Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgement (PSN/XBLA)

[Gorvi]

How the hell did I miss this? Seriously? Or did Destructoid (http://www.destructoid.com/preview-vandal-hearts-flames-of-judgment-128404.phtml) just break some kind of embargo or something, I can't find this mentioned anywhere else? Normally I wouldn't link to a shithole like Destructoid, but I hadn't heard of this anywhere else before:
http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/128404-VANDALPREVIEWHEADER.jpg

So although I didn’t get to spend much time with Konami upcoming downloadable strategy RPG, Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment, I do have to say the prospect of a solid, 3D strategy role-playing game is pretty cool. For fans of the Vandal Hearts series, this is certainly something to keep an eye out for. Vandal Hearts: Flame of Judgment (Xbox LIVE Arcade, PlayStation Network)
Developer: ?
Publisher: Konami
To be released: TBA

Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment looks to be a strategy role-playing game in its purist sense. The level they were showing off had a squad of spunky, cartoon tweens battling within a jungle setting against some undead skeletons. Each member had different skills and abilities, and they could move about the on a grid much like Fire Emblem or Advance Wars, except, you know, in 3D. The game looks pretty good, especially considering this is a downloadable game.
Will buy. I loved the first VH on the PS1, but the second was ass. As long as they've lost the stupid "both sides move at the same time" thing from VH2 this is a must for any SRPG fan.

[frederec]

Huh. Now this wasn't a series I thought would see a revival. The first had its amusing points (twenty foot geysers of blood), but has since been greatly overshadowed by other SRPGs. Couldn't get into the second. Seems the consensus was that it was bad. I'm curious how this will turn out.

[Gorvi]

There was supposed to be a new game in the series on the DS, that was announced back when the system launched, but nothing ever came of it. I guess this might be the revival of that.

The first came out when SRPGs were still pretty new to me, so I probably remember it a bit more fondly than others might.

[Borthcollective]

Don't let Frederec ruin your memory of Vandal hearts. I love my blood geysers!

[frederec]

Don't let Frederec ruin your memory of Vandal hearts. I love my blood geysers!

Hey, don't stand in the way of me ruining things! And while I enjoyed it back in the day, even when I first played it it was a pretty cheesy game.

[Stoke]

Initial impression is that it's standard fare. Am I missing something or is this something for the fans of the old games? (I'd never heard of them before I saw this)

Plus I'm getting a "really bad flash game render" feeling from the 3D in that shot.

[Mike Kelehan]

Whoa, a downloadable sequel to Vandal-Hearts. Maybe it'll be episodic? Or maybe it'll be a $20 game?

[menage]

Vandalhearts: First console game I played where I encountered the word SHIT!, I'll love it forever.

But holy cow, this stuff could be great on the networks. How about multi player SRPG action. I always wanted my SD army's combating the world. Could be awesome.

[Gorvi]

This inspired me to pop in the original VH last night for a bit, and you know what? Other than the awful character art/designs, the game holds up pretty damn well. No awkward controls, the graphics are ugly PS1 but pretty tolerable (at least when upscaled to 1080p :p), and the dialogue isn't totally awful. The only real complaint I can think of from the first game is that character progression was pretty linear, you could choose to upgrade each character down 2 forked paths I think, and that was it. Not bad really, but annoying if you're used to FFT or Disgaea with their tons of character options.

[menage]

This inspired me to pop in the original VH last night for a bit, and you know what? Other than the awful character art/designs, the game holds up pretty damn well. No awkward controls, the graphics are ugly PS1 but pretty tolerable (at least when upscaled to 1080p :p), and the dialogue isn't totally awful. The only real complaint I can think of from the first game is that character progression was pretty linear, you could choose to upgrade each character down 2 forked paths I think, and that was it. Not bad really, but annoying if you're used to FFT or Disgaea with their tons of character options.

Yeah, I agree. It has aged pretty badly, but in the PS1 days it was tremendous fun. The game actually pulled me into the SRPG genre. It's the reason I'm playing Disgaea and other wannabe's today. Great sound effects, always sound like your ripping apart a metal container or something when you hit someone.