A Covenant For The Fans
A charismatic and sometimes difficult game in the Valkyrie Profile series, for the hardcore and fan.
Storyline: I liked it. It is somewhat simple, but with a dark tone that you don't see in many games. I also liked the many paths you can go with the story, which kinda forces you to play through the game three times (though the last two plays are very quickly because you keep your equipment and items from previous game). It is interesting seeing the events through different perspectives and even participating and changing them on each playthrough.
Graphics and Sound: The graphics are ok. Nothing excellent, but nothing terrible either. I love the character design (I also love Langrey's castle room design, with his throne on the top. Very beautiful!). I wish SE North America had included the voices for the cutscenes like in the Japanese version (and they actually SHOULD HAVE put them since we are paying FULL $40 price tag on the game. Shame on you, SE!). I do like the voices in the battle though they are only a few. I also love dearly the soundtrack; having played Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth on the PSP, I could recognize many pieces from said game. Motoi's compositions are always welcome, though I didn't find any battle theme that surpassed Star Ocean 4's "Don't Be A Hero", my favorite of all time from Motoi.
Gameplay: This is where the game shines, but also has a serious flaw. I like a lot the gameplay's concept and execution; having to gather the sin thingy is very cool and challenging. Implementing new strategies and gameplay while maintaining the series combat system was very sweet and well done. The only thing that really ticked me off was the instances in which you had to rescue someone. Those were TERRIBLY implemented and the game's AI just ruined it. Thankfully, there are only a few of those throuhought the game, however, it is still very annoying having to start over the same battle until you get it right. For instance, in one of those kind of battles I had to restart it 5 times even though I was using all the game knowledge and skills in my favor. It all came down to LUCK of getting on battle in which one of the monsters wouldn't target the person I needed to rescue, but my characters so that I could fulfill the battle's condition.
Overall, the game is amazing, despite the above situation. Maybe they could have also made better character sprites and scenarios, but like I said, it is still very pleasant to the eyes.
