v1.3.1 — Vandal Hearts PC Port

Vandal Hearts — PC Port v1.3.1

A native PC port of Vandal Hearts (US, SLUS_004.47). You must supply your own
legally-owned disc image (.bin); the download does nothing without it.

The full campaign has now been playtested end to end; this release folds in the resulting balance tuning
and fixes, plus two rendering/stability fixes that apply to both modes. Normal mode remains byte-for-byte
the original.

Fixed (both modes)

• Spell & cutscene effects — certain textured effects (energy rays, dissolve/fade planes, warp
  surfaces) were rendering as flat semi-transparent shapes with their texture dropped; they now show
  their proper textured appearance.
• Fixed a rare crash when the on-screen attack marker (miss / support / poison) appeared over certain
  map tiles — most likely on the long, narrow Trials corridor.

Quality of life (both modes)

• Enemy threat overlay — reachable-and-threatened tiles now show in a distinct orange (they
  previously shared yellow with spell/attack targeting), so a spell's AoE preview stays readable even
  inside a danger zone. Overlay tints were also softened for easier reading over any terrain.

Tactical Mode (opt-in)

Progression

• Level-cap curve retuned to 10 / 15 / 19 / 24 / 28 / 32 — a smoother, steady climb that keeps
  the party a step under the cap heading into each chapter's Trials and lands the endgame party right on
  the final boss's level. (Validated across a full playthrough.)
• Trials of Toroah — fixed the final Trial not awarding attack experience.

Casters & spells

• Monk / Ninja rework — the path now learns a genuine Spread Force and a retuned Thunder
  Flash, and keeps its inherited base spells through both promotions (they're no longer shed at
  Ninja), so the class stays flexible rather than losing utility.
• Mystic Energy reworked into an area-of-effect party buff — a defensive group screen that
  raises defense and grants magic resistance to every ally in the field, with a new icy-blue aura and
  a per-ally cast effect. Cost tuned so a second back-to-back cast needs an MP refill.
• Thunder Ball added to the mage kit — a long-range, small-area attack spell — and Roman Fire
  buffed (power 7 → 9) so it's a real pick alongside Phase Shift rather than strictly outclassed.
• Perfect Guard — cheaper (12 MP) and now also grants magic resistance, making it a
  single-unit "evasion + anti-magic" shield.
• Healing Circle / Healing Wave retuned into distinct roles — Circle is a cheap, efficient group
  top-up; Wave is the heavy group heal.
• Fixed Monk / Ninja maximum MP overshooting its intended value.

Visuals

• Avalanche re-skinned as an ice avalanche in Tactical (an icy boulder), matching the spell's
  intended theme.

Changed since 1.3.0

• The two "restored cut weapons" from 1.3.0 have been removed — they turned out to be unique enemy
  boss weapons, so they stay boss-exclusive. (Restored item description text is unchanged.)

Downloads

Platform	File	How to run
Windows 10/11	VandalHearts-v1.3.1-windows-x64.zip	Unzip; put your disc in a game\ folder next to vandalhearts_pc.exe; run it.
Linux (glibc ≥ 2.34)	VandalHearts-v1.3.1-linux-x86_64.AppImage + vandalhearts.ini	Put both together; put your disc in a game/ folder beside the .AppImage; chmod +x and run. Needs FUSE2.

Config: edit vandalhearts.ini next to the executable (window scale, audio, etc.).

Note on contents

A release binary embeds a portion of game-derived data (the executable's static
data segment, a small BIOS-derived font, reconstructed tables) so the port can
run — © Konami / © Sony, no ownership claimed. It is a fraction of the game; the
bulk loads from your own disc at runtime. See NOTICE/DISCLAIMER.

Verify downloads against SHA256SUMS.txt.