bare bones reduction of the Shining Force games, eliminating the exploration, town wandering, and replay elements that had helped make those games classics. Next Generation nonetheless had a firmly positive overall assessment, arguing that "the lack of exploration is offset by the extremely engaging combat sequences." GameSpot instead considered it a "fatal flaw", and deemed Vandal Hearts a typical example of a fifth generation game with solid design and impressive graphics but less advanced gameplay than games of previous generations, though the reviewer highly praised the strategy involved in the battles. Robert Bannert at MAN!AC was positive about the game, but said it lacked depth and has little replay value. He cited the lack of hidden characters and an interactive storyline as weakness of the game, but praised the variety of the 3D terrain. GamePro found several elements of the gameplay unusual and refreshing, such as the ability to choose each character's class, and was especially pleased with the full motion video cutscenes. The reviewer concluded, "Vandal Hearts original gameplay and strong graphics and sounds should satisfy even the most particular RPGers." Dan Hsu of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) criticized that the game sometimes spoils its own plot twists through its use of omniscient point of view, for instance by showing that the player characters are being betrayed before they learn it themselves. However, he praised the enemy AI and said the variety created by the different character classes "won me over." He and his three co-reviewers gave it EGMs "Game of the Month" award. EGM named Vandal Hearts a runner-up for "Strategy Game of the Year" (behind Command & Conquer: Red Alert) at their 1997 Editors' Choice Awards. References External links 1996 video games Fantasy video games Konami franchises Konami games Cancelled Nintendo DS games PlayStation (console) games Sega Saturn games Windows games Tactical role-playing video games Video games about time travel Video games scored by Miki Higashino Video games developed in Japan Single-player video games