First ImpressionVagrant Story

Of all the demos on the bonus disc included with Square's Legend of Mana, Dew Prism was by far the most enjoyable to play. No small feat considering that demos of Chrono Cross and Front Mission 3 were in attendance. However, the demo that not only inspired hope but yelps of extreme joy, was the video-only introduction to Vagrant Story. Now is the time to start building the hype. In the eyes of this writer, Vagrant Story is the first game to move me the way Metal Gear Solid moved me when I first saw it. This game looks that good. To say that Vagrant Story is cinematic is like saying Star Wars is just another movie. When you see the style and graphic prowess of Vagrant Story in action, you'll be amazed. Yeah, we all know how good Dreamcast stuff can look and kind of how PS2 stuff can look, but this is the first time someone has done something so stylistic and stunning on the PlayStation. Take the beautifully drawn and designed characters of Final Fantasy Tactics (courtesy of Akihiko Yoshida), render them in gorgeous 3D, place them in a setting worthy of Highlander or Braveheart, throw in some cinematic thunder and lightning, and you still can't appreciate how cool Vagrant Story looks. The characters walk across the screen with an elegant grace that defies description. As they speak, no blah blah dialogue boxes appear here - instead, word balloons straight out of the comics appear on screen with the words filling them up in English. The camera pans in the most dramatic ways possible, sweeping the viewer (you) into the whirlwind proceedings.

The part where it gets really good is when the dragon comes out. Don't ask how it all turns out because that's where the trailer ends. But like the best Hollywood trailers, it ends in a way that makes you feel like you just can't wait to play it. Although it's been suggested that Vagrant Story will only last six hours, it would be better to play a great six hour game than to play a meandering 60 hour game like Saga Frontier. From the looks of things, this could be one of the last great PlayStation games, so don't let Vagrant Story out of your sight. More on this one as we get it.