Vagrant Story© user’s manual. Reading this guide, you will learn what Vagrant Story© is, how to properly and responsibly play Vagrant Story©, and what the future holds for your Vagrant Story© experience. So steel yourself to embark on a journey with expectations of epic battles and complex puzzles, realizations of micromanagement and tedious legwork, and conclusions of missed potential through forced appreciation.

An introduction to Vagrant Story©

The loosely categorized action-RPG Vagrant Story©, developed by Square and released in 2000, represents the pinnacle of design and presentation for the original PlayStation console. The level layouts, character designs, and most especially the cinematography included in your copy of Vagrant Story© are a sight to behold.

Although the game’s graphics may seem somewhat dated to the casual onlooker, a video game hobbyist will notice the unique beauty in the compromise made between the game’s ambitious developers and the limitations that were imposed on them from the first PlayStation console’s fundamental hardware constraints. The resulting presentation rivals the now-popular pixel art genre as an original and colorful medium ripe for speculation and investment opportunities. Contact your local Vagrant Story© user’s manual distributer for more information.

Your copy of Vagrant Story© comes complete with its very own, fully orchestrated soundtrack written by none other than Hitoshi Sakimoto, of Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII renown. One of the composer’s favorite scores, the Vagrant Story© soundtrack is dark and brooding, deftly balancing between subtly accentuating the game while rising into memorable themes at just the right time.

Editor’s note: Consumer studies have shown that repeated exposure is critical in developing a deep appreciation for the soundtrack.

In playing Vagrant Story©, you will watch as the amnesiac warrior protagonist of the game is drawn into a complex conspiracy decorated with awkwardly flowery language that will oftentimes leave you as confused as the amnesiac. Luckily for you, the dungeon crawl layout of the game is literally linear. As such, all aspects of story progression and character interaction are effectively fully automated for your convenience. Many expanding side levels (and even a game+!) are included in your purchase for hours and days of excellent replay value. As these additional features are not well presented or well integrated into the game however, they will not disturb the trademark monotony of your Vagrant Story© experience.

Your brand new, Vagrant Story© battle system, explained:

Included in your purchase of Vagrant Story© is the patented Vagrant Story© battle system, an original and fascinating battle system that demands deft ground laying, walkthroughs, and explanations from the game’s developers. Unfortunately, the game offers no tutorials whatsoever, and the pre-orders weren’t shipped with a Vagrant Story© user’s manual, so here I am spending my weekend alone in the office crunching out this document because somebody forgot to send that fax to the developer team…

Your Vagrant Story© battle system is activated by pressing the button that draws your equipped weapon, converting your controller’s button layout intuitively to maximize utility. Using the Vagrant Story© battle system, you can attack your opponents with a standard attack, a magic spell, or a “break art”. A break art is special type of offensive spell with special attributes that sacrifices health instead of the mana that is typically used for a magic spell.

Unlike with break arts or magic spells however, the standard attack can be chained with three, predesignated special attack options indefinitely. These three chain abilities are chosen from a long list of possible options, allowing for personalized customization and variable strategies. While attacking typically goes back and forth between you and your opponent, an attack chain allows you to continue dealing damage before your turn is up. However, this chaining function is balanced by the “risk” you accumulate with each new chain. Accruing risk lowers your attack accuracy to debilitating levels and expands exponentially with prolonged chains. As such, this guide encourages you to chain regularly but responsibly by refrain from extended chaining. Remember that after the first four or five chains: Just say “No!”

Editor’s note: Risk can be lowered by waiting with the Vagrant Story© battle system deactivated, or by consuming specific items.

Knowing your class, type, affinity, and more:

The amateur gamer can usually muscle his way through most RPGs on raw force alone, but Vagrant Story© is not your average RPG. Attributes are central to the combat of the game in many ways. The “class” of enemy you are facing can oftentimes only be effectively damaged by a corresponding “type” of weapon. As such, a seasoned gamer such as yourself is finally encouraged to horde piles of different weapons for a change to switch them out as needed for different fights. Generally, you will only need to hold onto the best of each weapon type (blunt, edged, and piercing) and switch them out when damage values seem unusually low.

Editor’s note: While a quick select option for switching between predesignated weapons would have been useful for such a battle system, the developers didn’t get that fax either. Thanks Jerry. Thanks a lot.

Moreover, while element and status affinities are secondary in most RPGs, they are critical in the Vagrant Story© battle system. Simply lowering an enemy’s strength stats or imbuing your weapon with a specific elemental affinity in the opening stages of a battle can make the difference in damage on one or two orders of magnitude. Because of this, while seemingly tedious at first, every passing brawl in the game starts to feel like a new challenge in experimentation and discovery for the dedicated gamer.

Assuming you are the master gamer that you are, your copy of Vagrant Story© will also not waste your time introducing or explaining the concepts of damage points (DP) and phantom points (PP) as well. Simply put, both affect how much damage your weapons deal. Remember to repair your weapons every time at your local, certified Vagrant Story© in-game workshops to replenish their DP. It is an industry best practice to keep both your DP and PP values high by using their corresponding chain abilities regularly, in every fight you have.

Editor’s note: If you wish to learn more of the Vagrant Story© item crafting workshop system, you will likely need to take multiple courses over multiple months or possibly years. Contact your local community college to see if your research in this is applicable for class credit.

Your Vagrant Story© user’s manual and you:

A novice gamer will be quick to dismiss Vagrant Story© as just another convoluted RPG. Amongst the game’s flaws, the most paramount is the game’s total lack of proper guidance and explanation. After all, this game is not for the casual or lazy gamer.

You, guided by this Vagrant Story© user’s manual, will just as quick learn to appreciate the game for its nuanced qualities and the excellent reply value it has for the committed, driven gamer such as yourself. With a little explanation from us, and a little commitment from you, your Vagrant Story© gaming experience will blossom as you begin to probe the depth this game has in store. How deep you decide to delve into this complex game, however, is entirely up to you.

In summation, Vagrant Story© is a game that promises massive potential, from its unparalleled presentation to its multifaceted battle system. In their ambitious vision, the game’s developers achieved much with the limited resources at hand. However, as you play the game for yourself, you will come to realize how much more could have been achieved for this title.

In fact, considering the timing of the game’s release, Vagrant Story© was positioned as a breakthrough game that could have influenced and affected the design of many games as they transitioned from 2D, turn based combat to 3D, hack and slash type brawling. Looking back, the game doesn’t seem to have had the lingering influence it deserves to have on the industry. It’s like everyone worked really hard to make this game take off and a certain somebody had to go screw it up for everyone. I’m looking at you Jerry…