Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria

It’s been a veritable famine of RPGs these past months, but several good ones will be served up this month. And what better way to start the feast than with Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria, a fabulous looking and sounding RPG based on Norse mythology.

Although Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria can be enjoyed as a stand-alone game, it is actually the prequel to the PS1’s Valkyrie Profile - which has recently been ported to the PSP under the name Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth – so no prior knowledge is needed. Most people do, though, know at least some of the stories of Odin, the valkyries and Valhalla, and VP2 takes its theme from these well-known myths and legends.

The main character, Alicia, is the timorous Princess of Dipan, who shares her body with the soul of the valkyrie, Silmaria, who - following a dispute with Oden - was exiled. The two personalities battle constantly for dominance, leading people to question Alicia’s sanity. But one night Silmeria takes charge and Alicia runs away from the Castle on a quest to find a divine artifact and to seek revenge on Odin for casting her out of the halls of Valhalla. During the journey Alicia gathers to her a handful of people whose stories become entwined with hers. As well as these people, Alicia is able to call forth Einherjar (souls of trapped warriors) from their weapons to become party members. It’s a good idea to use several of the Einherjar, not only because when you ‘set them free’ they give you some excellent weapons and armour, but also because the ‘humans’ will leave your party at some time through the game – a couple permanently.

Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria’s towns and dungeons are in 3D, but they’re set out like a side-scrolling 2D action/adventure. And each setting is absolutely gorgeous, with an attention to detail that is astounding. The first time you visit one of the towns it feels a bit strange to be moving left and right, with only the occasional up and down. In fact the only time the game switches to full 3D is in battle. It can be a bit disorienting at first, but it looks spectacular and it definitely works. Each town and setting has a design and atmosphere of its own, and whether you’re walking through the desolate ruins of Dipan Castle or the opulent Halls of Valhalla, the haunted Temple on the Lake or the lush Forest of Spirits, your eye will be drawn to the rich, sumptuous colours and loving attention to detail.

There are no random battles in VP2, so whenever you touch, or are touched by, an enemy you’re thrust into a battle. And in battle be prepared for a pleasant surprise, because what at first looks like real-time combat in fact isn’t, leaving plenty of time to strategise. And strategy is what will win you battles, as well as making them interesting to do and superb to watch. Of course you could just button-mash through every encounter, but you wouldn’t be getting the best out of the combat system, and you’d be doing yourself a great disservice. Each character can be ‘programmed’ to perform three or four attacks, and with each character assigned to a different button on the game pad you’re able to string together some pretty kewl-looking moves as well as being able to get two or more of your party working together to deal some massive damage-dealing combos.

The enemy is made up of ‘pieces,’ and your attacks can be made to target a particular ‘piece’, breaking it off to score extra points and specialised items. As if that wasn’t enough, every attack adds points to the Attack Gauge and when it’s full a character of your choice carries out a ‘Soul Crush’ - a huge damage dealing special attack that is unique to each character and is awesome to behold. There’s more to VP2’s combat, much more, and because of that the combat can seem rather complicated and daunting, but if you take the time to master the intricacies the rewards will be well worth it.

Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria has a delightful soundtrack that always sounds ‘just right’ and never intrudes on the action, while the sound effects are stirring. The voice acting is solidly performed, and I’m sure many RPG fans will recognise the voice of Liam O’Brien as Lezard.

Although the central story of VP2 isn’t dramatic or compelling enough to keep you wanting more of it, the game’s gorgeous graphics, sumptuous soundtrack, delightful voice acting and intricate combat system are guaranteed to be more than enough to hold your interest and to keep you playing for the 80+ hours of the game. VP2 is certainly challenging enough for any RPG fan; indeed, it could be said it’s not for the faint hearted as many hours need to spent level grinding so your characters are strong enough to face the tough Boss fights, and if you’re going on to enter the extremely challenging optional Seraphic Gate it’s mandatory. Still, if you’re wanting an RPG that’s different from the ordinary and will give you a challenge, then Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria is ideal.