25 years Later: Revisiting Vagrant Story

Some games don’t need remakes..they just need to be remembered.

In a world where remakes are basically a staple of the gaming industry, it’s easy to forget about the classics. You know.. the ones ahead of their time but never quite got the clout they deserved in their hey day. One for me is Vagrant Story, a game that sits in my library like a forgotten treasure: mysterious, complex, and kinda haunting.

A Game Like No Other

Released 25 years ago by Square Soft(pre Enix), Vagrant Story was an oddity. It did not fit neatly into the RPG box. It defied conventions; offering no party system, and no towns to visit or NPCs to interact with. It deconstructed the genre down to its bones and made something all its own.

As Ashley Riot, a Valendia Knights of the Peace Riskbreaker(quite a mouthful I know…)..you’re dropped into the city of Lea Monde to chase down a cult leader. What follows is a descent into memory, identity, and power. The kind you earn, not the kind the devs spoon feed us.

Image via Square Enix

By all rights it is not a comforting RPG. It’s one that demands attention, patience, and a willingness to get a little lost.

Combat Mechanics: Love It or Hate It

A divisive element of Vagrant Story was its battle system. It blended real-time movement with targeting, crafting, and status micromanagement. Instead of spending hours grinding for the hell if it, you're encouraged to think, adapt, and experiment.

Damage types matter. Weapon affinities matter. Even your own Risk level..how reckless you've been will alter your success in battle.

For some, it’s brilliant. To others, it’s trash. But that friction is part of the point.

In an age of frictionless gameplay loops, Vagrant Story reminds me what it’s like to wrestle with a system til you really work it out. It’s not always fun, but it is often rewarding. You get the kind of affirmation that comes not from being told you did a good job, but from working out how to survive a world that couldn’t care less if you do.

The Atmosphere: A World Forgotten

Lea Monde for this old ass gamer is one of the most evocative settings in RPG history. There are no bustling cities here. Instead we get dank ruins, vaults, crypts, and cathedrals. It’s a game built on loneliness and loss, and every brick in the city whispers of a time long gone.

Hitoshi Sakimoto’s score rolls with a sense of unease. As the cutscenes roll, the characters speak in Shakespearean English thats makes ya feel like you’re playing out a tragedy vs a typical RPG plot.

Concept art via Square Enix

It’s a title that values restraint over spectacle, silence over exposition. And in that restraint lies its power.

The Legacy: A Forgotten Gem?

Vagrant Story was a critical darling but a commercial question mark. Though theres been the occasional rumor and of course interest from the OG game makers, there were no sequels. There’s been no franchise. Square dropped it on us and that was that.

But…games like these leave echoes.

To Remake or Not to Remake?

Do we need a Vagrant Story remake? It’s tempting to say yes. Imagine Lea Monde in full 8K. Imagine modern combat polish, new voice acting, a chance to refine some of the rougher edges.

But what if what was so good about it is exactly what gets fixed in a remake: its awkwardness, its moodiness, its unwillingness to explain itself.

What it needs ain’t polish. What it needs is attention.

What Vagrant Story Teaches Us

You hear so much about innovation in games. Vagrant Story reminds us that true innovation rarely comes without a bit of friction. Like the “Souls” type games that have gained traction lately thanks to Elden Ring, it’s a game that trusts the player to rise to the challenge. If you’re gonna play it, you got to meet it halfway.

Here are a few lessons that I believe Vagrant Story offers.

🧠 Complexity has value.

In direct opposition to my last piece on “Cozy Gaming”, I fully admit not everything needs to be simple. That can get boring very fast. Games like this that ask us to slow down, to study and experiment, create a different kind of engagement are the ones to me that really leave a lasting impression.

🎭 Form follows mood.

Vagrant Story’s mechanics are rough because its world is rough. Its style of storytelling is fragmented because memory and trauma ARE fragmented. Great games align design with narrative tone.

🕳️ Art doesn’t have to explain itself.

The game doesn’t pause to tell you what it means. It trusts you to work it out, to think critically and to feel. In an era of over-explained lore, that’s refreshing as hell.

🧩 Being forgotten isn’t the same as failing.

Vagrant Story didn’t become a franchise, but that doesn’t make it less important. Some games are designed to dominate headlines while others quietly linger in the minds of those who played them.

Final Thoughts

Maybe we don’t need to remake games(not sure how I feel about the rumors last year), we need to relearn how to sit with them. To return to things that challenged us, confused us, maybe even pushed us away. Maybe now with time and perspective on our side, stepping back in could show us something new not just about the game, but about the people we are now.

Image Credits:

• Vagrant Story PS1 Box Art (© Square Enix)

• Concept Art via Square Enix