I often like to keep track of favorite games by using top ten lists. It’s probably a little silly but there’s something fun about it for me, so I keep doing it. I was trying to make a list of SRPGs (I genre I thought I was a big fan of ) when I realized I had only ever beaten like 6 or 7 of them, most of which were Nippon Ichi games I had played almost half a lifetime ago. So, I’ve had some catching up to do to even get 10 on the list.
Recently I played through Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (PSP) and Shining Force II, both of which were great, but I want to talk about the SRPG I just finished today: Vandal Hearts. Vandal Hearts is a great game and I think it’s got some general clout and respect among fans, but I haven’t heard people talk so much about its best feature: brilliant SRPG map- and mission-design.
Usually in these types of games, you’re mostly asked to use your units to kill all the enemy units on the maps. Sometimes you simply have to take out the leader. In Vandal Hearts, you will have plenty of those missions, but you will also have other goals, like (light spoilers)
stopping every enemy from escaping.
protecting certain areas of a map.
getting your entire team to a certain area of a map.
fighting on a train that is slowly losing cars, which forces you to keep moving.
quickly destroying the strategic points of a death-machine before your friend is lowered into lava by it.
fighting on a pirate ship.
fighting in a cramped jail where the guards can only be killed with back attacks.
The maps themselves are also pretty interesting. Instead of just having different types of terrain, Vandal Hearts’ maps often have alterable terrain, and using these features to your advantage will be key to your success. There are blocks you can push around to create or deny access to other areas, there are switches and dammable waterways, there are bridges and gates that you have to open at strategic times, and more. There are also treasures and secrets on almost every map which changes the way you strategize if you want to get them all, as they’re often intentionally placed in risky or out-of-the-way places. There’s even a boss who alters the terrain as he moves around, something I don’t think I have seen in an SRPG before. There’s so much variety to the maps and missions that it felt fresh to me the whole way through. Of course, none of this would matter if the basic gameplay was a slog, but here the combat is nice and brisk. Everything pops and everyone hits hard. You can take out enemies quickly and they can take you out quickly, so the game always keeps you on your toes.
A few fun screenshots and I’m outta here.
Some of the secret items are kind of funny:
Love the low-poly deer head here:
A weird angle shows off some vintage sexy-ugly early PS1 goodness:
In the cutscenes, the characters act and talk in these little dollhouse-like rooms, floating above patterned
backgrounds:
Overall, it’s a strong game and I also appreciate that this is one of the shortest SRPGs I’ve played.
EDIT: My personal top ten in case anyone’s curious. I know some of the ones on the lower half of this are pretty busted; I think they’re all at least decent, but some will probably get booted to honorable mentions as I explore this genre some more.
