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Changed line(s) 11,16 (click to see context) from:
-->-- '''[[FinalFantasyTactics A. J. Durai]]'''
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. It's loosely connected to the IvaliceAlliance, with numerous references the previous Ivalice game ''FinalFantasyTactics'', and references back to ''VagrantStory'' in later installments. It could be considered a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''FinalFantasyTactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, part of the [[RunningGag God-punchingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' Series. As for its canonicity, though, Matsuno has stated that these references are just meant to be fanservice, and that the game should be treated as a standalone story rather than as part of the Ivalice world.
The game is easily one of the most [[GenreBusting complicated]] Squaresoft [=RPG=]s: a combination of 80's dungeon crawling with French graphic novel aesthetics, [[FloweryElizabethanEnglish Shakespearean dialogue]], elaborate ItemCrafting, RhythmGame combat and the structure of a Greek drama, with the characters dressed in... well, fairly homoerotic bondage gear. It's a gorgeous but polarizing game, due to being NintendoHard, and features ''very'' mature themes compared to other FinalFantasy installments.
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. It's loosely connected to the IvaliceAlliance, with numerous references the previous Ivalice game ''FinalFantasyTactics'', and references back to ''VagrantStory'' in later installments. It could be considered a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''FinalFantasyTactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, part of the [[RunningGag God-punchingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' Series. As for its canonicity, though, Matsuno has stated that these references are just meant to be fanservice, and that the game should be treated as a standalone story rather than as part of the Ivalice world.
The game is easily one of the most [[GenreBusting complicated]] Squaresoft [=RPG=]s: a combination of 80's dungeon crawling with French graphic novel aesthetics, [[FloweryElizabethanEnglish Shakespearean dialogue]], elaborate ItemCrafting, RhythmGame combat and the structure of a Greek drama, with the characters dressed in... well, fairly homoerotic bondage gear. It's a gorgeous but polarizing game, due to being NintendoHard, and features ''very'' mature themes compared to other FinalFantasy installments.
to:
-->-- '''[[FinalFantasyTactics '''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics A. J. Durai]]'''
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. It's loosely connected to the IvaliceAlliance, with numerous references the previous Ivalice game''FinalFantasyTactics'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', and references back to ''VagrantStory'' in later installments. It could be considered a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''FinalFantasyTactics'' ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, part of the [[RunningGag God-punchingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' Series. As for its canonicity, though, Matsuno has stated that these references are just meant to be fanservice, and that the game should be treated as a standalone story rather than as part of the Ivalice world.
The game is easily one of the most [[GenreBusting complicated]] Squaresoft [=RPG=]s: a combination of 80's dungeon crawling with French graphic novel aesthetics, [[FloweryElizabethanEnglish Shakespearean dialogue]], elaborate ItemCrafting, RhythmGame combat and the structure of a Greek drama, with the characters dressed in... well, fairly homoerotic bondage gear. It's a gorgeous but polarizing game, due to being NintendoHard, and features ''very'' mature themes compared to otherFinalFantasy ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' installments.
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. It's loosely connected to the IvaliceAlliance, with numerous references the previous Ivalice game
The game is easily one of the most [[GenreBusting complicated]] Squaresoft [=RPG=]s: a combination of 80's dungeon crawling with French graphic novel aesthetics, [[FloweryElizabethanEnglish Shakespearean dialogue]], elaborate ItemCrafting, RhythmGame combat and the structure of a Greek drama, with the characters dressed in... well, fairly homoerotic bondage gear. It's a gorgeous but polarizing game, due to being NintendoHard, and features ''very'' mature themes compared to other
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The game's difficulty lies in its stat-based and menu-based combat. ''VagrantStory'''s battle system is perhaps closer to ''{{Nethack}}'' than it is to most games in the ''FinalFantasy'' series. Instead of gaining traditional experience points, Ashley -- also a skilled blacksmith -- [[ItemCrafting crafts]] a collection of weapons and a full set of armor, planning around elements, weapon types, weapon range, creature types and Ashley's own reaction abilities. In practice, this means you may end up switching and re-configuring your equipment for every enemy you encounter. Difficult? Horribly so. Rewarding? ''Yes''. It's NintendoHard, with a very steep learning curve, but of the "difficult to learn, easy to master" variety.
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The game's difficulty lies in its stat-based and menu-based combat. ''VagrantStory'''s battle system is perhaps closer to ''{{Nethack}}'' than it is to most games in the ''FinalFantasy'' ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series. Instead of gaining traditional experience points, Ashley -- also a skilled blacksmith -- [[ItemCrafting crafts]] a collection of weapons and a full set of armor, planning around elements, weapon types, weapon range, creature types and Ashley's own reaction abilities. In practice, this means you may end up switching and re-configuring your equipment for every enemy you encounter. Difficult? Horribly so. Rewarding? ''Yes''. It's NintendoHard, with a very steep learning curve, but of the "difficult to learn, easy to master" variety.
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* BelatedHappyEnding: Various item descriptions mention the Zodiac Brave Story from ''FinalFantasyTactics'', naming Agrias, Orlandu and several others as well-known heroes. That means the Durai report from Tactics, containing a true account of what happened during the war, was eventually accepted as historical canon.
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* BelatedHappyEnding: Various item descriptions mention the Zodiac Brave Story from ''FinalFantasyTactics'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', naming Agrias, Orlandu and several others as well-known heroes. That means the Durai report from Tactics, containing a true account of what happened during the war, was eventually accepted as historical canon.
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** It's implied, via the ''FinalFantasyTactics'' references that pop up around the game, that this is the [[spoiler:Church of St. Ajora of Glabados; Sydney's "mark your savior well, for he is one of the demons you so fear" can easily be read as a hint at Ajora's true nature as the host of Altema.]]
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** It's implied, via the ''FinalFantasyTactics'' ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' references that pop up around the game, that this is the [[spoiler:Church of St. Ajora of Glabados; Sydney's "mark your savior well, for he is one of the demons you so fear" can easily be read as a hint at Ajora's true nature as the host of Altema.]]
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* HereThereWereDragons: ''FinalFantasyXII'', ''FinalFantasyTactics''... they were both set in this same world. ''What the hell happened?''
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* HereThereWereDragons: ''FinalFantasyXII'', ''FinalFantasyTactics''...''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics''... they were both set in this same world. ''What the hell happened?''
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* OneWingedAngel: This game is set in a ''FinalFantasy'' universe, after all. [[spoiler: Guildenstern is one freaky bloody angel.]]
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* OneWingedAngel: This game is set in a ''FinalFantasy'' ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' universe, after all. [[spoiler: Guildenstern is one freaky bloody angel.]]
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* TheVerse: [[WordOfGod Said]] to take place in the same baseline universe as ''FinalFantasyTactics'' (and now also FinalFantasyXII!) and has [[ShoutOut references]] in the shape of relics and accessories.
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* TheVerse: [[WordOfGod Said]] to take place in the same baseline universe as ''FinalFantasyTactics'' ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' (and now also FinalFantasyXII!) ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''!) and has [[ShoutOut references]] in the shape of relics and accessories.
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* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Proper use of the Faerie Wing item can allow Ashley to skip some of the more fiendish {{Block Puzzle}}s that crop up late-game.
* AmbitionIsEvil: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern exemplify this.
* AmbitionIsEvil: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern exemplify this.
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* AmbitionIsEvil: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern exemplify this.
* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Proper use of the Faerie Wing item can allow Ashley to skip some of the more fiendish {{Block Puzzle}}s that crop uplate-game.
* AmbitionIsEvil: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern exemplify this.late-game.
* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Proper use of the Faerie Wing item can allow Ashley to skip some of the more fiendish {{Block Puzzle}}s that crop up
* AmbitionIsEvil: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern exemplify this.
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* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Proper use of the Faerie Wing item can allow Ashley to skip some of the more fiendish {{Block Puzzle}}s that crop up late-game.
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* AwesomeMcCoolname: Just about anyone with the full name, but Ashley Riot is the most notable.
* BigNo: Doubly subverted. Joshua clearly attempts this when [[spoiler:Hardin is stabbed by Guildenstern]] but not only is there no voice acting in this game but [[CuteMute Joshua]] himself has been mute since the events of the game began, resulting in a very heartfelt, but ultimately silent NOOOOOOOO!
* BigNo: Doubly subverted. Joshua clearly attempts this when [[spoiler:Hardin is stabbed by Guildenstern]] but not only is there no voice acting in this game but [[CuteMute Joshua]] himself has been mute since the events of the game began, resulting in a very heartfelt, but ultimately silent NOOOOOOOO!
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* AwesomeMcCoolname: Just about anyone with the full name, but Ashley Riot is the most notable. \n* BigNo: Doubly subverted. Joshua clearly attempts this when [[spoiler:Hardin is stabbed by Guildenstern]] but not only is there no voice acting in this game but [[CuteMute Joshua]] himself has been mute since the events of the game began, resulting in a very heartfelt, but ultimately silent NOOOOOOOO!
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* BarredFromTheAfterlife: Anyone who becomes tainted by [[TheDarkSide 'The Dark']] is fated to die an incomplete death. For most people this means being reborn as a [[TheUndead walking corpse]], but some people, [[spoiler:such as Sydney, and possibly Duke Bardorba,]] have studied and manipulated The Dark to such an extent that they've become functionally immortal.
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* BigNo: Doubly subverted. Joshua clearly attempts this when [[spoiler:Hardin is stabbed by Guildenstern]] but not only is there no voice acting in this game but [[CuteMute Joshua]] himself has been mute since the events of the game began, resulting in a very heartfelt, but ultimately silent NOOOOOOOO!
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* TragicKeepsake: Ashley starts the game wearing Tia's Rood Necklace.
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* TragicKeepsake: Ashley starts the game wearing Tia's Rood Necklace.
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* TragicKeepsake: Ashley starts the game wearing Tia's Rood Necklace.
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sorry, missed an e
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** [[spoiler:Ashley did not kill the Duke and never even entered the Manor. The figure seen was Sydney disguised as Ashley, the Duke killed Sydney (at his behest) then died himself due to their {{synchronization}}. Sydney's body dissolved, leaving no trace, but the Duke's did not. All the while the real Ashly was standing in the streets outside the Manor.]]
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** [[spoiler:Ashley did not kill the Duke and never even entered the Manor. The figure seen was Sydney disguised as Ashley, the Duke killed Sydney (at his behest) then died himself due to their {{synchronization}}. Sydney's body dissolved, leaving no trace, but the Duke's did not. All the while the real Ashly Ashley was standing in the streets outside the Manor.]]
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->"''The body is but a vessel for the soul, a puppet which bends to the soul's tyranny. And lo, the body is not eternal, for it must feed on the flesh of others, lest it return to the dust from whence it came.Therefore must the soul deceive, despise and murder men.''"
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--> A puppet which bends to the soul's
--> And lo, the body is not
--> For it must feed on the flesh of
--> Lest it return to the dust
--> Therefore must the
--> Deceive, despise and murder men.
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* ThemeNaming: All assembled weapons found in the game are named after alcoholic cocktails. It is easy to miss the connection due to the inherent randomness of cocktail names, so while some may work as weapon names ([[TheHobbit Balin’s]] revenge, death sentence, eviscerator, rib splitter), some are more obviously cocktails (Mojito, rusty nail, shandy gaff) and then some are just plain bizarre (Dog’s nose, fandango, pink squirrel, pussyfoot). The descriptions of [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7D8EaOw9kE these]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxfj5Ds-BAs two]] videos lists most weapons and the main ingredients of such cocktails.
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* ThemeNaming: All assembled weapons found in the game are named after alcoholic cocktails. It is easy to miss the connection due to the inherent randomness of cocktail names, so while some may work as weapon names ([[TheHobbit ([[Literature/TheHobbit Balin’s]] revenge, death sentence, eviscerator, rib splitter), some are more obviously cocktails (Mojito, rusty nail, shandy gaff) and then some are just plain bizarre (Dog’s nose, fandango, pink squirrel, pussyfoot). The descriptions of [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7D8EaOw9kE these]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxfj5Ds-BAs two]] videos lists most weapons and the main ingredients of such cocktails.
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the ending is quite clearcut in explaining the framing device
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Guildenstern slaps Samantha to break her PsychicLink with Ashley [[spoiler: he shows no concern for her whatsoever afterwards despite drawing blood. This is a good indicator of how he really feels for her when he sacrifices her life for power at the end.]]
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** [[MindScrew Or did he]]? The final cutscenes never outright state whether or not it's Ashley. It seems to be more a framing device for exactly how Ashley ascended, with some spotlight given to the Bardorba Family Feud.
* FreeRotatingCamera
* FreeRotatingCamera
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** [[MindScrew Or [[spoiler:Ashley did he]]? The final cutscenes not kill the Duke and never outright state whether or not it's Ashley. It seems to be more a framing device for exactly how Ashley ascended, with some spotlight given to even entered the Bardorba Family Feud.
* FreeRotatingCameraManor. The figure seen was Sydney disguised as Ashley, the Duke killed Sydney (at his behest) then died himself due to their {{synchronization}}. Sydney's body dissolved, leaving no trace, but the Duke's did not. All the while the real Ashly was standing in the streets outside the Manor.]]
* FreeRotatingCamera
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pet peeve. spaces go after periods. period.
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** [[AllThereInTheManual According to the manual]], everyone who is affected by the dark will be unable to move on and wander the world forever in unbearable agony once his or her body decays. [[spoiler:This includes those who survive the game's events. However, as the bearer of the Dark, Ashley is able to grant these souls reprieve...[[YourSoulIsMine as their holder]].]]
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** [[AllThereInTheManual According to the manual]], everyone who is affected by the dark will be unable to move on and wander the world forever in unbearable agony once his or her body decays. [[spoiler:This includes those who survive the game's events. However, as the bearer of the Dark, Ashley is able to grant these souls reprieve... [[YourSoulIsMine as their holder]].]]
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--> Ashley: ...I do not feel I'm welcome here.
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--> Ashley: ... I do not feel I'm welcome here.
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--> [[spoiler: Grissom]]: ...Please, a moment. My body is not... cooperating."
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--> [[spoiler: Grissom]]: ... Please, a moment. My body is not... cooperating."
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** Sydney says as much to Ashley regarding Guildenstern: [[spoiler:"Those who crave the Dark cannot control the Dark. You must stop him, kill him ... ...before the Dark sucks his living soul dry."]]
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** Sydney says as much to Ashley regarding Guildenstern: [[spoiler:"Those who crave the Dark cannot control the Dark. You must stop him, kill him ... ...him... before the Dark sucks his living soul dry."]]
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** [[MetalGearSolid A One Man Army is dispatched to complete an impossible mission within the span of several hours in-game.]]
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** [[MetalGearSolid [[Franchise/MetalGear A One Man Army is dispatched to complete an impossible mission within the span of several hours in-game.]]
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Misuse of renamed trope.
Deleted line(s) 144 (click to see context) :
* RestartAtLevelOne: "Ashley has recovered this skill from repressed memory."
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Changed line(s) 7,8 (click to see context) from:
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. It's loosely connected to the IvaliceAlliance, with numerous references the previous Ivalice game ''FinalFantasyTactics'', and references to ''VagrantStory'' in later ones. It could be considered a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''FinalFantasyTactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, part of the [[RunningGag God-punchingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' Series. As for its canonicity, though, Matsuno has stated that these references are just meant to be fanservice, and that the game should be treated as a standalone story rather than as part of the Ivalice world.
to:
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. It's loosely connected to the IvaliceAlliance, with numerous references the previous Ivalice game ''FinalFantasyTactics'', and references back to ''VagrantStory'' in later ones.installments. It could be considered a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''FinalFantasyTactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, part of the [[RunningGag God-punchingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' Series. As for its canonicity, though, Matsuno has stated that these references are just meant to be fanservice, and that the game should be treated as a standalone story rather than as part of the Ivalice world.
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Changed line(s) 7,8 (click to see context) from:
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. It's loosely connected to the IvaliceAlliance, with numerous references to previous Ivalice games, and references to ''VagrantStory'' in later ones. It could be considered a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''FinalFantasyTactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, part of the [[RunningGag God-punchingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' Series. As for its canonicity, though, Matsuno has stated that these references are just meant to be fanservice, and that the game can be treated as a standalone story rather than as part of the Ivalice world.
to:
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. It's loosely connected to the IvaliceAlliance, with numerous references to the previous Ivalice games, game ''FinalFantasyTactics'', and references to ''VagrantStory'' in later ones. It could be considered a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''FinalFantasyTactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, part of the [[RunningGag God-punchingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' Series. As for its canonicity, though, Matsuno has stated that these references are just meant to be fanservice, and that the game can should be treated as a standalone story rather than as part of the Ivalice world.
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Changed line(s) 7,8 (click to see context) from:
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. Given its references to elements of the ''FinalFantasyTactics'' story, it could be considered a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''Tactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, part of the [[RunningGag God-punchingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' Series. However, Yasumi Matsuno, the developer of both ''Vagrant Story'' and ''Final Fantasy Tactics'', has stated that these references are meant to be fanservice and ''Vagrant Story'' does not actually take place in the world of [[IvaliceAlliance Ivalice]] in his mind.
to:
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. Given its It's loosely connected to the IvaliceAlliance, with numerous references to elements of the ''FinalFantasyTactics'' story, it previous Ivalice games, and references to ''VagrantStory'' in later ones. It could be considered a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''Tactics'' ''FinalFantasyTactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, part of the [[RunningGag God-punchingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' Series. However, Yasumi Matsuno, the developer of both ''Vagrant Story'' and ''Final Fantasy Tactics'', As for its canonicity, though, Matsuno has stated that these references are just meant to be fanservice fanservice, and ''Vagrant Story'' does not actually take place in that the world game can be treated as a standalone story rather than as part of [[IvaliceAlliance Ivalice]] in his mind.
the Ivalice world.
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Let\'s avoid rape jokes.
Changed line(s) 7,8 (click to see context) from:
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. Given its references to elements of the ''FinalFantasyTactics'' story, it could be considered a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''Tactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, part of the [[RunningGag God-Rapingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' Series. However, Yasumi Matsuno, the developer of both ''Vagrant Story'' and ''Final Fantasy Tactics'', has stated that these references are meant to be fanservice and ''Vagrant Story'' does not actually take place in the world of [[IvaliceAlliance Ivalice]] in his mind.
to:
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. Given its references to elements of the ''FinalFantasyTactics'' story, it could be considered a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''Tactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, part of the [[RunningGag God-Rapingly God-punchingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' Series. However, Yasumi Matsuno, the developer of both ''Vagrant Story'' and ''Final Fantasy Tactics'', has stated that these references are meant to be fanservice and ''Vagrant Story'' does not actually take place in the world of [[IvaliceAlliance Ivalice]] in his mind.
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* EvolvingWeapon: Ashley's weapons and armor adapt to the type of enemies he uses them against; if he uses the same weapon to kill all the fire-type enemies he comes across, that weapon will eventually start inflicting water damage, for example.
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Changed line(s) 161 (click to see context) from:
** FridgeLogic extends the theme a little further with the weapon Pussyfoot as it is the only cocktail in the list which is non-alcoholic and the weapon itself is wielded by the [[SmugSnake one character]] [[AntiMagic immune to magic]]. While the name may lack the [[IncrediblyLamePun threatening edge]] it is appropriate for an alcohol-free cocktail.
to:
** FridgeLogic FridgeBrilliance extends the theme a little further with the weapon Pussyfoot as it is the only cocktail in the list which is non-alcoholic and the weapon itself is wielded by the [[SmugSnake one character]] [[AntiMagic immune to magic]]. While the name may lack the [[IncrediblyLamePun threatening edge]] it is appropriate for an alcohol-free cocktail.
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* KnightTemplar: The St. Iocus church and their Knights of the Cross. Guildenstern seems like this at first but turns out to be [[CompleteMonster even worse]].
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* KnightTemplar: The St. Iocus church and their Knights of the Cross. Guildenstern seems like this at first but turns out to be [[CompleteMonster even worse]].worse.
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* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: What happens to people who try to [[spoiler:wield the Rood Inverse powers and the Dark]] without sufficient HeroicWillpower. [[spoiler:Guildenstern]] finds this out only too late. [[CompleteMonster Not that anyone felt sorry for him or anything.]]
to:
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: What happens to people who try to [[spoiler:wield the Rood Inverse powers and the Dark]] without sufficient HeroicWillpower. [[spoiler:Guildenstern]] finds this out only too late. [[CompleteMonster Not that anyone felt sorry for him or anything.]]
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* MagicWand: Staves generally have a poor strength rating, but give Ashley an intelligence boost that makes his spells more powerful.
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** FridgeBrilliance[[spoiler: Maybe putting history's reigns back in the hands of Man was NOT such as good thing after all...]]
to:
** FridgeBrilliance[[spoiler: FridgeBrilliance: [[spoiler: Maybe putting history's reigns back in the hands of Man was NOT such as good thing after all...]]
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Changed line(s) 130 (click to see context) from:
* NintendoHard: Unlike most [[RolePlayingGame J[=RPGs=]]], ''Vagrant Story'' likes to keep the player on his toes... by kicking him in the balls every half an hour or so. Boss fights consistently cream poor Ashley, and random encounters are even worse. Success depends largely on mastery of the game's near-inscrutable ItemCrafting system, and there's even a random enemy with an instant death spell... in a game with only one [[PlayerCharacter PC]]. Rumours tell of gamers that actually enjoy this, but it's possible they have been conditioned to it by [[CosmicHorror experiences too horrible to comprehend]].
to:
* NintendoHard: Unlike most [[RolePlayingGame J[=RPGs=]]], ''Vagrant Story'' likes to keep the player on his toes... by kicking him in the balls every half an hour or so. Boss fights consistently cream poor Ashley, and random encounters are even worse. Success depends largely on mastery of the game's near-inscrutable ItemCrafting system, and there's even a random enemy with an instant death spell... in a game with only one [[PlayerCharacter PC]]. Rumours tell of gamers that actually enjoy this, but it's possible they have been conditioned to it by [[CosmicHorror [[TakeOurWordForIt experiences too horrible to comprehend]].
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* RegeneratingHealth and RegeneratingMana: But a point at a time for each.
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* {{Fanservice}}: Sydney's pants and Ashley's shorts, full stop.
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* {{Fanservice}}: Sydney's pants and Ashley's shorts, full stop.shorts.
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* RegeneratingHealth: It's really slow, at 1 HP every few seconds.
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* EquipmentBasedProgression: Ashley's stats can be permanently boosted by killing bosses or finding rare elixirs and wines, but the game's mechanics and RandomDrop rules encourage the player to make Ashley stronger by finding new weapons and armor, or by reforging and improving existing ones in workshops.
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SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. Given its references to elements of the ''FinalFantasyTactics'' story, it could be considered a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''Tactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, part of the [[RunningGag God-Rapingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' Series. However, Yasumi Matsuno, the developer of both ''Vagrant Story'' and ''Final Fantasy Tactics'', has stated that these references are meant to be fanservice and ''Vagrant Story'' does not actually take place in the world of the ''IvaliceAlliance'' in his mind.
to:
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. Given its references to elements of the ''FinalFantasyTactics'' story, it could be considered a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''Tactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, part of the [[RunningGag God-Rapingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' Series. However, Yasumi Matsuno, the developer of both ''Vagrant Story'' and ''Final Fantasy Tactics'', has stated that these references are meant to be fanservice and ''Vagrant Story'' does not actually take place in the world of the ''IvaliceAlliance'' [[IvaliceAlliance Ivalice]] in his mind.
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Changed line(s) 7,8 (click to see context) from:
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. Given its references to elements of the ''FinalFantasyTactics'' story, it could be considered a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''Tactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, part of the [[RunningGag God-Rapingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' Series. However, Yasumi Matsuno, the developer of both ''Vagrant Story'' and ''Final Fantasy Tactics'', has stated that these references are meant to be fanservice and ''Vagrant Story'' does not actually take place in the world of the IvaliceAlliance in his mind.
to:
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. Given its references to elements of the ''FinalFantasyTactics'' story, it could be considered a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''Tactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, part of the [[RunningGag God-Rapingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' Series. However, Yasumi Matsuno, the developer of both ''Vagrant Story'' and ''Final Fantasy Tactics'', has stated that these references are meant to be fanservice and ''Vagrant Story'' does not actually take place in the world of the IvaliceAlliance ''IvaliceAlliance'' in his mind.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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Changed line(s) 7,8 (click to see context) from:
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. It's a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''FinalFantasyTactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, is part of the [[RunningGag God-Rapingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' Series.
to:
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. It's a standalone NonLinearSequel Given its references to elements of the ''FinalFantasyTactics'' story, it could be considered a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''Tactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, is part of the [[RunningGag God-Rapingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' Series.
Series. However, Yasumi Matsuno, the developer of both ''Vagrant Story'' and ''Final Fantasy Tactics'', has stated that these references are meant to be fanservice and ''Vagrant Story'' does not actually take place in the world of the IvaliceAlliance in his mind.
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[[quoteright:200: http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/logo-left-ashley.gif]]
[[caption-width-right:200: [[{{Badass}} He ]]'''[[MemeticBadass is ]]'''[[OneManArmy the reinforcements]].]]
->"''The body is but a vessel for the soul, a puppet which bends to the soul's tyranny. And lo, the body is not eternal, for it must feed on the flesh of others, lest it return to the dust from whence it came.Therefore must the soul deceive, despise and murder men.''"
-->-- '''[[FinalFantasyTactics A. J. Durai]]'''
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. It's a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''FinalFantasyTactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, is part of the [[RunningGag God-Rapingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' Series.
The game is easily one of the most [[GenreBusting complicated]] Squaresoft [=RPG=]s: a combination of 80's dungeon crawling with French graphic novel aesthetics, [[FloweryElizabethanEnglish Shakespearean dialogue]], elaborate ItemCrafting, RhythmGame combat and the structure of a Greek drama, with the characters dressed in... well, fairly homoerotic bondage gear. It's a gorgeous but polarizing game, due to being NintendoHard, and features ''very'' mature themes compared to other FinalFantasy installments.
''Vagrant Story'' is set in the [[MedievalEuropeanFantasy dark ages]] of [[IvaliceAlliance Ivalice]]. The player is [[OneManArmy Ashley Riot]], a knight of the kingdom of Valendia and a Riskbreaker -- a medieval JamesBond. He is sent to investigate an attack on the manor of Duke Bardorba by [[DesignatedVillain Sydney Losstarot]], a charismatic cult leader. Our man Ashley does his job, infiltrates the manor and shoots Sydney dead with a bowgun. All in a day's work? Not quite -- Sydney calmly pulls out the bolt from his heart, summons a wyvern spoken of only in hushed legend, and leaves the scene, with the Duke's 6-year-old son Joshua Corrinne Bardorba as a hostage.
Pursued by the Knights of the Cross, a Church army lead by the [[KnightTemplar righteous but sinister]] Romeo Guildenstern, Sydney makes for the [[TempleOfDoom lost city of Leá Monde]]. Ashley, accompanied by [[MrExposition intelligence officer]] Callo Merlose, follows, trying to avoid the Knights of the Cross at all costs while hunting Sydney down. In the style of classic dungeon crawlers, the player takes Ashley through Leá Monde's catacombs and ancient temples, killing vast quantities of equally ancient monsters. The plot unfolds rapidly, and becomes more and more intricate as new parties reveal their own schemes: there's [[TheMole Valendia operative]] and ex-Riskbreaker Jan Rosencrantz, who wants the city's power for himself; General Grissom, who seeks revenge for the death of his priest brother Duane (at Ashley's hands); and John Hardin, Sydney's gentle accomplice, who slowly realizes that he's being LockedOutOfTheLoop.
The city itself is a CosmicKeystone, and everyone is fighting for power it holds. A cat-and-mouse game ensues, as Ashley tails Sydney through the lost city, while Sydney starts to tease Ashley by [[MindProbe searching his memories]]. But does Ashley's [[DeadLittleSister backstory]] add up? Have [[{{Brainwashed}} his memories been altered]]? As Ashley fights on, the game becomes an exploration of the [[TheRashomon subjectivity of memory]], concluding in what is surprisingly ''not'' a GainaxEnding. Oh, and it features what's probably [[{{Woolseyism}} the most celebrated localization in video game history]].
The game's difficulty lies in its stat-based and menu-based combat. ''VagrantStory'''s battle system is perhaps closer to ''{{Nethack}}'' than it is to most games in the ''FinalFantasy'' series. Instead of gaining traditional experience points, Ashley -- also a skilled blacksmith -- [[ItemCrafting crafts]] a collection of weapons and a full set of armor, planning around elements, weapon types, weapon range, creature types and Ashley's own reaction abilities. In practice, this means you may end up switching and re-configuring your equipment for every enemy you encounter. Difficult? Horribly so. Rewarding? ''Yes''. It's NintendoHard, with a very steep learning curve, but of the "difficult to learn, easy to master" variety.
Finally, the game caught some considerable flak for using (and [[TropeCodifier codifying]]) BlockPuzzle mechanics -- perhaps from critics who failed to realize that the time attack puzzle mode can simply be turned off.
In short, it's a complicated, odd, beautiful, maddening game that ''definitely'' NeedsMoreLove.
Also, '''a warning for first time players'''. There are four opening movies that are very easily skipped by accident. Without seeing these sequences, the game makes very little sense. The scenes are:
* (1) the introduction cutscene, seen by leaving the menu running for a minute or so,
* (2) an optional (spoiler-filled) trailer, seen by leaving the menu running a second time after viewing the first introduction,
* (3) the actual opening sequence, which is too easily skipped by accidentally pressing "start",
* (4) the vital second part of the opening sequence, which probably ''will'' make you press "start" and skip it by accident, because some of the text takes a long time to disappear.
So, ''don't press start until after you see the first save point. ''
Is now up on the Playstation Network.
Character Sheet is [[Characters/VagrantStory here]].
----
!!Provides Examples Of:
* AFateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:Grissom, whose wandering soul searches for a body to possess - and finds his own cold corpse]]. By the end of the game, he's not holding together very well.
** [[AllThereInTheManual According to the manual]], everyone who is affected by the dark will be unable to move on and wander the world forever in unbearable agony once his or her body decays. [[spoiler:This includes those who survive the game's events. However, as the bearer of the Dark, Ashley is able to grant these souls reprieve...[[YourSoulIsMine as their holder]].]]
* AllThereInTheManual: To really understand the plot of the game you need to read the [[NoExportForYou Japanese only]] Ultimania guide which gives in-depth explanations to many scenes in the game as well as additional information on all of the characters. A translation can be found [[http://www34.brinkster.com/worldshards/translations/trans.htm here.]]
** Descriptions of the natures of all the monsters you fight can be found on the in-game bestiary and many of the items and accessories that you find even manage to get a brief back-story in the item menu.
* AmbitionIsEvil: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern exemplify this.
* AntiMagic: [[spoiler:Rosencrantz. To Guildenstern]]: "Your memory fails you. The Dark holds no power over me." He's immune to the Dark, as he demonstrates in several cut-scenes. Unfortunately, this doesn't save him when [[spoiler:the statue Sydney brings to life cuts him in half.]]
** This becomes less convincing in the manual, where [[spoiler:Ashley suspects that Rosencrantz is brainwashed by Valendia's secret service into thinking he is immune to the Dark]].
* AntiVillain: Sydney Losstarot. With WhiteHairedPrettyBoy looks, [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative demeanor]], penchant for MindRape and [[TheChessmaster sophisticated plans]], he definitely is BigBad type. It turns out that [[spoiler:all that time, he was making an elaborate HeroicSacrifice to save the world.]] He'd be such a WellIntentionedExtremist if he wasn't basically [[NecessarilyEvil right about everything]].
* AuthorAppeal: AkihikoYoshida likes bondage gear. And piercings. And amputation, skin removal, torture... and of course, as he has admitted himself, butts.
* AwesomeButImpractical: Break Arts. They have fancy names and cool animations, deal above the average damage and some inflict status effects. However, an average attack chain will still harm the enemy much more. There is also no guarantee that the Break Art will connect (and there really is a lot of hard to hit enemies), which can lead to a flashy attack followed by a much disappointing "MISS".
* AwesomeMcCoolname: Just about anyone with the full name, but Ashley Riot is the most notable.
* BigNo: Doubly subverted. Joshua clearly attempts this when [[spoiler:Hardin is stabbed by Guildenstern]] but not only is there no voice acting in this game but [[CuteMute Joshua]] himself has been mute since the events of the game began, resulting in a very heartfelt, but ultimately silent NOOOOOOOO!
* {{Badass}}: Ahh, Ashley. "Reinforcements? I am the reinforcements." A total ImplacableMan and with a MysteriousPast that makes him even stronger, even the game's characters subtly [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] how ridiculously strong he is. He also acquires a BadassLongcoat for the final scene of the game.
* BaitAndSwitchBoss: [[spoiler:A cutscene sets up Rosencrantz as the next boss, but Sydney uses his magic to animate a statue which crushes him, and Ashley winds up fighting the statue instead.]]
* BashBrothers: [[MightyGlacier Tieger]] and [[LadyOfWar Neesa]], although there are shades of a BattleCouple relationship going on.
* BelatedHappyEnding: Various item descriptions mention the Zodiac Brave Story from ''FinalFantasyTactics'', naming Agrias, Orlandu and several others as well-known heroes. That means the Durai report from Tactics, containing a true account of what happened during the war, was eventually accepted as historical canon.
* {{BFS}}: The Great Sword line of weapon types. There's also Great Maces (big freakin' [[DropTheHammer hammers]]) such as the gigantic Hand of Light.
* BittersweetEnding: At least for [[spoiler:Sydney and Duke Bardorba]]. As for Ashley, it's a bit more uplifting as he comes to the term with his past [[spoiler:or at least accepts that it does not matter what his past really was]].
* BlessedWithSuck: Sydney, and [[spoiler:Ashley]] in the ending, after [[spoiler:inheriting the Rood Inverse]].
* BlockPuzzle: Virtually every room in the game has a block puzzle to solve. This is the game that inspired the trope page in the first place.
* BossRush: A passageway in the heart of Leá Monde leads to doors containing every boss in the game, including, in a NewGamePlus, the {{Bonus Boss}}es. Each door must be unlocked with sigils earned through the game to proceed.
** The final dungeon has no respawning enemies, yet has lots of bosses and mini-bosses and only one or two run of the mill encounters.
* BrainsAndBondage: It's not quite clear ''why'', but about half of the cast is walking around in BDSM gear. And spouting faux-Shakespearian dialogue.
* [[LimitBreak Break arts]]; four for each class of weapons, [[CastFromHitPoints but don't rely on them TOO much.]]
* CameBackWrong: The spirits of those murdered in Leá Monde are cursed to wander from corpse to corpse, possessing rotten bodies and never finding peace. [[spoiler: Grissom]], murdered by Ashley, ''finds his own corpse'' by accident, and retains a small amount of control over it as a result. It's... quite horrifying.
* CherryTapping: Used often. This is a game where dealing 10 hit points of damage can be a serious accomplishment. Although Ashley's weapon types / affinities go a long way in determining the damage (hitting for 50 or 60 HP isn't uncommon with a proper weapon), many bosses will go down from much smaller hits. Figuring out ''how'' to hit them in the first place can... also take a while.
* ChewingTheScenery: Just pick any scene with Ashley, Guildenstern, Rosencrantz, and/or Sydney. Sydney, is doing it for the benefit of his 'audience' -- whether this is Callo, Hardin, Ashley, Samantha, or us.
* ColorWash: The game likes using two predominant colors for areas: Brownish-yellow, or blue.
* CorruptChurch: The St. Iocus church and their Knights of the Cross, no doubt. ''"Warping the minds of men and shepherding the masses has always been your church's domain. You lure sheep with empty miracles and a dead god."'' Not to mention that "iocus" is Latin for "joke."
** It's implied, via the ''FinalFantasyTactics'' references that pop up around the game, that this is the [[spoiler:Church of St. Ajora of Glabados; Sydney's "mark your savior well, for he is one of the demons you so fear" can easily be read as a hint at Ajora's true nature as the host of Altema.]]
** Early in the game a conversation between two knights reveals that magic is considered blasphemous by the church. Later [[spoiler:we see elite knights using all kinds of spells, up to demon summoning (Grissom). Guildenstern uses the dark power and suggests that the cardinal himself can somehow control the Dark, and seeks immortality through this.]]
* TheCorruption: The effect the Dark has on those who die in its thrall, from the corpses of Leá Monde's former inhabitants, to the Crimson Blades and Knights of the Cross that die throughout the course of the game and are raised again as undead.
* CoversAlwaysLie: Ashley and Callo are a BattleCouple [[spoiler:that share a grand total of about 90 seconds in two scenes before the game even starts, without much talking other than business, and do not cross paths again for the rest of the game.]]
* CreepyCoolCrosses: The Rood of St. Iocus, which resembles a cross with four arms at 45 degree angles and a tiny 'sword crossgard' at the bottom. Ashley's pendant and the motifs on his pants display it, while Sydney's back is [[PowerTattoo tattooed]] with the blasphemous [[CosmicKeystone Rood Inverse]]. The base form of the InfinityPlusOneSword, the Holy Win, is shaped as such (and is wielded, in story, by [[spoiler:the first form of the FinalBoss]].) [[spoiler:Now guess what his second form looks like. ''Sorta''.]]
* CurbStompBattle All of new game plus with the exception of the [[BonusLevelOfHell bonus]] [[BonusBoss content]].
* CuteMute: Joshua.
* {{Cyborg}}/ArtificialLimbs: Sydney. The magical variety, of course.
* DarkMessiah: Guildenstern.
* DeadLittleSister: Ashley's wife and child were murdered by bandits. Or were they really...?
* DeadpanSnarker: In the rare moments Ashley is not entirely serious, he's this.
--> ''*Earthquake shakes the catacombs*''
--> Ashley: ...I do not feel I'm welcome here.
** And "No live burials today, thanks."
* DemotedBoss: The [[ElementalEmbodiment Elementals]].
* DevilInPlainSight: Rosencrantz. So, so much. Everyone knows he's a traitor to all sides, and yet no one really cares about his hidden plans. Even Ashley dismisses him as an obvious lowlife liar during their first encounter and simply walks away. When it turns out Rosencrantz is (a) immune to the Dark (c.f. TooCoolToLive) and (b) [[spoiler:hoping to become the vessel for the Blood Sin]], he's [[spoiler:''very'' quickly removed from the plot by Sydney]].
* ElementalEmbodiment: The four classical Greek elements, plus Dark, roam the catacombs of Leá Monde. Worse, the named avatars of these forces, those said to have brought calamity to Leá Monde, guard [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon the Cathedral]].
** And by "said", we mean you can find it buried in the back pages of the in-game monster manual, near the end of the final dungeon. If you bother to look. Hey, no one ever said backstory had to be ''obvious''.
* ExactWords: "Fear not, [[spoiler:sweet Rosencrantz]], I will not kill you."
* FakeMemories: [[spoiler:Ashley's wife and son. [[TheUnreveal Or maybe not]]. Damn it, Sydney!]]
* {{Fanservice}}: Sydney's pants and Ashley's shorts, full stop.
* ForMassiveDamage: Basically the ''only'' way to beat quite a few bosses in the game, including the final one, as they'll prove invulnerable to all but a few techniques or elemental alignments.
* FramingDevice: The game actually has a frame story which reveals the final ending: Duke Bardorba dies - and you play the game to discover just why, setting the stage for the actual game, which occurs in a single location in roughly a day. Just like a Greek drama should, wink wink.
** [[MindScrew Or did he]]? The final cutscenes never outright state whether or not it's Ashley. It seems to be more a framing device for exactly how Ashley ascended, with some spotlight given to the Bardorba Family Feud.
* FreeRotatingCamera
* FunctionalMagic: Subverted. The premise is that magic doesn't exist in the normal world at all - and as a result, all magic is BlackMagic. Casting any kind of spell is [[TheDarkSide an unnatural act]] that [[FateWorseThanDeath sentences your soul to a horrible fate beyond imagination.]] While spells exist, most magical powers come as special gifts.
* GeniusLoci: Leá Monde has a will of its own.
* GiantEnemyCrab: [[ThatOneBoss One in the Undercity]], [[CurbStompBattle another beneath the Cathedral]], and yet another, the Damascus Crab as the NewGamePlus BonusBoss. [[AttackItsWeakPoint Attack their mouth]] [[MemeticMutation for massive damage]].
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: [[spoiler:Guildenstern once he gains the power of the Rood Inverse by sacrificing Samantha.]]
* GovernmentConspiracy: It's AllThereInTheManual but [[spoiler:the earthquake that destroyed the city of Lea Monde and killed off all of its inhabitants were caused on purpose by the Parliament - or perhaps the Cardinal? - in order to feed the souls of the dead to the darkness within the city and seize the control of that power. This is why the Duke Bardorba and Sydney, not wanting the Dark to be misused, enact the [[GambitIndex plan]] to transfer its power to Ashley, completely destroying the city in process.]]
* GroinAttack: Sydney's disturbingly low pants seem to be another case of Squaresoft's trademark ImpossiblyCoolClothes... until you consider the possibility that he's sacrificed his genitals along with his arms. (The other explanation would be BarbieDollAnatomy.)
* GuideDangIt: The game can be played without a guide, in fact it's not possible to [[LostForever miss anything]]. That said, the game's weapon crafting system is simply so sophisticated, and the overall game so very difficult, that many players will take any crutch they can get.
* HeadlessHorseman: There is a Dullahan boss early on that is an empty suit of armour with no head and a large sword.
* HereThereWereDragons: ''FinalFantasyXII'', ''FinalFantasyTactics''... they were both set in this same world. ''What the hell happened?''
** FridgeBrilliance[[spoiler: Maybe putting history's reigns back in the hands of Man was NOT such as good thing after all...]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Sydney]]
** [[spoiler:Tieger as well, to a lesser extent.]]
* HowDoIShotWeb:
--> [[spoiler: Grissom]]: ...Please, a moment. My body is not... cooperating."
* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: It's difficult to say if ''Vagrant Story'' is a subversion, aversion or a straight play of this trope. Next to all the guys in appropriate medieval armour, Sydney goes topless, with a buttcape and low-slung pants that only barely hide what all fangirls want to see. Rosencrantz wears red spandex bondage gear. Ashley wears leather chaps that leave most of his ass exposed. Tieger wears a leather bondage harness with an incongruous pair of khaki shorts (probably an afterthought to keep the T rating). Hardin wears normal pants... well, normal except for the built-in chaps.
* InfantImmortality: ''Very'' averted with [[spoiler:Marco]]. Averted even more with the Quicksilver and Shrieker enemies since they're possessed by dead children's spirits.
* InformedAbility: Played straight with poor Samantha, who's a Commander in the Crimson Blades but gets zero chance to shine in battle. Subverted with Callo, whom we see being every bit the epic Inquisitor that Heldricht says she is, in spite of her being taken hostage at the start!
* InstantRunes: Many magic spells create this when cast. There's also a few in cutscenes, such as when a Dullahan boss makes its first appearance and drags its sword across the ground, creating a magic circle around itself.
* ItemCrafting: This game has no shops or vendors (it's an abandoned city, of course). If Ashley wants more powerful weaponry and armor, he's got to locate the workshops scattered around the city and forge the equipment himself. [[ElementalCrafting The materials he uses in the process]] determine the basic strength of the weapon and armor, while their original affinities determine [[ElementalRockPaperScissors their effectiveness against specific foes]].
* KnightTemplar: The St. Iocus church and their Knights of the Cross. Guildenstern seems like this at first but turns out to be [[CompleteMonster even worse]].
* LadyNotAppearingInThisGame: [[spoiler: Müllenkamp, who only appears in the opening sequence.]]
* LargeHam: Some characters have their moments, but none come close to Sydney. MagnificentBastard that he is, Sydney dominates every scene he's in.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Ashley. So goddamn much.
* LateToTheTragedy: Leá Monde became a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin ghost city]] when an earthquake severed its contact with land. ''Something'' happened to all its people, causing them all to succumb to the Dark.
* LightIsNotGood: Light-aligned enemies aren't especially common, but they include several of the game's liches, and a dragon which is described as one of the most powerful and evil of its kind.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Hardin. Ashley, too.
* TheLegionsOfHell: Most of the enemies.
* LonelyAtTheTop: [[spoiler:Sydney mocks Guildenstern with this trope when Guildenstern demands to know the way to unlock Lea Monde's power.]]
--> '''Sydney''': [[spoiler:A tyrant always dies alone Guildenstern, surrounded by silver-tongued leeches, he is utterly alone. He sows sorrow and reaps death.]]
* TheLostWoods: Snowfly Forest. [[TheMaze The only way to get around without a map]] involves reorienting oneself by inspecting the moss growing on trees.
** That little hint about the snowflies they give you? [[spoiler:They're not talking about directions, but ''density''.]] GuideDangIt indeed.
* MassSuperempoweringEvent: Just ''going'' to Lea Monde causes you to start to develop magical powers and extra sensory perception. Callo develops the ability to see a person's subconscious, Ashley gets a two-way clairvoyant vision with Guildenstern's girlfriend so he can see what she sees as well as a minor link with Callo, and just about everyone starts tossing magical spells before the day is out.
* MindScrew: SO, SO MUCH. Most of it is Sydney's fault (and boy does the man have FUN doing this), but the entire game is fraught with hidden truths and equally-hidden motives. Don't expect any moments of dramatic irony to last or be fruitful for long.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: "Riskbreaker Ashley Riot?" Yeah, not gonna piss him off.
** He can also amass a number of titles during the replays. Such as "Blood Thirsty Conqueror" or "Grand Master Breaker." It only sounds pretentious until you realize how [[GameBreaker utterly broken]] Ashley is after ''one'' replay. By the time you get Grand Master Breaker, Ashley is the patron saint of [[PhysicalGod Physical Gods]].
* NamingConventions: A lot of characters seem to have names derived from Shakespeare...
** Significant ones, too.
* NewGamePlus: It allows you to keep whatever is on your person, as well as any equipment you saved in a Container. Additionally, the [[spoiler:Rood Inverse]] grants Ashley access to {{Bonus Dungeon}}s and their respective {{Bonus Boss}}es, such as the [[BlackoutBasement the]] [[DugTooDeep Iron Maiden]] [[TheMaze B2]] --home of [[TheGrimReaper Death]] and [[ThatOneBoss Asura]].
* NintendoHard: Unlike most [[RolePlayingGame J[=RPGs=]]], ''Vagrant Story'' likes to keep the player on his toes... by kicking him in the balls every half an hour or so. Boss fights consistently cream poor Ashley, and random encounters are even worse. Success depends largely on mastery of the game's near-inscrutable ItemCrafting system, and there's even a random enemy with an instant death spell... in a game with only one [[PlayerCharacter PC]]. Rumours tell of gamers that actually enjoy this, but it's possible they have been conditioned to it by [[CosmicHorror experiences too horrible to comprehend]].
* OhCrap: [[spoiler:This is probably the expression on Rosencrantz's face as he is about to be cut in half by the Kali statue that Sydney summons]].
* OneManArmy: Ashley.
** OneRiotOneRanger: [[ConservationOfNinjitsu One lone Riskbreaker against the monstrosity of Lea Monde.]]
* OneWingedAngel: This game is set in a ''FinalFantasy'' universe, after all. [[spoiler: Guildenstern is one freaky bloody angel.]]
* PhysicalGod: Ashley becomes this at the end of the game.
* PokeInTheThirdEye: In one cutscene, Guildenstern deduces that Ashley is scrying on Samantha and slaps her so hard that a trail of blood forms around her mouth. Not only does this break Ashley's concentration, but when he recovers from the vision, he has an identical trail of blood flowing from his own mouth.
* PowerTattoo: The Rood Inverse on Sydney's back. [[spoiler: It's inherited by Ashley during the ending scenes--and during new game plus it can unlock doors that were originally sealed on the first playthrough. "The Blood Sin on Ashley's back burns!"]]
* QuicklyDemotedWoman: Callo is on the box and is hinted to be the brains to Ashley's brawn, but Ashley's good intentions (keeping a non-combat agent out of combat) backfire, as Callo meets an abrupt Sydney from nowhere and is taken hostage. She does become a very epic psychic, however. Demoted from sidekick, promoted to seer..
* RandomlyDrops: Since there are no shops, it's the only way of getting new equipment most of the time. ItemCrafting somewhat makes up for the low drop rates of high-end items, however the very best weapons in the game can only be dropped by certain enemies. Chances are, of course, abysmal.
* RareCandy: Elixirs can raise a stat by as much as five points. The various wines Ashley can find also have the same effect. Note that outside of boss fights, this is the only way to raise your stats--there are ''no'' experience points.
* RestartAtLevelOne: "Ashley has recovered this skill from repressed memory."
* RoarBeforeBeating: Wyverns and Dragons.
* RuinsForRuinsSake: Much of Leá Monde's architecture is like this, at least above the surface. Beneath it, the Undercity is an entire town complete with streets, buildings, and lampposts that is larger than the city above ground.
** The ruins above ground are just whatever streets and buildings were left somewhat untouched after earthquakes submerged large parts of Leá Monde to create the Undercity.
* SarcasticClapping: Sydney. Made unnerving by the fact that Sydney has arms and claws made out of enchanted metal. Plink, plink, plink...
* SceneryPorn: Yes.
* ShoutOut: [[TheEyeOfArgon The Eye of Argon]] is one of the items you have
** A room was named [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilroy_was_here Kilroy was Here]]
** [[EvilDead His name is Ash, and he is beset by zombies.]]
** [[MetalGearSolid A One Man Army is dispatched to complete an impossible mission within the span of several hours in-game.]]
* SmugSnake: Rosencrantz, the wannabe MagnificentBastard who doesn't quite manage, alas! His antics include [[DoubleAgent shifty allegiances]], [[GambitRoulette overly elaborate plans]] and a smarmy personality, and he seems poised to take the game home... [[spoiler:until Sydney turns the tables on him, plays him as a fool, and sics a motile Kali statue upon him, whereupon he dies like a crackhead and the player laughs]]. Also, ''Pussy-freakin'-foot!''
* SplashOfColor: Ashley's flashbacks take place on a bright green hill with a dazzling blue sky. This is especially shocking since most of the game is golden brown or murky blue.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Everyone. Male, female, it doesn't matter. The cast is wearing enough clothing to properly cover about half as many characters as there are in the game.
** The seats of their pants at least only cover half of what they should.
* {{Synchronization}}: [[spoiler:[[AllThereInTheManual Duke Bardorba and Sydney cannot live if the other dies due to the pact that Duke Bardorba made in order to save Sydney's life in the past.]] This is also why after killing Sydney, Duke Bardorba dies as well.]]
* TerminallyDependentSociety
* ThemeNaming: All assembled weapons found in the game are named after alcoholic cocktails. It is easy to miss the connection due to the inherent randomness of cocktail names, so while some may work as weapon names ([[TheHobbit Balin’s]] revenge, death sentence, eviscerator, rib splitter), some are more obviously cocktails (Mojito, rusty nail, shandy gaff) and then some are just plain bizarre (Dog’s nose, fandango, pink squirrel, pussyfoot). The descriptions of [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7D8EaOw9kE these]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxfj5Ds-BAs two]] videos lists most weapons and the main ingredients of such cocktails.
** FridgeLogic extends the theme a little further with the weapon Pussyfoot as it is the only cocktail in the list which is non-alcoholic and the weapon itself is wielded by the [[SmugSnake one character]] [[AntiMagic immune to magic]]. While the name may lack the [[IncrediblyLamePun threatening edge]] it is appropriate for an alcohol-free cocktail.
* TitleDrop: [[spoiler:The last line in the game.]]
* TrainingDummy: That allow you to build weapon stats.
* TraumaInducedAmnesia: Discussed by Sydney, who claims that the trope works because people are willing to forget things that pain them and much prefer to replace them with pleasing lies. [[spoiler:If you believe Sydney's version of events, Ashley has invoked this trope against himself, convincing himself that he once lost a wife and son to help himself forget murdering two innocent people.]]
* TheUndead - A lot of enemies. Justified as this is your fate if you die in the Lea Monde. [[spoiler:And all the inhabitants of the city died or succumbed to the Dark due to the certain event]].
* TheUnfought: [[spoiler:Rosencrantz. The first fight ends with him running away and saying he [[WeWillMeetAgain won't be defeated so easily next time.]] Unfortunately, when Ashley does meet him again, it's only to see him getting killed like an idiot by Sydney.]]
* TheUnreveal: Ultimately, you never find out the truth [[spoiler:about Ashley's past]]. And Ashley is able to accept that it really doesn't matter. Damn it, Sydney!
* UnwittingPawn: A very rare inversion. Ashley gets tricked into [[spoiler:saving the world]].
* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: [[spoiler:Guildenstern's motivation for claiming the power of Lea Monde. Sydney calls him out for this when they meet in the Cathedral.]]
* TheVerse: [[WordOfGod Said]] to take place in the same baseline universe as ''FinalFantasyTactics'' (and now also FinalFantasyXII!) and has [[ShoutOut references]] in the shape of relics and accessories.
* TheWatson: Callo is there for revealing the details of the plot that the players in Ashley's perspective would have no way of knowing. It's executed damned well, too.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Callo was originally planned as a playable character.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: The Dark, the mysterious energy of Leá Monde, prevents peoples' souls from dying. This sounds great, but the same doesn't happen to the bodies - trapping people for all eternity into the cursed city as ghosts. BlessedWithSuck indeed.
** Those people lucky enough to avoid THAT form of immortality end up much like [[spoiler:Sydney and his father, who are lord knows how old and seem quite tired of all this business.]]
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: What happens to people who try to [[spoiler:wield the Rood Inverse powers and the Dark]] without sufficient HeroicWillpower. [[spoiler:Guildenstern]] finds this out only too late. [[CompleteMonster Not that anyone felt sorry for him or anything.]]
** Sydney says as much to Ashley regarding Guildenstern: [[spoiler:"Those who crave the Dark cannot control the Dark. You must stop him, kill him ... ...before the Dark sucks his living soul dry."]]
----
[[caption-width-right:200: [[{{Badass}} He ]]'''[[MemeticBadass is ]]'''[[OneManArmy the reinforcements]].]]
->"''The body is but a vessel for the soul, a puppet which bends to the soul's tyranny. And lo, the body is not eternal, for it must feed on the flesh of others, lest it return to the dust from whence it came.Therefore must the soul deceive, despise and murder men.''"
-->-- '''[[FinalFantasyTactics A. J. Durai]]'''
SquareSoft's ''Vagrant Story'' is a genre-defying, stat-based PlaystationOne RPG by videogame auteur YasumiMatsuno. It's a standalone NonLinearSequel to ''FinalFantasyTactics'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', and as such, is part of the [[RunningGag God-Rapingly popular]] ''FinalFantasy'' Series.
The game is easily one of the most [[GenreBusting complicated]] Squaresoft [=RPG=]s: a combination of 80's dungeon crawling with French graphic novel aesthetics, [[FloweryElizabethanEnglish Shakespearean dialogue]], elaborate ItemCrafting, RhythmGame combat and the structure of a Greek drama, with the characters dressed in... well, fairly homoerotic bondage gear. It's a gorgeous but polarizing game, due to being NintendoHard, and features ''very'' mature themes compared to other FinalFantasy installments.
''Vagrant Story'' is set in the [[MedievalEuropeanFantasy dark ages]] of [[IvaliceAlliance Ivalice]]. The player is [[OneManArmy Ashley Riot]], a knight of the kingdom of Valendia and a Riskbreaker -- a medieval JamesBond. He is sent to investigate an attack on the manor of Duke Bardorba by [[DesignatedVillain Sydney Losstarot]], a charismatic cult leader. Our man Ashley does his job, infiltrates the manor and shoots Sydney dead with a bowgun. All in a day's work? Not quite -- Sydney calmly pulls out the bolt from his heart, summons a wyvern spoken of only in hushed legend, and leaves the scene, with the Duke's 6-year-old son Joshua Corrinne Bardorba as a hostage.
Pursued by the Knights of the Cross, a Church army lead by the [[KnightTemplar righteous but sinister]] Romeo Guildenstern, Sydney makes for the [[TempleOfDoom lost city of Leá Monde]]. Ashley, accompanied by [[MrExposition intelligence officer]] Callo Merlose, follows, trying to avoid the Knights of the Cross at all costs while hunting Sydney down. In the style of classic dungeon crawlers, the player takes Ashley through Leá Monde's catacombs and ancient temples, killing vast quantities of equally ancient monsters. The plot unfolds rapidly, and becomes more and more intricate as new parties reveal their own schemes: there's [[TheMole Valendia operative]] and ex-Riskbreaker Jan Rosencrantz, who wants the city's power for himself; General Grissom, who seeks revenge for the death of his priest brother Duane (at Ashley's hands); and John Hardin, Sydney's gentle accomplice, who slowly realizes that he's being LockedOutOfTheLoop.
The city itself is a CosmicKeystone, and everyone is fighting for power it holds. A cat-and-mouse game ensues, as Ashley tails Sydney through the lost city, while Sydney starts to tease Ashley by [[MindProbe searching his memories]]. But does Ashley's [[DeadLittleSister backstory]] add up? Have [[{{Brainwashed}} his memories been altered]]? As Ashley fights on, the game becomes an exploration of the [[TheRashomon subjectivity of memory]], concluding in what is surprisingly ''not'' a GainaxEnding. Oh, and it features what's probably [[{{Woolseyism}} the most celebrated localization in video game history]].
The game's difficulty lies in its stat-based and menu-based combat. ''VagrantStory'''s battle system is perhaps closer to ''{{Nethack}}'' than it is to most games in the ''FinalFantasy'' series. Instead of gaining traditional experience points, Ashley -- also a skilled blacksmith -- [[ItemCrafting crafts]] a collection of weapons and a full set of armor, planning around elements, weapon types, weapon range, creature types and Ashley's own reaction abilities. In practice, this means you may end up switching and re-configuring your equipment for every enemy you encounter. Difficult? Horribly so. Rewarding? ''Yes''. It's NintendoHard, with a very steep learning curve, but of the "difficult to learn, easy to master" variety.
Finally, the game caught some considerable flak for using (and [[TropeCodifier codifying]]) BlockPuzzle mechanics -- perhaps from critics who failed to realize that the time attack puzzle mode can simply be turned off.
In short, it's a complicated, odd, beautiful, maddening game that ''definitely'' NeedsMoreLove.
Also, '''a warning for first time players'''. There are four opening movies that are very easily skipped by accident. Without seeing these sequences, the game makes very little sense. The scenes are:
* (1) the introduction cutscene, seen by leaving the menu running for a minute or so,
* (2) an optional (spoiler-filled) trailer, seen by leaving the menu running a second time after viewing the first introduction,
* (3) the actual opening sequence, which is too easily skipped by accidentally pressing "start",
* (4) the vital second part of the opening sequence, which probably ''will'' make you press "start" and skip it by accident, because some of the text takes a long time to disappear.
So, ''don't press start until after you see the first save point. ''
Is now up on the Playstation Network.
Character Sheet is [[Characters/VagrantStory here]].
----
!!Provides Examples Of:
* AFateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:Grissom, whose wandering soul searches for a body to possess - and finds his own cold corpse]]. By the end of the game, he's not holding together very well.
** [[AllThereInTheManual According to the manual]], everyone who is affected by the dark will be unable to move on and wander the world forever in unbearable agony once his or her body decays. [[spoiler:This includes those who survive the game's events. However, as the bearer of the Dark, Ashley is able to grant these souls reprieve...[[YourSoulIsMine as their holder]].]]
* AllThereInTheManual: To really understand the plot of the game you need to read the [[NoExportForYou Japanese only]] Ultimania guide which gives in-depth explanations to many scenes in the game as well as additional information on all of the characters. A translation can be found [[http://www34.brinkster.com/worldshards/translations/trans.htm here.]]
** Descriptions of the natures of all the monsters you fight can be found on the in-game bestiary and many of the items and accessories that you find even manage to get a brief back-story in the item menu.
* AmbitionIsEvil: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern exemplify this.
* AntiMagic: [[spoiler:Rosencrantz. To Guildenstern]]: "Your memory fails you. The Dark holds no power over me." He's immune to the Dark, as he demonstrates in several cut-scenes. Unfortunately, this doesn't save him when [[spoiler:the statue Sydney brings to life cuts him in half.]]
** This becomes less convincing in the manual, where [[spoiler:Ashley suspects that Rosencrantz is brainwashed by Valendia's secret service into thinking he is immune to the Dark]].
* AntiVillain: Sydney Losstarot. With WhiteHairedPrettyBoy looks, [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative demeanor]], penchant for MindRape and [[TheChessmaster sophisticated plans]], he definitely is BigBad type. It turns out that [[spoiler:all that time, he was making an elaborate HeroicSacrifice to save the world.]] He'd be such a WellIntentionedExtremist if he wasn't basically [[NecessarilyEvil right about everything]].
* AuthorAppeal: AkihikoYoshida likes bondage gear. And piercings. And amputation, skin removal, torture... and of course, as he has admitted himself, butts.
* AwesomeButImpractical: Break Arts. They have fancy names and cool animations, deal above the average damage and some inflict status effects. However, an average attack chain will still harm the enemy much more. There is also no guarantee that the Break Art will connect (and there really is a lot of hard to hit enemies), which can lead to a flashy attack followed by a much disappointing "MISS".
* AwesomeMcCoolname: Just about anyone with the full name, but Ashley Riot is the most notable.
* BigNo: Doubly subverted. Joshua clearly attempts this when [[spoiler:Hardin is stabbed by Guildenstern]] but not only is there no voice acting in this game but [[CuteMute Joshua]] himself has been mute since the events of the game began, resulting in a very heartfelt, but ultimately silent NOOOOOOOO!
* {{Badass}}: Ahh, Ashley. "Reinforcements? I am the reinforcements." A total ImplacableMan and with a MysteriousPast that makes him even stronger, even the game's characters subtly [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] how ridiculously strong he is. He also acquires a BadassLongcoat for the final scene of the game.
* BaitAndSwitchBoss: [[spoiler:A cutscene sets up Rosencrantz as the next boss, but Sydney uses his magic to animate a statue which crushes him, and Ashley winds up fighting the statue instead.]]
* BashBrothers: [[MightyGlacier Tieger]] and [[LadyOfWar Neesa]], although there are shades of a BattleCouple relationship going on.
* BelatedHappyEnding: Various item descriptions mention the Zodiac Brave Story from ''FinalFantasyTactics'', naming Agrias, Orlandu and several others as well-known heroes. That means the Durai report from Tactics, containing a true account of what happened during the war, was eventually accepted as historical canon.
* {{BFS}}: The Great Sword line of weapon types. There's also Great Maces (big freakin' [[DropTheHammer hammers]]) such as the gigantic Hand of Light.
* BittersweetEnding: At least for [[spoiler:Sydney and Duke Bardorba]]. As for Ashley, it's a bit more uplifting as he comes to the term with his past [[spoiler:or at least accepts that it does not matter what his past really was]].
* BlessedWithSuck: Sydney, and [[spoiler:Ashley]] in the ending, after [[spoiler:inheriting the Rood Inverse]].
* BlockPuzzle: Virtually every room in the game has a block puzzle to solve. This is the game that inspired the trope page in the first place.
* BossRush: A passageway in the heart of Leá Monde leads to doors containing every boss in the game, including, in a NewGamePlus, the {{Bonus Boss}}es. Each door must be unlocked with sigils earned through the game to proceed.
** The final dungeon has no respawning enemies, yet has lots of bosses and mini-bosses and only one or two run of the mill encounters.
* BrainsAndBondage: It's not quite clear ''why'', but about half of the cast is walking around in BDSM gear. And spouting faux-Shakespearian dialogue.
* [[LimitBreak Break arts]]; four for each class of weapons, [[CastFromHitPoints but don't rely on them TOO much.]]
* CameBackWrong: The spirits of those murdered in Leá Monde are cursed to wander from corpse to corpse, possessing rotten bodies and never finding peace. [[spoiler: Grissom]], murdered by Ashley, ''finds his own corpse'' by accident, and retains a small amount of control over it as a result. It's... quite horrifying.
* CherryTapping: Used often. This is a game where dealing 10 hit points of damage can be a serious accomplishment. Although Ashley's weapon types / affinities go a long way in determining the damage (hitting for 50 or 60 HP isn't uncommon with a proper weapon), many bosses will go down from much smaller hits. Figuring out ''how'' to hit them in the first place can... also take a while.
* ChewingTheScenery: Just pick any scene with Ashley, Guildenstern, Rosencrantz, and/or Sydney. Sydney, is doing it for the benefit of his 'audience' -- whether this is Callo, Hardin, Ashley, Samantha, or us.
* ColorWash: The game likes using two predominant colors for areas: Brownish-yellow, or blue.
* CorruptChurch: The St. Iocus church and their Knights of the Cross, no doubt. ''"Warping the minds of men and shepherding the masses has always been your church's domain. You lure sheep with empty miracles and a dead god."'' Not to mention that "iocus" is Latin for "joke."
** It's implied, via the ''FinalFantasyTactics'' references that pop up around the game, that this is the [[spoiler:Church of St. Ajora of Glabados; Sydney's "mark your savior well, for he is one of the demons you so fear" can easily be read as a hint at Ajora's true nature as the host of Altema.]]
** Early in the game a conversation between two knights reveals that magic is considered blasphemous by the church. Later [[spoiler:we see elite knights using all kinds of spells, up to demon summoning (Grissom). Guildenstern uses the dark power and suggests that the cardinal himself can somehow control the Dark, and seeks immortality through this.]]
* TheCorruption: The effect the Dark has on those who die in its thrall, from the corpses of Leá Monde's former inhabitants, to the Crimson Blades and Knights of the Cross that die throughout the course of the game and are raised again as undead.
* CoversAlwaysLie: Ashley and Callo are a BattleCouple [[spoiler:that share a grand total of about 90 seconds in two scenes before the game even starts, without much talking other than business, and do not cross paths again for the rest of the game.]]
* CreepyCoolCrosses: The Rood of St. Iocus, which resembles a cross with four arms at 45 degree angles and a tiny 'sword crossgard' at the bottom. Ashley's pendant and the motifs on his pants display it, while Sydney's back is [[PowerTattoo tattooed]] with the blasphemous [[CosmicKeystone Rood Inverse]]. The base form of the InfinityPlusOneSword, the Holy Win, is shaped as such (and is wielded, in story, by [[spoiler:the first form of the FinalBoss]].) [[spoiler:Now guess what his second form looks like. ''Sorta''.]]
* CurbStompBattle All of new game plus with the exception of the [[BonusLevelOfHell bonus]] [[BonusBoss content]].
* CuteMute: Joshua.
* {{Cyborg}}/ArtificialLimbs: Sydney. The magical variety, of course.
* DarkMessiah: Guildenstern.
* DeadLittleSister: Ashley's wife and child were murdered by bandits. Or were they really...?
* DeadpanSnarker: In the rare moments Ashley is not entirely serious, he's this.
--> ''*Earthquake shakes the catacombs*''
--> Ashley: ...I do not feel I'm welcome here.
** And "No live burials today, thanks."
* DemotedBoss: The [[ElementalEmbodiment Elementals]].
* DevilInPlainSight: Rosencrantz. So, so much. Everyone knows he's a traitor to all sides, and yet no one really cares about his hidden plans. Even Ashley dismisses him as an obvious lowlife liar during their first encounter and simply walks away. When it turns out Rosencrantz is (a) immune to the Dark (c.f. TooCoolToLive) and (b) [[spoiler:hoping to become the vessel for the Blood Sin]], he's [[spoiler:''very'' quickly removed from the plot by Sydney]].
* ElementalEmbodiment: The four classical Greek elements, plus Dark, roam the catacombs of Leá Monde. Worse, the named avatars of these forces, those said to have brought calamity to Leá Monde, guard [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon the Cathedral]].
** And by "said", we mean you can find it buried in the back pages of the in-game monster manual, near the end of the final dungeon. If you bother to look. Hey, no one ever said backstory had to be ''obvious''.
* ExactWords: "Fear not, [[spoiler:sweet Rosencrantz]], I will not kill you."
* FakeMemories: [[spoiler:Ashley's wife and son. [[TheUnreveal Or maybe not]]. Damn it, Sydney!]]
* {{Fanservice}}: Sydney's pants and Ashley's shorts, full stop.
* ForMassiveDamage: Basically the ''only'' way to beat quite a few bosses in the game, including the final one, as they'll prove invulnerable to all but a few techniques or elemental alignments.
* FramingDevice: The game actually has a frame story which reveals the final ending: Duke Bardorba dies - and you play the game to discover just why, setting the stage for the actual game, which occurs in a single location in roughly a day. Just like a Greek drama should, wink wink.
** [[MindScrew Or did he]]? The final cutscenes never outright state whether or not it's Ashley. It seems to be more a framing device for exactly how Ashley ascended, with some spotlight given to the Bardorba Family Feud.
* FreeRotatingCamera
* FunctionalMagic: Subverted. The premise is that magic doesn't exist in the normal world at all - and as a result, all magic is BlackMagic. Casting any kind of spell is [[TheDarkSide an unnatural act]] that [[FateWorseThanDeath sentences your soul to a horrible fate beyond imagination.]] While spells exist, most magical powers come as special gifts.
* GeniusLoci: Leá Monde has a will of its own.
* GiantEnemyCrab: [[ThatOneBoss One in the Undercity]], [[CurbStompBattle another beneath the Cathedral]], and yet another, the Damascus Crab as the NewGamePlus BonusBoss. [[AttackItsWeakPoint Attack their mouth]] [[MemeticMutation for massive damage]].
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: [[spoiler:Guildenstern once he gains the power of the Rood Inverse by sacrificing Samantha.]]
* GovernmentConspiracy: It's AllThereInTheManual but [[spoiler:the earthquake that destroyed the city of Lea Monde and killed off all of its inhabitants were caused on purpose by the Parliament - or perhaps the Cardinal? - in order to feed the souls of the dead to the darkness within the city and seize the control of that power. This is why the Duke Bardorba and Sydney, not wanting the Dark to be misused, enact the [[GambitIndex plan]] to transfer its power to Ashley, completely destroying the city in process.]]
* GroinAttack: Sydney's disturbingly low pants seem to be another case of Squaresoft's trademark ImpossiblyCoolClothes... until you consider the possibility that he's sacrificed his genitals along with his arms. (The other explanation would be BarbieDollAnatomy.)
* GuideDangIt: The game can be played without a guide, in fact it's not possible to [[LostForever miss anything]]. That said, the game's weapon crafting system is simply so sophisticated, and the overall game so very difficult, that many players will take any crutch they can get.
* HeadlessHorseman: There is a Dullahan boss early on that is an empty suit of armour with no head and a large sword.
* HereThereWereDragons: ''FinalFantasyXII'', ''FinalFantasyTactics''... they were both set in this same world. ''What the hell happened?''
** FridgeBrilliance[[spoiler: Maybe putting history's reigns back in the hands of Man was NOT such as good thing after all...]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Sydney]]
** [[spoiler:Tieger as well, to a lesser extent.]]
* HowDoIShotWeb:
--> [[spoiler: Grissom]]: ...Please, a moment. My body is not... cooperating."
* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: It's difficult to say if ''Vagrant Story'' is a subversion, aversion or a straight play of this trope. Next to all the guys in appropriate medieval armour, Sydney goes topless, with a buttcape and low-slung pants that only barely hide what all fangirls want to see. Rosencrantz wears red spandex bondage gear. Ashley wears leather chaps that leave most of his ass exposed. Tieger wears a leather bondage harness with an incongruous pair of khaki shorts (probably an afterthought to keep the T rating). Hardin wears normal pants... well, normal except for the built-in chaps.
* InfantImmortality: ''Very'' averted with [[spoiler:Marco]]. Averted even more with the Quicksilver and Shrieker enemies since they're possessed by dead children's spirits.
* InformedAbility: Played straight with poor Samantha, who's a Commander in the Crimson Blades but gets zero chance to shine in battle. Subverted with Callo, whom we see being every bit the epic Inquisitor that Heldricht says she is, in spite of her being taken hostage at the start!
* InstantRunes: Many magic spells create this when cast. There's also a few in cutscenes, such as when a Dullahan boss makes its first appearance and drags its sword across the ground, creating a magic circle around itself.
* ItemCrafting: This game has no shops or vendors (it's an abandoned city, of course). If Ashley wants more powerful weaponry and armor, he's got to locate the workshops scattered around the city and forge the equipment himself. [[ElementalCrafting The materials he uses in the process]] determine the basic strength of the weapon and armor, while their original affinities determine [[ElementalRockPaperScissors their effectiveness against specific foes]].
* KnightTemplar: The St. Iocus church and their Knights of the Cross. Guildenstern seems like this at first but turns out to be [[CompleteMonster even worse]].
* LadyNotAppearingInThisGame: [[spoiler: Müllenkamp, who only appears in the opening sequence.]]
* LargeHam: Some characters have their moments, but none come close to Sydney. MagnificentBastard that he is, Sydney dominates every scene he's in.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Ashley. So goddamn much.
* LateToTheTragedy: Leá Monde became a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin ghost city]] when an earthquake severed its contact with land. ''Something'' happened to all its people, causing them all to succumb to the Dark.
* LightIsNotGood: Light-aligned enemies aren't especially common, but they include several of the game's liches, and a dragon which is described as one of the most powerful and evil of its kind.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Hardin. Ashley, too.
* TheLegionsOfHell: Most of the enemies.
* LonelyAtTheTop: [[spoiler:Sydney mocks Guildenstern with this trope when Guildenstern demands to know the way to unlock Lea Monde's power.]]
--> '''Sydney''': [[spoiler:A tyrant always dies alone Guildenstern, surrounded by silver-tongued leeches, he is utterly alone. He sows sorrow and reaps death.]]
* TheLostWoods: Snowfly Forest. [[TheMaze The only way to get around without a map]] involves reorienting oneself by inspecting the moss growing on trees.
** That little hint about the snowflies they give you? [[spoiler:They're not talking about directions, but ''density''.]] GuideDangIt indeed.
* MassSuperempoweringEvent: Just ''going'' to Lea Monde causes you to start to develop magical powers and extra sensory perception. Callo develops the ability to see a person's subconscious, Ashley gets a two-way clairvoyant vision with Guildenstern's girlfriend so he can see what she sees as well as a minor link with Callo, and just about everyone starts tossing magical spells before the day is out.
* MindScrew: SO, SO MUCH. Most of it is Sydney's fault (and boy does the man have FUN doing this), but the entire game is fraught with hidden truths and equally-hidden motives. Don't expect any moments of dramatic irony to last or be fruitful for long.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: "Riskbreaker Ashley Riot?" Yeah, not gonna piss him off.
** He can also amass a number of titles during the replays. Such as "Blood Thirsty Conqueror" or "Grand Master Breaker." It only sounds pretentious until you realize how [[GameBreaker utterly broken]] Ashley is after ''one'' replay. By the time you get Grand Master Breaker, Ashley is the patron saint of [[PhysicalGod Physical Gods]].
* NamingConventions: A lot of characters seem to have names derived from Shakespeare...
** Significant ones, too.
* NewGamePlus: It allows you to keep whatever is on your person, as well as any equipment you saved in a Container. Additionally, the [[spoiler:Rood Inverse]] grants Ashley access to {{Bonus Dungeon}}s and their respective {{Bonus Boss}}es, such as the [[BlackoutBasement the]] [[DugTooDeep Iron Maiden]] [[TheMaze B2]] --home of [[TheGrimReaper Death]] and [[ThatOneBoss Asura]].
* NintendoHard: Unlike most [[RolePlayingGame J[=RPGs=]]], ''Vagrant Story'' likes to keep the player on his toes... by kicking him in the balls every half an hour or so. Boss fights consistently cream poor Ashley, and random encounters are even worse. Success depends largely on mastery of the game's near-inscrutable ItemCrafting system, and there's even a random enemy with an instant death spell... in a game with only one [[PlayerCharacter PC]]. Rumours tell of gamers that actually enjoy this, but it's possible they have been conditioned to it by [[CosmicHorror experiences too horrible to comprehend]].
* OhCrap: [[spoiler:This is probably the expression on Rosencrantz's face as he is about to be cut in half by the Kali statue that Sydney summons]].
* OneManArmy: Ashley.
** OneRiotOneRanger: [[ConservationOfNinjitsu One lone Riskbreaker against the monstrosity of Lea Monde.]]
* OneWingedAngel: This game is set in a ''FinalFantasy'' universe, after all. [[spoiler: Guildenstern is one freaky bloody angel.]]
* PhysicalGod: Ashley becomes this at the end of the game.
* PokeInTheThirdEye: In one cutscene, Guildenstern deduces that Ashley is scrying on Samantha and slaps her so hard that a trail of blood forms around her mouth. Not only does this break Ashley's concentration, but when he recovers from the vision, he has an identical trail of blood flowing from his own mouth.
* PowerTattoo: The Rood Inverse on Sydney's back. [[spoiler: It's inherited by Ashley during the ending scenes--and during new game plus it can unlock doors that were originally sealed on the first playthrough. "The Blood Sin on Ashley's back burns!"]]
* QuicklyDemotedWoman: Callo is on the box and is hinted to be the brains to Ashley's brawn, but Ashley's good intentions (keeping a non-combat agent out of combat) backfire, as Callo meets an abrupt Sydney from nowhere and is taken hostage. She does become a very epic psychic, however. Demoted from sidekick, promoted to seer..
* RandomlyDrops: Since there are no shops, it's the only way of getting new equipment most of the time. ItemCrafting somewhat makes up for the low drop rates of high-end items, however the very best weapons in the game can only be dropped by certain enemies. Chances are, of course, abysmal.
* RareCandy: Elixirs can raise a stat by as much as five points. The various wines Ashley can find also have the same effect. Note that outside of boss fights, this is the only way to raise your stats--there are ''no'' experience points.
* RestartAtLevelOne: "Ashley has recovered this skill from repressed memory."
* RoarBeforeBeating: Wyverns and Dragons.
* RuinsForRuinsSake: Much of Leá Monde's architecture is like this, at least above the surface. Beneath it, the Undercity is an entire town complete with streets, buildings, and lampposts that is larger than the city above ground.
** The ruins above ground are just whatever streets and buildings were left somewhat untouched after earthquakes submerged large parts of Leá Monde to create the Undercity.
* SarcasticClapping: Sydney. Made unnerving by the fact that Sydney has arms and claws made out of enchanted metal. Plink, plink, plink...
* SceneryPorn: Yes.
* ShoutOut: [[TheEyeOfArgon The Eye of Argon]] is one of the items you have
** A room was named [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilroy_was_here Kilroy was Here]]
** [[EvilDead His name is Ash, and he is beset by zombies.]]
** [[MetalGearSolid A One Man Army is dispatched to complete an impossible mission within the span of several hours in-game.]]
* SmugSnake: Rosencrantz, the wannabe MagnificentBastard who doesn't quite manage, alas! His antics include [[DoubleAgent shifty allegiances]], [[GambitRoulette overly elaborate plans]] and a smarmy personality, and he seems poised to take the game home... [[spoiler:until Sydney turns the tables on him, plays him as a fool, and sics a motile Kali statue upon him, whereupon he dies like a crackhead and the player laughs]]. Also, ''Pussy-freakin'-foot!''
* SplashOfColor: Ashley's flashbacks take place on a bright green hill with a dazzling blue sky. This is especially shocking since most of the game is golden brown or murky blue.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Everyone. Male, female, it doesn't matter. The cast is wearing enough clothing to properly cover about half as many characters as there are in the game.
** The seats of their pants at least only cover half of what they should.
* {{Synchronization}}: [[spoiler:[[AllThereInTheManual Duke Bardorba and Sydney cannot live if the other dies due to the pact that Duke Bardorba made in order to save Sydney's life in the past.]] This is also why after killing Sydney, Duke Bardorba dies as well.]]
* TerminallyDependentSociety
* ThemeNaming: All assembled weapons found in the game are named after alcoholic cocktails. It is easy to miss the connection due to the inherent randomness of cocktail names, so while some may work as weapon names ([[TheHobbit Balin’s]] revenge, death sentence, eviscerator, rib splitter), some are more obviously cocktails (Mojito, rusty nail, shandy gaff) and then some are just plain bizarre (Dog’s nose, fandango, pink squirrel, pussyfoot). The descriptions of [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7D8EaOw9kE these]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxfj5Ds-BAs two]] videos lists most weapons and the main ingredients of such cocktails.
** FridgeLogic extends the theme a little further with the weapon Pussyfoot as it is the only cocktail in the list which is non-alcoholic and the weapon itself is wielded by the [[SmugSnake one character]] [[AntiMagic immune to magic]]. While the name may lack the [[IncrediblyLamePun threatening edge]] it is appropriate for an alcohol-free cocktail.
* TitleDrop: [[spoiler:The last line in the game.]]
* TrainingDummy: That allow you to build weapon stats.
* TraumaInducedAmnesia: Discussed by Sydney, who claims that the trope works because people are willing to forget things that pain them and much prefer to replace them with pleasing lies. [[spoiler:If you believe Sydney's version of events, Ashley has invoked this trope against himself, convincing himself that he once lost a wife and son to help himself forget murdering two innocent people.]]
* TheUndead - A lot of enemies. Justified as this is your fate if you die in the Lea Monde. [[spoiler:And all the inhabitants of the city died or succumbed to the Dark due to the certain event]].
* TheUnfought: [[spoiler:Rosencrantz. The first fight ends with him running away and saying he [[WeWillMeetAgain won't be defeated so easily next time.]] Unfortunately, when Ashley does meet him again, it's only to see him getting killed like an idiot by Sydney.]]
* TheUnreveal: Ultimately, you never find out the truth [[spoiler:about Ashley's past]]. And Ashley is able to accept that it really doesn't matter. Damn it, Sydney!
* UnwittingPawn: A very rare inversion. Ashley gets tricked into [[spoiler:saving the world]].
* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: [[spoiler:Guildenstern's motivation for claiming the power of Lea Monde. Sydney calls him out for this when they meet in the Cathedral.]]
* TheVerse: [[WordOfGod Said]] to take place in the same baseline universe as ''FinalFantasyTactics'' (and now also FinalFantasyXII!) and has [[ShoutOut references]] in the shape of relics and accessories.
* TheWatson: Callo is there for revealing the details of the plot that the players in Ashley's perspective would have no way of knowing. It's executed damned well, too.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Callo was originally planned as a playable character.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: The Dark, the mysterious energy of Leá Monde, prevents peoples' souls from dying. This sounds great, but the same doesn't happen to the bodies - trapping people for all eternity into the cursed city as ghosts. BlessedWithSuck indeed.
** Those people lucky enough to avoid THAT form of immortality end up much like [[spoiler:Sydney and his father, who are lord knows how old and seem quite tired of all this business.]]
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: What happens to people who try to [[spoiler:wield the Rood Inverse powers and the Dark]] without sufficient HeroicWillpower. [[spoiler:Guildenstern]] finds this out only too late. [[CompleteMonster Not that anyone felt sorry for him or anything.]]
** Sydney says as much to Ashley regarding Guildenstern: [[spoiler:"Those who crave the Dark cannot control the Dark. You must stop him, kill him ... ...before the Dark sucks his living soul dry."]]
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