Vanguard Bandits - True classics never die

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Hello everyone! How are the beatings going with Aquapazza, the 2D fighting game of which I talked about in the last entry? In this new entry we are going to travel back in time no more and no less than 20 years to talk about a game that belongs to the 32-bit era and that achieved the cult status through the years after its release, eventually being re-released as a downloadable game for the PS3. The game is called Vanguard Bandits. Do you like Japanese mechas (giant robots) and strategy games? If the answer is yes, keep reading, for I´m sure this game is made for you.

Vanguard Bandits is a Tactic JRPG game developed in 1998 exclusively for Sony´s PlayStation 1 by the already defunct Human Entertainment, a Japanese developer that created classics such as the Clock Tower series or the Formation Soccer (Super Soccer in U.S./Europe) for the SNES. The game was released in North America two years after its original release in Japan by Working Designs, a (also defunct) North American publisher which was specialized in translating and publishing minor Japanese RGP games such as Lunar and it sequel, Albert Odyssey, Magic Knight Rayearth, Dragon Force, Alundra or Growlanser, and that was well known among its fans for the high quality standards of their translations, as well as that of the games packages, with full color manuals, cloth maps, pins, and soundtracks (how I miss those editions…) The story of Vanguard Bandits takes us to a medieval fantasy world which´s kingdoms use giants mechas known as ATAC (All-Terrain Armored Combatants), similar to what we could see in the classic anime series Escaflowne in which the world of Vanguard Bandits seems to be heavily inspired. The story starts with Bastion, the protagonist of the adventure, and his father Kamorge running away from the troops of the evil Junaris Empire. They are eventually cornered by the troops of the empire, so Kamorge decides to sacrifice himself in order to allow Bastion to escape, but not without first revealing to Bastion that he is actually a descendant of the royal family of the Kingdom of Pharastia, a kingdom that is suffering greatly under the constant attacks of the Junaris Empire. Kamorge tried to keep Bastion away from the empire to train him so that one day Bastion could fight back the Junaris Empire to restore the Kingdom of Pharastia to its former glory, so after his adoptive father´s death, Bastion decides to set on an adventure that will take him all over the Eptina continent, meeting other characters that will join him in his fight against the evil Junaris Empire. I´m not going to light to you, Vanguard Bandit´s story is your typical story of chosen ones and evil empires, however, the story manages to fulfill its role when it comes to bring the adventure forward. Vangard Bandits has 5 different endings and 3 different paths. Which path we will follow will depend on some of the decisions we take along the adventure as well as the results of some key battles, adding like this a lot of reply value to the title.

Regarding the gameplay, Vanguard Bandits is similar other classics of the genre such as Shining Force, Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre or Disgaea. The gamplay will be divided in two parts: the combats and the menu that will allow us to customize certain aspects of our characters. The battles will take place in maps displayed in an isometric view and divided by a grid. The order in which each character will act will determined by the agility stat of each character, with the most agile characters acting first. Once is the turn of one of our characters, we will have to select the place in the map where we want to move and the type of attack we want to perform. As you can see, up till here there is nothing we haven’t seen already in other games in the genre. However, Vanguard Bandits includes two elements that help to set the title completely apart from other games in the genre, and those are its Action Points and Fatigue Points systems. Opposite to what we see in most Tactic JRPG, in Vanguard Bandits we will be able to keep carrying on actions as long as we have the necessary Action Points to do so. Each action, be it attacking or moving along the map, will consume a certain amount of Action Points, which will refill at the beginning of each new turn. The stronger an attack is, of the further we walk (or more difficult is the terrain we move through), the more Action Points we will need, and vice versa. Then we also have the Fatigue Points, which will be use mainly while defending. Depending on which direction the enemy attack comes from (front, side, rear), the options that we will be given to defend ourselves will vary:


- Attack: Once the attacker has carried out their attack, the defender responds with an attack of their own. While this can cause significant damage, it also costs high FP. Cannot be used against rear attacks.

- Defense: The defender braces themselves and takes defensive maneuvers, thus reducing the damage received. Cannot be used against rear attacks.

- Avoid: The defender attempts to avoid the attack, thus preventing any damage. This is the only move that can be performed against rear attacks.

- Counter: The defender preempts the enemy attack, thus doing damage while protecting oneself from harm. However, if it fails the defender receives more damage. Can only be used against frontal attacks.


Each type of defensive action will consume a different amount of Fatigue Points, so it will extremely important to chose the right action for each occasion in order to avoid wasting points in an unnecessary way, for these will have a limit, and once we exceed that limit, our character will remain completely paralyzed for a turn, thus being exposed to the enemy attacks, which could mean a certain death. This complex defensive system focuses the gameplay of Vanguard Bandits in the defense aspect of the game rather the offensive one, giving a lot of importance to the positioning of our troops on the field, for no matter how strong a character is, by itself, the chances of survival are minimum, and in Vanguard Bandits the consequences of a character´s defeat can go beyond the battlefield. Every time a character is defeated in combat, they will blame Bastion for it, and the relationship between both characters will weaken, which could eventually affect to the path we will follow during the adventure.

One the battle finishes, the game will display a scene in which the events of the story will take place, and then we will proceed to the menu where will be able to manage our characters to get them ready for the next round. When a character levels up, we will receive a certain amounts of points that we will be able to distribute among the character´s stats as we see fit, thus allowing us to adapt the characters to our needs and gameplay style. We will also be able to equip the mechas with different weapons and items, although opposite to what we see in other games, we will only be able to access the shop during certain specific moments (and this will be very limited). This menu will also allow us to use other of the unique features of the game, which will allow us to speak with up to 3 of our companions. This will allow us to discover more things about the different characters backgrounds, on top of strengthening the relationship of Bastion with his colleagues, which will have an impact on the path we will follow during the story.

Regarding the graphics, despite not being bad per se, the almost two decades that have passed since the game was released have not been kind on the title, which definitely looks outdated, although it´s anime style still holds some charm. During the combats the game will display 2D sprites of the maches over a 3D map. Once we perform an attack, the game will display a screen similar to the one we could see in the 3D fighting games of the time with 3D models of the mechas performing the actions, and although the design of the mechas is varied and elaborated (with a very Escaflowne-ish style), it is obvious the models are quite outdated for today´s standards despite the fact they were pretty spectacular for the time. However, I´m sure the game´s world will manage to please all the fans of the giant robot animes, and specially the fans of Escaflowne.

Vanguard Bandits is a relic from past times (better times for some), but still a great Tactic JRPG despite being almost two decades old, and although the visual aspect of the game hasn´t aged that well, the playing aspect is still as fun and challenging as it was almost 20 years ago now, perhaps being still superior to some other titles of the genre we saw in the recent years, probing that Working Designs was right when they bet their money on Human´s title. Due to the fact that Working Designs editions are considered collector pieces, buying a copy of the original PlayStation 1 game can get quite pricey, however, the game is also available via the PSone Classics collection available on the PlayStation Network service at a more affordable price. So if you want to play a solid Tactic JRPG or you are a fan of mecha series such as Escaflowne, or you just want to revive the magic of the 16/32-bit times, you should definitely give a chance to Vanguard Bandits, for I´m sure it won´t disappoint. Enjoy!


GAMEPLAY VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITGhD7UV04U