Vandal Hearts II takes place in the country of Natra and follows the story of Joshua from childhood until adulthood, focusing his progress through the civil war that tears his home country apart. The early stages of the game introduce the hero and his childhood companions and acts as a prologue to future events in the hero's adult life.
The adult stages of the game shows the country of Natra immersed in a civil war with both warring factions having foreign backers. Joshua's renegade band of outlaws gets drawn into a plot to create a third faction to end the war and restore peace.
Combat
Combat in Vandal Hearts II is done using a new Dual-Turn System, stated as being an Active Time Battle system for Strategy RPGs. The dual turn system permits both the player and the computer to move one unit on the battlemap simultaneously. This system was criticised by IGN as being even more time-consuming than it needed to be.