History VideoGame / VandalHearts

** From ''Vandal Hearts II'', Joshua and the White Dragons can be seen as the good guys, the enemies from East and West Natra (Queen Agatha, Doom, Jacob, Cardinal Ladorak etc.) are the bad guys; and Godart and his followers are the evil ones, as their presence threathens the entire world.

* ArtificialStupidity: Occasionally, the tendency of the AI to work the type advantages works against it. Enemy archers -- including boss characters -- will occasionally walk right up next to your tanks and swordsmen so they can hit one of your fliers, and enemy mages will occasionally move closer to your front lines to target a specific unit, when it would be smarter to retreat to relative safety and pick a different target.

** "Blood Knight" Jacob from the sequel. The game even begins with him and his soldiers buring a town to the ground and killing its inhabitants.

* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: In ''Vandal Hearts II=]'', non-child female character models are drawn with red lips, distinguishing them from the males.

** Zohar questions the protagonists' righteous quest, asking if it rather isn't self righteous instead, and if they are certain what they are doing will make the world a better place and not just mess it up even more.
** Much later in the game, it turns out that [[SinisterMinister Hel Spites]], who's been setting himself up as the BigBad, has been trying to attain [[TheEmpire Imperial]] [[TakeOverTheWorld world domination]] for the [[WellIntentionedExtremist safety of the people]]. Having seen the civilian populace getting caught in the crossfire between the former goverment's soldiers and the rebels, he decided to put an end to war, [[HeWhoFightsMonsters no matter the cost]]... Moments after this revelation, he is [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness mercilessly slaughtered]] by [[TheManBehindTheMan Dolf Crowley]] [[EvilerThanThou in order for him to further]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt his own ends]].

While ''Vandal Hearts'' was not a major hit, it still enjoyed a certain status as a cult classic. The cast of characters is often heralded as one of its strong points. They range from domestic policemen to ancient sages and drunken sailors. And that's just amongst the heroes. The plot and script were also solid and above average for a translation from Japanese at the time, though by [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny today's standards]] it would be rather [[ClicheStorm predictable]]. The gameplay was also lauded by reviewers for having a clearly defined system wherein each class type was alotted its own "position" within an army, and the level design meant that each time the game was replayed, it could still be challenging. The game was originally released for the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation in 1997, and a decade later, plans were made at one point for a Nintendo [=DS=] re-release, but those never materialized.

* SuccessionCrisis: Years before the events of ''Vandal Hearts II'', King Zekras of Natra had two sons, Julius and Lagore; Julius, as the older of the two, was set to inherit the throne when his father died, but a CivilWar broke out between the brothers from which Lagore emerged victorious. He only ruled for a few years before dying and leaving the throne to his young son Franz, with his widow Agatha ruling as regent. But as the game opens, Agatha and her ally (and rumoured lover) Cardinal Ladorak are the ''de facto'' rulers; when their alliance fractures, they lose track of Franz, and Natra splits in two. West Natra is nominally ruled by Gregor, son of the Emperor of Zora-Archeo and husband by ArrangedMarriage to Agatha's daughter Minea, but Agatha and the Twin Empire are the real rulers. East Natra is nominally ruled by Julius' son Nicola, who has returned from exile and has the backing of the neighbouring Vernantze Republic, but Ladorak is the real ruler. Both factions claim to be heirs to the Natra throne, and as if that weren't enough, a third faction, Central Natra, emerges when Adele is revealed to be Zekras' illegitimate daughter and Franz turns up alive, leading to an ArrangedMarriage between the two.

* FreeRotatingCamera

* DownerEnding: The worst ending of ''Vandal Hearts II'', where [[spoiler:all of Joshua's childhood friends die, and he eventually ends up becoming a bitter and jaded man who founds a totalitarian empire that rules for 300 years before finally collapsing.]]

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Adele]] in ''Vandal Hearts II,'' unless the player does everything it takes to prevent it from happening. Namely, reunite all four childhood friends: Adele, Yuri, Clive, and yourself. Getting Clive to survive simply means choosing the right dialogue option. Getting Yuri to survive requires [[GuideDangIt finding the Vandal Hearts.]]

** Subverted in ''Flames of Judgment,'' where Altyria [[spoiler:pretends that she only speaks her native tongue, but actually speaks both languages fluently.]]

* TheEndOrIsIt: In a [[TheStinger post-credits cutscene,]] ''Flames of Judgment'' shows [[spoiler:Daldren's soul intact in Purgatory.]]
* EpicFail[=/=]{{Narm}}: The debut of Kira Wulfstan in ''Vandal Hearts I'' may fall to this... if the attack does not hit.

** The game won't readily tell you that, while passive effects like Recovermarks (on shields) stack, some active Skills also stack, like Brawler skills found on Urns everywhere. The only clue is that Jamir, one of the major bosses stack them and you won't know why until he uses said skill on you (hint: more Brawler skills means you punch more, and if you punch more...).

** The enemy "Juggernaut". Attack them in the back; they die on one hit, attack them from anywhere else; you're basically asking for a major ass whoopin'.

** ''Vandal Hearts II'' has several widely different endings depending on choices made throughout the game: namely, whether Joshua makes excuses or amends with Adele over his perceived role in Kossimo's death, whether he tells Clive he must stay alive to protect Rosaly or vows to protect her himself if Clive dies, and whether he has the Vandal Heart before the fight against Yuri in Chapter 4.
*** The best ending requires [[spoiler:making amends instead of excuses with Adele, telling Clive he must stay alive, and showing Yuri the Vandal Heart. In this ending, Adele is crowned queen of a united Natra, with Joshua as her premier; she makes a point of remaining unmarried to extinguish the monarchy, but Joshua becomes her husband in all but name]].
*** One of the mid-level endings requires [[spoiler:vowing to protect Rosaly and either making amends with Adele or showing Yuri the Vandal Heart (or both). If you make amends with Adele, she is DrivenToSuicide, while if you make excuses, she pulls a FaceHeelTurn and dies in the fight outside Nigran Cathedral. In the ending, Joshua is mayor of his old hometown and is married to Rosaly, who is giving birth to her first child; a boy in the town asks if the stories about Joshua being a great knight are true, but Joshua demurs. If Yuri lives, he becomes the priest at the village church]].
*** The other mid-level ending requires [[spoiler:telling Clive that he must stay alive and either making excuses to Adele or killing Yuri (or both); as in the other mid-level ending, Adele is DrivenToSuicide if you make amends with her and pulls a FaceHeelTurn if you make excuses. In the ending, Clive and Rosaly are married and find Joshua, now WanderingTheEarth, visiting Adele's grave in their old hometown. If Yuri lives, they will mention his career as a priest for the new Natra faith, and as Joshua rides off on horseback, he sees ghosts of himself and Adele as children on a nearby clifftop]].

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: In ''I'' Kane actually has a perfect chance to kill Ash's party once and for all after having placing him in a well-placed ambush with Kurtz. [[spoiler:Then he heard the news of his father's death and [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes proceeds to abandon his ambush in favor of mourning for his father.]]]] This allows Ash to win against Kurtz and live for another day
* NoDoubtTheYearsHaveChangedMe: In ''Vandal Hearts II'', Joshua encounters Nikolai on the street years after their previous meeting. In that time, Nikolai's gone from a proactive, politically-charged warrior to a self-pitying drunkard. Also, [[spoiler:Joshua's stepsister has become a prostitute.]] [[CrapsackWorld Yeah, it's that kind of game.]]

** The final boss of ''[=VH=] II'' has two forms which are both this; you fight his human form earlier.

* SequelHook: At the conclusion of ''Vandal Hearts II''[='=]s ideal ending, ''Vandal Hearts I's'' protagonist appears to lead the second game's protagonist on [[HereWeGoAgain another adventure.]]

* ShootTheMedicFirst: During one of your fights against [[TerribleTrio Godeau, Thorpe, and Doom]], you will notice a mage wielding a shield (very much an oddity for AI mages) minding his own business at the edge of a map. Turns out his shield has the ultra-rare [=ReAnimator=] spell which can bring any of the Boss characters back to life after being defeated (though their HP depends on their condition several turns before they are dead, so there's that).

** ''Vandal Hearts II'' is decidedly cynical, as exemplified in a scene where Nikolai heroically stands up for the townspeople, drives off the crooked, lecherous tax collector - and makes their situation much worse by bringing the wrath of the tax collector's boss down on the town. How cynical is the second game? It opens with a scene of RapePillageAndBurn, no survivors. The entire game can basically be summed up as NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: The RPG.

*** Later in the game, you get intercepted by Manon, second-in-command of East Natran Spec Ops. At that time, you are on a train. So does she, with a collapsible bridge that attaches to your train.

* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: In ''Vandal Hearts I'', Hel Spites wants to bring about peace through forced unification. In ''Flames of Judgment'', Dumas believes that his experiments will [[spoiler:force the coming of the MessianicArchetype.]]
* TrueCompanions: A villainous version is the Crimson Guards in ''I'', which Kane is a member of. Kane is a highly antagonistic asshole, but he really values the camaraderie between him and these friends: Sabina, Dallas, Kurtz and Lando. In fact, when the team ambushes Ash's team in the first chapter of the fourth act, Kane had to be the one reminding them that Ash's team just killed Lando in the last act and they must exact revenge. Likewise, during his LastStand, before going back to antagonize Ash, Kane actually [[spoiler:prays for his fallen friends and father to give him the strength to prevail.]]

** [[spoiler:Daldren Gray]] in ''Flames of Judgment'' wants to wipe out a rival country in a quick, brutal campaign — because if he doesn't [[spoiler:conquer their fields, his country will starve.]]

* FaceHeelTurn: Yuri in ''Vandal Hearts II'' upon discovering that [[spoiler:the religious tradition in which he was raised is based around worship of a mass murderer. This is later [[HeelFaceTurn reversed]] if you have the [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Vandal Hearts]] to explain the reason for St. Nirvath's actions.]]

*** The other mid-level ending requires [[spoiler:telling Clive that he must stay alive and either making excuses to Adele or killing Yuri (or both); all of these result in Adele pulling a FaceHeelTurn. In the ending, Clive and Rosaly are married and find Joshua, now WanderingTheEarth, visiting Adele's grave in their old hometown. If Yuri lives, they will mention his career as a priest for the new Natra faith, and as Joshua rides off on horseback, he sees ghosts of himself and Adele as children on a nearby clifftop]].
*** The worst ending requires [[spoiler:making excuses to Adele, vowing to protect Rosaly, and killing Yuri. Joshua becomes the tyrannical emperor of Natra and ruthlessly conquers the remnants of the surrounding countries, creating a united empire that lasts three centuries, although he is still haunted by the memory of Adele. He is ultimately assassinated at the age of 85 by one of his descendants]].

*** The best ending requires [[spoiler:making amends instead of excuses with Adele, telling Clive he must stay alive, and showing Yuri the VandalHeart. In this ending, Adele is crowned queen of a united Natra, with Joshua as her premier; she makes a point of remaining unmarried to extinguish the monarchy, but Joshua becomes her husband in all but name]].
*** One of the mid-level endings requires [[spoiler:vowing to protect Rosaly and either making amends with Adele or showing Yuri the Vandal heart (or both). If you make amends with Adele, she is DrivenToSuicide, while if you make excuses, she pulls a FaceHeelTurn and dies in the fight outside Nigran Cathedral. In the ending, Joshua is mayor of his old hometown and is married to Rosaly, who is giving birth to her first child; a boy in the town asks if the stories about Joshua being a great knight are true, but Joshua demurs. If Yuri lives, he becomes the priest at the village church]].

* EmptyShell: ''Vandal Hearts II'' is full of empty shells.
** By the time the party finds King Franz, his mother's brainwashing spell has rendered him completely catatonic. His eyes are closed in his character portrait and his dialogue is limited to "..." (except when he is ordered to speak by his "programmers") until [[spoiler:Godard possesses his body near the end of the game. It is not until the epilogue that Franz, though only in spirit form, finally speaks and acts for himself]].
** [[spoiler:Godard]] specialises in spells that render their objects incapable of independent thought or action, sometimes turning them into {{Stepford Smiler}}s and sometimes turning them into mindless killing machines. Characters who meet the latter fate include [[spoiler:Jacob, Jamir, Manon, and Friar Mahler, all of whom only escape Godard's conditioning once they have been fatally wounded]].

* EmptyShell: In ''Vandal Hearts II'', King Franz has become this by the time the party finds him thanks to his mother's brainwashing spell. His eyes are closed in his character portrait and his dialogue is limited to "..." (except when he is ordered to speak by his "programmers") until [[spoiler:Godard possesses his body near the end of the game. It is not until the epilogue that Franz, though only in spirit form, finally speaks and acts for himself.]]

* FreudianExcuse: Dolf Crowley in ''Vandal Hearts I'' wanted to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt destroy the world]] as revenge for [[FolkHero his father]] being conspired against. Likewise, ''Vandal Hearts II'''s Godard wanted to [[AGodAmI become a god]] because he was betrayed by his religious ideals.

* MultipleEndings: ''Vandal Hearts II'' has several widely different endings depending on choices made throughout the game. ''Flames of Judgment'' has two somewhat different endings, depending on [[spoiler:which love interest you favor during key conversations.]]

** Much later in the game, it turns out that [[SinisterMinister Hel Spites]], who's been setting himself up as the BigBad, has been trying to attain [[TheEmpire Imperial]] WorldDomination for the [[WellIntentionedExtremist safety of the people]]. Having seen the civilian populace getting caught in the crossfire between the former goverment's soldiers and the rebels, he decided to put an end to war, [[HeWhoFightsMonsters no matter the cost]]... Moments after this revelation, he is [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness mercilessly slaughtered]] by [[TheManBehindTheMan Dolf Crowley]] [[EvilerThanThou in order for him to further]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt his own ends]].

* KnightOfCerberus: [[spoiler:Godard]] in ''Vandal Hearts 2''. His actions make things even worse in an already dark story, the tone set by the end of Chapter 1 when he [[spoiler:manipulates Joshua into killing Lord Kossimo and ensures he gets blamed by Adele (who he also brought nearby)]].

** In ''Vandal Hearts II'', [[spoiler:[[BlackWidow Queen Agatha]]]] finally opens up and shows caring and compassion... [[spoiler:just before her child poisons and stabs her to death for everything she's done up to that point.]] Meanwhile, her former ally, [[spoiler:Cardinal Ladorak]], gets in over his head when he accepts [[spoiler:Godard's]] help in furthering his agenda, and is [[spoiler:burned to death when Godard learns that he saved Niccola and has been supporting him from the very beginning.]]

* KnightOfCerberus: [[spoiler:Goddard]] in Vandal Hearts 2. His actions make things even worse to an already dark story. His actions at the end of Chapter 1, [[spoiler:Manipulating Joshua into killing Lord Kossimo and ensures he gets blamed by Adele (who he also brought nearby)]] is only a taste of his horrible actions.

Although both ''Vandal Hearts'' and its sequel involve the same SwordOfPlotAdvancement, the titular "Vandal Hearts", they are unconnected story wise. Flames of Judgement, meanwhile, is a direct prequel to the first game.

** In ''Vandal Hearts II'', [[spoiler:[[BlackWidow Queen Agatha]]]] finally opens up and shows caring and compassion... [[spoiler:just before her child poisons and stabs her to death for everything she's done up to that point.]] Meanwhile, her former ally, [[spoiler:Cardinal Ladorak]], gets in over his head when he accepts [[spoiler:Godard's]] help in furthering his agenda, and is [[spoiler:burned to death when Godard learns that he is beginning a HeelFaceTurn.]]

* KnightofCerberus: [[spoiler:Goddard]] in Vandal Hearts 2. His actions make things even worse to an already dark story. His actions at the end of Chapter 1, [[spoiler:Manipulating Joshua into killing Lord Kossimo and ensures he gets blamed by Adele (who he also brought nearby)]] is taste of his horrible actions come.

* FaceHeelTurn: Yuri in ''Vandal Hearts II'' upon discovering that [[spoiler:the religious tradition in which he was raised is based around worship of a mass murderer. This is later [[HeelFaceTurn reversed]] if you have the [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Vandal Heart]] to explain the reason for St. Nirvath's actions.]]

* DownerEnding: Probably the worst ending in ''Vandal Hearts II'' where [[spoiler:all of Joshua's childhood friends die, and he eventually ends up becoming a bitter and jaded man who founds a totalitarian empire that rules for 300 years before finally collapsing.]]

Two years later, ''Vandal Hearts II: Heaven's Gate'' was released and was a huge [[DarkerAndEdgier shift in tone]], both in terms of plot and gameplay. Featuring a completely different world and an entire new cast of characters, it takes place in the kingdom of Natra, which is in the middle of a SuccessionCrisis that threatens to explode into a full-on CivilWar. Our hero, Joshua ([[HelloInsertNameHere in the manual anyway]]), is a young boy in a small village. One day, the village takes in a weary traveler named Nicola... who turns out to have grand plans for Natra...

While the plot was larger and the background information available was greater, some felt the individual characters were less distinctive. Also, some fans and reviewers were put off by the new "second-guess" system, preferring the old system.

** The second was more pessimistic, as is the whole universe. Your mentor-like figure and politician ends up assassinated, and one of your party members disappears to WalkTheEarth. Others do get a more fitting end as your FunnyForeigner of a friend eventually leads the rebellion that freed his land, and the resident lecher ironically marries his SlapSlapKiss, controlling girlfriend.

[[SequelGap After almost 11 years of silence]], ''Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment'' was released in January 2010 as a downloadable title on the PlaystationNetwork and XboxLiveArcade. Being a {{Prequel}} to the first game, it returned to the world of Ishtaria and ditched the Dual Turn system, brought back the first game's varied mission objectives, and introduced a somewhat [[Franchise/TheElderScrolls Elder Scrolls]]-like character advancement system, where characters' stats improved automatically based on their actions. The story follows a young priest named Tobias Martin as he battles a WellIntentionedExtremist for the fate of his country.

''Vandal Hearts'' is a series of tactical [=RPGs=] released by {{Creator/Konami}}. Three games have been released in the series so far, ''Vandal Hearts'', ''Vandal Hearts II'' and ''Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgement''.

Two years later, a sequel was released. ''Vandal Hearts II: Heaven's Gate'' was a huge [[DarkerAndEdgier shift in tone]], both in terms of plot and gameplay. Featuring a completely different world and an entire new cast of characters, it takes place in the kingdom of Natra, which is in the middle of a SuccessionCrisis that threatens to explode into a full-on CivilWar. Our hero, Joshua ([[HelloInsertNameHere in the manual anyway]]), is a young boy in a small village. One day, the village takes in a weary traveler named Nicola... who turns out to have grand plans for Natra...