Vanguard Bandits Review

Vanguard Bandits (PS3/PSP)
Developed By: Working Designs
Published By: MonkeyPaw Games
Date of Release: November 15, 2011
Price: $9.99

April 29, 2000. Four months after the human race survived what was foretold to be the end of our very life, the Y2K crash. And yet, and awesome little company know as Working Designs had tiled away despite the doomsaying and armagiddying, and on this day they released one of the finest mecha strategy rpg's of all time: Vanguard Bandits. And now 11 years later MonkeyPaw Games has resurrected this fine champion so that it may fight again once more!




Vanguard Bandits is a tale of courage, and valor, and chivalry, along with a healthy dose of badass giant robots! You play as young knight-in-training Bastion as he and his rag-tag band of knights rebel against the evil Junaris Empire and their ghastly machines of death and destruction. Sounds like something out of an awesome 90's anime, eh? The anime influences show greatly, from the character and mecha designs, to the beautifully drawn portraits that accompany the dialogue. Not to mention the awesome animated intro that precedes the game!




Gameplay in Vanguard Bandits is your standard gridified turn-based warfare that is normal seen in a strategy rpg title, such as that which is seen in Final Fantasy Tactics and Front Mission. However the gameplay experience is highly polished on many levels, and the well-tuned engine makes fighting battles a joy. You face off against your enemies piloting an ATAC (All-Terrain Armored Combatant) in what exxentially boils down to a heavilly armed version of rock-paper-scissors. Of particular note is the strategic concept of flanking, attacking your foe from the sides or the rear can prove to be advantageous, as you will deal extra damage, and often they cannot even counterattack against you.




The length of the game is quite decent, with 3 main branches to the storyline, with seperate endings and a new story after you finish the main quest. The epic struggles of the game's protagonists should keep anime, mecha and SRPG fans happy for quite a long time. Add to that the fact that the game can be played on both the PS3 AND taken on the road with the PSP, you have a recipe for some good entertainment here. MonkeyPaw games should be proud of it's accomplishments bringing this grand title back to life!