Vagrant Story

No towns. No shops. No world map. Just one cursed city and you in its bowels. Vagrant Story from Squaresoft in 2000 is one of the most daring and uncompromising works ever released on the PlayStation - an action RPG that looks and tells its story like a taut cinematic thriller.

Behind the game stands Yasumi Matsuno, a creator with a signature evident in every frame. The tale of the agent Ashley Riot, searching in the ruins of the city of Leá Monde, is delivered with cinematic direction, sophisticated dialogue and a dark, grown-up atmosphere that few dared attempt at the time. The locations flow one into another, so the whole game feels like a single enormous interwoven dungeon.

The combat system is a depth unto itself. In real time you target specific parts of the enemy's body, thereby influencing its movement and attacks, and chain combos with precise timing. Added to this is extremely complex weapon crafting - you combine blades, hilts, materials and properties effective against various types of enemies until you obtain an arsenal tailored to every situation.

This depth is at the same time the biggest barrier. Vagrant Story is a demanding, at times downright unfriendly game that requires the player to understand its systems and to have patience. The reward, however, is a sense of mastery that few titles offer - once you finally penetrate the logic of the combat and crafting, an extraordinarily satisfying tactical game opens up before you.

Visually the game still captivates with its unified, gloomy aesthetic and impressive camera work. It is a title that does not try to please everyone; it aims at players willing to learn and be rewarded with something truly unique.

Why play it: For a cinematically told story, intoxicatingly deep combat with body-part targeting and crafting like no other - if you can handle the difficulty.