Valkyrie Profile 2 Review

Seven long years after Square Enix and Tri-Ace' Valkyrie Profile first appeared on the PSone, a much anticipated sequel finally makes a long-overdue European appearance on the PlayStation2. Despite the wait for a sequel to a game widely regarded as a genuine masterpiece, Valkyrie Profile 2 Silmeria provides a similar experience to its previous generation predecessor, but features a number of strange omissions that leave a few questions.

Wrapped in Norse mythology and providing an enthralling blend between action and RPG with truly unique touches, Valkyrie Profile 2 carries on the tradition laid out by its predecessor, a gamer's game that will have RPG fanatics savouring one of the last remaining highlights in the European PS2 schedule.

Following the story of the Valkyrie Silmeria, Valkyrie Profile 2 takes place one hundred years before the events of the original. One of three Valkyries on Midgard tasked to recover the souls of fallen warriors and deliver them to Valhalla, Simleria finds herself cast outside of Odin's inner-circle after disobeying his orders and punished with reincarnation as a mortal on the realm of Midgard. A mistake in the process however leaves Simeria trapped within the body of Princess Alicia of Dupan. Fearing that an evil force possesses her daughter, the King locks the princess away and announces her death to the public.

Dealing with the issues of power, greed, and the continuous feud between the Aesir and Vanir, the underlying storyline carries the conviction you'd expect from a Square-Enix title with heavy Norse mythological undertones. Although it stands on its own and opens itself up to anybody who missed the original, there are plenty of nods and references for fans to appreciate and set the game out as a worthy follow-up.

Essentially an RPG, Valkyrie Profile 2, like the original, plays very differently to the Final Fantasies and Dragon Quests of the RPG fold. Sticking with the 2D side-scrolling dynamic for dungeon and city exploration, Valkyrie Profile 2 finds itself in the odd position of creating a fresh experience by using a gameplay style that has largely been left in the past. During these sections, Alicia can take advantage of her Proton ability to trap the wandering souls in crystals of ice. Trapped temporarily, Alicia can push these to progress in a platforming manner, or teleport to their position to solve some of the game's dilemmas.

Whereas the original Valkyrie Profile focused upon retrieving Einherjar to send to Valhalla, the sequel changes things quite considerably. No longer loyal to Odin, Silmeria's task centres on the need to reincarnate the Einherjar trapped within her at the time of her exile; but instead of sending them to Odin and Valhalla, she chooses to resurrect them in their previous mortal state on the realms of Midgard. Beyond an obvious insult to Odin, reincarnating the souls as mortal beings in Midgard plays a significant role as these characters will pop up to provide assistance and unique items to Alicia throughout the game.

Instead of being free to choose when Einherjar are sent away like the original, they're automatically reincarnated back to Midgard after achieving a certain level of experience. Although it works well in the context of the storyline, the decision to change this aspect of the game seems a strange one and chips away from one of the original's most striking qualities. Another odd decision surrounds the decision to remove the cut-scenes detailing the last moments before an Einherjar's death. Valkyrie Profile 2 allows little more then a few lines of text to explaining the back-story of the various Einherjar after discovering an artefact linked to them in the game, stripping away the attachment felt in the original and making it much harder to distinguish amongst them.

The removal of Valkyrie Profile's most memorable features continues with the elimination of the Period system. Without the threat of Ragnarok (the big war) hanging in the background, Valkyrie Profile 2 removes the time constraints that were heavily imposed in the original. Although it makes for a more leisurely pace, it lends a more conventional feel to aspects such as grinding-up, story progression, and continues to restrict the genuinely creative appeal that its predecessor offered in abundance.

Far more important than levelling-up, Valkyrie Profile 2 continues the series tradition of imaginative weapon setups. Although the process of finding or buying new items and equipment is far more conventional than the original, the ability to learn new skills by linking colour-coded items and weapons on the equip screen and mastering them through experience is a touch of inspired depth and tactical variety. The Valued Customer system however is little less then collecting items to forge powerful weapons to pad out the experience.

Switching the action to 3D, it's easy to assume combat is little more than a simple one-button real-time button-bash. Assigning each of the four party characters to a face button, it's initially a case of wandering close to an opponent and unleashing a barrage (literally) of attacks. However, after a short while, you'll begin to appreciate the many subtle (and not so subtle) touches that Valkyrie Profile 2 offers. Bringing aspects of turn-based combat with the best of tactical RPG's and the more visceral action of a real-time setup, combat is inextricably linked to the AP gauge that governs actions and the crucial dash commands. Every action depletes the AP gauge, which essentially serves as the turn in more traditional RPGs, whilst time stands still when you're not moving or performing actions, providing the time to plan strategies without the fear of being attacked.

Whereas it's easy to jump in and button-bash like an arcade brawler, a planned attack based upon the strengths and weaknesses of the character's particular attack is far more likely to see you advancing beyond the first dungeon and the key to building the combo and unleashing special attacks. Restricted to three different attacks per character, choosing the correct line-up is key to creating combos and establishing a winning strategy. Further advanced strikes based around multiple-hit combos and destroying enemy parts come into play, adding a layer of gloss to a setup overflowing with depth and immediacy.

Arriving as a late entry to the PS2's vast catalogue (in Europe at least), it's no surprise that Valkyrie Profile 2 is a stunning title to behold. Switching to a more conventional 3D style, the technical accomplishments nonetheless manage to inspire in a time of cheap next-gen visual effects. Valkyrie Profile 2 brings together style and technical quality, handling beautifully detailed characters and environments with subtle depth-filtering and lighting effects.

With a no-expense spared attitude spared to the game's visuals, it's equally unsurprising to find a similar level of quality to the game's soundtrack and voice-acting. A highly charged and emotive soundtrack creates the atmosphere and emotions befitting a Japanese RPG, whilst the voice-acting is generally of a high standard despite some dubious lip-synching.