Valkyrie

Overview

Valkyrie, often called by the German spelling Walküre , is the eponymous primary protagonist of the Legend of Valkyrie Action Adventure game series. While she shares the same name and to some degree aesthetic of the Norse mythology Valkyrie concept (including her signature Winged Helm), her origins and world are distinctly unique from them.

She is one of the oldest Prominent Female Protagonists in the history of video games, although she remains largely unknown in the West as Namco never released her titles outside of Japan until years after their initial release. Her franchise is also notable for having multiple instances of sequel in a different genre phenomenon (Action RPG - Action Adventure - Adventure - 2D side scrolling Action).

Appearances

Valkyrie would first appear in Valkyrie no Bouken: Toki no Kagi Densetsu, a top down Action RPG game which shares a very similar playstyle and mechanics to the original Legend of Zelda.

Valkyrie is a young shield maiden who lives in the sky and child of the Gods of Marvel Land. When trouble befalls the world below, she is dispatched literally tumbling to earth to save many peoples of Marvel Land, the humans, Sandra, Quarkmen and Tattas from the evil wizard Zouna.

While on her quest she encounters and befriends many of the unique races and people of Marvel Land, such as Kurino Sandra. Eventually she would defeat Zouna and restore peace to Marvel Land after traversing the globe. She would return to her home in the sky until she was needed once more.

Valkyrie would return to save Marvel Land a second time from an evil demon named Kamooz in the Action Adventure Valkyrie no Densetsu. Valkyrie's hair color and appearance changed significantly since her first game, settling into what would become her signature look going forward. In a departure from the Zelda influenced first game, Valkyrie no Densetsu's gameplay is centered on arcade style shooting across scrolling stages.

Valkyrie would next appear in the graphic adventure game Valkyrie no Densetsu Gaiden: Rosa no Bouken. In which she at the behest of a Goddess would accompany a young girl on a quest to save Marvel Land from a sky monster named Tōrushin. Unlike the previous games which focused solely on Valkyrie's exploits, Valkyrie would serve in the role of sidekick in this adventure.

The majority of Valkyrie's later and best known appearances in the West have come in cameo appearances in other Namco series games, such as the Tales series, in Namco crossover games such as Project X Zone and Valkyrie themed costumes in the Soul Calibur series.

In 2007 Valkyrie made her return to her own series in the Japanese only 2D Side scrolling mobile phone game Glory of Walküre and once more in its 2009 sequel Glory of Walküre 2.