A stunning, captivating and immersive RPG that includes magnificent plot and spectacular cast of characters.
Before I start the review I would like to give you some background info on Norse Mythology. Valkyrie profile, as mentioned before, is loosely based on Norse Mythology as the names and events are closely related to the mythology but not entirely accurate. The story involves the gods of Asgard such as Odin, Thor, Loki, Hel, and Freya. Norse mythology originates from Scandinavian myths that include countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. The term Norse basically means Norwegian and the mythology is based on Icelandic origins. The story starts off introducing to you to the character of Lenneth, one of the three goddesses of fate in charge of the transmigration of souls. Lenneth's sisters Hrist and Silmeria are the other two goddesses of fate (the actual names are Urda, Verdani, and Skuld in true Norse Mythology). These goddesses, under the charge of Odin, are Valkyries (Battle Maiden's) that are responsible for scouting the battlefields of Midgard (Earth) to chose the honorable and brave warriors that have been slain in battle who then are to become Einherjar. Einherjar are warriors taken to Valhalla (palace of Odin) to fight alongside with Odin and the gods in the final battle against the giants. This final battle is known as Ragnarok.
Lenneth is summoned by Odin and Freya (Odin's second in command) to Valhalla and is commanded to go to Midgard to chose slain warriors for the upcoming battle, Ragnorok. As Lenneth Valkyrie your task is to search out these slain warriors and send them to Odin. During the game you encounter many characters that you will add to your team and as you fight your battles you can use up to three additional characters alongside Lenneth. Each character has their own fighting style, weapons and special moves. The game consists of eight chapters with a set number of "periods" between the chapters. During each chapter you are recruiting and sending characters to Odin by chapters end then are evaluated based on the set criteria for each warrior that has been requested of you by Freya. Without getting too complicated you need to increase the level and characteristics of each particular warrior before sending them and this is what makes VP so engaging. Each character abilities that need to be developed and each character adds to the plot of the game making for an immersive and unique gaming experience.
The world of Valkyrie Profile is majestic, magnificent, and beautiful as you encounter many characters, and journey to many wondrous and mysterious places that contribute to the plot of the game. Based on your decisions and the types of characters you recruit you will affect the outcome of the plot line and the ending of the game. Without getting to much into detail I will say that in order to fully enjoy VP: Lenneth you will need to select HARD mode and play through more than once. This game offers endless playtime simply because there are so many characters involved in the game for you to explore and develop and the story takes you to many different twists and turns that it's impossible to just play the first time through and experience everything VP: Lenneth has to offer.
The voice acting is spectacular, although in some areas there are moments where it falls flat for the most part it is well done and added character and life to the game. The music/soundtrack for this game is memorable, and very epic. I found the music to add to the tone and atmosphere of this game immensely. Each town, place, battle and situation had it's own theme that corresponded to the music and was well coordinated with the gameplay. Along with the voice acting the music added such depth and realism to the game that it does not bore you and always kept you wanting to play to divulge deeper into this wonderous game. The characters themselves each have their own story and when it was time for you to accept them into your group you were fully informed of their situation and status and immediately formed a bond with each and everyone of them.
The graphics was nothing sort of spectacular, for a game that was made 6 years ago it displayed some very unique and breathtaking scenery. Many of the places that you visit had detailed graphical interpretations that left you pausing the game to admire the background and absorb the overall atmosphere that you were in. For a 2D game the graphics were nothing short of magnificent and many would disagree with me here but I found the graphics to portray the tone and atmosphere of the game very well. Combine this with the music and voice acting you have a game that submerges you into the world of gods and humans and takes your breath away at each and every minute you play. Added to the fact that the PSP version has additional FMV (full motion video) incorporated into the original game you are left to wonder how beautiful the world of Valkyrie Profile can even get any more better than what it is already.
The game play is pretty much straight forward, each button (triangle, square, circle and X) correspond with your characters and you press these buttons to perform a myriad of attacks and combos unleashing special moves based on the combination attacks that you perform during the battle. Each and every character has special moves (and you have over 20 characters to chose from ) with in battle voice acting that will leave you to experiment with different attacks, magic and weapons to discover these moves and voice commands. The game also comes with a voice library which you can build by activating each characters voices that are used in the game. So as you encounter new characters and hear their voices used in the game your library will grow until you have a collection of voices for your review at a press of a button. Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth is an original game that has left me speechless in wonder and awe. I highly recommend this game for any RPG fan as it is the most underrated and overlooked RPG that I have come across.
The replay value of this game is endless, and I mean that literally because even after you finish the game there is a dungeon that you can go through that allows you to fight bosses than then add them to your team to complete the dungeon. So bosses that you've encountered during the game can be playable at this point in the final dungeon, furthermore you are treated to newer and powerful weapons as well. Not only is the replay value endless it provides you with the opportunity to explore other characters that you may have missed during the game and develop them just to see how they fight, talk, and perform their various special attacks via various spells and weapons. Again if you are an RPG fan you owe it to yourself to pick this game up, especially if you own a PSP. This game is a must and it will definitely be a worthy addition to your collection. Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth a perfect 10.