Overview
Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume is the third entry into the Square RPG series Valkyrie Profile, and the first one to be released on a non-Sony platform. The story follows a boy named Wilfred, who is trying to carry out his revenge against Lenneth (protagonist of the first Valkyrie Profile) for taking his father away to fight in the war taking place at Asgard. Fighting gods is not the easiest thing in the world, though, so Wilfred will be fighting an uphill battle for most of the game. The world of Valkyrie Profile is known for its political tales of states at war and strife among the gods, and this prequel attempts to explain where all the war, deceit, and strife originated from.
Gameplay
The battle system in Covenant of the Plume is slightly different from the first two games' systems. Before engaging in combat you and your enemies will take turns moving around a grid based map, SRPG-style. Whenever two units make contact, battle takes place.
Winning a battle in Covenant of the Plume revolves around surrounding enemies with numerous members of the party to engage in a combo attack. If other party members are within range, they will join in the attack without sacrificing their own turn. When combat occurs, any party member within range will have a chance to attack. Each character (out of four possible for each battle) has his or her attacks mapped to a single button on the DS. Timing each character's attacks is crucial, since damage stacks and counts towards an Overkill meter, which in turn adds Sin points to each battle's outcome. If a certain number of Sin points are met, additional loot is granted to the main character.
Covenant of the Plume employs a simple overhead point-to-point map system for its overworld. There are various towns and villages to visit for gossip and equipment. Gossip can lead to additional side-quests. Characters in your party can learn different tactics, techniques, and spells for use in combat. Most of these are learned through books earned in combat or bought at shops. Each character is given a certain amount of points to allocate skills of varying costs.
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