Vandal Hearts

by Azure_Horizon

Original Thread: Blood is a byproduct of war. Let's Play Vandal Hearts! [SSLP]

If you liked this LP, you might also like Nethack by Lobster Maneuver, Wild Arms by Azure_Horizon and Snatcher by Slowbeef

Introduction



Alternate cover:


Vandal Hearts was a tactical RPG for the PlayStation that came out in March of 1997, just a bit before Final Fantasy VII changed RPGs as we know them forever. The gameplay is reminiscent of Tactics Ogre, and many of Vandal Hearts' concepts would weasel their way into Final Fantasy Tactics a year later. At its core, the game works upon a rock-paper-scissors class system, made of five groups of classes:

Swordsmen/Guardsmen
Bowmen
Hawknights
Clerics/Mages
Monks

Swordsmen are good against all types, but don't have great magical defense. Guardsmen are weak against archers and magic, but strong against all else. Bowmen are great against Shield-types and Flying-types. Monks are jack-of-all-trades with no real specialty. Mages are great against all types except Archers, and Hawknights are great against Sword-types.

Our story follows the Hero (yes, he has his own class) Ash Lambert and his small group of soldiers who work to uncover and undermine the corrupted government they've been serving under for so long.

This game received two successors: A sequel, Vandal Hearts II, which tones down the blood and, well, most of its story to be more palatable to audiences, and a prequel, Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment, which came out on XBLA and was met with mediocre reviews.

This LP will work much the same as my Saiyuki: Journey West LP, but with the addition of being updated much more infrequently (I have college). We will be finding all treasure, getting through all optional quests, and utilizing all characters to their fullest capacity. Where this LP will differ is that with the addition of classes, you all can vote on what I evolve my characters into. Each character is specialized (they'll start out as an Archer, or a Swordsmen) but have two branching paths that change their focus (be it more offense, more defense, more magic power, less magic power) and alter their weaknesses accordingly. Aside from a special class obtained late-game, all characters have a natural weakness that can and will be exploited by our enemies.

Expect the first update sometime soon, and then sporadic updates from there. But for now...



BLOOD FOUNTAINS!

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