Valkyrie Profile (1999) Online

Ah, finally, I get to see "valkyrie profile" on the movie site, so I just can't refuse!

I think Lenneth Valkyrie, the main heroine of this game, is a very good, empowering role model for girl gamers, much better than Lara Croft or Tifa Lockhart. Lenneth is smart, takes crap from no one and stands up for what she believes is right. Yes, she does sort of wear a dress outfit, but hey, at least her bust is not the center of attention (unlike most video game heroines, who are just there for looks). I wish more RPG heroines would be like her.

And for once, the plot is (loosely) based on Norse/Teutonic mythology and Japanese history. Sort of how Akira Kurosawa would write Norse myths.It's also rather amusing when you send your dead-souls to Asgard and see his/her reaction to different events that are happening there.

But the part that really shines is the extremely fun gameplay, which is a hybrid of RPG and Platformer games. The exploration of towns and dungeons are in the style of platform games, but the fighting style is RPG styled. You pick magic, combo up and better yet, fight together and do your special moves called "Purify Weird Soul" that will send your enemies off to Nifelheim.

Oh, did I forget to mention that there are three different endings and different change styles?

Overall, Valkyrie Profile is a fun-addicting RPG with a powerful plot and a dominating no-nonsense female lead character. Enix, Tri-Ace, I salut you.

"Valkyrie Profile" had to be one of the best RPGs out there. From fun gameplay to wonderful character designs, VP has it. The plot follows a Valkyrie named Lenneth that serves Odin, Frey and Freya. To prove her worthiness, the Valkyrie must collect souls of the dying and purge the world of the undead.

The only disappointment I find is Ending A, the "best" ending. I mean are you so suppose to feel happy that she shuns all the ones that helped her and fall for a man (Lucio) that simply thinks of the past life and does nothing for her at all in the previous life? Lord how I hated Lucio. Sure, he maybe a strong fighter in your party, but he was such a useless whiner of a character that always lived in the past and sits on his hands throughout the whole game. Heck, Ending B and C made a lot more sense, even though they were simplistic endings, but far more tolerable.

Oh well, she did it anyway and it made for a terrible ending. Lenneth should have just thanked the people that helped her (yes, even the mad scientist Lezard, whom sacrificed elves just to make a body for her), and just moved on with saving Midgard and Asgard. Instead she decided not to only just ignore the people whom saved her from nearly dying at the hands of her evil sister Arlie, but to avenge the death of Lucio and bring him, out of all things back to life. And comparing most humanity to Lucio was just blowing it out of proportion even more.

"Yay! Not only do I save the worlds of the mortals and gods, I save the worthless loser that never lets his past go. HOORAY!" (If you can't tell, I was being sarcastic)

"Valkyrie Profile" is quite a well-writen and addictive game that is excellent relief from the plague of the repetitive "Final Fantasy" series or the akward "Megami Tensei" games (though Persona subseries was great).

It follows the tail of a Valkyrie on a quest to retrive souls of the recently departed and help them live in the afterlife of Valhallah. As she does this at commands of Frey, Freya and Odin, she suddenly meets a familiar faces of the past and must learn more about it.

The gameplay is quite fun too. Kinda like a combination of the "Rockman" series meets "Super Mario RPG", plus, really vivid graphics and character designs.

But the flaw of the game lies within the voice acting (of both English and Japanese version). The Japanese version, almost everyone sounds really too squeaky or high pitched. Though they use a few TV, as well as seiyuu voice actors and actresses, some stood out more than others, but TURN DOWN THE VOICE VOLUME! Unless you want to hear people talking in pseudo-baratone or pseudo-helium pitched voices. Though the English version is a little bit of an approvement, I feel that the English voice acting is better done in scenarios than it is in the battle fields, when things get quite grating and repetitive!

But other than so-so voice acting, Valkyrie Profile is a classic that stands the test of time.