Topic: Vagrant story is incomplete?

[Dark Nemesis]

I was reading an interview about the game and Yasumi Matsuno was saying that they had to cut over half the senario, because of capacity and development time. After reading this one, why Square Enix doesn't makes a Director's cut version for the psn? What do you think, you people who have played the game?

Interview:

(click to show/hide)

First off, is Ashley Riot the "vagrant" of the games title?
(YM)--Ashley later labels himself as a vagrant and becomes involved in many incidents. This Lea Monde Incident is a story that explains how VKP agent Ashley has become an Outsider.

Would you describe this game as an action game, a role-playing game, a strategy game, an adventure game or...?
(YM)--It encompasses all of these genres and at the same time, it doesn't fit into any of them. In a bad way, it takes bits and pieces from various types of games. In a good way, it is a new breed of game that does not take any form of pre existing style.

Sydney Losstarot doesn't look like most gaming
"villains", more like Luke Skywalker then Darth Vader, actually. Why does the Chief baddie look so good?
(YM)--Rather then those labeled as inherent "villains", those that appear good and flaunt their power are closer to the truly evil characters. As an individual who broke the law, Sydney is by definition, an outlaw, or villain. But as a man who tries to make the future of the world a better place, he is a revolutionary that is also kind to his father. In terms of the story, from the beginning I had always thought that Ashley would be entrusted with the fate or destiny that Sydney carries throughout the story. So it would not work if Sydney was a sterotypical villain. I had to make the player feel as if they could relate to Sydney's lifestyle and destiny; it was necessary for the player to sympathize with Sydney.

How long did it take you to create this game? How many people worked on it?
(YM)--Exculding the movie department (responsible for the beginning CG movie), the number of the staff that actually worked on game development is about 50. We started in January of 98 with an initial number of 20 people. We steadily increased members and had a maximum number of 50 at our peak. At the time of master up in January 2000, we had approximately 30 people.

Did it change drastically from pre-production to end-result?
(YM)--It changed greatly. Due to capacity and development time, over half the senario had to be cut With this, it was also necessary to cut out gaming elements as well. There were AI controlled NPCs that supported Ashley in the middle of the story, but they had to be cut as well due to memory restrictions. There were also more polygons per map that gave elaborate representations, but in order to increase processing speed, it was necessary to reduce the number of Polygons. But in the end, we are proud that we were able to implement the best features on the PS hardware.

{I just had to cut in here and say OVER HALF? How about a Director's cut version?}.

What was the toughest hurdle you faced in building it?
(YM)--As a team, it was probably the memory issue. We were always lacking main memory. (laughs). Making slight adjustments, improving interface, increasing the quality of the game balance, adding textures, basically when doing anything in the realm of game development, memory is crucial. Having to share between each section or at times, aggressively taking back memory and making that choice was what was the most difficult aspect.

What's your favorite part or scene in Vagrant Story?
(YM)--My favorite scene is from the last battle to the ending where the staff credits role.

What was your inspiration for the plot of this game? We see everything from Shakespeare to Jet Li.
(YM)--I have a passion for movies since I was young. I wasn't just limited to Hollywood classics and blockbuster releases, but I also watched many genres such as films in Europe and Asia as well. I think these films played an integral part in development.

Do any of the characters (or monsters!) resemble people or things from your own life? Scary bedtime stories?
(YM)--I cannot specify, but I guess it is possible to switch the stage to the present.

As far as gameplay goes, what sets Vagrant STory apart from, say, Final Fantasy Tactics? Are there any new gaming features developed for this title?
(YM)--Vagrant and FFT are completely different games. It is true that the majority of games that I have been involved in are simulation RPGs. and I think that my knowledge of that genre is apparent in Vagrant. But when compared to FFT, it is something completely different. It's difficult to explain in one sentence, but in FFT, it was necessary to have several units mature and have them battle. But in Vagrant, the player can only control one character. And rather than having the character mature, it is more crucial to develop the weapons and armor. Since the action element is strong, development of the player may also be necessary.

Beside the SquareSoft titles, what do you think are the greatest games of the last few years?
(YM)--There are many (laughs). For PC games, network games such as "Ever Quest" and "Age of Empires." For the PS, "Metal Gear Solid", "Resident Evil." For Nintendo 64, "Legend of Zelda" and "Ogre Battle 64". The most I've spent in terms of money and time is "Ultima Online". (laughs) Unlike the Final Fantasy series and Metal Gear Solid, Vagrant is geared toward hard core gamers. It is probably not geared for those who tend to ask for hints and read through Strategy guides. This not only refers to the game itself but the scenario as well. I say this because the story is told in a way that allows players to use their imagination. it shouldn't be bought with expectation of a Final Fantasy or Metal Gear Solid. I'm stating this because the playing method and satisfaction vector is different from other games. Seafood vs. meat dishes, French Cuisine vs. Japanese Cuisine, soccer vs. baseball, rock vs. jazz, Titanic vs. The Blair Witch Project. The vectors are different like the examples given above.

[Kale]

I'm sure it happens all the time. I think Xenogears, FF8, FFT especially suffered from the same thing.

[affinity]

Xenogears, FF8 and FFT each felt more like 100% complete compared to VS.   but Vagrant Story you can tell much of the director's plans for the story and gameplay was cut due to Square not giving them more time to make a more complete Vagrant Story.  there are youtube vids of Callo playable through Gameshark,   I think I read somewhere VS is only about half of the full story that takes place in Lea Monde.   Well Square Enix these days doesn't have common sense, so people shouldn't hold their breath.   It's ok they ported VS to PSN, but it's a shame they have no interest to have Matsuno make the complete version of VS. 

[Dark Nemesis]

Xenogears, FF8 and FFT each felt more like 100% complete compared to VS.   but Vagrant Story you can tell much of the director's plans for the story and gameplay was cut due to Square not giving them more time to make a more complete Vagrant Story.  there are youtube vids of Callo playable through Gameshark,   I think I read somewhere VS is only about half of the full story that takes place in Lea Monde.   Well Square Enix these days doesn't have common sense, so people shouldn't hold their breath.   It's ok they ported VS to PSN, but it's a shame they have no interest to have Matsuno make the complete version of VS.

That's exactly what the interview i have post it, says, so what i wanted to ask you people here is, instead of a sequel, or a prequel, like the one that was going to come out for game cube but was canceled, since the technology in our time has advance very far and very fast, why not have a directors cut version of the game? Also i didn't know that you could hack and play with Callo, i just saw a few videos and while she has many bugs, still it's pretty cool!!

[Kale]

Xenogears, FF8 and FFT each felt more like 100% complete compared to VS.   but Vagrant Story you can tell much of the director's plans for the story and gameplay was cut due to Square not giving them more time to make a more complete Vagrant Story.

Don't know about that. But I never finished Vagrant, only made it to 78% I believe.


But Xenogears' second disc was a disaster and was filled, literally with walls of text.
FFT very abrupt and weirdly cut. It's been a whlie though, so I can't remember the stuff that well.
FF8's as well, the last disc was just there so they can go....... Let's just stuff what we got into this disc and hope it comes out alright.

If nothing else, Xenogears got cut badly.