Published by Enix America, Inc.
Reviewed by Kitt on 9/14/00

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First Impressions:

Graphics:

2D has never looked better on the Playstation. The gorgeous character illustrations capture the attitude and personality of both humans and gods alike. Lenneth Valkyrie's and her allies' pictures brim with personality. The character artwork shown on the status screens and conversational screens are some of the best and most detailed that I've seen yet for Playstation. The CG backgrounds are filled with amazing details - nightmarish towers constructed of human bones and dragon's teeth, gothic cathedrals with sunlit stained-glass windows, shadowed castles with streamers of silk and velvet flowing across the walls. And Valkyrie herself leaps and slashes with Alucard-like speed and grace through the land as she runs through the halls of the undead. Her silvery braid and battle regalia ripple fluidly as she slashes, slides, and leaps through dungeons.

During battle is where the graphics engine really shines. When Lenneth Valkyrie summons forth the souls of the Einherjar who make up her battle party, she unfurls her blue-white ethereal wings to bring them into existence once again. The blurring and lighting effects used for Valkyrie's wings and for the various special attacks executed by the Einherjar are some of the best eye candy I've seen for a long time. And without being nearly as time-consuming as the Final Fantasy series' summonings.

The 3D elements present in the game are actually very subdued and well, . . . plain. The world map that Valkyrie soars over is an expanse of blue, green, brown, greenish-brown, and brownish-green dotted by blue and red markers indicating a city to possibly recruit from or a dungeon to explore. The 2D art is clearly the focus of this title, and the 3D elements are simply there to present the 2D.

Sound/Music:

With some small exceptions, the voice acting is dead-on. The haughty Artolian princess Jelanda sounds like a spoiled little princess; the grizzled mercenary Arngrim sounds like an overconfident, battled hardened warrior; and the rich merchant's son Belenus sounds like a good man forced by destiny to do what he truly doesn't wish to. Lenneth Valkyrie's voice acting deserves special mention; her smooth, confident and mildly condescending voice befits a goddess of her power and stature.

While being some of the best and most fitting voice acting I've heard in any Playstation game, there are a few blemishes. As mentioned above, Platina's voice really doesn't work well, and some of the other voice actors, while sounding very good, go a little over-the-top in an attempt to sound godly or sorrowful. The voice actors/actresses from the Pokemon cartoon also sound good, but I can't help but start thinking, "Valkyrie, I choose you!" The Pokemon voice actors/actresses do well in their voiceovers, but I find their inclusion a little jarring. For the most part, Enix of America deserves special commendation for giving this often-neglected facet some high quality treatment.

The music and sound effects also do an excellent job of enhancing and enriching the gameplay experience. The sad, gentle music-box-like music that plays when Valkyrie concentrates upon a human soul crying out is a fitting background to the sobs and sorrowful last words uttered by the potential Einherjar. The sounds of battle, of metal clanging against shields, of powerful spells being cast - all click together perfectly. To really enjoy these sound effects, make sure to have the setting on 'stereo' - this poor reviewer only has a small monoaural TV to use, and the only opportunities that I had to fully enjoy the music and sound was on a friend's home theater system.

Gameplay:

The unique battle/skills/traits system that developer Tri-Ace has created is one of the most 'crisp' and streamlined systems I've seen in an RPG. A more streamlined version of the system first presented in the Star Ocean series, the skills/trait system makes sense. The skills and traits have a visible effect on the character's abilities and actions in battle, and make a real difference when the character comes to a crucial point in the game - such as being sent up to Asgard and judged by Freya. When a character has gained enough experience to advance to the next level, they are also rewarded with Capacity Points. These CP's may be spent on either developing the characters' Skills (abilities used in battle, abilities that enhance a character's stats, or abilities requested by Freya), or towards developing that character's Traits - to be a better person and a better hero (reducing negative traits like Stubborn and Naïve; increasing positive traits like Brave and Sacrificing). Only Einherjar with high Hero Values, which are based on Traits, and with the Skills requested by Freya will the Asgard armies overcome the Vanir.

Combat is turn-based, but not menu-driven, as most RPG's are. Your party is laid out in a pattern similar to the four buttons on the PSX controller (triangle, circle, x, and square), and each character in your battle party corresponds to one of those buttons. This clear layout makes it very easy to get absorbed in the semi-twitch action of battle. Combo attacks can occur depending upon what weapon your character has equipped - certain weapons allow you to attack once, twice, or three times in succession - and combos can occur when multiple characters attack the same target together. When enough combo attacks occur consecutively, the words "Purify Weird Soul" will flash on the screen, allowing you to execute a Einherjar's special attack - some of the most delicious 2D eye-candy I've seen for a while. For example, the pikewoman Aelia, who has been blessed (cursed?) with the power of the Dragon Gem, will shapeshift into a huge, screen-filling dragon who blasts the enemy with a huge breath beam, ala Bahamut, for her special attack. The swordsman, Jun, will execute what appears to be a 30-ish hit combo on the enemy, disappearing and reappearing as he slashes the enemy repeatedly from different directions.

At the time of this writing, I did not find any puzzle or opponent too difficult - some puzzles involve clever usage of Valkyrie's ability to create ice crystals - but none have seemed 'impossible' yet. Also, there are no random battles to worry about if you do find yourself fighting extremely tough enemies; all enemies are visible while you explore the 2D dungeons, and can (usually) be easily avoided by freezing them with ice crystals or simply jumping over them. There are a few enemies that cannot be frozen or leapt over in this manner, but if the Einherjar and Valkyrie are strong enough and clever enough, the battle won't be impossible.

The gameplay is overall very fast-paced and easy to understand, offering plenty for a die-hard RPG gamer to delve into. Valkyrie Profile also presents plenty of replay value - three different difficulty settings (Easy, Normal, Hard) and three different endings, along with a multitude of characters to recruit and hundreds of items to create and find.

There were only a few minor gameplay issues that I had with the game. First was Valkyrie's jump; it can a little flaky at times, especially if she's climbing a ladder ("What? If I'm holding a direction on the ladder while pressing the jump button she won't move? Ok, so I've gotta jump first, then steer?") Second was the inability to determine what an artifact is or does unless it's actually picked up and equipped. Logic would say that you don't know what something does until you actually own it, but in Valkyrie Profile, keeping an artifact that rightfully belongs to Odin will cost you Evaluation Points (how 'good' you are in the eyes of Odin). The only way that I could figure out whether an artifact was worth keeping was by nabbing it, then taking the -5 evaluation point loss, only to find out that the artifact was completely worthless and not even worth Transmutating into another item. Fortunately, save points are always nearby, so all I had to do was load up my save just before picking up the artifacts.

Enjoyment:

I haven't had a marathon gaming session (10+ hours in one sitting) for years - that's how hooked I am on this game. I've relished the stories of the Einherjar chosen by Valkyrie; most are tragic, often poignant and captivating tales of broken promises, self-sacrifice, and lost opportunities. Many of these stories strike a chord in me - and could stir some emotions in any of us who've lost something or someone we care about. Valkyrie herself is an interesting enigma - why does she bear such a strong resemblence to Platina? What is Freya keeping secret from Valkyrie? It's questions like these that keep me glued to my controller.

I also like how you can find weapons/items, or create divine (i.e. unbreakable) weapons/items, or even transmutate (transform/improve) weapons/items. I've always been a sucker for copious quantities of weapons, accessories and items, and have spent hours on this game simply playing around with the 'Divine Item' and 'Transmutate' options - I've created some pretty nifty equipment to kick ass with! ^_^ The text and voiceovers in this game are also top of the line. The individual personalities and accents of the characters shine through their text and voices. I've been enthralled by the stories told in Valkyrie Profile and have been immersed in the world of Asgard/Midgard. A very, very enjoyable game overall.

Multiplayer:

n/a

Overall Impression:

This game is brimming with quality, and I've been mildly surprised that there hasn't been more attention focused upon it - it's easily on par with most of Squaresoft's latest PSX offerings. Valkyrie Profile is a game that warms the heart of an old-school 2D RPG player. This is an easy title to fall in love with, with the engrossing stories of Valkyrie and her chosen Einherjar being woven together and building up towards a (likely) amazing climax.

This is a very easy title to get into with its intricate and excellent gameplay. I never felt that any section of the game was acting as mere padding or filler - every moment and every action I took actually meant something towards completing Valkyrie's mission. This is one exceptional game.

Marketing Efforts Towards Women:

Enix America has done a very good job of presenting their title to everyone, regardless of gender, in their magazine ads and on the game's cover. The women in this game come from a range of backgrounds, and while the majority of the female characters who join your side are magic-users, they aren't the stereotypical RPG fireball-slinging damsels. For example, Lorenta, one of the powerful sorceresses who joins Valkyrie, is the headmistress and best teacher at the Flenceberg Sorcery Academy. Yet Valkyrie and the other women who can fight without magic do so and do it well. Lenneth Valkyrie is an excellent, well-rounded fighter, as are the two or three other women warriors.

The characters' clothing and armor is appropriate for battle, although the female mages don't wear any armor to speak of, which fits since they usually aren't attacked directly. The armor that the female warriors wear isn't very revealing at all, and in reality could be considered as acceptable protection from the rigors of battle. The women in Valkyrie Profile are attractive, but in a way that doesn't trivialize them as mere dolls.

Enix and tri-Ace have done well marketing this game to both genders equally, instead of resorting to some of the more gender-biased (i.e. immature) presentations of some other companies.

Cheats, Hints & URLs:

The timing of your attacks in battle actually makes a difference in the amount of experience, the length of time until your attacks, and the amount of treasure you might earn in battle. Juggling an enemy with combination attacks can result in 'Magic Gems' which increase the amount of experience earned from that battle, small purple stones which reduce the delay until your next attack, and a plethora of weapons and items that can be Transmutated into other, more valuable treasures. So when equipping your party, choose weapons which can hit 2 or 3 times, even if they are technically weaker than other weapons.

Also, if you have the opportunity, grab the 'Emerald Necklace' artifact, even though it rightfully should go to Odin. This invaluable accessory will grant the wearer an additional 100 Capacity Points per experience level gained. What I would do is simply keep an eye on the experience levels of my party members, then equip one with the Emerald Necklace, raise them to the next level with the experience points held in the 'Exp. Orb' on the Party screen, then de-equip it and place it on the next person to repeat the process. This allows you to max out the Einherjar's Skills and Traits, making them excellent candidates for Valhalla.