Super Valis IV

"Mighty Maiden Valis!!"

Wow, this game is really old, I remember playing it years ago.

Story- The game is about the Valis Warrior defeating the bad guys who are trying to destroy dreamland. Nothing too exciting. Score-5 (doesn't hurt or help the game)

Gameplay- You play as the Valis warrior trying to stop evil through about seven levels. The game is side scrolling and you run generally from left to right slashing enemies with your valis sword and getting weapon powerups and health. Most of the enemies have a very predictable pattern that you will learn after watching them for a few seconds, but the game is quite hard because the levels are long, and every little hit eventually adds up. It can be REALLY aggravating being at the end of a level and getting killed right at the end. You only have one life, so if you die you have to continue and start the level over. One thing that I find interesting was that even at the beginning of a level, you could see the boss's health bar. As more time passes the bar slowly increases, so depending on how long you take it can make the fight a lot easier or harder. There is a boss after each level. The game is also pretty hard with two different difficulty settings. Score- 8

Graphics- The graphics are pretty good for when the game came out. Each level has a very distinct style that makes it totally different than the last. You travel through, ruins, a castle, a field of flowers, an ice cavern, and more. I liked how they used scrolling in the background to make the levels seem more 3 dimensional. Overall the graphics are colorful and attractive. Also throughout the game are little anime pictures progressing the story. There isn't much story to begin with, but the pictures are well drawn and look cool. Score- 8

Sound- I love the music to this game! Every level has a great tune playing in the background. The music really gets you pumped to play. In fact, I remember I sometimes used to play this, just to hear the music. Score- 10

Replay- Once you finish it, there isn't much else to do other than maybe trying it on the hard difficulty. This is the kind of game you pull out once in the blue moon for a little fun. Don't expect to be glued to your tv for days.

If you're into older action games, I reccomend trying this out. As far as renting or buying goes, I have to say buy. I really doubt you would ever find a rental for this game since it's so old and was never really popular to begin with. I'm sure if found it wouldn't cost more than a few dollars so it's definately worth it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/13/02, Updated 02/13/02