“Valkyrie Profile” is a classic video game, which was based its characters and story on Norse mythology and was developed by tri-Ace and published by Enix (now known as Square Enix). It was launched first on the PlayStation 1 in 1999 and then remastered for the PlayStation Portable as “Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth.” Here is my video Game Review of this great classic video game.
Several stories in one big story
The beauty of this video game is its stories of several characters that the Valkyrie is going to recruit after they die. Players are introduced to wondrous, dramatic, and very emotional character stories that tell their background, their plans, their dreams, and how they die in the mortal world.
All of these stories are recommended to watch and they will surely touch players' hearts, which mostly have a tragic ending.
The main story itself is quite a story to follow as it unfolds with a hint of romance, honor, anger, self-discovery, and more. Players can go through the game normally if they want, but if they follow a certain pattern, they will unlock a better story that closely tells Valkyrie Lenneth's.
Superb 2D animation with late era PS1 3D animation combined perfectly
“Valkyrie Profile” has one of the best 2D animation for characters I have ever seen with the combination of the 3D animation for environment, powers, and spells. These two are combined quite perfectly that players would not notice that one part is animation while the other is 3D.
The fact that this game was made in the late era of the PS1 also helps because it was greatly improved compared to the other games that were made early era of the classic console.
Some of the spells still look rough to look at though due to the limitations of the PS1 (even on the PSP version), but it still looked good for a game at that time.
The remastered version also had a few improvements like better 3D animations, but this was for certain cutscenes only.
The music is immersive and enthralling
Each chapter and character story has its own musical background that gives players the impression of what to expect after they read and listen to the dialogue. The game’s music invokes so much variety of emotions that players get immersed quite deeply with the story.
The English voice acting is quite good as well, but there a few dialogues that go over the top that it loses its high value. This is carried quite easily by the other voice actors, making it not noticeable to players who do not mind this part of the game. Most of the lines are delivered perfectly that fans would instantly identify each of these characters.
A fun way to involve all party members in a battle
World and dungeon exploration is all done by the Valkyrie Lenneth while the battles involve all of the party members. This is a great method that makes them have a role to play than to just stand in the way.
Each member will represent a button on the controller and they will have the corresponding number of attacks as the players press them.
If the hit gauge gets to 100, they get the chance unleash a special attack that will devastate the enemies and reduce their HP.
The characters’ skills and stat development are unique as well, which allows them to learn different types of skills to support them in upcoming battles. The more skills they have, the better the chances they have of surviving and winning a round. Purchasing gear and items are unique as well, which needs players to sacrifice the in-game currency or trade certain items to unlock a better one with impressive abilities.
Players will have to manage their time as well since each time they recruit a character, go into a dungeon, visit an area or rest, they will use up days.
If they waste more, they will trigger Ragnarok, the end of the game and they will also waste their chance of unlocking other characters. This is the reason why they should choose their options wisely before making a decision.
Extra dungeons and recruiting secret characters is the way to go
The best part of “Valkyrie Profile” is its extra dungeon that allows players to infinitely play the game until they get bored. They will unlock it after they have finished the main game and load up the title menu again. They will fight stronger monsters, fight and recruit familiar characters, get stronger gear, and fight the ultimate boss in the lower levels.
“Valkyrie Profile” is a great classic video game that has so many great stories to tell, awesome gameplay system, emotional music, great voice acting, a perfect mix of animations, and good ole’ replayable dungeon that they can master until they get bored. My final score for this game is a high 9 out of 10 points.
Check out the "Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth" Intro Opening here:
