Vindication

Hello!
Welcome to Vindication's review of a game that can be also called "LockeZ's Final Fantasy"!
Why? Well bacause we have a fantasy world where people fight with guns, swords and magic, there is an evil empire and groups of rebels that fight against them, there are airships, a guy named Cid and a girl named Terra, and the protagonist is a swordsman with crazy blonde hair and a big sword... a sword that will be very important!


this guy will recap ALL the adventure so far! I'm not joking! So pay attention!

The story at first isn't particularly original or interesting: demons are back, after being defeated in the past and soon heroes will be needed to fight them. Our protagonist this time is James, a blonde warrior that looks like a Cloud rip-off and has a conflict with te evil S̶h̶i̶n̶r̶a̶ ̶C̶o̶r̶p̶o̶r̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ Justin Empire, and for really dramatic reasons. But won't spoil the rest of the story, except telling you that the most important people for James are his daughter Ginny and his best friend Cole.

This game is a story driven adventure and an old school jrpg: we have a party of four that changes dinamically during the course of the adventure (later in the game when you unlocked more characers you have the chance to form the team you wish), whose members are from different classes since we have a fighter, a white mage, an assassin, a wizard, a summoner, and a... politician (ok, it's a thief but... uhm... is that the same?).
Most adventures will see our party (or single characters in some istances) visiting dungeons and facing many random encounters. Luckily supplies can be bought in towns and loot can be found, still do not underestimate the difficulty of this game. It's challenging even at normal difficulty, but there's a hard mode for expert players that desire an extreme challenge.


The world is clearly in good hands!

The good thing is that there are many events and situations that will test the player in different ways, there are puzzles (some optional, others mandatory but it's possible to skip them, luckily), optional quests and secrets, timed sections and other situations that makes the experience varied and entertaining, provided that you aren't a newbie, since I fear that new players will have an hard time with this game!
Why? Well beside facing challenging fights (the castle assault was particular difficult), items are expensive and you cannot save on the main map but only at save points (there are many but not so many that you can travel unprepared), luckily there are some pots that will completely restore the party, so the trick is exploiting every resource available.

Visually the game uses mainly rtp and edits (but also sprites from Chrono Trigger and FF6 and probably from some other source), mapping quality is ok (nothing memorable but nothing terrible either) even if sometimes a bit large and with few details (especially dungeons). I didn't find bad maps but I encountered some clipping issues (like the dragon statues in the fort).
Music is in most cases familiar if you played some Final Fantasy games, but I found it appropriate.


Swords and magic? Huh Taron prefers using a gun... and throwing shurikens!

Uh ok, in the title I said "laughing", didn't I? Well yes, this game is hilarious: there are so many funny details and situations that entertain the players, and the most memorable ones are probably the second escape from prison, the "dressing for the night" animation that you will witness each time the party rests in an inn (that are all just one room with four beds and a bathroom!), and many silly dialogues (Taron's pajamas, Cole on background music, and Justin's speaking about mind control and main characters!). Then we have weird named consumables, characters that can equip different kinds of hair gel, a cutscene that is a platform parody of Super Mario, James that will learn how to shoot a K̶a̶m̶e̶h̶a̶m̶... no wait, a Hadouken, and other funny details.
But yeah, first you laugh, then you cry (and NOT only because of the difficulty of the game!), because there's also drama, angst, and tragedy in this big epic adventure.


Ok, and it's the end of this review too, so let's move on to the...
... final verdict!

Vindication looks and play like a classic but has a very particular story. Despite the humor, the references to Final Fantasy (music in most cases is in fact from FF games) and the use of rtp and edits, has a story and a structure like no other game. The perspective (and player's control) constantly switches between characters, and even if James is the star of the game there are many other important individuals, the story is complex and articulated. I especially liked the ending that was a bit abrupt but really epic and deeply emotional! Excellent, I am glad I played this game especially because of the enteraining story, that I admit surprised me in many istances, but I also liked testing my skill with these challenges.

So? What is the final rating? 4/5! A good old classic game (probably made for old, classic players, but hey, I was entertained)!