Not the also goodly “Witch Play” but that’s another topic entirely, feel free.
My priority PSX replay should be
- Xenogears
- Alundra
- Vagrant Story
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Play Vagrant Story because I never could. I tried twice and always bounced off early. It’s a shame because I love the story bits. Such cool cutscenes! I mean you already know that but
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Just play Alundra
It both looks and sounds like a 90’s OVQ turned into vidcon
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Xenogears is the kind of game that can relieve my fears, gotta get it from over seas to here
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Poor Del, stuck in PAL territories and forced to chip his PSX.
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That line while awesome always tripped me up. Digging into the album '01 figured Del wrote parts of Protoculture earlier than late '98 (XG NA release)! Or thought it was still import.
Always loved Khaos Unique’s flow on this part:
I’m on the next level
I got a double barrel shotgun in the Doom world
Waiting on the next devil
Armor’s low-check the arsenal
Rupture the main conductor playin Disruptor
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Vagrant Story is the more interesting game but you’ll have more fun with Alundra.
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What is this nonsense clearly Alundra is by far the worst of the three games
Xenogears is better than Vagrant Story because it’s easier
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Xenogears might be ‘less confusing’ mechanically but I’m not sure Vagrant Story isn’t the easier of the two to actually play. it’s way more elegant, and nowhere near as long
#vagrantstoryisntthathardtho
Del and Khaos Unique do have the kinds of games you can’t rent at Blockbuster though. That part of the song is truer today than it ever was.
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Thank you for your votes. I put my own as a slight lean for Alundra since it’s the one I remember least, seems under-repped.
Vagrant Story is just the shit on so many levels. I started a file a couple months back but ended up messing around with filters/shaders so long it got left on read. Looking forward to never achieving
Someone needs to edit Ashley’s model breakin’ low poly with Sydney. Ah rediscovering the nuance of all those affinity points, dungeon tiles, and that post-cult political intrigue. Vacation in Lea Monde. Assless Chaps mufuggun Riot. I’d never get the Blood-Sin/Rood Inverse full on my back but if I was 30 pts Inked, it’d be near a shoulder.
Xenogears is forever that lopsided leaning tower of ambition, and I’ve probably combed over its contents for like 5 more playthroughs worth anyways these past two decades. Probably the last I get to of these.
GOD ALUNDRA’S INTRO IS STILL THE RADDEST SHIT! I used to think this was Working Design’s edit, but apparently not. Easy rank in top…20 OPS.
Oh yeah, on difficulties - I remember finding some of Alundra’s puzzles muuuuch harder than anything in a Zelda/clone. At the time.
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Vagrant Story def is that hard tho, fight me
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shit just needs weapon swap button.
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According to Matsuno half of the plot of VS was cut, as well as the multiplayer mode. I’d assume there’s no quick swap because of memory limitations (the game freezing for a sec every time you hit R2). I think it has as much cut content as Xenogears but sticks the landing better.
Vagrant Story is kind of blithely unplayable compared to Matsuno’s other stuff which is all effusively elegant and it’s always grated on me that it’s held up as a paragon of complexity by people who exclusively play Japanese games, though even despite all that I do get excited just thinking about the geometry in a way that I definitely don’t with the other two
Xenogears is like the exact videogame analogue of Eva in terms of insane reach and gung ho religious imagery and poor budgeting and blowing teenage boys’ brains. I would only recommend it if you had absolutely no intention of finishing it.
Alundra is entirely unremarkable, it’s the “just poke me in the brain a little” choice
I near vehemently disagree with your sum on all three of these! Though I can imagine* your math to get there it’s pin pricking despite their strengths and thiccness. They’re good artful experiences if not the most fun or easy to play, VS has the edge in being mostly uncomparable to anything else.
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I mean its obvious I dug these and your contributing to the topic is a hand-waving away, but I question your experience with them if you can’t also give me examples of a
in anything resembling these fantasy adventures on the PSX, and maybe three superior “which play” examples of the era…
Vagrant Story has a lot of choices you are supposed to make and systems you’re supposed to understand and pauses you need to pause to load out for fights but it’s balanced such that each choice barely matters, and given the single-character nature the healing/buffing choices also slow the game down drastically.
It’s work, and not interesting work, indulging in the worst aspects of Matsuno designs, or, seen broadly across most Japanese strategy RPGs following in his team’s footsteps which have a lot of numbers but exist in a land of Elmer’s glue, devoid of punch or consequence.
that said, it is rather a lovely place to be
I’ve gotten several hours into Alundra several times and like most Link to the Past-likes the combat is flat and easy and there aren’t puzzles as diversion. I like these games but almost none go for more than brainless ‘nice’; like you said, it’s the easy choice.
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i have failed to finish alundra half a dozen times and it’s still better than xenogears
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