Is it worth getting Vagrant Story: yes/no?

[Pete for President]

As for knowing what a monster is weak for, unless you skim ahead in guides you will most likely not know.

You know I'm absolutely no expert, but I found this hard to believe and did some searching. I came across this tip in a very helpful guide and it might be what I've been looking for (haven't tested it yet though);

Whenever you enter a new room, call up the Status screen and use L1 & R1 to cycle. All of the monsters in that room are
instantly revealed and displayed. If you wish, you can immediately check the items they're carrying by using the CIRCLE button. Successfully using the Analyze spell merely fills in the ??? entries with firm details, enabling you to check creature status info on elemental / type rating defences with the SQUARE button, or individual equipment info with the CIRCLE button followed by status info cycling.

[Pete for President]

Getting the hang of it now. Haven't seen a game over screen for quite a while and I've noticed the benefits of combining equipment. Figured out how to beat a couple bosses without any help (including (SPOILER)Earth Dragon), so I'm getting confident. About my whereabouts; I just made it through the Snowfly Forest. Which was a pain to navigate. Argh.

[Pete for President]

Finished it, loved it. Once I got past the first few tough bosses (like the first Dragon) and the Fusion spells were available the game wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. The cutscenes could use a slightly faster pace, taking into consideration the many hours spent in the workshop slows your progress story wise dramatically.


Anyway I loved the ending and how SpoilerSydney actually turns out to be the good guy and gets easily (and tragically) defeated by Guildenstern. This in contradiction to what the cutscenes make the player believe at first, picturing Sydney as the bad guy with powers unmatched, unaware of the much stronger hidden powers of Guildenstern.


So yeah, loved it. Might go back for a new game+.

[Wolf Kanno]

Congratulations, and I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. Most people never finish VS which is a shame cause the story is awesome and its ending is beautiful. Go ahead and tackle New Game +, you will unlock the Iron Maiden section of Lea Monde where the strongest bosses in the game are located and its possible to acquire the best Great Sword in the game (which conveniently has the best Gemstone in the game that grants high affinity for all types and elements). You can also try to finish up the achievement section or try to acquire some of the games rare item drops like the Minotaur Mace and Sydney's Sword.

[Big D]

New Game+ is definitely worth it. I finally started truly getting on top of equipment and combat on my second playthrough, and the extra explorable dungeons and secrets are brilliant.

Remember encountering doors that you couldn't pass in your original game because they're "sealed with the rood inverse"? Well, thanks to the ending, (SPOILER)Ashley's now wearing the Rood Inverse on his back so you can now get into those new areas and encounter some truly phenomenal super-bosses and labyrinthine passageways.

Plus, you'll have the chance to start finding and hoarding all the best equipment and magic, till you're strong enough that you're one-shotting even the toughest storyline bosses.

[Bolivar]

If it was available on PS3, I'd buy it if I owned a PS3 and if I could convert my PS memory card data to PS3 readable data.

There's a cool little block you can buy for that. Also works for PS2 games if you got that kind of BC model. Not sure if Sony still makes them since taking PS2 BC out but you can probably get it pre-owned for cheap.

[Pete for President]

Congratulations, and I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. Most people never finish VS which is a shame cause the story is awesome and its ending is beautiful. Go ahead and tackle New Game +, you will unlock the Iron Maiden section of Lea Monde where the strongest bosses in the game are located and its possible to acquire the best Great Sword in the game (which conveniently has the best Gemstone in the game that grants high affinity for all types and elements). You can also try to finish up the achievement section or try to acquire some of the games rare item drops like the Minotaur Mace and Sydney's Sword.

New Game+ is definitely worth it. I finally started truly getting on top of equipment and combat on my second playthrough, and the extra explorable dungeons and secrets are brilliant.

Remember encountering doors that you couldn't pass in your original game because they're "sealed with the rood inverse"? Well, thanks to the ending, (SPOILER)Ashley's now wearing the Rood Inverse on his back so you can now get into those new areas and encounter some truly phenomenal super-bosses and labyrinthine passageways.

Plus, you'll have the chance to start finding and hoarding all the best equipment and magic, till you're strong enough that you're one-shotting even the toughest storyline bosses.

I wanted to start the new game+ yesterday but noticed all the misc items were gone, so I reloaded my Atrium save and used up all the grimoires I had left. Afterwards I dug into the equipment box and started combining just about everything I had left, forging some powerful blades like an Hagane Halberd and an Hagane Destroyer.

Glad I did that, cause that means I'll be using different weapons on the new game+. Can't wait to beat the final boss using an overpowered great sword/axe.

[qazw]

yeah, it well well worth getting

[Pete for President]

Flying through the new game+, already past the Snowfly Forest in just 4,5 hours. A lot of the dialogues make more sense this time around.

[Pete for President]

Ran through the Iron Maiden B2 and B3 using a guide and reached the 100% treasure chest count. Now I'm on a 94 map percentage with still some areas left in the Iron Maiden, Snowfly Forest and ofcourse the time trials (if they count). Haven't beaten any of the harder 6 time trial boss fights yet, but I might give it a try soon.

Also forged some awesome stuff like a dread shield and jazeraint armour pieces. After the time trials I'll see how quick I can kill that final boss using a Rune Blade. I still have some questions storywise though, like:

(SPOILER)Why was de duke's sone kidnapped in the first place? Was this an excuse to lure in Riskbreakers as well as the Crimson Blades?

And why was Sydney looking for a successor? And what had hiding the key to do with it?


Some answers would be highly appreciated : )

[Wolf Kanno]

(SPOILER)Why was de duke's sone kidnapped in the first place? Was this an excuse to lure in Riskbreakers as well as the Crimson Blades?

(SPOILER)This is actually one of the loose plot threads in VS. The game never gives a real reason why, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was all an elaborate trap to lure a few people to Lea Monde. Though this is speculation, I figured that Sydney did this to protect his father by keeping Joshua out of harms way, cause if Joshua was loose, Parliament or the Crimson Blades may have kidnapped him and used him to force the Duke to hand over Sydney and the Blood Sin. It's also possible that Sydney did it to create a visible "cutting of ties" to his father, since it appears most of the villains know he was secretly funding Mullenkamp.

(SPOILER)And why was Sydney looking for a successor? And what had hiding the key to do with it?

(SPOILER)Both Sydney and the Duke saw the Blood Sin as a curse, especially when you've got people in the government and church who want it for their own schemes. After the Duke saved Sydney's life as a child by transferring the Rood Inverse onto his back, Sydney made a vow to his father that he would rid the family of the curse of the Dark. So he had to find someone who would not misuse the power and that's why he chose Ashley.

[Pete for President]

(SPOILER)Why was de duke's sone kidnapped in the first place? Was this an excuse to lure in Riskbreakers as well as the Crimson Blades?

(SPOILER)This is actually one of the loose plot threads in VS. The game never gives a real reason why, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was all an elaborate trap to lure a few people to Lea Monde. Though this is speculation, I figured that Sydney did this to protect his father by keeping Joshua out of harms way, cause if Joshua was loose, Parliament or the Crimson Blades may have kidnapped him and used him to force the Duke to hand over Sydney and the Blood Sin. It's also possible that Sydney did it to create a visible "cutting of ties" to his father, since it appears most of the villains know he was secretly funding Mullenkamp.

(SPOILER)And why was Sydney looking for a successor? And what had hiding the key to do with it?

(SPOILER)Both Sydney and the Duke saw the Blood Sin as a curse, especially when you've got people in the government and church who want it for their own schemes. After the Duke saved Sydney's life as a child by transferring the Rood Inverse onto his back, Sydney made a vow to his father that he would rid the family of the curse of the Dark. So he had to find someone who would not misuse the power and that's why he chose Ashley.

Thanks for clarifying. Also, gotta love Grissom's fate.

[Pete for President]

Beat the Asura time trial today. Hurray!

[Necronopticous]

I'm late to the party here, but I'm really glad you see that you picked up Vagrant Story and saw it through. It is an incredible game that is easily and often overlooked. Back when I was playing this game religiously I crafted a god sword with 100 points in all classes and affinities with the most powerful one-handed blade in the game (acquirable as a rare drop from some of the toughest enemies in the deepest sections of the Iron Maiden). The entire process took something like 25 hours of gameplay. The end result is amazing--It is incredible to be able to blow through the game and dish out 500+ damage on basically every enemy/boss in the game in a single hit. At one point in my life I considered pursuing the Grand Master Breaker rank, but that was back in my college days when I actually had time to sit around and endlessly grind in games.

[Del Murder]

Well I just downloaded Vagrant Story as well as Threads of Fate and Legend of Mana off PSN to add to my PSP library. I'm sick of waiting around for a neoclassic JRPG to come out so I'll just play some old school RPGs instead.