Vagrant Story Vagrant Story , also known as The Phantom Pain , is an action role - playing game developed and published by Square Co . , Ltd . for the Sony PlayStation console in 2000 . Gameplay . " Vagrant Story " is a solo dungeon crawl , featuring a focus on weapon modification and creation where the player hacks and slashes their way through the caverns and catacombs beneath the ruined city of Leá Monde . The main character , riskbreaker Ashley Riot , does combat with the Crimson Blade knights who patrol the streets above Leá Monde , hunting for a mysterious man called Sydney Losstarot . Along his chase he is forced to battle numerous foul beasts , goblins , phantoms , and the undead infesting the corridors below . Battle system . The battle system of the game involves the player chaining different attacks known as Chain Abilities to achieve large combos and deal damage to the enemy . This is done by pressing buttons in timely succession . In this way , combat almost resembles a rhythm game as not all attacks have the same timing . The player can target different areas of the body , and damage is done according to the part of body attacked and the affinity of the weapon used by Ashley . The longer Ashley fights , the more his Risk raises , making it harder for him to concentrate . This lowers his accuracy but increases critical hits , but at a certain point it becomes virtually impossible to hit anything . Defense Abilities allow Ashley to reduce or reflect damage or to avoid status ailments . A variety of spells can be used to attack , heal , buff , and debuff . Lastly there are the Break Arts — not unlike Limit Breaks in concept — which are powerful attacks that drain Ashley ' s hit points . Puzzle . In addition to fighting , Ashley can run , jump , and push a variety of crates and cubes to get around impassable obstacles , adding a minor puzzle and platforming element to gameplay . During the course of the game , the player will run into a variety of block puzzles requiring the player to solve them to continue the story . When the player returns to any room containing a completed block puzzle , a time - attack mode called " Evolve or Die " will begin , requiring the player to solve the puzzle and reach the end of the room in the shortest time possible . A ranking will be given to assess the player ' s performance in solving puzzles . Customization . " Vagrant Story " has an in depth weapons and armor customization system . The simplest customization can be done in any place at any point , even in battle . Gems can be added or switched out of weapons and shields in this manner . Also , in designated " workshop " areas , players can customize and create weapons and armor which have different ranges , strengths , and statistics . Weapons themselves can be broken down into components for storage and put back together in the same or different combination . Most weapons have a hilt , weapon ( or blade ) component , and a slot for gems . All weapons fall into one of three main damage types : the familiar RPG classes of blunt , piercing , and edged . Each gem , armor , and weapon piece in the game has additional " affinities " . There are six " creature type " affinities and eight " elemental " affinities . Weapons gain the affinities of the enemies they are most commonly used to attack ; armor gains the affinities of attacks it receives . What a weapon or piece of armor gains in one area it will lose in another , though typically using a weapon will add more to its overall affinities than the weapon will lose , and item combination is usually favorable to the player . In this way , no single weapon or shield is equally powerful against all foes . However , powerful weapons and armor can be combined , merging their affinities ( and possibly creating a new type of blade or armor in the process ) . The key to defeating most foes in the game is carrying a weapon of the right damage type . Inherent affinities add a considerable bonus , but are not as important as gems that improve affinities , and spells that imbue a weapon with an element are readily available . New Game Plus . Like some other Squaresoft titles , the New Game Plus option is made available to the player upon first completing the game . In " Vagrant Story " , starting a " New Game + " replays the story using the player ' s end - game weapons , items , and stats instead of the defaults and unlocks some new paths to new enemies , chests , and bosses . Setting . " Vagrant Story " is set within Valendia , a Medieval city - state currently ruled by an unnamed king with the assistance of the Parliament . A religious organization known as the Priesthood of St . Iocus holds a great deal of political power within Valendia , with several powerful families either acting as their representatives or taking a stand against them . Law is kept in Valendia by the Valendia Knights of the Peace , commonly referred to as the VKP , who are both renowned and feared for their ruthless efficiency . The Priesthood also have a fightning force , a militia known as the Order of the Crimson Blades , under the direct command of its current Cardinal Batistum . Almost the entire story is set within Leá Monde , a once prosperous city that was ravaged by an earthquake 25 years before . While within Valendia , it was a highly autonomous location , with deep connections to magic : its walls were inscribed with magic . The main magical force remaining in Valendia is the Dark , a powerful malignant force which corrupts any soul it touches and twists them into dangerous abominations which inhabit and reanimate the dead . The powers of the Dark are connected to the Blood - Sin , a tattoo which enables the wearer to control the Dark and ease the suffering of those tainted by it . Characters . The main cast of " Vagrant Story " is drawn from multiple organizations within the land of Story . Background . Most of the plot of " Vagrant Story " takes place in a single 24 hour period , with only the epilogue occurring one week later . The game takes place in the New Valendian Kingdom , a constitutional monarchy divided heavily by a recent civil war . Magic and monsters have largely disappeared from the land . Now internal political rivalries between the Priesthood of St . Iocus represented by its militant arm , the Order of the Crimson Blades under Cardinal Batistum , Parliament , represented by its own force , the Valendia Knights of the Peace ( VKP ) are further strained by the appearance of a terrorist cult , the Müllenkamp sect . Led by the enigmatic and mysterious Sydney Losstarot , Müllenkamp is suspected of attempting to assassinate the king that Yuletide past . Müllenkamp is protected and funded by the Duke Aldous Byron Bardorba , who also secretly controls the strings of Parliament , though his actions all stem from an unknown reason . When the Müllenkamp cult attacks the Duke ' s home , they take the Duke ' s family hostage and make several demands . The Duke himself was not at his home during the attack . In a meeting at 0 : 24 A . M . , VKP Grand Steward LeSait sends in Riskbreaker , Ashley Riot to investigate this bizarre event . Agent Riot meets with a fellow Riskbreaker , the rookie Callo Merlose who has been watching the events in the Duke ' s Mansion from outside at 1 : 28 A . M . Upon seeing an assault by the Crimson Blades , one which was not cleared by the VKP , Ashley decides that the attack is a perfect distraction for him to infiltrate the manor . Moving to the Dark City . At 2 : 32 A . M . , the Crimson Blades have yet to find the Müllenkamp leader , Sydney . While they try to put out the flames that threaten the manor , Ashley Riot attempts to sneak past a group of Müllenkamp cultists . However , he is revealed by a falling block of wood , and is forced to kill both of them to move on . After overhearing a conversation between Sydney and his second - in - command , the doubtful John Hardin , Ashley moves to capture the enemy leader . Pointing a bowgun at a lone Sydney , Riot threatens to fire if he does not cooperate . Instead of following commands , Sydney moves for his sword . Firing straight into Sydney ' s heart , Ashley believes to have killed his foe . Hardin distracts Ashley by running into the room with a young boy in his arms . While he is looking away , a still - living Sydney knocks Ashley to the ground . Pulling the arrow out of his chest , Sydney taunts Ashley . Summoning a wyvern , the Müllenkamp members escape while the Riot fights the beast . After this creature is slain , Ashley looks out onto a sunrise on Leá Monde , where Sydney has escaped to . Duke Bardorba hears of the events in his secondary residence in the Graylands at 5 : 38 A . M . Upon this , he orders his men to burn down his home while pretending to be Blades to hide evidence of Sydney ' s magical powers . In this act , he is killing his family , to the shock of the Duke ' s courtiers . Bardorba also sends out a man of his employ dressed in red armor to Leá Monde to defeat all the forces that are gathering there . However , despite the Duke ' s coldness , he shows warmth to his captured son , Joshua , the boy whom Müllenkamp had captured during their attack . Ashley and Callo make it to the only remaining entrance of the ruined city of Leá Monde at 11 : 42 A . M . After an earthquake , all overland routes to the town were blocked off , and the whirlpools make entering by sea also impossible . Now the once - flourishing town is completely abandoned by all except Müllenkamp , who use it as their base . The only way in is the old Wine Cellar . Once again leaving his companion behind , Ashley moves into Leá Monde alone . But as he walks in , Sydney appears behind a defenseless Callo Merlose . Ashley , not knowing his partner is in danger , continues forward on his mission while further earthquakes make the passage unstable . While moving through the dark dungeon , Ashley follows two Crimson Blades who have fallen behind the rest of their group . They uncover floating platforms and other forms of Magick , all created by the power of Leá Monde . While listening to the conversation between the knights , Ashley discovers that the Blades are not out just to defeat a band of heretics , but also to take the power of Leá Monde for themselves . While waiting behind the Blades , Ashley jumps at a ghost - like vision of a young boy , revealing his position to the knights . He then kills both . Sydney then appears in the guise of the Blades ' leader to fool some soldiers into attacking the VKP agent . Ashley kills these as well , which catches Sydney ' s eyes . Using more dark powers , Sydney shows Ashley a vision of his late wife and son , Tia and Marco , killed by bandits while they were on a picnic on an idyllic hill . Fascinated by the Riskbreaker ' s cold efficiency in killing and complete lack of fear , Sydney appears to Riot , asking where his soul has gone . Sydney pries into Ashley ' s memories , then taunts that Ashley killed his own family . Revealing that he holds Merlose , Sydney commands Ashley to travel deeper into the Dark City , and to awaken an power within him . Leá Monde Under Siege . After traveling through the Catacombs and fighting a horde of undead people brought back by Leá Monde , Ashley finally reaches sunlight again in the Town Center . Eavesdropping on the Blades ' activities , it is clear that they have taken the entire top of the town , and are now simply wiping out what pockets of resistance remain , though all to heavy casualties . The Blades ' leader , Romeo Guildenstern gathers a meeting between himself , Father Grissom , and his lover Lady Samantha . Guildenstern and Samantha both are revealed to not be mere lap - dogs of the Cardinal , but seem to share an ambition to steal immortality from Sydney so that they can live together forever . While Ashley is listening , he is spotted by Father Duane , Grissom ' s brother . As usual , Ashley kills these foes as well . Across the river , Guildenstern spots Ashley and the two stare at each other in short showdown before turning on their separate ways . While moving through the Abandoned Mines , Ashley suddenly sees Callo Merlose and the interplay between her captors . Hardin , using some power of telepathy , is able to spot the actions of the Crimson Blades , and sees that they are growing weaker . Yet the battle is clearly lost for Müllenkamp , and he wishes to flee . Sydney , unhappy with his subordinate ' s panic , uses his power of " compulsion " to control Hardin . Though Hardin remains loyal and follows Sydney ' s orders to look over the prisoners , he demands that Sydney never use his powers on him again . Ashley follows Sydney while the cult leader goes to confront Guildenstern and his faithful companion , Samantha who are hunting for the Gran Grimoire , a book of great power . Avoiding a direct battle , Sydney instead questions Samantha into how far she can trust her commander . Using Dark powers of his own , Guildenstern almost cuts Sydney down by teleporting next to him . Without a word , Sydney retreats . Emerging at the entrance to the Snowfly Forest , Ashley suddenly sees through Samantha ' s eyes during another Crimson Blades meeting . Samantha talks with Lady Neesa over the heavy losses the Blades have taken during the attack . Samantha shows some worry over the deaths . Guildenstern marches in , and senses the Riskbreaker watching . He slaps Samantha , knocking away Ashley ' s connection . Back in the forest , Ashley is surprised to find that he has been followed by Jan Rosencrantz , the man sent by the Duke to Leá Monde . Though Rosencrantz claims to be a member of the Riskbreakers sent by Steward LeSait , Ashley does not believe a word of it . Rosencrantz goes on to tell Riot that he is the person most ignorant of the situation in Leá Monde , claiming that every major power in Valendia knows of and covets the Dark , the evil power that permeates Leá Monde . Ashley responds only by threatening to kill Rosencrantz if he remains in the city after sundown . While Ashley ventures into the forest , Rosencrantz is met by a group of Blades following Riot . Father Grissom leads the force to get revenge for his fallen brother , Duane . Grissom is not happy to see Rosencrantz , thinking him to be a double - dealing traitor . So he ignores Rosencrantz ' s warning of danger in the forest . Grissom quickly loses his soldiers in an earthquake , but still continues onward and runs into his foe , Sydney . Ashley wanders into this confrontation just as Grissom begins to attempt to summon a monster . Sydney warns Grissom that he does not have the power , and summoning will kill him . At first it seems Sydney was right , for Grissom falls to the ground , but then he succeeds . Together Grissom and his monster attack a joined force of Sydney and Riot . Grissom falls in defeat , defeated in his own quest for vengeance . Moving on his temporary ally , Sydney then shows another vision to Ashley of Tia and Marco . This time , however , it is not bandits who kill them , but Ashley himself . Though Ashley believes this to be a deception , Sydney claims that it is Ashley ' s own memories that are the deception . They are but implants created by the VKP . Sydney wanders off , leaving a devastated Ashley in doubt over the truth . Moving to the city keep , Ashley spies on Guildenstern and Samantha who are pondering why Leá Monde is covered in ancient writing . Guildenstern then discovers that the entire city is a circle of Magick . Rosencrantz walks in , expanding on the thought by saying that Leá Monde itself is the Gran Grimoire which the Blades seek . Furious at Rosencrantz for withholding information , Guildenstern draws his blade at Rosencrantz . Before blood is spilled , Samantha falls over , once again possessed by Ashley . Samantha , linked to Ashley , reveals his position . Guildenstern then sends Rosencrantz to deal with the meddlesome Riskbreaker . After a short battle , Ashley seems to have won . Rosencrantz , unfazed by defeat , then moves on to reveal Riot ' s past . Together they both worked for the VKP , killing people on Parliament ' s orders . The family of Tia and Marco , which Ashley was not a member of , were just unfortunate civilians who witnessed VKP activities . To keep their actions secret , Ashley murders the family . However , he is distraught by the action , feeling that he has killed the very people his order was supposed to protect . Rosencrantz is mildly disgusted with his partner ' s moral quibbles , and so helps the VKP implant false memories to allow Ashley to remain a perfect killing machine . Going on , Rosencrantz explains that he was kicked out of the Riskbreakers for knowing too much about Leá Monde . Now he manipulates all the powers for his own gain . After the speech , Rosencrantz leaves , promising to not yield in the next battle between the former partners . Guildenstern Takes Leá Monde . Meanwhile , Callo Merlose begins to speak with Hardin over what is going on in Leá Monde . Though Hardin himself is quiet , Callo sees a " ghost " version of Hardin who tells her much . Müllenkamp ' s true intentions , which are the same as the Duke ' s , are to destroy Leá Monde . But first , they must create a successor to its powers , which may be the reason why they kidnapped Joshua . However , before Merlose can learn more , Hardin stabs himself in the leg , shutting off his mind to her new Heart - Seer powers . Much as Ashley gains new powers , Callo too has gained powers from Leá Monde . Hardin tells Callo and his other captive , the frightened Joshua to move out . While Ashley descends into the depths of the Undercity , he runs into two Crimson Blade captains , Neesa and Sir Tieger , both furious over the sight of Father Grissom ' s corpse , which is curiously down in the dungeon . Together they try to defeat the Riskbreaker in a double - attack , but both are forced back into retreat . Ashley follows the two to find that Grissom has been given an " unfinished death " and has returned as a zombie . Grissom struggles with controlling his body while the two Blades look on stunned at the sight . Then voices fill Grissom ' s head , telling him that his living allies wish him dead . Driven insane by the voices coming from the walls of Leá Monde itself , he runs off . Neesa and Tieger give chase , allowing Ashley to move on into the Limestone Quarry . At the foot of Leá Monde ' s center , the remnants of the Crimson Blade force charge at the last Müllenkamp stronghold , the Grand Cathedral . While Guildenstern is distracted , Rosencrantz sneaks away to fulfill his own plans . Inside the Cathedral , Hardin and his two captives wait for Sydney . Merlose then uses her Heart - Seer powers once again to pry into Hardin ' s secrets . She discovers that Hardin once had a sickly younger brother , but due to the betrayal of the government , the child died . Because of this , Hardin joined Müllenkamp to make the government pay . Hardin is furious to see his mind pried into , but is stopped short by the arrival of Guildenstern . Injured by an arrow , Hardin is defenseless in front of his enemy . Guildenstern cruelly interrogates Hardin , demanding to know where the key to Leá Monde ' s power is . Hardin tells nothing , resisting Guildenstern ' s attacks . Using another trick , Guildenstern hides himself as Sydney and fools Hardin into telling of the Blood - Sin , which Guildenstern remembers as the tattoo on Sydney ' s back . A sharp realization that it is in fact the key the Blades seek . With no further need for him , Guildenstern stabs Hardin in the chest . Seeing this , Joshua screams in protest as the scene ends . Inside the Temple of Kiltia , Sydney looks back into his memories , when he was but a child with his father , the Duke Bardorba . His meditation is broken by the appearance of Rosencrantz , who inquires about Ashley ' s progress , revealing that he had been in league with Sydney and deluding Ashley with the " truth " of his past the entire time . seeking the Blood - Sin . Rosencrantz is not happy to learn that he will not succeed to the legacy of Leá Monde , with Sydney planning to pass the Blood - Sin to Ashley Riot . Sydney does not wish the Darkness to fall into the hands of one who will use its powers for evil , such as Rosencrantz . To this , Rosencrantz beats Sydney across the floor , thinking that his immunity to the Dark will save him . Ashley wanders in , but is caught by surprise by Rosencrantz , who knocks him to the floor . Yet for all this , Sydney still does not name Rosencrantz anything more than " worm " . In anger , Rosencrantz swings his sword and slices off Sydney ' s arm . In retaliation , Sydney uses his power to confuse Rosencrantz , who claims deception . Rosencrantz ' s powers , while giving him immunity to the dark , fell short when he placed himself in the heart of Leá Monde . Rather than passing his powers , Sydney instead brings one of the Temple ' s statues to life . Its giant blade cleaves Rosencrantz in half , ending the traitor ' s ambition in a single blow . Sydney escapes while Ashley defeats the animated statue . Ashley fights through a massive horde of enemies in search of Merlose . Meanwhile , Sydney appears to aid his friend Hardin in the Cathedral . Guildenstern proudly declares that Sydney had been using Hardin and Müllenkamp the entire time to fulfill his own designs . Sydney and Guildenstern do battle with the Dark as their weapon . During the fight , Guildenstern declares that his true aim is revolution . He wants to save Valendia , which he considers sick with corruption born from class struggle , by burning away everything but justice enforced by fear of his power . Sydney calls Guildenstern ' s vision " tyranny " and reveals that all his actions were to avoid such an awful fate for the world . Samantha then appears , which gives Sydney time to distract Guildenstern by attacking her . While she is hit , Sydney teleports Hardin , Callo , and Joshua to safety . But just as they escape , Guildenstern thrusts his sword into the back of the Müllenkamp leader . Guildenstern then moves forward to slice the Blood - Sin off Sydney ' s back . Upon finally reaching the atrium of the great cathedral , Ashley ascends the stairs to find Sydney on the floor , bleeding from his wounds . The Blood - Sin has been completely cut from his back . After seeing Sydney ' s true intentions were nothing malevolent , he agrees to defeat Guildenstern before he can use his powers for evil . Before Ashley departs , Sydney means to apologize for misleading him on the subject of his family , for all of the illusions and lies , to which Ashley simply replies " I know " . At the roof of the Cathedral , Guildenstern then performs the final action needed to become the successor to the Dark in murdering Samantha ; requiring a sacrifice to turn on the Blood - Sin , he stabs Samantha in the stomach . Shocked that her lover betrayed her , Samantha learns the truth : Romeo had been using her the entire time . As her body falls off the Cathedral , Ashley moves up to confront Guildenstern in a climactic battle . The ornamental sword of Iocus mounted at the top of the cathedral reappears in Guildenstern ' s hand as the ascension warps him into a blackened , white - haired humanoid form . The Vagrant . Guildenstern , fully - powered thanks to the Dark flowing through his body , moves to defeat the Riskbreaker to show off his new strength . But Ashley does not fall . Riot defeats Guildenstern ' s human form , but then the Crimson Blade erupts into a surge of electricity . Ashley then falls into his own mind , seeing a vision of Tia and Marco before him on the day they were killed . Though Ashley is said to have killed them , Tia and Marco act as his family once again . They tell him to believe that which is in his heart , which is the truth . The scene muddles the truth about Ashley ' s past to the point that it is up to the player to interpret for themselves which is the real truth . Invigorated with the strength from his family , Ashley goes off to fight Guildenstern ' s final form , a monstrous angelic creature . Though this last battle is hard - fought , Ashley prevails and slays Guildenstern . With Guildenstern ' s defeat , Leá Monde falls . The city erupts into a massive earthquake that tears it to pieces . All of the demons and fiends that inhabited the evil city are killed by the cataclysmic destruction . Hardin , Merlose , and Joshua escape out the Wine Cellar . Neesa and Tieger try to escape , but are followed by the undead Grissom . While the dungeon collapses around them , Tieger holds back Grissom so that Neesa may escape and tell the world what happened . When both are killed in the collapse , Lady Neesa is the only Crimson Blade to survive the attack on Leá Monde . Ashley , fresh with the Blood - Sin on his back , carries Sydney out of the city . Outside , Hardin succumbs to the injuries given to him by Guildenstern . Despite Joshua ' s tearful demand to stay alive , Hardin dies . One week later , in the Duke ' s secondary residence , Sydney appears to his father in the guise of Ashley . Together they know that they have succeeded in keeping the power of the Dark from falling into the wrong hands . The Duke regretfully apologizes to Sydney for leaving such a burden on him . Then he ends the Dark cultist ' s life by stabbing him with a dagger . The act kills the Duke as well . They die together , having completed their mission . Ashley Riot , the final holder of the Blood - Sin , then becomes a wanderer of the world . From then on , he takes the title of " the Vagrant " . " Vagrant Story " ends just as the story of the Vagrant begins , leaving Ashley Riot ' s later fate open . Relation to " Final Fantasy " . While initially the game had very little relation to " Final Fantasy " until the introduction of " Final Fantasy XII " , " Vagrant Story " has become linked to the " Final Fantasy " universe . Its biggest link is that it is set in the world of Ivalice , but there are other connections . " Vagrant Story " being set in Ivalice is actually a retcon , as originally nothing suggested for a fact that the game was set in that world . Indeed , the game was not promoted as being connected to " Final Fantasy Tactics " on its release , and the " Vagrant Story Ultimania " makes no mention of Ivalice . At the time , Yasumi Matsuno was even stressing that he made " Vagrant Story " because he wanted to move away ( at least temporarily ) from the " Final Fantasy Tactics " universe . He stated that the games are connected only in 2004 in a " Final Fantasy XII " interview for a French gaming magazine , Joypad . Before that , the allusions to " Final Fantasy Tactics " in " Vagrant Story " could simply be seen as a Easter eggs and non - significant references . However in 2010 , Matsuno restated in his Twitter that the world of " Vagrant Story " is actually independent from Ivalice . Other General Connections . There are certainly a few other arguable lesser connections to various " Final Fantasy " games :