Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth

"A Classic RPG"

Don't be surprised if you've never heard of this game because I hadn't heard about it until I played Star Ocean: Till the end of Time. For those of you who haven't heard, Valkyrie Profile was a PS1 title that became a cult classic to those who played it. It wasn't a huge hit so there weren't a lot of copies and that's why the game cost over $100 to buy the original PS1 version. For the people who don't have that kind of money, Square Enix re-released this fantastic RPG for the PSP for $39.99.

Getting into Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth is different then what you'd expect out of an RPG. You play as Lenneth Valkyrie a goddess who is sent to the human world of Midgard to search for worthy souls to fight for the gods in Ragnarok, the end of the world. To do this you must find those near death and recruit them. This may sound very difficult to do, which it isn't. Basically, Valkyrie will meditate and pinpoint the location of the new soul. There you will see a cut scene of the characters interacting and then die and join you. None of these deaths are the happy kind they can be very depressing. Not only will you see how the dying feels but you will sometimes see how their family and friends react. The cut scenes can drag on sometimes too, which can cause it to be a little over dramatic.

The sound in this game is one of its strong points as well. The music is some of the best and music I've ever heard in an RPG. You really get a feel for your surroundings more and the sense of emotion during a death. Some of the cut scenes are done by the people from Pokemon and didn't do too bad of a job although there are a few voices that bothered me.

The battle system is very interesting, though a bit tough to completely figure out at first. Basically, every character in your party is assigned a button on the PSP. By pressing that character they will do an attack that suits their equipped weapon or spell. This well done and it's neat to see some of the flashy moves that your characters can do.

After training them, you're encouraged to send your best warriors to Asgard to help fight the war, which continues to draw closer as you continue to play. 8 Chapters count down Ragnarok, each with 24 Periods. This time goes down while you going through cities, fighting through dungeons, and resting (meditating).

There are some new features to this game that have been changed from the PS1 version. First off, they've added some new CG cut scenes some of which replace the old anime ones in the PS1 game. I've heard that they've added some elements for VP: Silmeria too. Personally, I think this version is better and it costs a great deal less than it does for the PS1. Think about it, you don't have to put out a lot of cash for this version and you get the same game. Don't buy the PS1 version unless you have to have the original and you willing to pay $100 or more for a game you can get for $39.99 on the PSP.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/09/06