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"Divine"

I chose to call this game "divine" for two reasons: 1. Because they use that word a lot in Valkyrie Profile and 2. Because it's the best adjective I can think of to describe it. Valkyrie Profile for the PS1 is simply stunning. Combining Norse mythology with a pinch of Eastern culture (and some Egyptian...), Enix have succeeded in creating one of the most original and engrossing RPGs on any console.

STORY:
There are essentially two main stories going on at the same time in VP. The first one is the most recognizable--you are Lenneth, a Valkyrie, and your mission is to acquire dead souls to aid in the fight in Asgard against the Vanir. Do you have any clue what I'm talking about? Unless you've played through this game or are a Norse mythology buff, you probably don't. See, a Valkyrie's role is to acquire dead mortals to aid the war in Asgard, which is where the gods dwell (kind of like Mt. Olympus, but it's different from Greek mythology). Simply put, that is your mission in this game.

The other story revolves around Lenneth herself. Who is she? Why do Freya/Lezard/Brahms, etc. talk to and ask her about her past so much? She seems to have no clue why either. In order to find out, you as the player must endure a much harder and stricter way of playing the game (there are multiple endings for VP). There's no way I'll give anything away... but what happens is truly amazing.

Well of course the dead mortals that you recruit have their own stories too, and they are all shown before you get them. For example, Lorenta, an exemplary teacher and sorceress, gets killed by one of her own students, and she doesn't even know why. There are over 20 characters in this game, and each one's individual tale of death is very original... though kind of depressing because they all DIE.

I have seen complaints that once a dead character is recruited, he/she just becomes a slave who just follows Valkyrie around. Well... YEAH, that's all they're really meant to do. How they die doesn't really matter--it's how they can help the gods in Asgard that does. Helloooo?

As you can see, Enix put a ton of effort into making the stories for VP. Every person, from the almighty Odin to the insecure Llewelyn, was given vast attention into his/her character. Also, both Valkyrie's personal story and her main mission are very well done.
STORY: 10/10

GRAPHICS:
I'll bet that at first glance, everyone who sees this game will not immediately understand why VP looks the way it does. Still, each 2-D character sprite was given extreme detail, with dozens of animations for each (that's quite a bit of work, I'm assuming). Some may not really appreciate that kind of art style, but I find it quite fascinating.

You play this game on a 2-D plain, so pre-rendered backgrounds aren't really there. Despite this, every location you're in looks absolutely gorgeous. You'll find yourself in pitiable hamlets, dark ruins, flying castles, and more. I believe these were all hand drawn too, which is pretty sweet.

Lastly is the big magic. Whenever a mage casts a very powerful magic spell (like Carnage Anthem or something), a damn FMV is shown!! There are a bunch of these too, so the work they put into this is really admirable.
GRAPHICS: 9.5/10

SOUNDS:
First I will talk about the music. If you thought the music in Star Ocean 2 was good, then Valkyrie Profile's music is magnificent. There are over 70 tracks (you can listen to them all in the main menu) and they each last quite awhile. The best word I can think of to describe the soundtrack is majestic—each track sounding like it could've been composed for an orchestra.

The sound effects in VP also sound really nice. If you've read my reviews before, you might be able to tell that I don't really care about the sound effects…and this isn't much different. The big magic attacks sound cool, but everything else sounds like you'd expect it to sound.

Like SO2, Enix used voice actors for Valkyrie Profile. They must've gotten the message that a lot of the voices in SO2 were pretty craptastic because the voices are, for the most part, very well done in VP. Of course there are a couple bad eggs (Grey sounds like the guy who talks during a movie preview… seriously, he does!), but overall well done.
SOUNDS: 9/10

GAMEPLAY:
…wow…
GAMEPLAY: 10/10

Just kidding. Yes, that is the score I will give to the gameplay. But why? Read on.

You control Lenneth Valkyrie in the mortal world (Midgard), as I said before. The first thing you must do is press the Start button for your spiritual concentration. This tells you where you must go to advance. There are two possibilities: you will either venture into a dungeon to rid it of evil or you will witness the death of a warrior and recruit him/her to train for Asgard. When you find out where you must go, you fly there via the world map.

When recruiting a new character, you simply sit back and watch…sniff…how that character dies. However, in a dungeon it's much different. You will run on a 2-D plain, where monsters, treasures, and puzzles abound. You can walk/run (duh), jump, slash your sword, and shoot out crystals. The crystals have many uses…you can build platforms, freeze monsters you want to avoid, etc. The sword can be used to solve puzzles, but much more importantly you must slash at the roaming enemies to initiate battle with them. If they come in contact with you, you'll have the disadvantage in battle. Gasp! There are battles?! In an RPG?!? What's that all about?!

Yes, of course. The battles in VP are some of the most original and engrossing ones you'll ever play in an RPG. You can have up to four characters in your party at once (Valkyrie is always in), and each is assigned a button. There are warriors and mages. The warriors can attack enemies up to three times, depending on their weapon. Mages use a magic attack if you choose to press their button. The strategy you must come up with in battle is insane, because every attack is different.

Every time you hit an enemy, a meter will rise. When it gets to 100, your character(s) have the opportunity to use a special attack. All the mages have the same ones (but there are many, as I said above), but each warrior has his/her own. For example, one of my favorites is probably Suo's, where he slashes an enemy and causes crystal stalagmites to rise up from the ground and hit them. If the meter gets back to 100, you can go have another character use a special. This continues until you don't reach 100 or you use all four characters' specials. Very fun. One problem (that's very small) is that Valkyrie's special attack lasts very long…and it's the one you will have to watch the most. I don't know, it didn't bug me too much, but some of you might get impatient.

After battle, when a character levels up, you can improve him/her even more. They gain “capacity points” to spend on improving their stats, giving them special skills, or to add to their “Hero Value.” Hero Value is an important part of VP because all the dead men and women you recruit must have a sufficient Hero Value to be allowed in Valhalla to fight the Vanir. It will start off as negative, and as you level up and spend your CP on certain traits, their value will go up.

Which brings me to my next topic. Freya gives you requests for certain warriors to fight in Asgard. For example, she may say she needs someone who is a great swimmer. Well, you have hopefully recently recruited the mermaid character (won't give anything away), which means she will be a great choice to send up to Asgard. Depending on how well you match Freya's requests, the situation in the war will change.

Oh, and I must not forget—there is a time limit in VP. HEY! Come back here! Don't stop reading yet—it's an important part of the gameplay, and it really isn't bad at all! There are eight chapters, each with a certain amount of periods. Every time you use your spiritual concentration or enter a dungeon, two periods are used. Every time you go into a town (to recruit a character or just to check it out), one period is used. So if I use spiritual concentration and go recruit a character, then that means that I have just used up three periods. The amount of periods in each chapter depends on which difficulty setting you're playing on, by the way. Oh, and depending on which difficulty you're playing on, the characters/dungeons/endings may change as well.

Okay, back to the time limit. Once you've finished a chapter, Freya summons you and let's you check up on the dead people you've sent up to Valhalla (hopefully no one has been killed in battle!). She additionally rates your performance and updates you on the war. Lastly, she gives you her requests that I told you about before. When you're finished with her, you start on the next chapter. When all the chapters are finished, it is time for the finale! Why would I tell you anything about that, though?

One last gameplay element I must talk about is the camp menu. You will spend a ton of time here. Instead of shops, for example, you must use “divine creation” where you spend “materialize points.” Basically, it's a shop and you use money…but since you're a goddess, it's different. In the camp menu you'll also manage your party members, send any up to Valhalla if you wish, save/load your game, and use items (which there are a ton of). Honestly, I even had a good time in the camp menu…and that's saying something.

As you can see, Enix worked long and hard in developing Valkyrie Profile. This is one of the deepest RPGs you'll ever play without question. I don't care who you are, can you really say that the gameplay here is shallow? Especially with over twenty characters to play as, you'll have an amazing experience playing through this game in its entirety. Definitely some of the most original and most FUN gameplay out there. Take the time to get the hang of it (it may take awhile), and you'll be engrossed like never before.
GAMEPLAY: 10/10

LASTING APPEAL:
Alright, I've had this game since it came out, and I STILL play it. I've had so many replays of VP that I've lost count. Once you beat Easy mode, you'll immediately want to play Medium. Once you beat that, you'll want to play Hard mode. You will try to get all three endings. And at the end of every game there is the immense bonus dungeon that truly challenges your VP skill. Hell, you may even spend hours just trying to complete your voice collection! This game has lasted longer for me than almost every other game I've ever played. I've played a lotta games, too. So there. Buy this game (if you can afford it…HA!) and you WON'T regret it for a second. IT WILL LAST FOREVER.
LASTING APPEAL: 10/10

OVERALL:
How can a game based around death be so beautiful? Valkyrie Profile is without a doubt one of the most creative videogames ever made, and I can say that I truly am thankful that I own it. Lenneth's journey(s), the places you go, and the people whose tragic deaths you witness will be things that you never forget.
OVERALL: 10/10

Thanks for reading =)

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/15/06