Vantage Master

Infobox VG
title = Vantage Master


developer = Nihon Falcom
publisher = Nihon Falcom
designer =
engine =
released = flagicon|Japan December 12 1997 flagicon|South Korea May 22 1998
flagicon|Taiwan July 10 1998
genre = Tactical RPG
modes = Single player, Multiplayer
ratings =
platforms = Windows
media = CD-ROM
requirements = Windows 95/98, Pentium/486DX2 66MHz or more, 16 MB RAM, 2x CD-ROM drive, 640x480 256 colour display.

input = Mouse

nihongo|"Vantage Master"|ヴァンテージ・マスター|Vantēji Masutā is a tactical RPG game developed and published by Nihon Falcom in 1997. The game was never released outside of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Falcom released a sequel, "Vantage Master V2", a few months after the first game's release, featuring new maps and adjusted character balance but unchanged overall game design. The English version of this game was made available for free download as of 2002 under the title "Vantage Master Online". Another sequel called "VM Japan" was released in 2002.

Gameplay

The player takes on the role of a summoner (known as Natial master or just master). A master can summon spirits known as Natials. All masters and Natials have maximum HP of 10. The object of the game is to reduce the opposing master's HP to 0. The game is played on a hex grid map with different types of terrains which affect the gameplay.

Game Modes

In scenario mode and expert mode, the player's master is chosen based on the answers to the 4 questions asked by the game.

cenario Mode

The player must play through 30 stages, divided into 6 phases each containing 4 to 7 stages, against opposing masters. The initial number of Natials available for summoning is 4 but the number increases after clearing each stage. There are two levels of difficulty: Easy and Normal.

Expert Mode

Both the player and the enemy are equipped with all Natials and magics available in the game, but the map design is generally disadvantageous for the player. Expert Mode consists of 8 stages.

Free Battle

Free Battle allows the player to configure all settings including masters, stats, Natials, magics and map. Each of human vs human, human vs CPU and CPU vs CPU are available.

Network Battle ("Vantage Master V2" only)

"Vantage Master V2" supports multiplayer through TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, modem and serial.

Masters

There are a total of 27 masters in "Vantage Master", of which 18 can be accessed normally. Fighter
Has high attack, defence, speed. Low magic.Duke
Quite high attack, magic and speed. Defence is very low and moving range is limited to 3.Swordsman
Attack and magic are high. Low defence is weak point.Knight
Very high attack, defence and resistance but low magic and speed.Paladin (Spelled Palladine in English version)
Very high attack, defence and magic but very slow.Shadow
Has high speed, wide movement and long range shuriken attack. Low defence and resistance are drawbacks.Ranger
Well balanced abilities. Has long range bow attack.Savage
High attack, defence, speed and movement. Magic power is very low. Has long range rock throwing attack.Thief
Very high speed and movement. Low defence and magic are weak points. Has long range throwing knife.Bard (Spelled Bird in English version)
High magic but very low defence and resistance.Sister
Has high magic and resistance but very slow.Sorcerer
Very high magic power but also has low defence and speed.Witch
High magic power but low defence and magic resistance.Monk
Has well balanced abilities.Spirit
High movement range but very low defence.Beast
High attack. Low resistance.Nightmare
Very high resistance but physical defence is low.Fräulein (Spelled Frauline in English version)
High speed and resistance. Attack and defence are quite low.Magician
Very high magic but low defence.Fugitive
High attack and defence. Magic is not very high.Bounty Hunter
High attack but low magic.Monster
Very fast but also has very low magic.Pilgrims
Speed is high but movement range is very limited.Shaman of the Dawn
Very high attack and magic but weak in other areas.Adventurer
High attack, defence and resistance. Magic is below average.Goddesses
High magic but very slow and have weak defence.Rare Beast
Low attack and defence but has high movement.

Natials

There are 24 Natials that can be summoned, each of which belongs to one of four attributes: Earth, Water, Fire and Heavens. Each attribute has dominance and weakness over one another in the following way: Earth beats Water, Water beats Fire, Fire beats Heavens, Heavens beats Earth. A Natial can also be day type or night type, becoming stronger in bright or dark places, respectively. Summoning and maintaining a Natial requires usage of MP.

Earth Natials

Pa-Rancell
A basic Earth Natial.Da-Colm
Natial with high physical attack and defence.Ae-Ferrion
Natial with large angle long range attack. Very slow.Gia-Bro
Earth Natial with wide area attack magic. Very slow.D-Alma
Has highest movement of all Natials. Possesses HP recovery magic. Day type.Ba-Mado
Can fly and turn enemies into silver. Night type.

Water Natials

Reque
A basic Water Natial. Fast but cannot move much except in water.Neptjunoue
Water Natial with strong attack, resistance and attack magic.Tarbss
Long range attack Natial. Fires ice. Can only move in water.Zamilpen
Can freeze enemy into ice. Day type.Marme
Natial with HP recovery magic. Night type.Tentarch
High level Water Natial. Has a destructive magic attack that affects all Natials and masters around it.

Fire Natials

Hepitas
A basic Fire Natial with high attack.Oonevievle
Offensive Natial with very high attack and defense.Blexe
Has a long range crossbow attack.Dullmdaler
Can use explosive magic that affects everything in its vicinity. Night type.Zenosblead
Advanced Fire Natial equipped with extremely long range magic and high speed.Greon
Can fly and move a total of 7 spaces at a time. Has weak defensive capabilities.

Heavens Natials

Pelitt
Only Natial with status recovery magic. Swift. Can fly.Currier-Bell
Has powerful attack, defence and wide area magic. Weak resistance is weak point. Can fly.Amoltamiss
Long range Heavens Natial that uses bow. Can fly. Night type.Guene-Foss
A basic Heavens Natial with wide movement and attack magic. Can fly. Day type.Fifenall
Natial with highest HP recovery capability. Can fly.Regna-Croxe
Advanced Heavens Natial with high movement, attack power and destructive magic. Can fly.

Vantage Master Portable

Falcom announced the development of "Vantage Master Portable" for the PSP on December 20, 2007cite web |author=Falcom |title= 頭を鍛える脳ゲー「ヴァンテージマスターポータブル」、PSPで発売！|date=2007-12-20 |url=http://falcom.com/kaisya/ir/pdf/071220.pdf |accessdate=2007-12-20] , which was released on April 24, 2008. It features new characters from series of games and multiplayer mode using the PSP's wireless capabilities.

ee also

*Falcom
*VM Japan

External links

* [http://www.falcom.com/ Falcom Home Page] ja icon
* [http://falcom.com/vantage/index_e.html Vantage Master Online] en icon
* [http://falcom.com/vantage/manual/index.html Vantage Master Online Manual] en icon
* [http://www.falcom.com/vmj/index.html VM Japan] ja icon

References