Earlier installments: · Valkyrie Profile · Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth · Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria · Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume Last seen in: 2009 Publisher: Square Enix

Valkyrie Profile Those reading this feature are probably curious about how Valkyrie Profile fits as a game left adrift, considering it had a new installment in 2009. When the DS game Covenant of the Plume was announced, the hope of many was that it would be Valkyrie Profile 3, and instead it turned out to be something that many fans either loved beyond the face of the earth, or hated and called a slap in the face to the series. Which side of the fence you're on is completely up to you, but as the site's resident hardcore Valkyrie Profile fan, Covenant of the Plume's potential was excting. Instead of that potential being realized, we received a guy with some severely annoying daddy issues out to kill a Valkyrie because lo and behold he wants his daddy back, dammit. Released in 2000, the original Valkyrie Profile holds a lot of childhood memories for me. It was a game I begged my mother to buy me when I was younger. It was also a game that pulled my mother and me together, as she'd sit and watch me play it and ask me how I felt about the ongoing story. The vignettes presented in the game are powerful, memorable, and is are a shining example of an RPG that has a strong, sentimental story to tell. There's so much beauty to be experienced, from the well-crafted story and tragic characters, to the watercolour backdrops and excellent score. Piecing together Lenneth's memories, while feeling the hopelessness of Midgard, to seeing a war waged by the gods, Valkyrie Profile's plot is what kept me playing, so much so that I've played the game seven times on different occasions, and continue to feel connected to the characters and their tragedies. The sequel, Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria, while not as strong in terms of story as its predecessor, refined the original game's button-mashing battle system to something more strategic, creating a battle system that allowed for free movement around the map, and more chances for frequent overkills. Silmeria, though a prequel to Lenneth, does work in terms of story: what it lacked was the emotional impact of the vignettes, though in exchange players were given the touching, if slightly disturbing Alicia as their protagonist to sympathize with, and inside her lies the soul of the Valkyrie Silmeria. The exchange between the two characters really drives the story, and coupled with the game's battle system, makes the game worth playing. The only drawback is the game's difficulty, which is unbalanced throughout. Although Covenant of the Plume is considered a part of the series, it had an angle that could have been executed well if Wilfred had been a better written protagonist. The game has plenty of replayability, but lacks a cast of characters to care about, and the ability to murder your party members as one see fits to make battles a complete breeze. It's disappointing to think this game came out last year and is the next installment of my beloved childhood franchise, and I can only hope that the rumors of a PlayStation 3 installment that is linked back to Lenneth and Silmeria are true. Seriously, I want a game starring Hrist... she gets no love. What I most desire, however, is another game in the series in the same vein as Lenneth and Silmeria, that brings the series back to its plot-driven roots, or take Covenant of the Plume and remaster the story into something that's worth giving a damn about. &mdash Sam "Nyx" Marchello Can a new game happen? Series Highlights Yes Valkyrie Profile & Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth (PSP Remake) « Back | Next »