Reception
In May 2000, Vagrant Story was the fifth best-selling PlayStation title of the month. 100,000 units were sold in the first 20 days of the game's release, despite being overshadowed by other Square titles like Final Fantasy IX and Chrono Cross. Vagrant Story was the third of nineteen games to date, and the only game on the PlayStation, to receive a perfect score of 40 from Famitsu magazine.
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Edge | 7 of 10 |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 9.0 of 10 |
| Famitsu | 40 of 40 |
| GameSpot | 9.6 of 10 |
| IGN | 9.6 of 10 |
| Official PlayStation Magazine (US) | 4.5 of 5 |
| AllRPG.com | 8.7 of 10 |
| PSXExtreme.com | 9.6 of 10 |
Reviews were generally positive—multimedia news websites IGN and GameSpot praised the gameplay and story. IGN described the story as "so deep and intuitive that it'll likely please fans", and said the battle system maintains "a needed element of strategy and balance". The comic-book graphics were seen as a breakaway from the clichés of contemporary titles. Extensive detail was given to the background settings and character expressions. The game's sound effects have been praised as "well done and impressive, straying from Square's synthed noise", as details such as the background audio help create a believable world for the player.
The battle system, however, was described by GameSpot as too complex for beginner players, as even hard-core players require a "comprehensive understanding" of the weapon customization system. IGN pointed out that enemy encounters can be more difficult than boss battles. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine noted that the game's inventory was too limited for the vast number of customizations possible; this was considered particularly troublesome because some boss enemies are only vulnerable to certain types of weapons.
Alexander O. Smith is responsible for the English localization of Vagrant Story, using archaic English as compared to its straightforward Japanese version. His effort on translating Vagrant Story was described by Andrew Vestal as an "unparalleled—and unprecedented—work" of Japanese to English video game translation, "in spite of the occasional typo or grammatical hiccup", as quoted by IGN. Vagrant Story was awarded "Best PlayStation Game" in the E3 2000 IGN Awards and was nominated for Best Console Action/Adventure in the 4th Annual Interactive Achievements Awards held by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.
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