Valkyrie Profile

"Near Perfection..."

Valkyrie Profile has got to be one of my favorite RPGs of all time.

The game stars Lenneth Valkyrie, on of the three goddesses of destiny, in Norse Mythology. Good ol' Lord Odin has learned of impending doom: Ragnarok. A war is about to begin. Odin summons you to go down to the world below and search for souls suitable to become heroes and help the gods battle. You must use your Spiritual Concentration to hear the cries of a person near death. Valkyrie must then go to where they died where she will learn the events of the person's death and then recruit them into her party. It's also a journey for Valkyrie to find out her true past and who she really is.

You must train these warriors, Einherjar, as they're called, and make them stronger. Each ''chapter'' of the game, Freya will request one warrior with certain powers and such. You must send up a warrior that fits her request or... let's just say Odin won't be too happy with you. For following her requests well, the Aesir army (that's your's!) will become stronger and you will get more MP (Materialize Points... They function like money in this game.) Odin may also send you some cool items if you do well.

The game is divided into a couple chapters, each composed of 24 ''periods.'' When all of these periods run out, you will be brought to the Sacred Phase. This is where Freya updates you on the war status. After that, you will be brought to the next chapter. In a way, this imposes a limit on where you can go during each chapter. Entering dungeons and towns costs a certain amount of periods each time. This means you'll have to keep your curiosity to a minimum!

One of my favorite parts about this game, the dungeons are 2D, side-scrolling masterpieces. Everything is 2D except the world map and some spells. All enemies can be seen ON SCREEN before you encounter them. When you touch any enemy, you will start combat. You get the first move if you are able to SLASH the enemy to enter combat rather than having the enemy touch you.

The combat is 2D with a side view which is fixed in place. You get four characters in your party, each character linked to one of the four buttons on your controller (triangle, square, circle, and x.) When it is your party's turn in combat, ANY of your characters can attack at ANY time. Pressing a characters button will launch their attack. You can launch all the characters at the same time or spread them out. There is strategy in this, however. For example, if you attack with a character who will launch an enemy into the air, and then attack with a character that can attack above them WHILE the enemy is still in the air, you may get items. Also, attacking with your characters quickly while careful to make sure none of your character's attacks will miss their targets may fill up your special attack meter. Then, all your characters can use their special attacks. There is lots of strategy involved in the fights, and it never gets boring.

You can also visit towns. Valkyrie will don a disguise so that she may pass among the humans. You can talk to humans in towns, but there really isn't much else to do. When you talk to someone, a huge picture of their face is shown along with their text. They're very nicely drawn, and although there are some repeats among the common folk, they are mostly unique. Anyway, you can't shop or heal in towns. All of that can be done with some MP or some periods at pretty much anytime.

As you progress through the game's chapters, Valkyrie's Spiritual Concentration will find new dungeons for you to explore.

One bad thing about the game, in my opinion, is that it can sometimes be to easy. You'll probably hardly ever die, and even if you do, it's no problem. You are simply booted out of the dungeon you were in and start on the world map again.

The music in this game is great. It has a huge track, and most of the songs are very well done, however, they sometimes completely contradict the whole sad tone of the game. In a way, I guess it was a better idea to go with more upbeat music. It would have been TOO depressing with sad music. There's already enough tragic deaths throughout the game (you see how each and every party member died before they join you, after all!)

Valkyrie Profile has GREAT replay value. The game is totally non-linear. There are several endings and secrets to find, not to mention the randomized Cave of Oblivion in each chapter. This is definitely one you can play again... and again, and again, and again.

If you are into RPGs, this is definitely a sure buy. You may want to rent it first, if possible, although I know that I've never seen it to rent. It's actually worth $50 or so, but it's pretty hard to find so you may be stuck buying it online. Bummer, huh?

The SCORE BOARD:

Graphics: 8/10 - Lovely 2D visuals and wonderful parallax scrolling

Sound: 9/10 - Great track and sound effects

Control: 8/10 - Control on the various maps is a breeze, but menus can be hard to navigate

Replay: 9/10 - Totally non-linear

Fun: 9/10 - Every minute of play is a joy

Difficulty: Easy - May be lacking in the challenge department

OVERALL: 10/10 - A must have!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/13/01, Updated 08/13/01