Multilayered Complexity

To this day, I do not know what is going on with
the protagonist's hair.  Are those antenna or what?

A typical shorthand analysis of Vagrant Story will call it a flawed masterpiece.  In truth though it is a fairly ordinary tale and setting, but with a highly stylized presentation and some very complex (to the point of being obtuse) mechanics.  It's also a precursor to the Souls series and a PS1 game that has never been remade.  

Not that it really needs to...the animation and camera work are superb and the game even has hair physics!  The developers were able to circumvent hardware limitations by using a number of clever tricks such as baking lighting effects into the textures.  Interspersing gameplay are short, but incredibly dense cutscenes.  To say "blink and you'll miss it" would be an understatement.  Compounding this is the faux middle English which, unlike the localizations for Final Fantasy: Tactics or Final Fantasy XII, is condensed such that information is conveyed with an eye for economy of language.  If that sounds like a contradiction, it's because it is.  Much of Vagrant Story is opposing purposes being melded into a single path.  It is most apparent when it comes to game mechanics.  

Playing Vagrant Story involves everything from box puzzles and platforming to semi-tactical combat and item crafting.  There's a rhythm mini-game used to chain attacks together or counter enemy attacks.  Weapons have not only a durability stat, but also "phantom points" which increase with use.  Both of these numerical ratings need to be kept high in order to maximize damage output, but raising one reduces the other.  There's also a "risk" stat that increases when the player chains a large number of attacks together.  As risk rises the chance to miss increases, but so does the maximum possible damage from an attack.  In other words, you miss more, but when you hit, you hit hard.  There is magic in the game (referred to as "grimoires" rather than "spells").  Casting them (after the first free use) consumes magic points which, like hit points refill over time.  Additionally, there is a set of "break arts" which are unlocked as the player fights enemies throughout the game.  They eat hit points in return for one of several special attacks based on weapon type.  This might sound infeasible, but healing magic isn't resource intensive and their is a plethora of items that restore MP/HP and even reduce "risk" points quickly (rather than having to wait).  So, there are a variety of ways the player can customize their playstyle especially when considering the types of gear they can equip.

The character dialogue utilizes text bubbles akin
to most comic books.

Equipment comes in the form of armor (by location), shields and arms.  Weapons come in familiar categories (daggers, rapiers, swords, spears, axes, clubs, staffs, crossbows, etc.); each with their own attack animations based on subtype.  However, that's only the tip of the iceberg in terms of customizability.  There are a variety of materials (wood, leather, bronze, silver, iron, "hagane", and "Damascus"), as well as affinities in which the weapon excels (human, beast, undead, phantom, dragon and evil).  These stats for "preferred" enemy type can be adjusted by mounting special gems in the weapon handle or simply by using a particular weapon against a particular kind of enemy.  How many gems depends on the handle or grip which can be swapped around in workshops found throughout the game.  Certain workshops can only handle certain materials though...and if that isn't complicated enough all objects can be combined with any other object to create entirely new objects.  Oh...and there are also elemental aspects to consider such as light, dark, air, earth, fire and water.        

Story-wise there are layers upon layers of intrigue that are steadily reveled over the course of the game.  Some are shown to be lies and falsehoods told by characters who seek to deceive, but then other aspects are left ambiguous or simply unexplained.  Overall, the story takes a backseat to gameplay in the latter half, but picks up again at the end.  Like Final Fantasy XII and the Final Fantasy: Tactics series, the setting of Vagrant Story is the world of Ivalice.  Unlike like those other two games though the time period is significantly later to the point that most players would not make the connection on their own.

I haven't even talked about the amazing soundtrack, bombastic sound effects, bizarre fashion choices, old-school Dungeons and Dragons traps, friendly fire, maps in which every room has a unique and evocative name, or an option to view the world from a first-person perspective...but, let's face it, this game is absurd in terms of complexity and depth.  Better that anyone reading this experience Vagrant Story for themselves or watch someone's playthrough on Youtube/Twitch.  I simply can't capture everything there is to this game in writing...at least not to the degree needed to do this game justice.    

Aside from the prologue, the entire game takes place over a period of about one-and-a-half days and
in a single location - the fortified island of Leá Monde (based on the real-life commune Le Mont-Saint-Michel)