A Tri-Ace RPG Soul Worth Trying! (Valkyrie Profile (PS))

Member Name: scream4bruce

Product:	Valkyrie Profile (PS)
Date:	25/07/08 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Unique, gorgeous graphics, moving music, top battle system

Disadvantages: Lacking towns

A game based on Norse Mythology; Valkyrie, the warrior-maiden, is assigned the task of recruiting and developing Einherjar to fight at Odin's side in the Sacred War. Flying through the skies, Valkyrie listens to the cries of souls, choosing from fallen soldiers heroes to guide.

Instead of having a main focus in it's story, Valkyrie Profile tells of the deaths which befall the numerous characters whom Valkyrie comes to recruit, and while character development and interaction is lacking in this game, there's enough to show the deaths as being tragic.

As Valkyrie is carrying out her assignment in Midgard, the Sacred War is taking place in Asgard. So that there is a flow of time, each Chapter is split into a finite number of Periods - these being spent whenever Valkyrie takes an action on the World Map. This does call for an efficient approach to play (though players need not take this to the extreme as preparation for the final showdown).

All of the towns in Midgard are immediately accessible on the World Map. Unfortunately, there's no real incentive to visit them other than to recruit Einherjar (and possibly obtain as many items). There are a couple of NPCs to talk to but no shops, with Valkyrie being able to convert Materialize Points into items, and vice versa, as well as transform one item into another. Somewhat of a problem early on is that when it comes to creating equipment it is not obvious whom can equip what, but I guess there is a reason as to why this function becomes available at save points. Aside from that, the interface is fine, and controls-wise, there is no real advantage to be had with analog over digital control.

Both the towns and dungeons are explored using a side view - the latter hosting occasional platform/puzzle elements with Valkyrie being able to, on top of jump and slide, lift/throw/push/pull certain objects. Contact with the enemy commences battle - a nice touch being that when Valkyrie slashes them with her sword then her party is guaranteed the first attack. Also, Valkyrie can shoot crystals to temporarily freeze the enemy, thus making them easier to avoid which is cool! There are traps in treasure chests to look out for, but there's not much in the way of proper puzzles - on the difficulty setting that I picked only a single dungeon on the final chapter provided some - which might leave some feeling cold.

Thankfully, the battles are a highlight of Valkyrie Profile. Taking alternating turns between Valkyrie's party and the enemies, each of the symbol buttons correspond to individual character attacks - connecting these hits in a continuous manner fills up a gauge which, when full, allows Special Attacks to be tagged on, so timing and order of button presses is important. Then, there are the likes of counter attacks, bringing in further player participation, and also, such intricicies where striking enemies in mid-air or on the ground knocks crystals and gems out of them (these being of benefit). Thus, it helps to experiment with how to use combination attacks, which is where the Practice option comes in handy.

The development of the Einherjar is straightforward and involves distributing Capacity Points (gained on levelling up) towards character Skills or Traits - these affect their performance fighting alongside Valkyrie and in the Sacred War respectively. Should Valkyrie not send Einherjar to Valhalla then Odin's evaluation of her will drop which can lead to a worse ending. Similarly, should she recover artifacts belonging to Odin but not return them then her Evaluation Score will decrease - though the items can be helpful. At the end of each chapter there is an assessment of how the Einherjar are performing in the Sacred War, which is nice to know.

With the exception of the World Map much of the game is 2D sprite based; visually, Valkyrie Profile is a work of art. Past the nicely animated movies and seamless transition into FMV sequences, the level of detail in the hand-painted backdrops is immense, and each area feels unique; character designs are splendid, the animation is wonderful and the Special Attacks sequences are special alright! That said - they do get tiresome after watching them so many times!

Musically, some of the dungeon themes don't quite cut it, but there are a number of moving pieces in amongst the soundtrack of Valkyrie Profile. The voice acting is a mixed bag - some of it sounds as if the voice actors are reading their lines for the first time yet it manages to avoid being cringe-worthy. The voice samples heard throughout battle are great - listen out for the odd joker in there! Sound recordings can be unlocked for listening to in the Sound Mode.

There are three levels of difficulty which determine a number of factors. If I could personally give a recommendation then I would suggest playing the game on at least Normal Difficulty, if not Hard. Not so much because all the endings become viewable, but because there are more dungeons and characters to play with - on certain chapters on Normal I was left wanting more, so if you are familiar with RPGs then go for Hard.

It took me over 40 hours to finish Valkyrie Profile, though I figure I could have managed it in a lot less time. Not enough was made out of the endings, which was disappointing, but there is a sole side-quest available near the end. While the game is lacking in certain departments, the presentation and combat system make up for it. A great RPG experience, though perhaps not worth the high price it commands as a rare PlayStation title (highly sought and low in print). Of course, there is always the PSP port, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth.

Summary: Valkyrie Profile for PlayStation