Vandal Hearts Resurrected on PSN/XBLA; Phil’s Head Explodes

In what counts as perhaps one of the most surprising announcements of the year so far, Konami has announced an all-new installment in their 10-years-dead Vandal Hearts franchise, due this year on PSN and XBLA.  That’s right, Vandal Hearts is back, this time making an appearance jointly on the Playstation Network and XBOX Live Arcade.  First appearing on the original Playstation in 1997, Vandal Hearts was a tactical strategy RPG similar in scope to Final Fantasy Tactics, but with a few key twists. Most important of all, perhaps, is the almost comical fountains of blood that would spray into the stratosphere whenever a unit was destroyed.  The franchise, while a niche success, never managed to reach the same level of popularity as Tactics; thus, it was given a single sequel, also on the original Playstation, before fading entirely into the mists of time – until today, when Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment was announced as a downloadable release on both HD platforms.

Like in Final Fantasy Tactics, units in Vandal Hearts move about a 3D isometric battlefield through a series of grid spaces, allowing them to attack enemies from any side, even performing flanks and pincer attacks with their teammates.  A new addition to Flames of Judgment is the ability to level a character up by specializing them in a specific task; the more a character performs a specific action, the more their stats will rise, similar to Final Fantasy II or the SaGa franchise.  Like Final Fantasy Tactics, the game will also utilize a Job system, allowing further customization and specialization of your units.

Not much else is known about this new entry in the franchise so far; we do know that it’s a prequel to the original game, however, and the game is being designed both to appeal to the original fans of the PS1 entries (blood fountains intact!) as well as new players who may not have played the original games in their heyday.  Perhaps this means we’ll be seeing the original two titles hit the PSN as downloadable PS1 games?  HINT, HINT!

Sorry, I think I had something caught in my throat…Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment has no officially confirmed release date as of yet, only that it’s due out some time later this year.  Considering it’s a downloadable PSN/XBLA RPG, I’m sold already.