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Vandal Hearts PSN/Live preview and screens

S

SolidSnakex

Member
The original Vandal Hearts came out on the PlayStation more than 10 years ago and its sequel followed just a few years later. It's been a while since we've heard anything about the world of Vandal Hearts, but now Konami is revisiting the bloody series with a prequel, set to be released on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network. At the Konami event last week, we were able to get a quick look at the game, but unfortunately we weren't able to see much more beyond a battle demo.

The events of Vandal Hearts will take place before the original game, and newcomers will find that this is an excellent starting point if you're new to the series. For those who are familiar with the previous two games, there will be story elements that will provide more insight into the original storyline, given that this was made with the fans in mind. The fighting mechanics should feel familiar to anyone who's played a strategy RPG before; between the story-driven sequences, violent battles are fought and won. Movement is grid-based, so characters are limited to the highlighted squares for each turn. Each character can carry two weapons, so you can shoot a long-ranged bow or make a melee attack with an axe, depending on the situation. Your party (up to six in the game) takes individual turns as they move around the field like chess pieces, trying to find ways to swarm and conquer.

Characters will have affinities to certain job types, but it's up to you to determine which path you want them to specialize in. Some of the features have been streamlined so that you don't have to deal with a ton of menus regarding leveling and statistics. We were told that your characters will develop based on how you use them. For example, if you make a specific character move around the battlefield a lot, eventually his or her movement will increase. If you use a bow and arrow frequently, the character's long-range attacks become stronger. All of this is happening behind the scenes as you play, so you don't have to deal with the micromanaging.
Click to expand...

No release date has been set yet, but it's supposed to come out later this year on XBLA and the PSN.
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http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/rpg/vandalhearts/news.html?sid=6207815

959363_20090413_screen001.jpg

959363_20090413_screen002.jpg
 
J

John Harker

Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
Character art looks wonky, but DAY 1!

Vandal Hearts is such an unappreciated series. It was my first Tactics game actually, and while the 2nd one goes in weird directions, it wasnt that bad... the first one ruled. Original story and content? Totally there.

I wonder if this is the final product of the rumored DS title?
 
P

Ponn

Banned
AWESOME! This would be a great time for them to put up the original PSone title on PS....:lol :lol ..sorry, couldn't finish that with a straight face.
 
C

Classic_Gs

Member
Ponn01 said:
AWESOME! This would be a great time for them to put up the original PSone title on PS....:lol :lol ..sorry, couldn't finish that with a straight face.
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:lol, and yea the art style is very off putting.
 
S

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
Ponn01 said:
AWESOME! This would be a great time for them to put up the original PSone title on PS....:lol :lol ..sorry, couldn't finish that with a straight face.
Click to expand...

Yes, that would require certain Sony divsions to get off their ass. On the other hand SCEA seems to be in goos with Konami and we did get Suikoden.
 
S

Skilletor

Member
Vandal Hearts was great back in the day. I will definitely be picking this up.

Hope they keep the BLOOD SPLATTERS :lol
 
S

SabinFigaro

Member
Whaaaaa.....?!? First I've heard of this.

Definitely interested, as the originals were fun, though unpolished, strategy gems.

And yes, this is an ideal opportunity for PSN releases of the originals.
 
P

Ponn

Banned
Shard said:
Yes, that would require certain Sony divsions to get off their ass. On the other hand SCEA seems to be in goos with Konami and we did get Suikoden.
Click to expand...

Stop trying to ruin our perfect season. See if we can match the Detroit Lions here man.
 
C

Crazymoogle

Member
Huh. Wish they would have kept the same artist as from Vandal Hearts II (well, the character artist, as seen in the manual, anyway. Not so much the game art.)

Looks...strange. Will be interested to see how it turns out.
 
M

Monroeski

Unconfirmed Member
Vandal Hearts was AWESOME. Loved that game.

Vandal Hearts 2 was very meh. Only played a couple of hours and couldn't take anymore.

Won't say this is an automatic buy, but it's close. The first game still has that kind of credit with me.
 
G

GotchaForce

Member
Damn, I hope they put the first one out on PSN. I just got Suikoden (for the first time actually) and was thinking about how great Vandal Hearts was.

Did anyone else beat the sequel? What a crazy game that was, the enemies moved with you at the same time.
 
M

MoxManiac

Member
What the FUCK is going on with those character portraits?

Anyways, most bizzaro announcement out of left field this year so far.
 
H

Hobbun

Member
A prequel for Vandal Hearts? Kickass.

I hope they release the original, as well. Been years since I've played it.
 
L

levious

That throwing stick stunt of yours has boomeranged on us.
Xater said:
Character art looks like ass but cool anyway.
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yeah, I'm not familiar with Vandal Hearts, but the character portraits look like grown up garbage pail kids.
 
E

Ether_Snake

安安安安安安安安安安安安安安安
I loved Vandal Hearts (didn't play the sequel), but I'm gonna wait before getting hyped about this one.
 
C

crowphoenix

Banned
I love Vandal Hearts. I hate how the character designs look like a bad Cartoon Network after school show. I will buy it regardless.
 
A

Aru

Member
My heart stopped for a second.
I thought the original game was going to be released on PSN :(

This prequel looks like ass. What's with this character design ?
Ugh. Color me disappointed.

I'm a huge fan of VH 1 (VH 2 sucks).
 
S

Speevy

Banned
I think that's your typical "Online gamerpic style" portrait that many downloadable games have adopted.

I'm not a huge fan of it myself.
 
A

Aru

Member
Oldschool said:
Loved Vandal Hearts, it´s a great game even nowadays but... WHAT THE HELL IS THIS ART?
Click to expand...

Not only the art sucks, but the graphics would look bad even on PS2 :/
 
R

ram

Member
the game isnt developed by KCET and thus i dont care (and it doesnt help, that the game looks like ass anyway).
 
A

Archie

Second-rate Anihawk
VH1 was awesome. Geysers of blood FTW. IIRC, VH2 sucked ass because you and your enemy moved at the same time or something weird like that.
 
A

Aru

Member
Speevy said:
Looks kind of like someone ported a Fire Emblem Gamecube game to the PS2.
Click to expand...

Path of Radiance wasn't one of the most beautiful games of the NGC (somewhere between a PS1 and PS2 game) but at least the character design was good.

This game looks like a bad fan game.
Who is developping this anyway ?
 
M

Monroeski

Unconfirmed Member
People complaining about the art style on the portraits may not remember what they looked like in the first game.

mm4meg.png


eiwk9h.png


Not exactly a high benchmark. :D Diego reminds me of Sloth from the Goonies.
 
D

djtiesto

is beloved, despite what anyone might say
That's awesome they're making a new Vandal Hearts... the original was one of my favorite early PS1 games, though I've never played the sequel. Shame it's an XBLA/PSN release, I'd have rather a full-fledged game, but it's better than nothing.

Can't see the pics, they are blocked at work, unfortunately.
 
K

kevm3

Member
Seriously, what in the world is that garbage? I knew they were going to turn it into 3d, but I didn't know the character art would look that stupid. Vandal Hearts was one of the more rugged and gritty SRPGs out there and this looks like some Saturday morning cartoon.

Vandal Hearts I was one of my favorite games in general, and they're going to turn it into this?
 
E

elbkhm

Member
Six character party AND FF2 style character development? Ugh. I love Vandal Hearts so I'll keep an eye on this, but I'm not very hopeful.
 
S

Schopenhauer

Member
I didn't really like the first Vandal Hearts game all that much, but this just looks terrible. Konami + old Ip's = shit confarmeded.
 
R

Ricker

Member
Why did they change the characters?? is everything else the same as the first game?? one of the best PS1 game ever in my book,some fights are just amazing(the huge stairs one near the end for example was great,etc).
 
A

aidan

Hugo Award Winning Author and Editor
Monroeski said:
People complaining about the art style on the portraits may not remember what they looked like in the first game.

mm4meg.png


eiwk9h.png


Not exactly a high benchmark. :D Diego reminds me of Sloth from the Goonies.
Click to expand...

That was my thought as well. It's not like the art style was a positively defining aspect of the earlier games.

jso6s5.png
 
Q

Quixzlizx

Member
The character designs do look pretty dopey, but I don't really mind a change of pace from generic budget srpg designs...

...as long as the gameplay delivers.
 
K

kevm3

Member
The art style wasn't beautiful in the other ones, but it had its own gritty, rugged charm. The Vandal Hearts series was one of the more bloody, 'adult' SRPGs, and they turn this into something that looks like it'd come on a minigame cd included with a box of cereal.
 
M

Mechar

Neo Member
First time I heard about this and...oh dear. The character art is really, really hideous. Looks like something taken straight out of a random Cartoon Network morning show. However, since this is a prequel to the two earlier games, and quality RPGs on PSN are very rare, this could be something worth picking up. Eventually, the original Vandal Hearts will show up and I get to play that also.
 
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