Vandal Hearts: Flame Of Judgement

Here’s a wonderful XBLA anomaly – a tactical, Japanese-style RPG released solely on the service. This sequel to the 1996 PlayStation niche hit is probably the most accessible of its type we’ve ever played, hiding all but the most basic statistics from view as players ease through the coherent, fun little story. Everything is simply explained and features are introduced, bit-by-bit, without overwhelming the player.

Ah, so many memories. We're playing this to death.

We like it a lot, and would rather like to think that all RPGs of the 32-bit era that found a dedicated audience should follow suit – y’know, The Legend of Dragoon, Vagrant Story, that kind of thing. Konami did some good work, here. Even those that aren’t well versed in the genre will enjoy Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment. Superb.