Valkyrie Profile Lenneth is a glorious enhanced port of a Masterpiece of a game from the PSX era.
Genre: RPG
Developer: Tri-Ace/Squareenix
System: Playstation Portable (PSP)
Total Score: 93/100
Value Score: 9.3/10
• Story: 10/10
o Valkyrie Profile Lenneth's storyline takes place in between the realms of Midgard mostly but also takes place in other locations such as Nilfheim and Asgard. You play as Lenneth Valkyrie who has awoken after a long rest - she is told to collect honorable souls for Ragnarok a upcoming war event that will decide the fate of the Aesir against the Vanir. Throughout the game you will be put up in multiple storylines some of which are mandatory and others which are optional and wont affect the overall gameplay or the storyline. Depending on how you play and who you pick to keep or send away will however affect the overall ending sequence. The storyline is mixed with all sorts of drama, action, and tragedy. You will surely feel sorry for some of the characters and will embrace a sentimental hatred towards others - a lot of emotion is placed in the storyline which is well done for a game of its time and nature.
• Characters: 9/10
o You mainly play as Lenneth Valkyrie a "Death goddess" who is given the task to recruit souls who will fight for you in Ragnarok. There are about over 15 characters who are playable that can and will join you throughout your adventure. Amongst those characters are several supporting characters which will play a role in that particular character's storyline both beginning and the end of their storylines. You also have a army of several enemies and many NPCs you can interact and fight with throughout the game some of which will affect the storyline in a minor or major way. Overall the storylines of the characters are like a medieval drama, well done with the atmosphere of the game.
• GamePlay: 10/10
o Valkyrie Profile's gameplay is a turn based RPG system however it is unique compared to other RPGs. VPL's battle system depends on a combo system where you can attack the enemies in several ways based around the 4 buttons which you are given: Triange, Square, Circle and X. Depending on the weapon of the character or the skill you can do several types of combos of attacks which can stack up to create a bar which in the end if filled up can be used to unleash super attacks which can deal enormous amount of damage to a target. Some of the combos also help you break through a enemy's shield or defense as well. Strategy will be key in the game as well as you cant target some of the enemies such as the ones in the back unless you have a weapon like a bow. Other enemies can only be defeated through combos, supers or even magic. Outside of battle you are given the task to travel through the world to acquire souls to fight for you - most of the characters are optional but beneficial for the journey. You are limited to a certain number of periods and chapters - with each chapter having a limit of 24 periods. Visiting a town or a dungeon will reduce the amount of periods you have by 2 or 3 depending on the location. You can also sacrifice a few periods to recover HP or status. Throughout the game you will receive items from dungeons however you have the choice to give it up to Odin who will give you points in return (which affects the overall storyline) or the option to keep them to use them as much as you need but by sacrificing the points and losing points. Some weapons in the game are breakable and most of the items you will buy after getting Mana points (which are given through the end of each chapter depending on who you sent and what you did in each chapter) or by transforming items into Mana points. Mana points are you currency in the game and you have a limit of 99 of each item to purchase per game.
• Graphics: 9/10
o VPL's visuals are nicely done with gorgeous environment designs filled with 2D Sprites whom are well drawn in during talking scenes and in game are perfected to the core in detail. It is as if you are reading a epic story with pictures. The animations are nicely done and were the best looking models for a 2D game of the era at the time (PSX era) and is nicely edged out on the PSP version. An exclusive feature to the PSP version is the ability to see CG cutscenes similar to the Final Fantasy series rather than actual in game engine cutscenes like in the original game.
• Sound: 9/10
o VPL uses basic sound effects almost similar to the Star Ocean series since the sound producer is the same person. You'll notice many similarities and even repeats of sound effects. Although where the game truly shines in the sound department is the voice acting. The voice acting is quite impressively done with each character both major and minor having unique voices. Although there were some parts where some of the voices were annoying, it isnt as bad as most other games made by Tri-Ace. The voice acting truly lives up to the epic feeling of the storyline overall.
• Music: 10/10
o VPL's music is designed by Motoi Sakuraba who also did the music for the Star Ocean and Tales Of series. Like the Star Ocean series and the other games he had worked on the songs are usually either very upbeat or very sad in tune and is quite nicely done especially in this game where a lot of drama and tragedy occurs. There's also some tracks from the Star Ocean series that are in this game which another plus to be mentioned.
• Length: 8/10
o Valkyrie Profile Lenneth's length of time should take you anywhere around 20-35 hours depending on the difficulty and what paths you take and how long you grind for as well. There will be times where you will be traveling through dungeons and exploring through the towns of the world and interacting with a few NPCs again later parts in the game again and again which overall adds to the length of the game. There are 8 chapters or sections in the game which are divided into 24 periods each so overall 192 periods which each town or dungeon visit takes anywhere between 2-3 periods each. The amount of time taken in each location does not affect the overall number of periods used however. There are also three endings which you can achieve in the game and there will be exclusive characters and dungeons depending on what difficulty you play as so if you are looking for a game that will take you at least two playthroughs this is the game.
• Replay Value: 9/10
o There are three main endings depending on what you do, who you recruited and what you did optional storyline wise to the point of affecting your evaluation points (which overall affects interaction with the Aesir and changes the ending). There are also three different difficulty modes: Easy, Normal and Hard all of which have their own dungeons and characters added as you go up higher in difficulty. There are also points where you might not meet a certain character in one chapter but meet them in another on each playthrough so each experience is different. Along with all that you also have the freedom to go through a extra dungeon which is unlocked as soon as you beat the game at least once which offers a extension of difficulty like no other similar to the Star Ocean games.
• Player Value: 9/10
o Valkyrie Profile Lenneth is well made remake/enhanced port of the PSX Classic Valkyrie Profile which was released about 10 years or so ago. Even with the time passed this game has aged gloriously and the newly added CG Cutscenes make the game's value even more worth it. You will fall in love with the unique combat system which focuses on combos, the drama filled storyline with a lot of suspense, beautiful visuals and music and a decent amount of replay ability for a game of its age. This game is highly recommended for anyone who loves Japanese games, RPGs, and are interested in Norse Mythology.