Valkyrie Profile

THE BAD:
While the special attacks are impressive the first three or four times you see them, the other 3470980237498567237 times they play you'll want to hurl your Playstation into the nearest river. A lack of a way to skip them really makes long battles tedious. The story is good and the play fairly linear and straight forward with enough wiggle room to do what you like here and there, but the artificial time limit imposed feels at times like a strangle-hold on optional areas or items. Also concerning the story, if you were not told beforehand or if you did not investigate yourself, you could play the entire game without knowledge of the secret areas, characters, or the best ending, and be rewarded with a very disappointing and mediocre ending. The time constraints can also be put to blame here, as if you dilly-dally around to much, you will lose important characters or events entirely. The 2-D map system for dungeons and towns can be frustrating at times, and in some instances, can prevent the access of items in plain view entirely. No explination of the item system, or purchasing system can leave new players confused and perplexed at first, though this issue soon dissapates. The battle system, without proper explination, can also leave newer players confused, though brief experimentation can solve this issue as well.

SUMMARY:
I am reluctant to reveal too much about this game, because with proper exploration and careful navigation, it can prove to be one of the most rewarding and, frankly, exhausting gaming experiences you will likely have. It is in no way perfect, and can cause general degrees of frustration ranging from mild annoyance to severe and dangerous homocidal behavior. For example, in Lezard Valeth's tower, the big dungeon area of chapter 4 (last chapter of the first disk), the access to the big boss and the resolution of the story thus far lies in a circular teleportation disk on the floor, which takes you from one point to the next. However, these disks are called, "Transfering equipment," when the process of sending the Einherjar to Valhalla is also called Transfering, and the use of the word equipment is just even more vexing. Does it mean equipment for any last-minute transfers of characters before the final fight? Or maybe the transformation of your items and weapons in bigger, better items before you take on the big baddie? This is just one example of the many ways this game is capable of frustrating you.

Another issue I have is in regards to the special attacks, or clinchers. They are stunningly powerful attacks and range from simple dragon trasnformations to elaborate, deadly dances with blades. All good, right? Well, yes, in theory. The fact is, they all run on the lengthy side, or I should say, if all four characters' clinchers are used (an impressive sight, damage-wise), you can expect to spend the next two minutes of your life watching a bunch of potentially epileptic volitile special attacks being unleashed upon your hapless enemies. Since you can't skip these all-too-common attacks, and are instead forced to watch them over and over, you could very well find yourself turning the game off after too many fights...

However! This game should not be judged just for its faults, nono! On the contrary, I just wanted to get my grievances out of the way so I could begin my praise.

If you played and loved Star Ocean: The Second Story like I did, there is no doubt in my mind that you will love and enjoy Valkyrie Profile. If you loved the music in Star Ocean: The Second Story, you'll love the music here. The music for each area and event is very appropriate, and I can't remember a single moment of wishing to turn down the volume. The artwork and character portraits during dialogue are simply amazing to behold, and really help the player connect to the sprites on screen in a way that could not have been possible without them. Bravo on the artwork, bravo! The characters themselves are impressivley human, even when they are not supposed to be as is the case of Valkyrie, Freya, Frei, Odin, and the rest. This fact, coupled with the opportunity to see each character's motivations, past, and personality during their individual "selection," so to speak, really pulls the player into the character's mindset, and helps the player decide which characters they are going to keep to the bitter end, and which characters are going to end up Aesir fodder. As far as the story goes, it's certainly enjoyable, gripping even, and, well...I just can't come up with enough good things to say about it, so, just know that it's worthwhile.

Oh yeah, another small problem...Enix took creative lisence when they made this game, and changed up a good amount of the Norse myths to suit their needs. While this is certainly within their rights, it bothered me, so, I'd like to set the record straight.

First off, the Vanir are NOT the main enemies of the gods as said in VP. There are two types of gods, the Aesir or warrior gods, and the Vanir or fertility gods. For a long time they lived in peace, but they did in fact engage in war, which devestated Asgard and ended in a mutual truce and the exchange of three of each sides' leaders. Freya and her BROTHER, not sister, Frei were two of the Vanir who were sent, and the names of the Aesir who were sent escape me. After this the two factions lived in perfect harmony and the distinctions between the gods became virtually pointless.

Second, as I said above, Frei was in fact Freya's brother, not sister, and the two were beautiful fertility gods. This is a minor issue.

Third, Odin in fact only had one eye. He was also almost always in a grey cloak and wore a steepled hat to hide his eyes from those he did not trust or was trying to trick. He was always accompanied by his two ravens on this throne, Thought and Memory. He was NOT a half-elf, and was in fact one of three brothers born to the first generation of frost giants. His brothers' names were Vili and Ve. Odin himself was not a frost giant, for reasons that escape me, but he was in fact the father and creator of all the subsequent gods and goddesses and lifeforms after him, along with his brothers Vili and Ve, and because Vili and Ve seem to disappear from all norse myths after the creation myth, it was Odin that was called the All-Father.

Fourth, the elves were not vessles of the gods, and as far as myths go, elves and the filthy smiths the dwarves were pretty much interchangable. They did not guard Yggdrasil.

Fifth, there were not just three Valkyries. There were a bunch, and they had names like Shrieking, Battle-ready, Axe-Hurler, Shouting, and a bunch of other names I don't remember.

Other than those issues, everything in the game is fairly accurate. Since I don't have anything else to say about the game, though, I'll simply end this review, and say that this game is a worthwhile experience, and should definately be played by all self-respecting RPG-fanboys.