[11/22/2006] Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth

[L.S.D]

Game: Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth

System: PSP

 

RPG developers hate PSP. They either port old games (Tales of Eternia, Ys) or they make

some uninspired but original but boring games (Tenchi No Moen) on it.

So, Square Enix decided to join in the bandwagon by bringing an old PS1 RPG game,

Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth to PSP. This is the legendary RPG where the US version was released

in limited number only and by word of mouth, inspired people to buy in eBay which can cost up

to USD$100 just for an original copy.

So, it is a kind of rejoice for some RPG fans who didn't manage to play this game when Square Enix

bring this game to PSP. Now you can own a copy with just USD$40 and experienced why this

game get rave reviews during the PS1 era.

Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth is about the journey of Norse warrior maiden, Valkyrie named Lenneth in

Midgard (Earth). her quest is to collect worthy warriors' souls which Odin, the All Father, The God of

Viking, will assign and prepare for the final battle, Ragnarok.

 

Graphics:

SquareEnix has made some addition to this game by adding new CG animations which look really stunning.

Eye candy. Top notch. However, sad to be said, for the rest of the game, they are still using the old PS1

graphics. This is not a problem in some area. The graphics look crystal clear and all the animations look

gorgeous despite the PS1 graphics. But in some area, the graphics look blurry and hazy, as if water was

spilled on a drawing. This make the characters really stand out as the character was in sharp details and

the background is muddy. but other than this, it did not interefere much with the flow of the game.

 

Graphics: 7/10 (the CGs are really impressive)

 

Controls:

The control for this game is simple. you can use the D-Pad or the analog to control the movements,

and the face buttons for various functions. Typical RPG assignments for the buttons. however, there

are special controls for the characters which will be explained in the gameplay section.

 

Controls: 8/10 (responsive)

 

Sound:

I found that I love the bgm available in the game. It give out a kind of sadness which you can get into

(sadness is the theme of the game anyway). The voice acting in this game is quite good too and all the

sound effects are nicely done. it really improves the mood especially during battle.

 

Sound: 8/10 (great music, great voice acting, great sound effects, great battle cry! )

 

Gameplay:

Traditional RPGers will be in for a shock. This game does not play like any normal RPG game.

in fact, it play almost identical to platform game. You get to explore areas and you can climb ladders,

open chests, open doors etc etc. You also have the ability to create blocks of ice and use it to create

platforms to climb up to higher places. You can also use the ice to freeze the enemies which you can

see lumbering around in the area. This open up strategies for you to manage your fights and you can

decide whether you want to fight or simply avoid them.

The battle is another refreshing idea from Square Enix. Battles are still run in turn but the controls

are different. You can still perform the normal RPG selection fights like choosing to use magic maually

or use items or guard. However, the face buttons have been assigned for each members in your team.

You can assign the attack to the characters and they will perform it when you press the face buttons.

This opens up the possibilities of huge combos where you can press the face buttons in sequence and

each characters will perform thier attacks in turn. Example: You have an enemy who is guarding

against physical attacks but leave himself open to magic attacks. So, you can press your mage button

to let him/her cast a spell which attacks the enemy and break his guard. At the same time, you can press

another buttons which will let your archer to shoot arrows during the opening and your warriors rush

forward to chop the enemies. And the greater the combos, the greater the damage dealt to the enemies.

There is also a Special meter where it will fill up as you pile up combos. If the meter is full once you finish

executing your attack on that round, you can unleash powerful Finshing attack for one character. The

FInishing attack will also fill up the meter and if the meter if full again, you unleash another character's

Finishing Attack! And you can repeat this as long as the meter is filled up, but it will get harder to fill

up after each Finishing Attack. 4 Normal attacks + 4 Finishing Attacks = MEGA DAMAGE! Some of the

Finishing Attacks are really impressive-looking and damaging. The battles also will encourage you to

learn more about your characters' attack styles so that you can plan how to execute combos. And

you have almost 20+ characters to learn!

Another shock for traditional RPG fans will be you will not have money in this game. What?!? SO how do

I buy weapons/armor/spells? Well, you don't! There are no shops in this game. You do not get to buy

anything at all! But Valkyrie is god, so she can transmute items. Yes, creating items out from thin air.

Woohoo! You can simply create potions, weapons armor and accessories for usage if you have enough

transmutation points. You also convert some items you collected during gameplay to a better item

or weapon or armor. Really interesting concept here.

The storyline for the game is engrossing enough. All the characters' storyline are tinged with sadness

and death. Although some characters' storyline are boring, most of them will keep you attached to some

of them especially the main characters. However, the storyline for the characters while they are preparing

for Ragnarok in Asgard was a bit boring as you can only see bubble speeches for their stories from the

characters.

Gameplay: 9/10 (dare to be different from traditional RPGs)

 

Graphics : 7/10

Controls : 8/10

Sound : 8/10

Gameplay: 9/10

 

Overall: 8/10

 

Yes, this is a different kind of RPG. Refreshing and entertaining to the end. The beginning of the game

is somewhat slow, but if you sit it out in patience, you will be rewarded with a gem. Verdict: buy it!

[Wizard]

An excellent game. Too bad the port is almost 100% the same as the PS1 version. Besides new CG and some newer re-recorded dialogue, it is still the same game that came out years ago with nothing new to offer other then just that, replacement CG scenes and updated dialogue. However, if you missed the rush of when this game first came out, by no means are you to avoid it. The RPG experience and it's story is legendary among the West as simply one of the best RPGs ever to come out in english.

[Agozer]

Hell, I still need to get into Valkyrie Profile properly. A good game, no doubt about that.

[Darken]

This game is something special

every time I play it something new happen .

10 for the sound

10 for the story

10 for characters

8 for super power

10 for Valkyrie

100 for Fria

is there any other thing to say

Edited November 29, 2006 by Darken

[Wizard]

I played the game to death and it never gets old. You ain't missing much. Unless it's your first time playing it over and over and over.

[L.S.D]

Lol, 100 for Freya?!? i prefer Lenneth because of the kiss to Lucian (you gotta watch this CG)

[Agozer]

Isn't there some kind of time limit in the game? I haven't really started plying VP seriously yet, because I'm quite uncertain how I should play the game so it doesn't just automagically end at the most inappropriate of times.

[Wizard]

Honest to god, use a FAQ if you play it. Because theres a "time limit" of how long you can play (Ragnarok etc etc) and theres like 6 endings. It took me a while to get EVERYTHING without using a gameshark. I'm talking 3 months of my life.

[Agozer]

oh lordy lord. FAQ it is then, although I tend to stay away from such thing during my first playthrough.

[Darken]

Don't use faq and I 100% know that you will get the bad end.

[L.S.D]

Don't use faq and I 100% know that you will get the bad end.

Not neccessarily. I didn't use Faqs for my first run and I still get the normal ending. Unless you do very bad,

you would not get the Bad ending in most cases.