Vandal Hearts

About Vandal Hearts

Vandal Hearts (1996) is Konami's PlayStation tactical RPG, fought on rotatable 3D grid maps with 2D sprites, in which Ash Lambert uncovers a conspiracy in the young Republic of Ishtaria.

Vandal Hearts in Depth

Battles take place on isometric grid maps whose three-dimensional terrain can be rotated, with characters drawn as 2D sprites. Water, trees and buildings block some cells, and terrain and positioning matter to strategy. A character can use its movement all at once or split it into several moves. Each side takes its whole turn in one go: the player moves every unit before the AI responds. Most stages are won by killing every enemy, but others ask the player to kill a particular enemy, reach a spot on the map or save certain characters while defeating others. The leader's death means instant defeat, and other fallen characters cost gold and sit out the rest of the stage.

Every character belongs to one of seven classes, Swordsman, Armor, Archer, Hawknight, Monk, Mage and Cleric, balanced like rock-paper-scissors: melee fighters beat Archers, Archers beat flying Hawknights, and Hawknights beat Swordsmen. The Monk mixes healing with fair strength, the Mage specialises in attack magic and is strong against Armor, and the Cleric heals. The story is set in Ishtaria, a republic formed after the sage Arris overthrew the Holy Ashah Dynasty, where Ash Lambert and his allies uncover a plot involving General Magnus Dunbar and a magical stone, and eventually the sword the Vandal Heart.

Making Vandal Hearts

Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo developed the game for the PlayStation, and it was released in Japan in 1996 and in North America and Europe in early 1997; Konami Computer Entertainment Nagoya made the Saturn conversion. Reviews were mixed. Critics praised its use of 3D terrain in combat, its sound and its spell effects, but disliked its linear story and progression. GameSpot and Next Generation both likened it to a stripped-down Shining Force without exploration or towns; Next Generation felt "the lack of exploration is offset by the extremely engaging combat sequences", while GameSpot called it a "fatal flaw". EGM's Dan Hsu complained that it spoiled its own twists by showing betrayals before the heroes learned of them, but its four reviewers gave it their Game of the Month. Vandal Hearts II followed on the PlayStation, and a prequel, Flames of Judgment, on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.