Brilliantly bizarre.
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth is a remake of an obscure PS1 JRPG cult classic, Valkyrie Profile. The original PS1 game is incredibly hard to find (and ridiculously priced, if you do find a copy) -- so credit to Square-Enix for re-releasing an underrated classic on a current platform.
Even if you’re accustomed to JRPG mechanics, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth is going to throw you some curve balls. It combines side-scrolling platforming with semi-active turn-based battles and a surprisingly mature storyline based in Norse mythology. Got that? Perfect.
The game makes no sense and total sense at the same time. You basically play a soul recruiter to the gods, scanning the world for promising mortals who have recently died. Each character has their own tale of woe, and you add them to your stable of characters after a story sequence plays out, always culminating in their tragic death. It’s a grim way to play through a 40-some-hour JRPG. There are some intermingling storylines among characters and a deeper storyline to your own character, along with three separate endings. While it’s all told through non-interactive cutscenes, it’s literate, mature and engaging for the most part.
Character and skill customization is deep and varied, with a massive weapon database, crafting and a core sampler of useful spells. Combat itself is fast-paced and lightly tactical. Your active party includes four characters, any of which can attack at the same time, if you press your buttons fast enough. In fact, most of VP:L’s combat is about racking up combination attacks simultaneously with your characters. Time things correctly, and you can unleash a series of power attacks (i.e. limit breaks from FF) that then, themselves, can be timed and chained together. It’s an active system that keeps combat moving with a minimum of menus or waiting for turns, plus lots of tactical options.
Dungeon-crawling is a light side-scrolling platforming affair, with generic monster blobs representing potential battles and a lot of free-wheeling climbing and exploration by using a series of crystals you can shoot out and use as steps to otherwise inaccessible locations to hunt down bonus treasure. Dungeon design itself is genius -- there are plenty of straight hack-n-slash corridors, but also dungeons that: 1.) Enforce a time limit -- if you don’t complete the dungeon in time, it shoots you out to the beginning; 2.) A “Rubik’s Cube” style dungeon that rotates its rooms as you progress; 3.) A underwater dungeon that requires filling and draining passages to access different areas at different times; and 4.) A dungeon in the heavens -- if you miss a platform, you literally fall out and back into the overview map. The dungeon designs are one of the VP:L’s high points. Each is tightly designed around a simple storyline in each location with beautiful backdrop visuals and fun, simple platforming.
It’s worth saying that VP:L is a difficult, awkward game with unique gameplay styles. Using a FAQ is almost mandatory b/c the game itself does a poor job of explaining concepts and technique. Some of the dungeons can also be extremely difficult to navigate without outside help, and some boss battles extremely difficult to solve without outside tactical advice. If you’re a trial-and-error player, you’ll have more than you can chew on. If you just want to enjoy the game, a number of excellent FAQs will relieve you some headaches.
If you like JRPGs in the slightest, it’s easy to recommend Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. It’s the best RPG currently on PSP and a imaginative, utterly unique spin on a well-worn genre.
