One of the true tests of a classic is the ability to still be an enjoyable experience years after it’s time.
Since acquiring my PSP, I haven’t really played many new games. In fact, nearly every game I own is a remake.
I picked up Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth when I was at the EBGames saturday. Valkyrie Profile is one of my favorite games, and perhaps one of the last Enix titles to be released before the merger with Squaresoft, so it still felt like an Enix title.
While it’s technically a remake, there isn’t any new content. It’s basically a port that has been remastered to display on a wide screen, with some CGI FMV’s thrown in for good measure. For someone like myself who was a fan of the original game, it was quite a treat.
VP was revolutionary in terms of story and gameplay. While it was still turn-based combat, you were able to control all your characters simultaneously and create custom combos. Each character is associated with a button, and pressing that button triggers the attack, so battle is played out more dynamically without losing the strategy of turn-based combat.
Unlike your typical ’save-the-world’ storyline, or the ‘I’m-too-badass-to-save-the-world’ storyline, VP let you play as a god. More specifically, the goddess Lenneth Valkyrie (based on Norse Mythology). Lenneth is something of a psychopomp, only instead of guiding the souls she takes to the afterlife, she trains them to fight in Ragnarok (the Norse apocaplypse).
Instead of the ‘go here, get stopped by obstacle, do dungeon, advance plot, repeat’ scheme, it’s more open-ended. You meditate to reveal worthy souls and sources of corruption on Midgard (Earth), and you go to witness their final moments and cleanse the corruption.
Time is kept in ‘periods.’ Visiting places in Midgard take up periods. A typical game has a set amount of periods based on the difficulty mode. When the periods are up, the final battle takes place.
You can spend your time gathering souls and following the storyline, or simply running through various dungeons. So if you already played through the game and just want the experience of the fighting and adventure, you can forego most of the plot.
Rendered in fluid 2d graphics, the game aged well since it came out. Unlike early 3d that looks blocky and primitive, the late-era 2d graphics still look amazing. Add to that the brilliant orchestrated compositions by Motoi Sakuraba (of Star Ocean fame), and it ends up being a rich experience.
So, if you have the means to either pick up a copy of Valkyrie Profile for PS1, or Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth for the PSP, I highly suggest doing so.
Zel-kun out.
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