- PSP ››
- RPG ››
- Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth
- August 03, 2006 12:22 PM PST
- Email this!
Valkyrie Profile's world is filled with mysticism and an enriching storyline. But do you have the patience to take on the confusing and slow gameplay?
- GamePro Score
- User Score
- Write your review!
Protip: Special attacks are based on the character's element, which can be useful against specific monsters.
Once upon a distant-past, when the original PlayStation was king of all the lands, an RPG called Valkyrie Profile was released in North America to little fanfare. It was treated rather poorly by the people of the land and soon disappeared off store shelves; today, a few copies still live on in the magical land of EBay, though you'll have to pay a king's ransom to own it. Thankfully, the good folks at Square Enix decided to re-release the game for Sony's PlayStation Portable, giving fans both new and old a chance to visit the Norse lands of Midgard and Asgard again.
To My Side, My Noble Einherjar
One thing that might draw any gamer, RPG fan or not, to Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, is the absolutely stunning art. The cut scenes more than live up to Square-Enix's reputation for amazing CG graphics and the in-game sprites and environments are detailed and pleasing to the eye. Gamers will also find themselves immersed in the storyline which finds its inspiration from Norse mythlogy. Players step into the role of the Valkyrie Lenneth, who must raise an army of souls gathered from fallen warriors to fight by her side in the coming Armageddon known as Ragnarok. It's a lot to get your head around but the story does make for a rich experience, provided you can get past the over-wrought dialogue first.
Protip: Fill up your Special Attack meter to unleash high damage attacks.
It's the end of the world as we know it
We also had trouble with the game's confusing quest system. Lenneth must go to several different destinations to collect the souls of warriors but is given a limited amount of time, called periods (keep the jokes to yourself, please), to do so. Let enough periods pass by and Ragnarok arrives. It can catch unprepared gamers, well, unprepared and the ending is affected by how well you progress, so you may end up with a less than desirable ending; it's a rather poor reward for all the time you'll have invested in the game up to that point. This takes a lot away from the game's appeal and could lead to a lot of frustration for gamers without a Zen-like sense of patience.
Happily ever after?
Valkyrie Profile does manage to set itself apart from other RPGs with its unique navigation and battle system and its complex story held us in thrall for long stretches. However, its steep learning curve and the overly convoluted quest system makes it fall short of what could have been a first-rate title, though it may be worth considering simply for the fact that quality role-playing games for the PSP are few and far between.
