Thread 12108465

A previous thread convinced me to try it. I'm in the sewer before Byron's Mansion so it's still quite early (weapon discovery: 14%) but so far I find it pretty boring.
The first game had really tight balancing where it felt like a single move gone wrong could have huge repercussions, and I'm not finding this in this game so far. I mean II feels more like "FFT at home" and I knew that the moment I saw the world map, the cutscenes/story, and the fact that you can re-do fights to grind.

I don't mind the simultaneous turn order and the weapon technique/proficiency system is nice (I like how you can change your characters roles depending on what you need), but really the combat has been super boring so far. I hope it gets better but I don't have my hopes up.

i understand. please keep me updated, thanks.

Well actually now I reached chapter 1 and combat is getting interesting.

Damn that boring tutorial chapter was too long.

Japanese "tactics" games are all boring.

I might try it next year idk but with the take turns patch

>>12108465 (OP)
I mean its an intro.
Like the final boss of the prologue dies in 2 hits and he will never hit you so long as you move.
I honestly found the story better than FFT.
FFT tries way too hard to sound deep while here feels like actual people speaking.
Anyways you might consider using a guide. It has so many secrets and most of the best skills/weapons are hidden items.
But indeed I think VH1 is way harder. Damn the long range enemies being able to counter and them usually having the high ground to snipe you away was so annoying.

what is with these constant vandal hearts threads

>>12108465 (OP)
I've been hesitating about starting the game since the last thread, too.
It just looks so... dark and serious, even art-wise, compared ot the first one :(

>>12110130
I have been shilling it.
Anyways giving the Saturn Ver a go and who the fuck is this guy?
Doesn't look like any playable character.

>>12110321
Even if they kept the light hearted aesthetics and tone you still wouldn't like it as the story goes on for several more hours then the first game.

The games does get better starting from chapter 1 but so far it just makes me miss Vandal Hearts 1. VH1 had such tight balancing and combat scenarios, amazing graphics (both the colouful background and the sprite work) and visual effects. Playing 2 makes me realize how great 1 actually was, I didn't know how good I had it.

>>12110684
It's a very interesting game on its own which I guess thats why I liked it.
Because I started the series with 2.
Its very bleak yes. Most of the source of levity comes from just 2 characters. Pike and Maria who bicker a lot.
The first game has the better playable characters since they get arcs.
VH2 best characters are the supporting cast.
Maybe 2 isnt for you. If you havent try the Saturn one for unique stuff like >>12110398

>>12108465 (OP)
Make sure you keep a guide open for how to access hidden levels, same as the first game.

>>12112109
>same as the first game.
The secret levels in first one weren't that hard to access outside of that one quest where you had to find THREE fucking items that are spread across different chapters (and just missing one of them screws you over and missing that Toroah key screws you from Vandalier)

Maybe I should play this sometime

>>12112830
Just a heads up people aren't kidding about the prologue kind of sucking. It does pickup after chapter 1 and the story in general has about 4 endings with two of them being split into variations over three specific things. (which you will likely get without a guide) Unlike the chicken man god in the first game Joshua just cannot catch a break, even in the secret golden ending.

>>12112109
Nah I'll just find what I find and that's okay, same as the first game.

>>12112109
>hidden levels, same as the first game
WHAT HIDDEN LEVELS IN THE FIRST GAME?

>>12113613
The trials

>>12113674
Or, the keys things?
They're not reallly hidden as the game tells you about it, IIRC.

>>12113679
The keys are hidden and hiding one behind a class requirement was p gay

>>12108465 (OP)
never played the sequel. not a fan of that more realistic portrait art style

>>12113559
Its absolutely not like the first game.
If you dont get the secret items, you don't get stuff that changes the game tactics like long range refresh, long range mp share, character switching places, etc.

>>12113751
I forgot she doesn't end up with Clint.
What a tease. That ass remains unplapped.

>>12114363
She and Clint get engaged when she comes back, IIRC. That's just after this screen.

>>12114363
I really don't feel like looking up a guide though, figuring things out is the entire point of the game. Even though I do find searching around for items to be annoying. Most scenarios can be replayed outside of a some special cases so if I'll only do it if I feel like I'm really missing out in the late game

>>12114542
You dont have to read it all. Just look the secret items. Well if you wont use a guide guess you can find a few of them like in the first game which has some tiles that stand out. Try to have a flying armor with daggers with the find item skills for great effect.

>>12114391
I am playing the Saturn version so I guess I willfind out eventually.

>11 enemies left
>A particular enemy is last to have a turn every since the start of the fight
>now that I can finally target him suddenly he gets first turn so he can dodge

So what version am I supposed to play?
The original or the turn hack?

>>12114612
The original system has its pros&cons
It's easier to save someone who's about to die and to bait enemies
But then there are situations where you have to try and predict what the enemy does and it's almost always a coinflip because, even if you look at enemies agility stats, there is usually always several enemies with the exact same number or close and the chance that an enemy with 68 agility will go before another one with 72. It often feels like the computer just decides who goes first based on what's favourable for him.

>>12114741
>It often feels like the computer just decides who goes first based on what's favourable for him
Is it truly the case?
People are so absolutely autistic over some games these days that perhaps someone figured out the AI.

>>12114612
I like the OG system.
One thing to note is that the game has one mode by default and another one NG+.
Like in default enemies come in waves. So if you have 11 enemies, first only 3 units act and after they are dead another 3 move and so on unless you somehow enter the range of the other enemies.
In NG+ you have advance mode where all enemies go on the offensive which adds more challenge to the game.
Then you have the mod which is typical player enemy phase in case the OG system is not your cup of tea.

>>12114741
One of the things I like about the OG system is how many strategies open in it. Like for instance you have an enemy mage that will be able to hit several characters or you have an enemy who will be able to one shot an unit from behind.
You can either move the mage just in case the enemy decides to one shot you or you can use a nearby unit with higher agi than the enemy who will attack from behind and if you can, kill him before he acts or if you have a higher weight stat-low agi stat unit, position that unit behind the unit in danger which will push away the lower weight unit and if you successfully determine the path they will take, push and kill them.
Or what if the enemy mage has higher agi than your healer? You can move that mage and cast heal which will heal after the enemy mage has used their spell, healing all damage in the process.
Its honestly a pretty cool system that stands out from other games which is probably why I like VH2 a lot.
Its not for everyone for sure but I liked it.

>>12114750
I personally can read the AI for the most part but every so often they will pull a fast one on me.

>>12114750
Actually I'm dumb. Of course the AI does that, it is supposed to do that. The player is able to choose who to move first so why not the AI?

The thing is as the post above me points out, until the CPU can attack you, he'll move units in a specific order which lead me to believe that order was always consistent.
Just talking about it makes me understand the system better now and I'll probably play better now

There a sun dial on the map, showing time flows as you travel from one location to another.
Is there any impact on the gameplay (like a day/night cycle) or the story (some kind of time limit)?

>>12116032
You fight mostly monsters at night and one of the prism necessary to get the ultimate sword requires finding a secret item only available at night.

>>12116102
Thanks.
That being said, I decided to stop after the second battle. The dual turn system or whatever is called is absolutely atrocious. Yes, I could often figure out where the unit would move & attack, but it's not fun.
So I'm dropping it without regrets. A shame the first one was so fun compared to this.

the AI decides what to move after you do. this means the computer literally cheats, but they just have some random chance of doing the best play or blunder on purpose. I also thought the AI was interesting until I learned that fact, which completely disenchanted me from the game.

>>12116143
>the AI decides what to move after you do. this means the computer literally cheats
I've tried with save states, and the AI doesn't react to what unit you move, it seems to always have the same reaction for that turn whatever you do.

>>12116169
Can confirm this.
But maybe there are exceptions like bosses.

>>12116169
I actually did notice that from save states as well. maybe it doesn't always happen, but there definitely are some situations where the AI alters its move.

Anyone has experience with using the Beacon (attract enemies to the unit equipped with it)? I'm thinking of trying it out, coupled Barrier

>Vandal Hearts 2 with the turn mod makes things easier, they said...

I'm at the 2nd to the last battle of Ch.2 where I get to fight both Jamir and Manon and I'm really getting my ass kicked.

Anyone here have some useful tips regarding skills or weapon and armor combination?

>>12116916
Yes, I just went through this not along ago and it was a tough fight.

Here is how I did it: first phase, stay in the back of the field and let enemies come to you. I have 2 fliers which can both create blocks so I created blocks on each side to quickly reach the 2 singles on each side.
Then, again, wait for the other units to come to you, the 2 bosses will stay back. When the time is right, I used my 2 flyers+spells to get rid of the spellcaster on the upper left corner and the range attacker on the right corner.

Finally, the bosses. I went for the woman first because she tends to use spells more, I think. For the bosses, I had Vlad equip that strong 2 handed axe, and then give him 3 turns in a row by using Entruster (a Shield skill) as well as Re-move (a Knife skill, if you don't have it it's learnt from a secret weapon located somewhere in the northern part of the map, there is a wooden soldier camp with a small tower that looks like a chimney, there is only one; you need a flyer+create block to reach it)
This won't be enough to kill the bosses in a single turn but it helps a lot. The guy tends to do Double Slash on the hero which deals around 100 dmg so I think using a Beacon >>12116678
on someone else may help there

Now that I understand how the game system works I'm really not that sure that 'normal' turn around would make it easier.

>>12116916
>>12116942
oh and try to seperate the 2 bosses so you can get them one at a time. I baited the guy with a flyer, at the same time as I went to unlock the chests.
My 2 flyers are basically identical: Puggio knife, which grants move+1, with unlock+searchmark; as well as special weapon with Blockmake/Blockbreak. One of them also has Re-move on his knife, while the other has Boots which grants +2 move which results in a flyer with a kickass move of 10. The boots are another hidden item, iirc you need to go back to one of the earliest maps in the game and it's hidden on water somewhere, where you couldn't reach it when you first got there because there was no flyer at the start of the game.
Sorry I don't remember the name of the maps.

>>12116971
>>12116942
Many thanks. Just barely managed to get a perfect.

Hearing this theme:https://youtu.be/_QNfNLwwpQg?si=oQlJ0R2vTq8h99R1 = Kino

Vandal Hearts 2 is seriously underrated.

>>12117034
Would you consider streaming your game?

>>12116916
>>Vandal Hearts 2 with the turn mod makes things easier, they said...
Pretty sure most people say this is harder because its easy to read the AI.

>>12117034
One of my favorite themes is this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s_W1L4U3sQ&list=RD9s_W1L4U3sQ&index=1&t=4240s
Sadly it only plays in Manon chapter and if you repeat the map, its replaced for a field and this song doesnt play.
And yeah VH2 is extremely underrated. Guess its a combination of being too diferent from VH1, battle system getting a bad rep and its crude aesthetics.
I never played either game and VH2 just became one of my favorite games in ages.
Also amazing sprite work. Love how beautiful the game looks, its usually the portraits what people find issues with.

>>12117286
>Ht:50003

Holy ludo, telling a story through gameplay stats

>>12117286
In other words VHII is an IQ test.

I love Vandal Hearts 1, really gotta play the second one

>>12117760
I'll file that for later on.

>>12117760
As you saw in the thread its not guaranteed you will like VH2.
Its simply a much different game other than the titular sword and superficial stuff like flying armor or the reveal of the past of the VH2 setting.

>>12117293
Its kino. Like how Vlad is called the Ox Killer because he is huge and because of that he has the highest weight stat whereas the rest depend on their armor. Him with a flying armor and a weight item can push away any enemy trying to take his tile.

>>12116169
It is a deterministic system that follows some simple logic. Not some advanced machine learning algorithm. Moving after you do is likely because they cannot code a system that chooses independently.

>>12118472
Wait what!? The characters actually have stat differences and aren't totally interchangable?

I'm curious how each character has a niche.

Did they run out of money to pay for the guy who drew the art of Vandal Hearts II?

The in-game portraits definitely doesn't match the artwork.

>>12118727
Joshua and Adele look like rip-offs of Denam and Katiua from Tactics Ogre.

>>12108465 (OP)
why does clive remind me of chad warden?

Even the Japanese didn't give a shit about Vandal Hearts 2. There's some fanart of VH1 on pixiv but none for VH2.

Here's some art I got from Tumblr. Here's Adele.

>>12118741
Maria and Agress.

Strange that the only two missable cutscenes in the game feature mainly feature Maria

>>12118743
>Be Prince Franz of Natra

>Highly talented and has the potential to be a great ruler.

>Mother turns you into an immobile meat puppet just because she didn't want to lose her power and thought murdering her son goes "too far".

>During the civil war, somehow get captured by Warden Mohosa and is forced to be a sex toy while helping him perform depraved rituals by sacrificing young prisoners

>Finally get saved by Joshua and the White Dragons but Goddard decides to use your body as a backup.

Poor guy had a hard life.

I'm happy to report that the Beacon is fucking awful. Made my life so much easier.

Also you're really missing out on blocking an enemy's path with then normal turn order, it's quite fun and prevents hits

I'm happy to report that the Beacon is fucking awesome. Made my life so much easier.

Also you're really missing out on blocking an enemy's path with then normal turn order, it's quite fun and prevents hits

I can't stop playing, making wild progress

>>12118629
As far as I'm aware only Vlad.
Which is why having him fly and tile cuck block enemies is so good.

>>12118814
Yeah I mentioned it here >>12114937
The OG battle system has cool stuff like that missing from the mod.

>>12118758
>>12118743
>>12118741
Well its kind of hard to do art since as far as I'm aware, there is no full body portraits anywhere.
Its a hell of an underrated game.
Also ditto on Franz. The story was way too mean to him.

>>12119546
Wow thats hell of a lot of progress. I really loved VH2 to the point I played it again after I reached the final stage. A curious thing is that FFT and Tactics Ogre are very popular but it did not get an oficial Spanish translation. It got a fan translation full of bugs and the Remaster has no Spanish TL either. But somehow we got VH2 localized in Spanish. This obscure PS1 sequel (No VH1 TL either).

Bump

>>12114750
it's been over a decade ago though but i experimented using emulator savestates and the computer will move different units depending on which unit you moved, and it's not random

>blocks your arrow
>counters it
>kills you

Nothing personal

>>12121912
How much I hate the gimmick of archers having long range on hills. More often than not games with this gimmick rarely gives you the advantage.
At least in VH 2 in maps where you can enter from several directions, you are given the high ground.
Hated in this game say the prison map where long range enemies can easily kill your mage. Or worse you have to babysit an very underleveled unit.

>>12122834
In that very level >>12121912 once you reach the middle pedestal you do have the higher ground for the rest of the level, but it's true that in the first game you rarely have the higher ground

In the 2nd one I really really like how you can create shortcuts with terraforming and block make in order to reach higher ground faster

>>12118727
I'd say they went for a more impressionist look, so yeah probably

Well I've beaten the game now, got 98.5% weapon completion on my own and only missing 2 hidden maps and one Prism (they're connected) without using a guide.
Most things are easy to find if you look around and pay attention but there is one thing I missed that I regret not checking a guide for because one of the hidden maps I missed was only available in chapter 4 which now prevents me from 100%ing the game and checking the final hidden level(s). Oh well. So that's a protip for the other people going through the game, check around for Map-8 in chapter 4.

The other map I was missing was the one that requires talking to people in bars all around the world

I had fun with the game but balance is thrown out the window in the second half as there are lot's of skills that break the game in half, most notably Entruster/Re-Move which allow an ally to take another turn. With 2 of each skill that's a lot of potential free turns you can get. This point was the last difficulty spike >>12117034

Still I ended up enjoying the game and probably more than FFT

Oh wait, I am retarded. The final chapter IS "chapter 4". It's just that guides refer it it as "chapter 4" whereas in game it's called "Final Chapter" so I thought it was a different one.

Yay!

>>12123618
Hope you have a save before reaching the last Yuri fight.

>>12123756
I didn't, what difference does it make? I just used a guide to get those remaining 1.5% and that final level I hadn't played.

Also the skill of the Vandal Heart is useless: everyone (allies and enemies alike) gets a new turn... except the caster. So it's like having the next turn without the caster and him losing 100 MP on top of it; I don't get it.

>>12123765
Well no happy ending. Dont even remember what ending he locks you out of.
And yeah VH wasnt that impressive. Was expecting a broken as skill. The VH copy has a better skill ironically.

>>12123774
I checked an endings guide and I locked myself out of other endings a long time ago anyway. I got a pretty mid ending.

Now I'm thinking of replaying VH1 with a guide so I can play the 2 trials I missed.
As a side note funnily enough the Saturn version fixed the Herbs exploit (no more exp when using it) but not with MP restoring items. Not that I'd want to exploit that too much unless playing on Hard

>>12123781
VH has difficulty select? Dont think I saw that in my run.

>>12125141
Saturn exclusive.

>>12125398
>>12125141
Even on Saturn you have to beat the game once while clearing all the trials to unlock it

>>12125398
>>12125757
Im kind of a noob and normal was already hard enough for me.
Hard sounds brutal as an idea.

Replaying VH1 Saturn as I said to check out the 2 trials I missed

On my first playthrough in this mission I made out fleeing out of town with only Ash alive and only because he got lucky and blocked a hit.
This time I did it bros, I got my revenge. Killed everyone. All you have to do is push the crate and then hold on on those 3 choke points and use arrows/spells to weaken enemies. I used 3 items, an herb, an 10 MP restore item and a spell item (the kind I usually forget exist) but I actually could have done without them, I just got extra careful.

Too bad these guys are rigged to barely yield any exp despite being very strong, but at least i got the moneys

>>12126456
I did it too.
I really disliked Kane so couldn't miss the chance to humiliate him. Would be cool if the game acknowledged that later but alas.