If you're desperate for more LENGTHY video CONTENT - you're in luck. I've just posted a new video covering the entire ONIMUSHA SERIES. It's a lengthy exploration of one of the great lost franchises and how it almost destroyed the company that made it. Enjoy! - ua-cam.com/video/6zI6lW3BjZ4/v-deo.htmlsi
I think the most mind-blowing detail about this game is one that never gets mentioned: the total file size for this game is under 100mb. That's insanely efficient for just how much content the game provides, and really shows off that the use of the game engine itself and its "painted faces" for cinematics is more than just an artistic stroke, it was a practical one as well.
It because don't have a lot of FMV videos , is just polygons , crash is another example there no FMV video the game is just like 100 mb , is the video files who are so heavy is not an optimization thing
While he's only mentioned briefly in the video, I thought some others might be interested in hearing more about Hitoshi Sakimoto (composer from Quest). He is well known among Sega Genesis / Megadrive fans as having crafted some of the most exciting and dynamic soundtracks on consoles full of excellent soundtracks. What not as many know is that he also developed the software he used both to compose and to play back his music, the Terpsichorean Engine. There was a much deeper overlap between software development and composition than typically encountered in modern times with DAW software and complex digital audio playback. I've personally dived fairly deep into the sound chip driver code of Terpsichorean from Gauntlet IV and Verytex and I wish more people could appreciate the elegance of his work. In gauntlet IV, for example, the yamaha YM2612 is driven entirely from game processor, freeing the z80 sound coprocessor to be used exclusively for sound effect playback. The effect playback code itself is incredibly elegant, supporting playback of four different PCM formats in
WOW! Now that is something worth looking into. Since the soundtracks within games are what captivates most memorable experiences, knowing how they worked is something i never thought about.
I never knew this, but I absolutely love Transparent Obstacle from Gauntlet IV. Sort of a Philip Glass / Gradius Mixup... a very full and interesting sound for sure.
damn thats great - from what i can hear he is still using some of his synths/software in his latest OSTs - sometimes the sounds bring me straight back to the vagrant story ost which just proves how well designed and how well they aged sonically
This isn't the first hours long retrospective on Vagrant Story that I've watched but I'm honestly shocked at how much more I've learned from this one compared to others. The in depth detail on the game itself more than suffices whatever interest the video title would draw but you go out of your way to put us into the history of its development and impact the work has had on its creators and industry. Thank you for your hard efforts in creating a masterwork of a game retrospective.
Thanks so much. I really poured a lot of love into this video as it's a subject and game I'm very passionate about! Hope I did it justice and gave UA-cam the definitive account of just why it matters!
Matsuno's story is so unfortunate. Hideo Kojima's regard for him wasn't just words, and everything Matsuno touched was absolute gold. Case in point was Naoki Yoshida's asking him to write what is still to date the most positively regarded 24-man raid content and exploration content in FFXIV with Ivalice and the Bozjan Resistance. Not to be hyperbolic, but in my mind, everything that "the big three" (Matsuno, Sakimoto, and A. Yoshida) touch is absolute gold and I'll always be there for it. I admit though that if I hadn't been such a shill for Squaresoft in the late 90's, I might have missed Vagrant Story. Marketing for anything in the 90's that wasn't a massive blockbuster movie was pretty lackluster, and I actually had a conversation about this with my older brother about just how many amazing musical artists from the 70's didn't make headwinds at all because they weren't armed with the viral marketing and streaming services of today. Then of course there was Playstation 2 release hype... Man, we got a masterpiece of a game and hardly anyone remembers it. As always, I love your writing and editing style, and I'm constantly learning new stuff about games I played ages ago, but this one is really special to me, so thanks so much for making it.
Thanks so much. Matsuno has been one of my favourite directors since I was kid and I've always really wanted to put together a video that did his work and the tragedy of his career justice! Hopefully I managed it! Thanks for watching!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame I'm glad you did. I only recently have been going through all of the games he wrote the scenarios for. I had only played FF12, but between Tactics Ogre and Vagrant Story, it's like I've been missing something and now I can't get enough of it. Thank you.
Absolutely! The graphical presentation is just incredible for the platform. To think that someone could make THIS with the same building blocks as Gauntlett Legends and Driver 2!
I cannot echo this strongly enough. For all the hype and career success Kojima had/has... Matsuno is the guy who made three of the games that first made me realize "videogames are ART" as a teenager. It's just not possible to come away from Tactics Ogre, FFT, or Vagrant Story and not feel like you've just read a classic piece of literature, or any other truly GREAT work of art; like you've experienced something one-on-a-kind that will stay with you forever... and that is so, so rare in the gaming space, especially with how AAA Western BS is today. I truly hope he is and has been happy in his daily life... he's already given the world more than enough, given works of the highest level of beauty and perfection to any of us who are capable of appreciating them... he deserves nothing but the best from life. I hope he has... whatever he would want to have, whatever would make him happy.
Wow, you did not disappoint! so many details and behind-the-scenes information on this one game from over 20 years ago. Thanks for putting so much effort into both the editing and research on creating this documentary-style video. I remember as a kid reading in a gaming magazine about Matsuno leaving FFXII due to an illness, and it was such a vague and mysterious reason for something very uncommon in Japanese game development. Thank you for clarifying the details of that. Again, I can't wait for your next video, its honestly such a treat to get these retrospective videos, especially for these games I enjoyed as a kid and teenager. Keep up the great work!
You're welcome! I really wanted to go extra deep with this one as Matsuno has always been a character I've been absolutely fascinated with. Fingers crossed this can turn more people onto his incredible body of work!
Been insanely busy lately so won't be able to watch this right away. I want to give it the time and attention it deserves rather than breaking it up too much. I Really love your presentations, in-depth and well-structured with steady pacing. Just wanted to compliment your work and add to the algorithm. I follow several game retrospective channels and these long-form reviews are right up my street. They take an incredible amount of effort on your part and the reason they are watchable is because the quality is so high. I hope your channel keeps growing and you keep enjoying what you do.
Hironobu Sakaguchi and Yasumi Matsuno were some of the greatest storytellers in the medium. I like to think in an alternate universe Sakaguchi and Matsuno are still at Square giving us amazing titles.
Oh absolutely. Those guys leaving really does mark the end of my personal love affair with the company. While they've made some decent games since there - the magic just isn't the same!
You can add Tabata to the list. With a pittance of a budget and a worthless console, he made FF type zero. Imagine what he could have done with more money and a ps3... would have been way better than cringe hallway 13.
I'll never understand why the Final Fantasy movie failed. I loved it, and honestly I think it was such a brave and amazing effort by Sakaguchi and I hate that it ruined him in Square's eyes. I don't think Final Fantasy has ever been the same since he left. It just feels too edgy now. But I guess that's what happens when Mr. Belts and Zippers got a hold of the franchise (for those who don't know the old memes, I'm talking about Tetsuya Nomura).
I remember beating Guildenstern's final form by catching him in an endless chain as he swoops across the arena, nickel-and-diming his health 1 point at a time for about 10 minutes.
That's hilarious - I've seen a few people say that they just got good enough at chaining that they could whittle down any foe! I kinda like that I never got good enough at it that I had to hunt around for weird alternatives like odd affinity boosted break arts and spamming healing items!
Was just about to make this same comment! The extreme stress of landing the 1/2 damage chain ability on the exclamation point during his Bloody Sin attack is a core memory for sure, lol
I always took it for intended and never realised there was any other way. I beat most bosses like that tbh. Time to replay this game the way it was intended
Matsuno studying foreign policy and his first job being an international journalist explains SO much. I'm really impressed with this video, VS is my favorite collection of cutscenes of all time, and not only there's a bunch of production and post-release information I didn't know, but you've managed to pace the ABSURD amount of systems that need to be explained pretty well as you cover the rest of the game. Congratulations again on the 100k!
Thanks very much! Yeah I really worried while writing this that there was just a huge amount of "explaining" so I tried to wrap it around story moments or personal anecdotes. Hopefully it works well and keeps it interesting!
@@venepskeuten9206 All of his games have massive political high stakes intrigues which you the player is immediately absorbed into. Not only that, he mixes that with interesting and memorable characters. His characters are very fleshed out to the point you understand the "bad guys" perspective and the morally grey areas the 'good guys' have to tow to overcome the situation.
Bro, this is some immensive amount of work you put into this script. I am glad I found your channel as you are some of the best second monitor content out there.
Thanks very much! I feel like so much "long form" content out there is really pretty low effort so I always try to pour everything into each video. That's why they take so long to make!
It blew my mind to find out that this game is in the same world as Final Fantasy Tactics and FF XII. I really wish more FF titles would be in Ivalice. I love the sceneries and the amount of lore in each game. Also the fact that there's many different prominent races in Ivalice that adds so much character to the games.
I bought this game based on the CG ad alone. I didn’t understand a thing about it, never quite realized how in-depth it’s mechanics were, but damn, game’s still one of my top games ever played, with one of my only sticklers being how laborious crafting is just by how often it forces you to save while doing it. Fantastic retrospective. Really appreciated the background info and even the “what happened to him now?” segment.
I've spent thousands of hours on watching UA-cam videos. Quite a lot of them meaning a lot to me, enriching my life with their entertainment, nostalgia, perspectives etc. So much so I consider them a work of art by themselves. Most of those meaningful ones are about gaming history, design, philosophy and the like. And this one here just jumped to be one of my absolute favourites. Such a detailed video about what I consider to be one of humanities greatest works of art, about one of the very few persons I consider myself a fan of (one of the other few being Kojima-san ironically). This is truly beautiful and I wanna thank you deeply for making this! I watched it once now and will definitely watch it dozens times more in the future.
I can finally sit down and enjoy Noah's latest video. I might not vibe with everything he makes but hearing him wax lyrical about Fallout is one of life's small pleasures
Yasumi Matsuno is one of the most underrated creative figures in the entire industry. After playing the FF Tactics games as well as Vagrant Story, I finally understand why Naoki Yoshida has such a deep admiration for him
Absolutely - I almost wish that Yoshida used him more! Minagawa was the art director for FF16 and I wish that Matsuno had been more involved with the script writing!
So glad you did this video! vagrant Story is a "hidden" gem for many and should get the attention it deserves. One of the best RPGs ever in gaming history.
That final scene where Ashley Riot masks himself as the VKP inquisitor and is dressed in his black attire struck me with such style that it inspires me to try to create a character based upon that idea alone
What an absolute superb treasure you've put together here. I've loved Vagrant Story for years, and to see you honor it in such a way truly does justice to the legacy it deserves. Over the past week I've been watching this piece-by-piece during my lunch breaks. You brought me nostalgia in a way I'd never expected. In-depth, smartly written, and without any fluff, you've truly taken this retrospective look to a masterful level. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for this magnum opus report of a legendary game.
That's really awesome to hear - thanks for taking the time to comment! I used to watch long videos just like this back when I was working too so it always warms my heart to hear people are doing it with mine!
Matsuno is my idol. I have made D&D campaigns based on his settings and storytelling techniques. I have immersed myself in every game of his. I love his writing and worldbuilding so incredibly much. I hope, cope, and pray that we get Final Fantasy Tactics Reborn, and Vagrant Story remade as a Soulslike. That'd be so sick ;_; LOL
Can you elaborate on the DND part? Vagrant Story automatically became my major plot center for my DND campaign. I almost didn't even think about it at first and now I can't stop thinking about it. Wanna share thoughts on it? I'm currently trying to interpret much of the story in order to expand and build on it.
First, I need to say that this was an excellent production/retrospective. Thank you! Second, you helped me answer the question I was hoping for when I opened your video. Know this, I played the heck out of Vagrant Story. When I finally stopped, I was only a few steps short of a Damascus “Tree Trunk” (can’t remember what it was called. The Minotaur weapon.) Anyway, when I fired up Dark Souls, I got extreme Vagrant Story vibes. I was never sure why. When you started describing what an updated Vagrant Story game would be like, you answered my question. You literally described Dark Souls. Like, beat for beat. They have in common: Third person dungeon crawler, slightly Arcane upgrade system, careful execution of attacks, well timed defense requirements, just so much. I don’t think we actually need another Vagrant Story. We already have it, or, at least, we have a game that is everything we would hope for it to be.
It's funny because Dark Souls is clearly just a third person evolution of From Software's Kings Field series but that is basically what Matsuno was doing with Vagrant Story at the very same time! The biggest difference I would say is that the storytelling style is so dramatically different - Vagrant Story really wants to be stylish and creative while the souls games are a lot more low key!
I wouldn't say Vagrant Story is underrated it scored very high on release, perfect scores at many places, and is rated highly among the gaming industry.
@@rickylovesyou it's underrated in comparison to the other Squaresoft titles - I'd consider it a cult classic - those who know it absolutely love it, but it doesn't have the same level of prestige and recognition as the Final Fantasy series or other, more conventional JRPGs
You have found a focus on tragic stories (the downfall of parasite eve and castlevania, for example) that I think often go overlooked due to the industry's nature, where the creators only rarely become celebrities and drama unfolds over years and sometimes decades. I'm so glad you are making these.
Thanks very much. I really enjoy making these ones where the franchises have been unfairly lost to time. The industry has a graveyard of incredible experiences and I want to make sure that people who love video games don't forget them!
Hope you enjoyed it! I was editing for 18 hours straight yesterday to hit 6PM today so you'll have to be the first to let me know if I messed anything up!
Vagrant Story and Tactics Ogre are two of my favourite games ever, along with FFXII. To know that Matsuno studied foreign politics makes the depth of the narrative and cohesion so much more understandable now. I'm barely even 30 minutes in, and this video is already a greatly researched documentary. Great work! Edit: I have to correct you on the section of weapon crafting. You say that you can accidentally downgrade a piece of gear because the end result is not disclosed. That's not true. You can hover over the new item, found above the 2 materials used for crafting, to see whether or not it's worth it to craft. You can also hover over the ‘OK’ button to see the same item before confirming. Edit 2: Tactics Ogre: Reborn did not add crafting. It improved the already-existing crafting system that is in Let Us Cling Together.
I think it's definitelly worth stating that as well as your reviews of the games themselves which are as comprehensive as they get, something that desserves equal praise is the way you build up to them by going into detail on the history behind the games and all the behind the scenes stuff it really does a great job hyping up the game to come
It's honestly my favourite part of the videos. I do really enjoy talking about engaging and interesting games but there is something about the history of this medium that I feel gets really ignored. Hopefully I'm doing them justice and turning people onto the process behind them!
I’ve never played Vagrant Story but I love watching your videos, and I especially loved your segment about the localization for this game! More and more I see criticism of creative localization, which is sometimes criticized as ‘inaccurate’ simply because it isn’t a 1:1 translation, but this game’s English script seems like everything I’ve ever enjoyed in a good localization. Im happy to know Alexander O. Smith has had such a long and successful career in the field!
Absolutely! I get really frustrated when people talk about wanting 1:1 translation because it really shows a profound misunderstanding of how language actually works. I've got a real bee in my bonnet about it because my girlfriend speaks 3 languages and has done translation work in the past. It's really nowhere near as easy as just converting the words over!
I appreciate you saying that. I know long form content is ten a penny these days but I really try to pour enough effort into it so you know the runtime is justified
Watching this now, all these years later, I get aggravated at hearing how good this game was. The PlayStation I had developed the accursed laser head reader failure issue when I got this game, and I was never able to play it. The initial battle area would load after there cutscenes, then I was not able to progress beyond that area since nothing else could load. To hear the accolades, the praise, and generally see how good the same was, it's frustrating beyond words to know something as seminal as say FF8 or MGS was always sitting there in front of me, but that I never had the chance to experience. It's indescribable. Thank you for the indepth video, to learn about how good this story is now only motivates me to find a way to experience it for myself.
I truly can't think of a game on PSX that blows me away more than Vagrant Story. Everything about it is truly astounding, though what always impresses me most is the use of the engine. It looks amazing for the time and it's file size is mind blowing.
It's incredible isn't it. The combination of camera angles and clever use of the polygon models makes you yearn for a world where directing skill was prioritized over studios spending millions on graphics. Vagrant Story legitimately looks better than the vast majority of games that released generations after it!
Lol. Money guys are the problem. Billionaires do not like you or care about you and have enough money coming in from broken buggy games it's almost the full market. They make millions from this. Now AI tech bros everyone thinks they can make games and standards will fall more. It's unfortunate. But I do hope the indies get more funding and backing to support their games not the corporate slop of fortnight and others where you own nothing.
Your retrospectives are works of art. The depth with which you deliver into the subject and the obvious passion with which you speak on the games you present is genuinely a marvel.
For all its flaws Vagrant Story is a game I'll never forget and one I still hold out a faint hope will get a sequel. The games aesthetics are sublime and the story wonderfully written and presented. Your video is a worthy tribute as well as an excellent critique. Thank you.
Thanks - that really means a lot especially as I've really tried to make a video that properly captures the experience (for all those that can't get past it's jagged edges)
The ending is such a strong setup for a sequel that never came. I don't think this masterpiece could be remastered, or even matched, in execution. There are of course great and amazing games out there, but there is only one Vagrant Story.
At a certain point as I was watching this, a tear came to my eye. Your video is exceptionally good. Even great. You nailed the mythos of the game, you understand Matsuno's masterpiece, and your in-depth research has made me realize a lot I didn't know about the behind the scenes of the greatest game of all time. The use of the game's motif at the beginning of the chapters was perfect! Excellent work man. You've got a subscriber.
That's really nice to hear. I absolutely love this game and really wanted to make sure I did it justice! Hopefully it can introduce new people to the weird world of Matsuno!
I love this game, it has my favourite narrative for a single game, though my favourite narrative over a series goes to Legacy of Kain. I loved these both so much that I recorded the cutscenes mixed with some gameplay onto VHS so I could watch them as movies. Later I recorded them to DVD, then finally uploaded them to youtube (along with the Sands of Time trilogy) as playlists (due to having a ten minute limit at the time). I've been pretty in depth over Vagrant Story as a result, I'm still pleased with myself from when I realised that all the weapons in the game were named after alcoholic cocktails, except for Rosencrantz's weapon 'Pussyfoot' being the only one named for a _non-alcoholic_ cocktail (as he has no magic). So yeah, I love this game but I did have a hell of a time playing it at first, I think I actually completed it before I even realised how the analyse spell worked. I'd use it then not know that you needed to go into Ashley's own status menu and press the shoulder buttons to see his enemy's stats, I just got confused over what it was supposed to be doing before finally giving up on it. I've actually written the script for a primer on how to play Vagrant Story which was made into a video on the Resonant Arc channel for their podcast series on the game (Vagrant Story | 10 Tips To Get Started) just last year and I had a devil of a time trying to break the whole thing down into an understandable format. There are still one or two things I would have changed, most notably explaining how the readout of the weapon stats work on the attack screen. The readout will say something like *EGD/FIR/Beast* telling you that your blow will use the values for blunt, fire and beast but the tricky thing is that there is a different reason for why each of these values are chosen against their rivals. In explaining this to Mike at Resonant Arc we kept talking (well, typing via discord) in circles over what we were trying to communicate when I realised he had misspoke the explanation. In essence he thought the readout was telling you what would be most efficient but it doesn't, after a lot of back and forth we stumbled in the right direction and I felt my poor explanation was the cause of the confusion but in his words the system was 'insane' in its complexity. (it was corrected before the video went live luckily) Because the readout tells you what Class of enemy you are facing it seems reasonable to conclude that the Affinity section would be telling you which element is most effective as well but this is simply not true, the element used is always whichever is currently highest on the weapon with any other elemental values completely disregarded. If you approach the readout thinking it is telling you _what_ to use (based on it telling you what enemy you are facing) then you are coming at it backwards. What is is telling you is which values _will_ be used regardless of how well they will be used. As much trouble as the game originally gave me I still loved every minute for the story it was telling and when I saw Ashley walking off into the rain in his new badass longcoat at the end I don't think I've ever topped that feeling of satisfaction in a game's ending... Discovering the extra narrative elements in the ultimania translations years later though, that made me love it even more.
That's extremely cool that you worked with Resonant Arc on that video. I was a huge fan of their retrospective series and enjoy the podcast quite a lot as well (when I get the time to sit through one!) Can't agree more with you on the ending. Matsuno really had an eye for cinema - it's interesting to think what Square Pictures might have produced with him in charge had Spirits Within not bombed so hard!
@@IFinishedAVideoGameit was more to do with Sakaguchi’s decision to hold back the release of FFX that put the company in the red, not so much The Spirits Within. It’s very hard to reel back this narrative now that it’s been spread so widely in articles and video essays. He had also begun his formation of Mistwalker prior to the movie. Company politics post merger with Enix is to blame really.
@@IFinishedAVideoGame I loved it and appreciate all the work you put into it. I especially liked the beginning and the story about Yasumi Matsuno and all his works. He really just wanted to make new and challenging ideas into worlds for players to enjoy. I may geek out about this stuff too much lol but the backstory really sets the stage for this amazing game and story. Bravo! Also, I didn’t buy the PS2 immediately but I did pick up this game and was just mesmerized by it. I can’t remember if I ever finished it but this has me itching to go back and play through it completely.
Yeah I think it's in a similar place to Vagrant Story in that people love the concept and the narrative but accept that actually playing through it comes with some real bumps in the road. The difficulty spikes, the weird mechanics, the points of no return. I personally love it but if someone said they didn't I would struggle to disagree!
Really, I need to pick this up again. It was awesome when I was 12 when I first played it will be now I am 35, and I understand so much. It is always good to relieve childhood experiences through adult understanding
Vagrant story was a gift from my then fiance (now wife) over 20 years ago. She got me the game and the guide and lets just say that even till this day, we stll dont talk about it lol. I absolutely loved this game. Even the what some consider to be the convulted crafting system and the complexity of the affinity system, weapon health, weapon leveling; it was so deep and unlike anything i had ever played before. I spent hours/days/weeks farming weapons, gems, hilts. I practiced chains endlessly on the dummies that you encounter in each area and the story/presentation -- so wonderful! Your video essay in my opinion gives this masterpiece its rightful due.
That's really awesome to hear. Call me sentimental but I think if I'd been gifted a classic 90s game by my wife it would only serve to elevate it all the more!
It's like Steve Jobs studying types and magazine layout design. All information you gain through life can give you a unique perspective that will help you to succeed.
I always feel sorry for Matsuno. He made an incredible masterpiece that most people will never finish, and got his campaign setting stolen by a huge corporation who just does whatever they want with it.
To be fair to Square Enix, they did invite him to write scenarios set in Ivalice for the FFXIV expansions, so it's not like that bridge is completely burned.
Honestly I think he's fine with it. Considering he left FF12 with Minagawa and then came back to work on Tactics Ogre and FF14, it's clear he still has a good relationship with them but just doesn't want to work on big projects!
The reason almost nobody will finish it is due to Matsuno's pathological inability to stop himself from destroying the playability of his games by sticking every cruelly player-hostile decision that strikes his fancy into every one of them. I feel no pity for him; he decided what was important to him and committed to it.
I still listen to the music of Vagrant Story. The Ending music is a masterpiece. Every time I listen to it brings back memories of my own room in my parent’s house.
It always felt like am enthusiast game too. So few people I knew actually knew about this game. And those I introduced it to, only few learnt to stick by it and appreciate the awesomeness. NGL, I only found this game after modern day games were a thing so the overall quality as well wasn't as impressive. I so wish it gets a proper remake. It's cinematic af
This is amazing, thank you OP. I first tried Vagrant Story when I was a teenager, was heartbroken I couldn't play it because of a defect CD back then. I was so close to crying like a baby when I recently found a ROM of it and now spending my gaming time playing it. I genuinely appreciate the work put into this video.
Wow, I’ve played games my whole life and I never heard of this, we’ll done on making this, capturing 3 hrs of footage as well as writing what must be one hell of a script! Well done 👏
I just gotta say you really go above and beyond with your video essays. It's not just a game review, but a thorough critique and understanding of the context surrounding the game. I feel like I learn critical parts of video-game art history watching your vids. Keep up the good work! 👍
Thanks so much. I really pushed myself with this one as I wanted to tell the story of both Matsuno and Vagrant Story in full detail! I'm glad you enjoyed it
Sorry for spamming comments but My GOD the opening sequence is an absolute masterpiece. I love how the first wyvern you fight is clearly battle-worn and weakened; but the next one is not so weak. So good!
Not even 1/5th of the way through and i already know i'm gonna relisten to this one several times. You do amazing work, and i love the behind the scenes stuff telling about the people, studios, and situations involved. I honestly cant stop listening to your videos, and now i'm very curious about any future projects (no rush, just curiosity. Take all the time you need)
Thanks so much - that's extremely kind of you to say. Well I've had the next project announced for quite some time! It's going to be a complete franchise video about the Metroid series. Should be a big one!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame 👀 oh my lord. I will definitely be waiting with bated breath. You do amazing work, and i've already recommended you to some friends
You are like this really intelligent friend that would help us get past difficult areas in videogames. This video is incredibly insightful and amazing. Keep doing such a great work. Thank you for a nostalgic journey to the past!
It is still literally one of the best games ever made. And this video is one of the greatest on this platform. The time, commitment, research, passion, visuals, storytelling and audio selections were all brilliant. Thank you for this work. 💙
@@IFinishedAVideoGame You're very welcome, all praise was earned. You certainly did more than justice for the title. I enjoyed your critique even and was intrigued by how you approached some of the core mechanics, particularly identifying affinity in the early game. I remember overcoming this myself by just always using fresh weapons, which worked to my detriment later in the game every time, but I just plowed through for the love of it. I'm really glad I've found your channel, I've just watched through the Jade Empire retrospective, and will continue to enjoy your works as long as you keep posting. Big respect Mr. IFAVG.
One of my beloved Childhood games. Thank you for all this effort that you put into this video. The German Community dosen't know much about pieces like that.
OMG I loved this game and I love you for making this video! ❤ I grinded all the way to the perfect Damascus 1h sword and 2h holy win sword. This takes me back I would pay full price for a remake
I still own Vagrant Story... i remember my brother maxed out the Timer on the Save File and STILL was finding secrets and perfecting his already OP equipment. Vagrant Story is, at least in my eyes, a "Perfect Game". A game that has long lasting value and replayability that exceeds it's price tag....a game that, all things considered with this game industry, is deserving of a remaster...but should NEVER get it, for to do so would no doubt destroy/butcher/ruin what is already a masterpiece. EDIT: i was about to comment on Crimson Shroud but i see ya mentioned it. I LOVE that game! It's like playing D&D to a degree and despite it's budget-ness, it still oozes that "style" Matsuno has in his games. The story isn't too bad either.
I think the replayability is something that always really surprises me about Vagrant Story. That new game plus mode really is quite worthwhile! Sadly I'm not as big of a fan of Crimson Shroud. It's a clever idea but just not really what I want from that big beautiful imagination in Matsuno's head!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame true..if set up next to VS and his other games, it pales in comparison. But given that Crimson Shroud was part of some sort of budget/challenge promotion with Level 5 (I think, I just remember there were a handful of "small" 3DS titles made with Crimson Shroud as some kind of promomotion)... it is still impressive in it's own right. The 3D is good. The game mechanics still have a depth and complexity to them on top of the "old school dice rolling"...the game has atmosphere and style, even though it is far less than VS, FFT, etc, the music has its familiar stylings from all his other games tracks...and the story is still filled with a bit of intrigue and mystery. To nutshell it..Crimson Shroud is a lighter helping of Matsudo, rather than a full blown course like VS and the Tactics series. It does lack the ambition, size and budget of his past games...but it's still a game with his mark on it: experimental, deep, interesting and familiar. It's not perfect but neither are his other games under critical eye (as mentioned from the flaws in VS). I'd say give it a another once over...if you want. :)
Absolutely - this video is really a love letter to creators who would rather innovate than make sales. Matsuno really deserves to be held in higher acclaim!
I had never heard of that game before, and I'm so glad for you making this video and allowing me to experience it in all its greatness. It was worth every second of it.
WOW - the revelation that Solstice and Tactics Ogre share any connection is mind blowing to me, let alone that Tactics Ogre started with a different title entirely. Solstice was one of those games i wanted to play incessantly as a young young kid, if you want to hear something truly incredible for the NES check out the opening theme for that game.
This was by far your best video yet! I really love that you went through the story instead of just focusing on the "surroundings". Made for a perfect entertaining mix. Hope you will keep that format going forward!
That's awesome to hear. I really tried to push my writing to another level here and blend the story of Matsuno's career with that of Vagrant Story in a way that feels natural. Hope it came across well!
I'm about 52 minutes into the video (fantastic work so far btw), and to throw my 2 cents on the Durai quote at the beginning, it connects Vagrant' Story's concepts of "body" and "soul" with the story's main themes. While Vagrant Story's lore deals a lot with literal lost souls tainted by The Dark forcefully attacking the living for fresher bodies to inhabit, it *also* serves as an extended metaphor for humans' tendency to manipulate and subjugate others for their own ends. The common thread between every faction in Vagrant Story is that those with power deceive their followers because the "bodies" of the latter (or: an individual's capacity to serve their master) are valued more than their "souls", which we can define as the hopes, fears, and agency of those being manipulated. Ashley is said to have no soul because he's waived his right to his own body, he'll fight and die in service of the VKP, and they've warped his mind so that he may continue to do so. It's only by holding onto the love he had for Tia and Marco that Ashley's soul resurfaces. Sydney chooses Ashley because the latter fights out of devotion to those he loves rather than any desire to subjugate others, which mirrors what Sydney is doing for Duke Bardorba. So again, to reiterate, I think the Durai quote at the start is there to frame the conflict between those with ambition and the people they subjugate, and it does so in a way that begs the audience to consider the horrific nature of this subjugation
That's very interesting. I think you're right in that it's more of a thematic lead in although I would question it's positioning - it's odd that it arrives just before the Greylands report and not at the very start of the game!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame Placed where it is, the Durai quote puts a hard stop to the breakneck pace the game's had up to this point; for a moment, the player is given a chance to take their mind off of the intricate plot and instead consider the nature of one's body and soul; which, beyond the thematic content of the game, is also important to understanding Lea Monde as a setting, more so than Duke Bardorba's Manor. Additionally, I think the hard shift from spy thriller flavored fantasy action to a quote discussing the ethical nature of man from a theological perspective clues the audience in that the story is about to shift gears in a major way once Ashley reaches Lea Monde. Things become less about putting a stop to Mullenkamp, and more about the mystery surrounding the city and the people who seek its power.
@@IFinishedAVideoGame As a side note, I see that you've also looked at various franchises I love, namely Parasite Eve, Castlevania, and Prince of Persia. Looking forward to sitting through those when I get the chance!
Fantastic video as always. Your abilities with editing and audio quality seem to keep getting better with every release. I will continue to hope that you'll cover FF Tactics in detail (either the base game, or with the advance games included). I feel there isn't a single detailed retrospective or deep dive into the game on UA-cam that does the magic of that game justice. The era of Square doing medieval fantasy ripe with complicated webs of political intrigue was truly something special.
I'd never even opened editing software before a few years ago and absolutely never recorded audio in any sort of form - so that's really nice to hear that I'm improving!
I cannot stress enough how much I like your videos, last year when I discovered you I watched a lot of them back to back, and today I'm rewatching this one after rewatching the Eve one. I actually haven't watched the Metroid one just because I want to play the remake first, because I know that you talk in so much detail and in such a comprehensive way that I won't be able to stop the video when the "spoilers" start, they are entertaining to watch as well as to just listen to, I hope you continue this year with many more videos (quality over quantity of course). I know this donation is nothing in the way of money, but I just wanted to make sure you know that your content is awesome.
Thanks so much! Honestly it's not the amount but the sentiment that matters to me and it's so awesome to hear that you enjoy my stuff this much. Luckily I've got quite a few planned for this year so hopefully you should have many more retrospectives to watch or listen to!
I absolutely loved this game when it first came out! I still have it and my memory cards and have recently played it for a 5th continuation play through on my PS2. Not sure if I missed it in this video or if it didn’t say but once you beat the game, you can obtain Guildenstern’s final boss weapon, the Holy Win. It is obtainable on second play by entering The Iron Maiden B2 with less than 150 health and defeating the Last Crusader at the entrance to B3. The drop rate for The Holy Win is between 1 and 3%, and as such, it is extremely difficult to obtain. This weapon is OP and has great reach. Best weapon in the game by far!
A few people have brought up that weapon! I had no idea it existed and wish I'd have at least attempted to farm it so I could have mentioned it in the video!
The amount of people who don't read through the manual in the options menu is astounding. I never had any difficulties with this game as a kid, since you can always check the manual. One of my favorite games ever, 10/10.
I mean that might be the case but I don't think it's always clear how to properly implement an almost 25 page internal manual into your game experience. It's pretty fair to say this is a very complex game and the way you're introduced to it's mechanics isn't exactly natural
Such an amazing game from my childhood I’ll never forget. And this is gaming journalism at its finest that dives deep into what went into the making of this gem
Loved the video! I have read folks mention how Crimson Shroud's plot was eerily similar to what Matsuno shared for Vagrant Story's sequel and I could see him using ideas he had stashed away both for his FF14's contributions and for CS. He's one of my favorite videogame writers & creators so it hurts to see him on the sidelines, but like you said if it's for health issues there's nothing else but to wish for his wellbeing above all else. His games having very unfriendly mechanics gameplay-wise have always made them difficult to recommend, I personally try my best to work through them because of the charm and the storytelling one can find in its craft but they are always very challenging to unravel and not many have the time or the patience to give his work the chance to make itself shine. Thanks for making this about Vagrant Story, it's a gem that deserves the spotlight! I will have something to share the next time I want to bring this game to more people. Also congrats on the 100k!
Thanks so much! 100k felt like a huge milestone as it was great to cap it off with a video about a creator and game that I feel really passionate about. Absolutely agree about his games being hard to recommend. I think that's why I wanted to make this extra detailed - it's an alternative to actually playing it!
Yasumi Matsuno strikes me as gifted individual who saw great success, but did not have the resilience to press on after adversity and became too afraid to fail, so he stopped trying as hard.
Quite possibly! Although it seems odd that he was able to direct two games for Square on the PS1 and then fell apart once he moved to the PS2 and Final Fantasy. I guess we'll never know for absolute sure!
Another fabulous video essay. I really appreciate your attention to detail in contextualizing the state of the video game industry at the time of your subjects and exhaustive examination of contributing creators and auteurs. I might have gone my entire life without knowing anything about Vagrant Story, but with your guidance have come to appreciate this unique old gem. Thank you for that.
That's really cool to hear. We have such a tendency to just view games and the companies that make them in such simplistic terms - it's nice to be able to better flesh it out and turn people onto the humans and intentions behind it all!
If they had put a Mission Briefing option on the main menu it would make the whole thing even more like Metal Gear Solid, since some people would call it Medieval Gear Solid as joke already.
Well it makes sense considering both games revolve around secret agents with mysterious pasts tracking down a nemesis that they are closer to than they realise!
I think your section on translation and localization was extremely effective. Japanese media is so expensive in the west now but localization and translation is so heavily undermined. We either have under the table translators attempting to make works more "adult" with verbal slang and vulgarity or those who believe a direct translation, which is the much heavily held standard in the industry, is the only approach with localization viewed as a butchering for the original intent of the creator- which can be true thanks to 4kids infamous dubs and the like. Localization and the translation of meaning to a different language is so drastically important and can't be a 1 to 1 translation or else it will come off stolted, confusing and unrelatable just as much as any goofy dialogue or edit could be. Great work
Thanks very much. Alexander actually reached out to me on Twitter and said he loved the video which I found extremely cool and gave me a real fan boy moment
I always thought it was fitting that your profile pic is a picture of silver surfer, a character filled with so much dread and existentialism. And the fact that you make these long videos after playing all the games in a series, But i could just be overthinking this.
Another phenomenal documentary on a piece of history I missed out on in my youth. Thank you for sharing these stories and these masterpieces that would otherwise fall unknown to history.
You're more than welcome. Glad you enjoyed this one! It's probably my personal favourite video along with Eternal Darkness - I just love it when I can get all passionate about a game I truly love!
I have waited for this video for months, ever since I threw out four video ideas and you said three of them were in the works. I had high hopes this was one. I'm still holding on to the hope that Onimusha is another. Vagrant Story is such a phenomenal game, and I think both a testament to the industry then and how far it has fallen now. The fact that I, and many others, have such fond memories playing VS to the point that it still feels great to play 25 years later illustrates how great the game is. That there are so many great games from that era of gaming that meet the same replayable standards speaks to the quality of games and the caliber of storytelling of the time. That I can only think of a handful of games that have that replay value today, and many of them are FromSoft titles, is a sad statement for today's gaming landscape. I've played Vagrant Story so many times over the past 2 ½ decades, and I still don't feel I've completed the game. It is, by far, one of my all time favorite games in 44 years on this rock. I've completed the game and lost the save file to time, moving losses, and data corruption numerous times. I know the story by heart, but still get lost in that damned forest. I still need to make the highest tier armor and weapons. I still need to max out all the break arts. I would love to introduce my wife to the game and see how she enjoys it (or doesn't, but I don't see that happening). As usual, your retrospective is amazingly well researched, incredibly comprehensive, and remarkably enjoyable. I look forward your next video.
I'm happy to confirm you were indeed right! We'll have to see about those others! Absolutely agree about VS being a damning indictment of where the industry is today. This wasn't even a premier release for Square and here we are waxing lyrical 20 years later! I'm just not sure that many AAA games that come out for current gen consoles will have that sort of legacy
@@IFinishedAVideoGame Current generation games absolutely won't have that type of staying power for two reasons. 1) The games of today are not of the same quality. Sure some games like Balder's Gate 3 and Elden Ring may be exceptional exceptions. And there are definitely games worth playing, but the majority will only get played once or twice and added to the pile of games I say I'll play again, but likely won't. 2) The biggest problem with today's games is the industry's obsession with DRM. Once they shut down the servers it doesn't matter if you have a physical copy of the game, you're not playing that game. You may get lucky, like the PS3 Demon's Souls community, and someone puts up a server for love of the game. But that's not often the case, and it's not wise to bank on that. And I could be mistaken, but I feel like I was just reading about Microsoft soon to be shutting down Xbox 360s marketplace? So all those digital games I never finished were money well spent. Is it any wonder why so many gamers are wary of digital only consoles, the disappearing physical media, and the practice of purchasing a license to play a game as opposed to owning the copy you bought or indefinite leases on consoles?
I couldn't agree more. I'm a physical gamer by nature and I really struggle to get on board with the digital only direction of the industry. Alan Wake 2 for example is going to be digital only and EGS only. I just really struggle to want to be involved with that!
That's really nice of you to say. I'm just a guy that particularly loves pre-HD video games and gets a kick out of the storytelling potential of history! Somehow it makes for quite good youtube videos!
Dude, you have done retrospectives on two of my favorite underrated gems, Jade Empire and Vagrant Story. They were both amazing (as well as your other videos). I do wish they would give these two the remake treatment (although I get your reasons for not with Vagrant Story). I kind of feel like Final Fantasy XVI was more of a follow-up to VS than to the FF series, which I think is why I liked it so much.
What an incredible video my God. I loved this game growing up but I was pretty young so most of the story went over my head I've always wanted to go back and replay it. Ironically I thought I didn't have enough time to do so and I found myself listening to a 3 hour video about it. I had not known about the creators story before this and your telling of Matsuno's career was so compelling, turns out he made all my favorite square enix games. There is not an ounce of fat in this video. So well done!
Thanks my friend. This is probably my favourite video and the one I'm most proud of! I absolutely adore Matsuno's work and really relate to some elements of his career so it was amazing to be able to share a video that celebrated it!
It always endlessly amused me how much Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are foils to each other. In both of their motive rants they are saying much the same thing but Rosencrantz blames all the world's troubles on the rich nobility while Guildenstern blames the world's trouble on grasping commoners. Something else that I really liked was the obvious explanation for why Lea Monde is destroyed in the ending, the city itself is a grimoire and in the game once a grimoire is read it dissolves to nothing and imprints its magic permanently onto its user.
I absolutely love the comparisons you can draw between the "villains" and their conflicting motivations. I really haven't played many other games that place this much effort into subverting expectations it crafts! Also that's a fantastic point about Lea Monde I hadn't considered. You're totally right that it's crumbling after the dark has been imprinted
This was amazing, thank you. Vagrant Story was one of my favourite games that I was never able to finish. It was I game I kept trying again (while I still had a PS1) because the failure was still worth it; as has been mentioned, it's compelling and masterfully done. I was unable to look up a solution back when I first played it. At the time I was usually against looking at walkthroughs, when those could be found, and in this case, I thought I was just bad at the game (which is technically true). I now know why the game seems to ramp up in difficulty... well, not difficulty, but complexity. The same reason that had caused you to restart the game is the reason I would inevitably quit. Over 20 years later and I now have an actual reason for why I failed, but more than that, I have also been able to see the story to it's conclusion, through you and this video, so again, thank you.
That's absolutely awesome to hear. I actually designed this video on purpose to be able to stand in for people who didn't quite want to finish the game themselves so it's great to hear that it worked! Thanks for watching!
![[FULL] RETROSPECTIVE : Final Fantasy Tactics](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RUBmYqs1jZ0/mqdefault.jpg)
If you're desperate for more LENGTHY video CONTENT - you're in luck. I've just posted a new video covering the entire ONIMUSHA SERIES. It's a lengthy exploration of one of the great lost franchises and how it almost destroyed the company that made it. Enjoy! - ua-cam.com/video/6zI6lW3BjZ4/v-deo.htmlsi
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I think the most mind-blowing detail about this game is one that never gets mentioned: the total file size for this game is under 100mb. That's insanely efficient for just how much content the game provides, and really shows off that the use of the game engine itself and its "painted faces" for cinematics is more than just an artistic stroke, it was a practical one as well.
You know - that is actually an amazing point that I wish I'd included. There really has been a crazy sea change in storage size since then!
I think it's also a product of the decline of video game optimisation. Developers do not optimise their games like they used to
It because don't have a lot of FMV videos , is just polygons , crash is another example there no FMV video the game is just like 100 mb , is the video files who are so heavy is not an optimization thing
Uhhh a CD holds 700mb ... how exactly was this 'practical'? Throwing away 600mb of storage in a sprawling RPG sounds more like an oversight to me.
While he's only mentioned briefly in the video, I thought some others might be interested in hearing more about Hitoshi Sakimoto (composer from Quest). He is well known among Sega Genesis / Megadrive fans as having crafted some of the most exciting and dynamic soundtracks on consoles full of excellent soundtracks. What not as many know is that he also developed the software he used both to compose and to play back his music, the Terpsichorean Engine. There was a much deeper overlap between software development and composition than typically encountered in modern times with DAW software and complex digital audio playback. I've personally dived fairly deep into the sound chip driver code of Terpsichorean from Gauntlet IV and Verytex and I wish more people could appreciate the elegance of his work.
In gauntlet IV, for example, the yamaha YM2612 is driven entirely from game processor, freeing the z80 sound coprocessor to be used exclusively for sound effect playback. The effect playback code itself is incredibly elegant, supporting playback of four different PCM formats in
Thanks for adding that! It's super interesting to hear - I really need to sharpen up my audio knowledge!
WOW! Now that is something worth looking into. Since the soundtracks within games are what captivates most memorable experiences, knowing how they worked is something i never thought about.
I never knew this, but I absolutely love Transparent Obstacle from Gauntlet IV. Sort of a Philip Glass / Gradius Mixup... a very full and interesting sound for sure.
damn thats great - from what i can hear he is still using some of his synths/software in his latest OSTs - sometimes the sounds bring me straight back to the vagrant story ost which just proves how well designed and how well they aged sonically
i owe many, many hours of my life to Matsuno. i owe many of my ideals & philosophy to Matsuno. the industry failed him.
This isn't the first hours long retrospective on Vagrant Story that I've watched but I'm honestly shocked at how much more I've learned from this one compared to others. The in depth detail on the game itself more than suffices whatever interest the video title would draw but you go out of your way to put us into the history of its development and impact the work has had on its creators and industry. Thank you for your hard efforts in creating a masterwork of a game retrospective.
Thanks so much. I really poured a lot of love into this video as it's a subject and game I'm very passionate about! Hope I did it justice and gave UA-cam the definitive account of just why it matters!
Vagrant story is my favourite game of all time.A 3 hour video on it makes me really happy. Thank you for this treat.
Hopefully I do it justice! There is just so much to talk about!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame You did. You have to do now FFT!
Matsuno's story is so unfortunate. Hideo Kojima's regard for him wasn't just words, and everything Matsuno touched was absolute gold. Case in point was Naoki Yoshida's asking him to write what is still to date the most positively regarded 24-man raid content and exploration content in FFXIV with Ivalice and the Bozjan Resistance. Not to be hyperbolic, but in my mind, everything that "the big three" (Matsuno, Sakimoto, and A. Yoshida) touch is absolute gold and I'll always be there for it.
I admit though that if I hadn't been such a shill for Squaresoft in the late 90's, I might have missed Vagrant Story. Marketing for anything in the 90's that wasn't a massive blockbuster movie was pretty lackluster, and I actually had a conversation about this with my older brother about just how many amazing musical artists from the 70's didn't make headwinds at all because they weren't armed with the viral marketing and streaming services of today. Then of course there was Playstation 2 release hype... Man, we got a masterpiece of a game and hardly anyone remembers it.
As always, I love your writing and editing style, and I'm constantly learning new stuff about games I played ages ago, but this one is really special to me, so thanks so much for making it.
Thanks so much. Matsuno has been one of my favourite directors since I was kid and I've always really wanted to put together a video that did his work and the tragedy of his career justice!
Hopefully I managed it! Thanks for watching!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame I'm glad you did.
I only recently have been going through all of the games he wrote the scenarios for. I had only played FF12, but between Tactics Ogre and Vagrant Story, it's like I've been missing something and now I can't get enough of it.
Thank you.
Why, I'm Hardly Anyone!
What an absolute underrated gem of a game, it's wild how well the comic book aesthetic still holds up 20 years later.
Absolutely! The graphical presentation is just incredible for the platform. To think that someone could make THIS with the same building blocks as Gauntlett Legends and Driver 2!
Realistic graphics are nice but a killer art style will last forever.
@@IFinishedAVideoGame😮
She’s from south Midgard
@@IFinishedAVideoGamet tp0t0c
In any case and regardless of the details everything. I hope Matsuno is living a fulfilling life and enjoying his day to day life these days.
Absolutely. He deserves it after giving us such special experiences on the SNES and PS1!
I cannot echo this strongly enough. For all the hype and career success Kojima had/has... Matsuno is the guy who made three of the games that first made me realize "videogames are ART" as a teenager. It's just not possible to come away from Tactics Ogre, FFT, or Vagrant Story and not feel like you've just read a classic piece of literature, or any other truly GREAT work of art; like you've experienced something one-on-a-kind that will stay with you forever... and that is so, so rare in the gaming space, especially with how AAA Western BS is today.
I truly hope he is and has been happy in his daily life... he's already given the world more than enough, given works of the highest level of beauty and perfection to any of us who are capable of appreciating them... he deserves nothing but the best from life. I hope he has... whatever he would want to have, whatever would make him happy.
@@jedgrahek1426beautiful comment
Wow, you did not disappoint! so many details and behind-the-scenes information on this one game from over 20 years ago. Thanks for putting so much effort into both the editing and research on creating this documentary-style video. I remember as a kid reading in a gaming magazine about Matsuno leaving FFXII due to an illness, and it was such a vague and mysterious reason for something very uncommon in Japanese game development. Thank you for clarifying the details of that. Again, I can't wait for your next video, its honestly such a treat to get these retrospective videos, especially for these games I enjoyed as a kid and teenager. Keep up the great work!
You're welcome! I really wanted to go extra deep with this one as Matsuno has always been a character I've been absolutely fascinated with. Fingers crossed this can turn more people onto his incredible body of work!
Matsuno just had to take a really long vacation. In Lea Monde.
Been insanely busy lately so won't be able to watch this right away. I want to give it the time and attention it deserves rather than breaking it up too much. I Really love your presentations, in-depth and well-structured with steady pacing. Just wanted to compliment your work and add to the algorithm. I follow several game retrospective channels and these long-form reviews are right up my street. They take an incredible amount of effort on your part and the reason they are watchable is because the quality is so high. I hope your channel keeps growing and you keep enjoying what you do.
Thanks very much. I really appreciate those kind words, especially when I've just come off the back of a huge week of editing to get this beast out!
Hironobu Sakaguchi and Yasumi Matsuno were some of the greatest storytellers in the medium. I like to think in an alternate universe Sakaguchi and Matsuno are still at Square giving us amazing titles.
Oh I have no doubt Square would be a different company if those two never left.
Oh absolutely. Those guys leaving really does mark the end of my personal love affair with the company. While they've made some decent games since there - the magic just isn't the same!
You can add Tabata to the list. With a pittance of a budget and a worthless console, he made FF type zero. Imagine what he could have done with more money and a ps3... would have been way better than cringe hallway 13.
I'd add Tetsuya Takahashi and the Mrs. to that list.
I'll never understand why the Final Fantasy movie failed. I loved it, and honestly I think it was such a brave and amazing effort by Sakaguchi and I hate that it ruined him in Square's eyes. I don't think Final Fantasy has ever been the same since he left. It just feels too edgy now. But I guess that's what happens when Mr. Belts and Zippers got a hold of the franchise (for those who don't know the old memes, I'm talking about Tetsuya Nomura).
I remember beating Guildenstern's final form by catching him in an endless chain as he swoops across the arena, nickel-and-diming his health 1 point at a time for about 10 minutes.
That's hilarious - I've seen a few people say that they just got good enough at chaining that they could whittle down any foe! I kinda like that I never got good enough at it that I had to hunt around for weird alternatives like odd affinity boosted break arts and spamming healing items!
Was just about to make this same comment! The extreme stress of landing the 1/2 damage chain ability on the exclamation point during his Bloody Sin attack is a core memory for sure, lol
I always took it for intended and never realised there was any other way. I beat most bosses like that tbh. Time to replay this game the way it was intended
Matsuno studying foreign policy and his first job being an international journalist explains SO much. I'm really impressed with this video, VS is my favorite collection of cutscenes of all time, and not only there's a bunch of production and post-release information I didn't know, but you've managed to pace the ABSURD amount of systems that need to be explained pretty well as you cover the rest of the game. Congratulations again on the 100k!
Thanks very much! Yeah I really worried while writing this that there was just a huge amount of "explaining" so I tried to wrap it around story moments or personal anecdotes. Hopefully it works well and keeps it interesting!
Nor fully caught up to speed on who matsuno is. Not my kind of genre. Why does it explain so much? Is it writing style related?
@@venepskeuten9206 All of his games have massive political high stakes intrigues which you the player is immediately absorbed into. Not only that, he mixes that with interesting and memorable characters. His characters are very fleshed out to the point you understand the "bad guys" perspective and the morally grey areas the 'good guys' have to tow to overcome the situation.
Bro, this is some immensive amount of work you put into this script. I am glad I found your channel as you are some of the best second monitor content out there.
Thanks very much! I feel like so much "long form" content out there is really pretty low effort so I always try to pour everything into each video. That's why they take so long to make!
This is the level of gaming journalism I'm looking for. Well done, sir!
Thanks so much my friend!
It blew my mind to find out that this game is in the same world as Final Fantasy Tactics and FF XII. I really wish more FF titles would be in Ivalice. I love the sceneries and the amount of lore in each game. Also the fact that there's many different prominent races in Ivalice that adds so much character to the games.
Low-key the greatest JRPG ever made. Artistically, one of the greatest games ever made in general.
I can't disagree. Even with it's flaws I just love how cinematic and ambitious it is
I want this game remade for a moeden pc
@@IFinishedAVideoGamethe presentation alone is enough to outweigh the flaws. The cinematography here is way ahead of its time
high-key
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I bought this game based on the CG ad alone. I didn’t understand a thing about it, never quite realized how in-depth it’s mechanics were, but damn, game’s still one of my top games ever played, with one of my only sticklers being how laborious crafting is just by how often it forces you to save while doing it.
Fantastic retrospective. Really appreciated the background info and even the “what happened to him now?” segment.
Thanks very much! I had wanted to make this video for a long time and when the two stories started to intertwine I knew I was onto something!
I've spent thousands of hours on watching UA-cam videos.
Quite a lot of them meaning a lot to me, enriching my life with their entertainment, nostalgia, perspectives etc.
So much so I consider them a work of art by themselves.
Most of those meaningful ones are about gaming history, design, philosophy and the like.
And this one here just jumped to be one of my absolute favourites.
Such a detailed video about what I consider to be one of humanities greatest works of art, about one of the very few persons I consider myself a fan of (one of the other few being Kojima-san ironically).
This is truly beautiful and I wanna thank you deeply for making this!
I watched it once now and will definitely watch it dozens times more in the future.
That's really nice to hear - hopefully this video can go into that category for you!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame it did not too long into my first watch of the video. It's absolutely amazing, thank you
Damn what a good week this was for top tier retrospective videos
Another common Noah fan W
I can finally sit down and enjoy Noah's latest video. I might not vibe with everything he makes but hearing him wax lyrical about Fallout is one of life's small pleasures
Yasumi Matsuno is one of the most underrated creative figures in the entire industry. After playing the FF Tactics games as well as Vagrant Story, I finally understand why Naoki Yoshida has such a deep admiration for him
Absolutely - I almost wish that Yoshida used him more! Minagawa was the art director for FF16 and I wish that Matsuno had been more involved with the script writing!
So glad you did this video! vagrant Story is a "hidden" gem for many and should get the attention it deserves. One of the best RPGs ever in gaming history.
That final scene where Ashley Riot masks himself as the VKP inquisitor and is dressed in his black attire struck me with such style that it inspires me to try to create a character based upon that idea alone
It's honestly an incredibly cool scene - I can't believe it was made with just the PS1's hardware!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame agree , very cool and mysterious. who know next story behind
What an absolute superb treasure you've put together here. I've loved Vagrant Story for years, and to see you honor it in such a way truly does justice to the legacy it deserves. Over the past week I've been watching this piece-by-piece during my lunch breaks. You brought me nostalgia in a way I'd never expected. In-depth, smartly written, and without any fluff, you've truly taken this retrospective look to a masterful level. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for this magnum opus report of a legendary game.
That's really awesome to hear - thanks for taking the time to comment! I used to watch long videos just like this back when I was working too so it always warms my heart to hear people are doing it with mine!
Matsuno is my idol. I have made D&D campaigns based on his settings and storytelling techniques.
I have immersed myself in every game of his.
I love his writing and worldbuilding so incredibly much.
I hope, cope, and pray that we get Final Fantasy Tactics Reborn, and Vagrant Story remade as a Soulslike.
That'd be so sick ;_; LOL
Can you elaborate on the DND part? Vagrant Story automatically became my major plot center for my DND campaign. I almost didn't even think about it at first and now I can't stop thinking about it.
Wanna share thoughts on it? I'm currently trying to interpret much of the story in order to expand and build on it.
First, I need to say that this was an excellent production/retrospective. Thank you!
Second, you helped me answer the question I was hoping for when I opened your video. Know this, I played the heck out of Vagrant Story. When I finally stopped, I was only a few steps short of a Damascus “Tree Trunk” (can’t remember what it was called. The Minotaur weapon.) Anyway, when I fired up Dark Souls, I got extreme Vagrant Story vibes. I was never sure why. When you started describing what an updated Vagrant Story game would be like, you answered my question. You literally described Dark Souls. Like, beat for beat. They have in common: Third person dungeon crawler, slightly Arcane upgrade system, careful execution of attacks, well timed defense requirements, just so much.
I don’t think we actually need another Vagrant Story. We already have it, or, at least, we have a game that is everything we would hope for it to be.
It's funny because Dark Souls is clearly just a third person evolution of From Software's Kings Field series but that is basically what Matsuno was doing with Vagrant Story at the very same time! The biggest difference I would say is that the storytelling style is so dramatically different - Vagrant Story really wants to be stylish and creative while the souls games are a lot more low key!
Excellent, glad this underrated gem is getting some love! Also, it’s a bit late but congrats on 100k mate, well deserved
His writing is absolutely beautiful
Thanks very much! I'd originally aimed to get there by the end of the year so it feels incredible to do it six months early!
I wouldn't say Vagrant Story is underrated it scored very high on release, perfect scores at many places, and is rated highly among the gaming industry.
@@rickylovesyou it's underrated in comparison to the other Squaresoft titles - I'd consider it a cult classic - those who know it absolutely love it, but it doesn't have the same level of prestige and recognition as the Final Fantasy series or other, more conventional JRPGs
You have found a focus on tragic stories (the downfall of parasite eve and castlevania, for example) that I think often go overlooked due to the industry's nature, where the creators only rarely become celebrities and drama unfolds over years and sometimes decades. I'm so glad you are making these.
Thanks very much. I really enjoy making these ones where the franchises have been unfairly lost to time. The industry has a graveyard of incredible experiences and I want to make sure that people who love video games don't forget them!
This may be the earliest I've even been to a video, see y'all in 3 hours.
I’ll race you
Hope you enjoyed it! I was editing for 18 hours straight yesterday to hit 6PM today so you'll have to be the first to let me know if I messed anything up!
Vagrant Story and Tactics Ogre are two of my favourite games ever, along with FFXII. To know that Matsuno studied foreign politics makes the depth of the narrative and cohesion so much more understandable now. I'm barely even 30 minutes in, and this video is already a greatly researched documentary. Great work!
Edit: I have to correct you on the section of weapon crafting. You say that you can accidentally downgrade a piece of gear because the end result is not disclosed. That's not true. You can hover over the new item, found above the 2 materials used for crafting, to see whether or not it's worth it to craft. You can also hover over the ‘OK’ button to see the same item before confirming.
Edit 2: Tactics Ogre: Reborn did not add crafting. It improved the already-existing crafting system that is in Let Us Cling Together.
Thanks very much! Glad you could learn something cool from this!
I think it's definitelly worth stating that as well as your reviews of the games themselves which are as comprehensive as they get, something that desserves equal praise is the way you build up to them by going into detail on the history behind the games and all the behind the scenes stuff it really does a great job hyping up the game to come
It's honestly my favourite part of the videos. I do really enjoy talking about engaging and interesting games but there is something about the history of this medium that I feel gets really ignored. Hopefully I'm doing them justice and turning people onto the process behind them!
I’ve never played Vagrant Story but I love watching your videos, and I especially loved your segment about the localization for this game! More and more I see criticism of creative localization, which is sometimes criticized as ‘inaccurate’ simply because it isn’t a 1:1 translation, but this game’s English script seems like everything I’ve ever enjoyed in a good localization. Im happy to know Alexander O. Smith has had such a long and successful career in the field!
Absolutely! I get really frustrated when people talk about wanting 1:1 translation because it really shows a profound misunderstanding of how language actually works.
I've got a real bee in my bonnet about it because my girlfriend speaks 3 languages and has done translation work in the past. It's really nowhere near as easy as just converting the words over!
@@IFinishedAVideoGamehear hear
I always get excited when I see a new video from you. The amount of time and effort you put into these isn't lost on me. Appreciate you 🙏
I appreciate you saying that. I know long form content is ten a penny these days but I really try to pour enough effort into it so you know the runtime is justified
Watching this now, all these years later, I get aggravated at hearing how good this game was.
The PlayStation I had developed the accursed laser head reader failure issue when I got this game, and I was never able to play it. The initial battle area would load after there cutscenes, then I was not able to progress beyond that area since nothing else could load.
To hear the accolades, the praise, and generally see how good the same was, it's frustrating beyond words to know something as seminal as say FF8 or MGS was always sitting there in front of me, but that I never had the chance to experience.
It's indescribable.
Thank you for the indepth video, to learn about how good this story is now only motivates me to find a way to experience it for myself.
I truly can't think of a game on PSX that blows me away more than Vagrant Story. Everything about it is truly astounding, though what always impresses me most is the use of the engine. It looks amazing for the time and it's file size is mind blowing.
It's incredible isn't it. The combination of camera angles and clever use of the polygon models makes you yearn for a world where directing skill was prioritized over studios spending millions on graphics. Vagrant Story legitimately looks better than the vast majority of games that released generations after it!
Jade Cocoon. In it's own way.
i wish a money guy would come along and fix the videogame industry and put the right people back in charge.
Lol. Money guys are the problem. Billionaires do not like you or care about you and have enough money coming in from broken buggy games it's almost the full market. They make millions from this. Now AI tech bros everyone thinks they can make games and standards will fall more. It's unfortunate. But I do hope the indies get more funding and backing to support their games not the corporate slop of fortnight and others where you own nothing.
I absolutely adore the direction and cinematography of the cutscenes in this game.
Phenomenal video btw😊
Thanks very much! This was a real passion project and I wanted to share just how beautiful standard definition could be!
Your retrospectives are Easily my new favorite series. I listen twice, once awake and also while I’m trying to sleep.
I'm honored - hope this one lives up to the others!
Your retrospectives are works of art. The depth with which you deliver into the subject and the obvious passion with which you speak on the games you present is genuinely a marvel.
Thanks so much. This really was the definition of a passion project so I hope some of it can bleed out into the people that watch it!
Dude yes, I haven't even watched yet but I'm so glad you're covering this absolute diamond of a game
Hope it lived up to the excitement! I put a lot into this one so hopefully there is stuff in there for multiple watches!
For all its flaws Vagrant Story is a game I'll never forget and one I still hold out a faint hope will get a sequel. The games aesthetics are sublime and the story wonderfully written and presented. Your video is a worthy tribute as well as an excellent critique. Thank you.
Thanks - that really means a lot especially as I've really tried to make a video that properly captures the experience (for all those that can't get past it's jagged edges)
Honestly I'd be happy if VS was re-released on Steam. Bet it would sell like hotcakes today, assuming Square didn't mess it up.
The ending is such a strong setup for a sequel that never came. I don't think this masterpiece could be remastered, or even matched, in execution.
There are of course great and amazing games out there, but there is only one Vagrant Story.
Absolutely - it's a shame too as the potential sequel that Matsuno had come up with is very intriguing!
At a certain point as I was watching this, a tear came to my eye. Your video is exceptionally good. Even great. You nailed the mythos of the game, you understand Matsuno's masterpiece, and your in-depth research has made me realize a lot I didn't know about the behind the scenes of the greatest game of all time. The use of the game's motif at the beginning of the chapters was perfect! Excellent work man. You've got a subscriber.
That's really nice to hear. I absolutely love this game and really wanted to make sure I did it justice! Hopefully it can introduce new people to the weird world of Matsuno!
I fell asleep while watching the video and started dreaming about the plot and now I want to play it
Love the segment about the masterful localization. Really elevates the game! Keep up the great work!
It just can't go without mention. Such an under appreciated part of the industry!
I love this game, it has my favourite narrative for a single game, though my favourite narrative over a series goes to Legacy of Kain. I loved these both so much that I recorded the cutscenes mixed with some gameplay onto VHS so I could watch them as movies. Later I recorded them to DVD, then finally uploaded them to youtube (along with the Sands of Time trilogy) as playlists (due to having a ten minute limit at the time). I've been pretty in depth over Vagrant Story as a result, I'm still pleased with myself from when I realised that all the weapons in the game were named after alcoholic cocktails, except for Rosencrantz's weapon 'Pussyfoot' being the only one named for a _non-alcoholic_ cocktail (as he has no magic).
So yeah, I love this game but I did have a hell of a time playing it at first, I think I actually completed it before I even realised how the analyse spell worked. I'd use it then not know that you needed to go into Ashley's own status menu and press the shoulder buttons to see his enemy's stats, I just got confused over what it was supposed to be doing before finally giving up on it.
I've actually written the script for a primer on how to play Vagrant Story which was made into a video on the Resonant Arc channel for their podcast series on the game (Vagrant Story | 10 Tips To Get Started) just last year and I had a devil of a time trying to break the whole thing down into an understandable format. There are still one or two things I would have changed, most notably explaining how the readout of the weapon stats work on the attack screen. The readout will say something like *EGD/FIR/Beast* telling you that your blow will use the values for blunt, fire and beast but the tricky thing is that there is a different reason for why each of these values are chosen against their rivals. In explaining this to Mike at Resonant Arc we kept talking (well, typing via discord) in circles over what we were trying to communicate when I realised he had misspoke the explanation. In essence he thought the readout was telling you what would be most efficient but it doesn't, after a lot of back and forth we stumbled in the right direction and I felt my poor explanation was the cause of the confusion but in his words the system was 'insane' in its complexity. (it was corrected before the video went live luckily)
Because the readout tells you what Class of enemy you are facing it seems reasonable to conclude that the Affinity section would be telling you which element is most effective as well but this is simply not true, the element used is always whichever is currently highest on the weapon with any other elemental values completely disregarded. If you approach the readout thinking it is telling you _what_ to use (based on it telling you what enemy you are facing) then you are coming at it backwards. What is is telling you is which values _will_ be used regardless of how well they will be used.
As much trouble as the game originally gave me I still loved every minute for the story it was telling and when I saw Ashley walking off into the rain in his new badass longcoat at the end I don't think I've ever topped that feeling of satisfaction in a game's ending...
Discovering the extra narrative elements in the ultimania translations years later though, that made me love it even more.
That's extremely cool that you worked with Resonant Arc on that video. I was a huge fan of their retrospective series and enjoy the podcast quite a lot as well (when I get the time to sit through one!)
Can't agree more with you on the ending. Matsuno really had an eye for cinema - it's interesting to think what Square Pictures might have produced with him in charge had Spirits Within not bombed so hard!
@@IFinishedAVideoGameit was more to do with Sakaguchi’s decision to hold back the release of FFX that put the company in the red, not so much The Spirits Within. It’s very hard to reel back this narrative now that it’s been spread so widely in articles and video essays.
He had also begun his formation of Mistwalker prior to the movie. Company politics post merger with Enix is to blame really.
Yay!!!! You finished it. I’m so looking forward to watching this. Cheers!
Thanks my friend. Hope it lives up to the wait - it ended up taking a little longer than I expected!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame I loved it and appreciate all the work you put into it. I especially liked the beginning and the story about Yasumi Matsuno and all his works. He really just wanted to make new and challenging ideas into worlds for players to enjoy. I may geek out about this stuff too much lol but the backstory really sets the stage for this amazing game and story. Bravo!
Also, I didn’t buy the PS2 immediately but I did pick up this game and was just mesmerized by it. I can’t remember if I ever finished it but this has me itching to go back and play through it completely.
Had no idea that FFT's reputation had fallen off over the years 😂. Still my all time favorite game
Yeah I think it's in a similar place to Vagrant Story in that people love the concept and the narrative but accept that actually playing through it comes with some real bumps in the road. The difficulty spikes, the weird mechanics, the points of no return.
I personally love it but if someone said they didn't I would struggle to disagree!
It hasn’t. It’s just one dudes opinion. People clamor over that game still.
Really, I need to pick this up again. It was awesome when I was 12 when I first played it will be now I am 35, and I understand so much. It is always good to relieve childhood experiences through adult understanding
As long as you're happy to consult a guide every now and then - I'm sure you'll have a great time with it and really appreciate it!
Vagrant story was a gift from my then fiance (now wife) over 20 years ago. She got me the game and the guide and lets just say that even till this day, we stll dont talk about it lol.
I absolutely loved this game. Even the what some consider to be the convulted crafting system and the complexity of the affinity system, weapon health, weapon leveling; it was so deep and unlike anything i had ever played before. I spent hours/days/weeks farming weapons, gems, hilts. I practiced chains endlessly on the dummies that you encounter in each area and the story/presentation -- so wonderful! Your video essay in my opinion gives this masterpiece its rightful due.
That's really awesome to hear. Call me sentimental but I think if I'd been gifted a classic 90s game by my wife it would only serve to elevate it all the more!
Matsuno originally studying foreign politics in college feels like it explains everything to me.
As soon as I discovered that it all fell into place!
An essential part of the Matsuno puzzle.
I knooooowwwwww
@@IFinishedAVideoGamepll😊79
It's like Steve Jobs studying types and magazine layout design. All information you gain through life can give you a unique perspective that will help you to succeed.
I always feel sorry for Matsuno. He made an incredible masterpiece that most people will never finish, and got his campaign setting stolen by a huge corporation who just does whatever they want with it.
To be fair to Square Enix, they did invite him to write scenarios set in Ivalice for the FFXIV expansions, so it's not like that bridge is completely burned.
That's what happens when you sell something.
Someone else owns it.
That's not stealing ffs.
@@Valchrist1313 thanks reddit
Honestly I think he's fine with it. Considering he left FF12 with Minagawa and then came back to work on Tactics Ogre and FF14, it's clear he still has a good relationship with them but just doesn't want to work on big projects!
The reason almost nobody will finish it is due to Matsuno's pathological inability to stop himself from destroying the playability of his games by sticking every cruelly player-hostile decision that strikes his fancy into every one of them. I feel no pity for him; he decided what was important to him and committed to it.
I still listen to the music of Vagrant Story.
The Ending music is a masterpiece. Every time I listen to it brings back memories of my own room in my parent’s house.
It's beautiful isn't it? I still crack it on all the time while writing!
Why in gods name are they not remaking this.
They lost the game code
It always felt like am enthusiast game too. So few people I knew actually knew about this game. And those I introduced it to, only few learnt to stick by it and appreciate the awesomeness. NGL, I only found this game after modern day games were a thing so the overall quality as well wasn't as impressive. I so wish it gets a proper remake. It's cinematic af
This is amazing, thank you OP. I first tried Vagrant Story when I was a teenager, was heartbroken I couldn't play it because of a defect CD back then. I was so close to crying like a baby when I recently found a ROM of it and now spending my gaming time playing it. I genuinely appreciate the work put into this video.
I'm glad you be of service and introduce you to the rest of this masterpiece! Hope it was worth the wait!
Wow, I’ve played games my whole life and I never heard of this, we’ll done on making this, capturing 3 hrs of footage as well as writing what must be one hell of a script! Well done 👏
You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it and I could introduce you to fascinating game!
This is honestly one of the best video essays I've ever watched, I just found the whole story captivating.
Thanks so much. I'm really pleased with how it turned out so it's amazing to hear people are enjoying it
I just gotta say you really go above and beyond with your video essays. It's not just a game review, but a thorough critique and understanding of the context surrounding the game. I feel like I learn critical parts of video-game art history watching your vids. Keep up the good work! 👍
Thanks so much. I really pushed myself with this one as I wanted to tell the story of both Matsuno and Vagrant Story in full detail! I'm glad you enjoyed it
Sorry for spamming comments but
My GOD the opening sequence is an absolute masterpiece.
I love how the first wyvern you fight is clearly battle-worn and weakened; but the next one is not so weak.
So good!
Not even 1/5th of the way through and i already know i'm gonna relisten to this one several times.
You do amazing work, and i love the behind the scenes stuff telling about the people, studios, and situations involved.
I honestly cant stop listening to your videos, and now i'm very curious about any future projects (no rush, just curiosity. Take all the time you need)
Thanks so much - that's extremely kind of you to say.
Well I've had the next project announced for quite some time! It's going to be a complete franchise video about the Metroid series. Should be a big one!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame 👀 oh my lord. I will definitely be waiting with bated breath.
You do amazing work, and i've already recommended you to some friends
Thanks very much! That's awesome to hear
You are like this really intelligent friend that would help us get past difficult areas in videogames. This video is incredibly insightful and amazing. Keep doing such a great work. Thank you for a nostalgic journey to the past!
Thanks my friend - that's very nice of you to say! Glad you enjoyed the video!
It is still literally one of the best games ever made.
And this video is one of the greatest on this platform. The time, commitment, research, passion, visuals, storytelling and audio selections were all brilliant.
Thank you for this work. 💙
Thanks so much my friend. It was a real passion project - hope I've done the game and Matsuno justice!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame You're very welcome, all praise was earned.
You certainly did more than justice for the title. I enjoyed your critique even and was intrigued by how you approached some of the core mechanics, particularly identifying affinity in the early game. I remember overcoming this myself by just always using fresh weapons, which worked to my detriment later in the game every time, but I just plowed through for the love of it.
I'm really glad I've found your channel, I've just watched through the Jade Empire retrospective, and will continue to enjoy your works as long as you keep posting. Big respect Mr. IFAVG.
Thanks my friend! That means a lot to hear!
One of my beloved Childhood games.
Thank you for all this effort that you put into this video.
The German Community dosen't know much about pieces like that.
You're more than welcome. Hopefully it can help more people discover just how cool it is!
OMG I loved this game and I love you for making this video! ❤ I grinded all the way to the perfect Damascus 1h sword and 2h holy win sword. This takes me back I would pay full price for a remake
You crazy person! I had come quite close to going for hagane Dread armour - I can't imagine how long it must take to get the Damascus versions!
Yet another game I've barely heard of, and probably will never play. Your videos give me a deep understanding of historically significant games.
It's what I love to do! Welcome to the weird world of Yasumi Matsuno!
I still own Vagrant Story... i remember my brother maxed out the Timer on the Save File and STILL was finding secrets and perfecting his already OP equipment. Vagrant Story is, at least in my eyes, a "Perfect Game". A game that has long lasting value and replayability that exceeds it's price tag....a game that, all things considered with this game industry, is deserving of a remaster...but should NEVER get it, for to do so would no doubt destroy/butcher/ruin what is already a masterpiece.
EDIT: i was about to comment on Crimson Shroud but i see ya mentioned it. I LOVE that game! It's like playing D&D to a degree and despite it's budget-ness, it still oozes that "style" Matsuno has in his games. The story isn't too bad either.
I think the replayability is something that always really surprises me about Vagrant Story. That new game plus mode really is quite worthwhile!
Sadly I'm not as big of a fan of Crimson Shroud. It's a clever idea but just not really what I want from that big beautiful imagination in Matsuno's head!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame true..if set up next to VS and his other games, it pales in comparison.
But given that Crimson Shroud was part of some sort of budget/challenge promotion with Level 5 (I think, I just remember there were a handful of "small" 3DS titles made with Crimson Shroud as some kind of promomotion)... it is still impressive in it's own right.
The 3D is good. The game mechanics still have a depth and complexity to them on top of the "old school dice rolling"...the game has atmosphere and style, even though it is far less than VS, FFT, etc, the music has its familiar stylings from all his other games tracks...and the story is still filled with a bit of intrigue and mystery.
To nutshell it..Crimson Shroud is a lighter helping of Matsudo, rather than a full blown course like VS and the Tactics series. It does lack the ambition, size and budget of his past games...but it's still a game with his mark on it: experimental, deep, interesting and familiar.
It's not perfect but neither are his other games under critical eye (as mentioned from the flaws in VS).
I'd say give it a another once over...if you want. :)
By the way, I absolutely love your videos. They are so good and your Castlevania retrospective is probably my favorite UA-cam video of all time.
That's really cool of you to say! I'm stoked you enjoyed it especially as that was a huge undertaking!
Finally, Vagrant Story. Love this game. Squaresoft was so innovative back in the days... And I love your work ❤
Absolutely - this video is really a love letter to creators who would rather innovate than make sales. Matsuno really deserves to be held in higher acclaim!
I had never heard of that game before, and I'm so glad for you making this video and allowing me to experience it in all its greatness.
It was worth every second of it.
That's awesome to hear. As much as it's an engaging game to play I think it makes for a great subject for a video too!
WOW - the revelation that Solstice and Tactics Ogre share any connection is mind blowing to me, let alone that Tactics Ogre started with a different title entirely. Solstice was one of those games i wanted to play incessantly as a young young kid, if you want to hear something truly incredible for the NES check out the opening theme for that game.
This was by far your best video yet! I really love that you went through the story instead of just focusing on the "surroundings". Made for a perfect entertaining mix. Hope you will keep that format going forward!
That's awesome to hear. I really tried to push my writing to another level here and blend the story of Matsuno's career with that of Vagrant Story in a way that feels natural. Hope it came across well!
I'm about 52 minutes into the video (fantastic work so far btw), and to throw my 2 cents on the Durai quote at the beginning, it connects Vagrant' Story's concepts of "body" and "soul" with the story's main themes.
While Vagrant Story's lore deals a lot with literal lost souls tainted by The Dark forcefully attacking the living for fresher bodies to inhabit, it *also* serves as an extended metaphor for humans' tendency to manipulate and subjugate others for their own ends.
The common thread between every faction in Vagrant Story is that those with power deceive their followers because the "bodies" of the latter (or: an individual's capacity to serve their master) are valued more than their "souls", which we can define as the hopes, fears, and agency of those being manipulated.
Ashley is said to have no soul because he's waived his right to his own body, he'll fight and die in service of the VKP, and they've warped his mind so that he may continue to do so. It's only by holding onto the love he had for Tia and Marco that Ashley's soul resurfaces. Sydney chooses Ashley because the latter fights out of devotion to those he loves rather than any desire to subjugate others, which mirrors what Sydney is doing for Duke Bardorba.
So again, to reiterate, I think the Durai quote at the start is there to frame the conflict between those with ambition and the people they subjugate, and it does so in a way that begs the audience to consider the horrific nature of this subjugation
That's very interesting. I think you're right in that it's more of a thematic lead in although I would question it's positioning - it's odd that it arrives just before the Greylands report and not at the very start of the game!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame
Placed where it is, the Durai quote puts a hard stop to the breakneck pace the game's had up to this point; for a moment, the player is given a chance to take their mind off of the intricate plot and instead consider the nature of one's body and soul; which, beyond the thematic content of the game, is also important to understanding Lea Monde as a setting, more so than Duke Bardorba's Manor.
Additionally, I think the hard shift from spy thriller flavored fantasy action to a quote discussing the ethical nature of man from a theological perspective clues the audience in that the story is about to shift gears in a major way once Ashley reaches Lea Monde. Things become less about putting a stop to Mullenkamp, and more about the mystery surrounding the city and the people who seek its power.
@@IFinishedAVideoGame As a side note, I see that you've also looked at various franchises I love, namely Parasite Eve, Castlevania, and Prince of Persia. Looking forward to sitting through those when I get the chance!
Hope you enjoy them!
3 hour retrospective of Vagrant Story?
Yes. Absolutely.
GOD I WANT SO MUCH FOR A REMAKE GOD I WANT IT SO BAAAAAD lol
One day our prayers will surely be answered!
Fantastic video as always. Your abilities with editing and audio quality seem to keep getting better with every release.
I will continue to hope that you'll cover FF Tactics in detail (either the base game, or with the advance games included). I feel there isn't a single detailed retrospective or deep dive into the game on UA-cam that does the magic of that game justice.
The era of Square doing medieval fantasy ripe with complicated webs of political intrigue was truly something special.
I'd never even opened editing software before a few years ago and absolutely never recorded audio in any sort of form - so that's really nice to hear that I'm improving!
I cannot stress enough how much I like your videos, last year when I discovered you I watched a lot of them back to back, and today I'm rewatching this one after rewatching the Eve one.
I actually haven't watched the Metroid one just because I want to play the remake first, because I know that you talk in so much detail and in such a comprehensive way that I won't be able to stop the video when the "spoilers" start, they are entertaining to watch as well as to just listen to, I hope you continue this year with many more videos (quality over quantity of course).
I know this donation is nothing in the way of money, but I just wanted to make sure you know that your content is awesome.
Thanks so much! Honestly it's not the amount but the sentiment that matters to me and it's so awesome to hear that you enjoy my stuff this much.
Luckily I've got quite a few planned for this year so hopefully you should have many more retrospectives to watch or listen to!
I absolutely loved this game when it first came out! I still have it and my memory cards and have recently played it for a 5th continuation play through on my PS2.
Not sure if I missed it in this video or if it didn’t say but once you beat the game, you can obtain Guildenstern’s final boss weapon, the Holy Win. It is obtainable on second play by entering The Iron Maiden B2 with less than 150 health and defeating the Last Crusader at the entrance to B3. The drop rate for The Holy Win is between 1 and 3%, and as such, it is extremely difficult to obtain.
This weapon is OP and has great reach. Best weapon in the game by far!
A few people have brought up that weapon! I had no idea it existed and wish I'd have at least attempted to farm it so I could have mentioned it in the video!
This was an amazing retrospective. I had no idea of this game or its historical context. Thank you!
Glad I could introduce you to it! It's a real classic that doesn't get enough love!
The amount of people who don't read through the manual in the options menu is astounding. I never had any difficulties with this game as a kid, since you can always check the manual. One of my favorite games ever, 10/10.
I mean that might be the case but I don't think it's always clear how to properly implement an almost 25 page internal manual into your game experience. It's pretty fair to say this is a very complex game and the way you're introduced to it's mechanics isn't exactly natural
Such an amazing game from my childhood I’ll never forget.
And this is gaming journalism at its finest that dives deep into what went into the making of this gem
Literally never played or even heard of this game.. but I live for this type of in depth content
Hope you enjoy it - this is a literal classic!
I am astounded at the quality of this project. Well done!
Thanks my friend. This is my personal favourite video so I'm always really pleased to see a kind comment about it
They should bring this back, SERIOUSLY, imagine a remake of this. or atleast give us a remaster.
We can only dream my friend
Loved the video! I have read folks mention how Crimson Shroud's plot was eerily similar to what Matsuno shared for Vagrant Story's sequel and I could see him using ideas he had stashed away both for his FF14's contributions and for CS.
He's one of my favorite videogame writers & creators so it hurts to see him on the sidelines, but like you said if it's for health issues there's nothing else but to wish for his wellbeing above all else.
His games having very unfriendly mechanics gameplay-wise have always made them difficult to recommend, I personally try my best to work through them because of the charm and the storytelling one can find in its craft but they are always very challenging to unravel and not many have the time or the patience to give his work the chance to make itself shine.
Thanks for making this about Vagrant Story, it's a gem that deserves the spotlight! I will have something to share the next time I want to bring this game to more people. Also congrats on the 100k!
Thanks so much! 100k felt like a huge milestone as it was great to cap it off with a video about a creator and game that I feel really passionate about.
Absolutely agree about his games being hard to recommend. I think that's why I wanted to make this extra detailed - it's an alternative to actually playing it!
@@IFinishedAVideoGame makes sense! It's a great way to celebrate a milestone like this one with a topic that's close to you
You made a good decision!
Yasumi Matsuno strikes me as gifted individual who saw great success, but did not have the resilience to press on after adversity and became too afraid to fail, so he stopped trying as hard.
Quite possibly! Although it seems odd that he was able to direct two games for Square on the PS1 and then fell apart once he moved to the PS2 and Final Fantasy. I guess we'll never know for absolute sure!
Another fabulous video essay. I really appreciate your attention to detail in contextualizing the state of the video game industry at the time of your subjects and exhaustive examination of contributing creators and auteurs. I might have gone my entire life without knowing anything about Vagrant Story, but with your guidance have come to appreciate this unique old gem. Thank you for that.
That's really cool to hear. We have such a tendency to just view games and the companies that make them in such simplistic terms - it's nice to be able to better flesh it out and turn people onto the humans and intentions behind it all!
If they had put a Mission Briefing option on the main menu it would make the whole thing even more like Metal Gear Solid, since some people would call it Medieval Gear Solid as joke already.
Well it makes sense considering both games revolve around secret agents with mysterious pasts tracking down a nemesis that they are closer to than they realise!
I think your section on translation and localization was extremely effective. Japanese media is so expensive in the west now but localization and translation is so heavily undermined. We either have under the table translators attempting to make works more "adult" with verbal slang and vulgarity or those who believe a direct translation, which is the much heavily held standard in the industry, is the only approach with localization viewed as a butchering for the original intent of the creator- which can be true thanks to 4kids infamous dubs and the like. Localization and the translation of meaning to a different language is so drastically important and can't be a 1 to 1 translation or else it will come off stolted, confusing and unrelatable just as much as any goofy dialogue or edit could be.
Great work
Thanks very much. Alexander actually reached out to me on Twitter and said he loved the video which I found extremely cool and gave me a real fan boy moment
I always thought it was fitting that your profile pic is a picture of silver surfer, a character filled with so much dread and existentialism. And the fact that you make these long videos after playing all the games in a series, But i could just be overthinking this.
I mean you've basically nailed it completely. That's exactly why I use it!
Another phenomenal documentary on a piece of history I missed out on in my youth. Thank you for sharing these stories and these masterpieces that would otherwise fall unknown to history.
You're more than welcome. Glad you enjoyed this one! It's probably my personal favourite video along with Eternal Darkness - I just love it when I can get all passionate about a game I truly love!
I can’t wait to get into this, though I’m going to have to download for later viewing. Thanks for your hard work.
You're welcome! This one really took it out of me so hopefully it's lead to a nice detailed trip down memory lane!
I was sleeping and this was playing in the background, I didn't understand why my phone wouldn't shut up in the dream until I woke up
I think I exist in a lot of peoples dreams at the moment lmao
I have waited for this video for months, ever since I threw out four video ideas and you said three of them were in the works. I had high hopes this was one. I'm still holding on to the hope that Onimusha is another.
Vagrant Story is such a phenomenal game, and I think both a testament to the industry then and how far it has fallen now. The fact that I, and many others, have such fond memories playing VS to the point that it still feels great to play 25 years later illustrates how great the game is. That there are so many great games from that era of gaming that meet the same replayable standards speaks to the quality of games and the caliber of storytelling of the time. That I can only think of a handful of games that have that replay value today, and many of them are FromSoft titles, is a sad statement for today's gaming landscape.
I've played Vagrant Story so many times over the past 2 ½ decades, and I still don't feel I've completed the game. It is, by far, one of my all time favorite games in 44 years on this rock. I've completed the game and lost the save file to time, moving losses, and data corruption numerous times. I know the story by heart, but still get lost in that damned forest. I still need to make the highest tier armor and weapons. I still need to max out all the break arts. I would love to introduce my wife to the game and see how she enjoys it (or doesn't, but I don't see that happening).
As usual, your retrospective is amazingly well researched, incredibly comprehensive, and remarkably enjoyable. I look forward your next video.
I'm happy to confirm you were indeed right! We'll have to see about those others!
Absolutely agree about VS being a damning indictment of where the industry is today. This wasn't even a premier release for Square and here we are waxing lyrical 20 years later! I'm just not sure that many AAA games that come out for current gen consoles will have that sort of legacy
@@IFinishedAVideoGame Current generation games absolutely won't have that type of staying power for two reasons. 1) The games of today are not of the same quality. Sure some games like Balder's Gate 3 and Elden Ring may be exceptional exceptions. And there are definitely games worth playing, but the majority will only get played once or twice and added to the pile of games I say I'll play again, but likely won't. 2) The biggest problem with today's games is the industry's obsession with DRM. Once they shut down the servers it doesn't matter if you have a physical copy of the game, you're not playing that game. You may get lucky, like the PS3 Demon's Souls community, and someone puts up a server for love of the game. But that's not often the case, and it's not wise to bank on that. And I could be mistaken, but I feel like I was just reading about Microsoft soon to be shutting down Xbox 360s marketplace? So all those digital games I never finished were money well spent. Is it any wonder why so many gamers are wary of digital only consoles, the disappearing physical media, and the practice of purchasing a license to play a game as opposed to owning the copy you bought or indefinite leases on consoles?
I couldn't agree more. I'm a physical gamer by nature and I really struggle to get on board with the digital only direction of the industry. Alan Wake 2 for example is going to be digital only and EGS only. I just really struggle to want to be involved with that!
You Sir, are one of the best UA-cam content creators I've come across! Well done! Keep up the amazing content!
That's really nice of you to say. I'm just a guy that particularly loves pre-HD video games and gets a kick out of the storytelling potential of history! Somehow it makes for quite good youtube videos!
Dude, you have done retrospectives on two of my favorite underrated gems, Jade Empire and Vagrant Story. They were both amazing (as well as your other videos). I do wish they would give these two the remake treatment (although I get your reasons for not with Vagrant Story). I kind of feel like Final Fantasy XVI was more of a follow-up to VS than to the FF series, which I think is why I liked it so much.
I'm in your head and coming for your third favourite underrated gem!
What an incredible video my God. I loved this game growing up but I was pretty young so most of the story went over my head I've always wanted to go back and replay it. Ironically I thought I didn't have enough time to do so and I found myself listening to a 3 hour video about it. I had not known about the creators story before this and your telling of Matsuno's career was so compelling, turns out he made all my favorite square enix games. There is not an ounce of fat in this video. So well done!
Thanks my friend. This is probably my favourite video and the one I'm most proud of! I absolutely adore Matsuno's work and really relate to some elements of his career so it was amazing to be able to share a video that celebrated it!
This video is a marterpiece about a masterpiece. Thanks bro!
Thanks so much for watching!
Fantastic - didn't realise you were doing a video on VS. Can't wait to watch!
Well surprise! Hope you enjoy it!
It always endlessly amused me how much Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are foils to each other. In both of their motive rants they are saying much the same thing but Rosencrantz blames all the world's troubles on the rich nobility while Guildenstern blames the world's trouble on grasping commoners.
Something else that I really liked was the obvious explanation for why Lea Monde is destroyed in the ending, the city itself is a grimoire and in the game once a grimoire is read it dissolves to nothing and imprints its magic permanently onto its user.
I absolutely love the comparisons you can draw between the "villains" and their conflicting motivations. I really haven't played many other games that place this much effort into subverting expectations it crafts!
Also that's a fantastic point about Lea Monde I hadn't considered. You're totally right that it's crumbling after the dark has been imprinted
This was amazing, thank you. Vagrant Story was one of my favourite games that I was never able to finish. It was I game I kept trying again (while I still had a PS1) because the failure was still worth it; as has been mentioned, it's compelling and masterfully done. I was unable to look up a solution back when I first played it. At the time I was usually against looking at walkthroughs, when those could be found, and in this case, I thought I was just bad at the game (which is technically true). I now know why the game seems to ramp up in difficulty... well, not difficulty, but complexity. The same reason that had caused you to restart the game is the reason I would inevitably quit. Over 20 years later and I now have an actual reason for why I failed, but more than that, I have also been able to see the story to it's conclusion, through you and this video, so again, thank you.
That's absolutely awesome to hear. I actually designed this video on purpose to be able to stand in for people who didn't quite want to finish the game themselves so it's great to hear that it worked! Thanks for watching!