Anyone remember the old days of role-playing games?  We’re talking about the classic PS1 era where the likes of Square Soft and other developers made some truly remarkable stuff.  Well, if you do, you might recall a company called Working Designs, who worked their magic on a number of Japanese favorites, localizing them with their own special flavor.  Well, good news.  Even though the company’s long gone, one of their better products lives on as a PlayStation Network download, courtesy of MonkeyPaw Games.

Vanguard Bandits is a tactical RPG that plays through 20 different levels, based around three vast storylines that all tie in together with a worthwhile story.  The game takes place across the continent of Eptina, where war has broken out and only a certain few can really fight back.  I won’t go into spoiler territory here, but those who check this game out will be promptly rewarded with the kind of “old-school” RPG spirit that’s been missing in some big budget productions as of late.

Even though Xenogears kind of did it better, Vanguard Bandits does involve a little bit of mech action, as you climb into a metal suit and dish out some damage across multiple tactical battles.  This involves moving your character around in spaces and striking your enemy with the right attack, taking them out before you get beaten.  This definitely revolves around the classic style of role-playing, rather than the real-time control that most games have adapted to these days.  Still, I’m pretty sure some folks still like that sort of thing.

There are times that the controls aren’t quite perfect, as sometimes button reactions aren’t read as promptly as they could’ve been, but I think that was a fault with the original game, and not MonkeyPaw’s localization.  It’s nothing that really gets in the way of enjoying the deep tactical action that lies in wait here, or the variety of foes you’ll face over the course of the game.  This is a deep, worthwhile RPG for those willing to make the $5.99 investment.

Furthermore, the game smacks of raw, classic PS One flavor.  The hand-drawn style graphics are a great throwback to the days of Final Fantasy Tactics, and being able to view the map in its entirety is rather cool, so you can see where your next plan of action lies ahead.  The multitude of mech suits available are pretty cool as well.  It’s as if you’re dropped into a Robotech-style universe, but with some fantasy elements thrown in for good measure.  The music’s pretty good too, though we’ve heard better tunes in, say, the Lunar games.

The strict tactical style of play may not be to everyone’s tastes, so we recommend you do a little time investment in viewing old Vanguard Bandits videos to see what the game is about before you plunk down your cash.  However, if you loved this game, or something along the lines of it, back then, you’ll enjoy it just as much now.  And for further nostalgic boost, MonkeyPaw even digitized the old Working Designs strategy book and put it on their website (www.monkeypawgames.com) for no additional charge.  Good call.

Even though the game isn’t for everyone, Vanguard Bandits is a fun little staple from the old days of fantasy role-play, and worth checking out if you’re an avid fan.  And hopefully this is just the beginning of more Working Designs classics to come on the service.  We’d kill to see the Lunar games or Silhouette Mirage show up again.

About the Author

Robert Workman

Senior Writer/Editor

Robert has years of experience in the video game industry, writing for such sites as AOL GameDaily, PlanetXbox360 and Comic Book Resources.  He can also outdrink you any day of the week.  And twice on Sunday.  Follow him at www.twitter.com/thedcd.