Developer: tri-Ace, TOSE, FINE Co., Ltd.
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform: PS4, PS5, PC
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth – Review
It’s only been a few days since we took a closer look at the remastered version of a twenty-year-old RPG on the site and we already have an even older title to discuss for our next review. This time we’re taking a look at Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, which is in fact a title that was already ported to the PSP back in 2006, which in turn was a port of Valkyrie Profile which was released in 1999 in Japan and 2000 in North America for the original PlayStation. The current version we are taking a look at is actually just the PSP game running on emulation software. Even though we are very happy to play through this classic, which withstood the test of time, it should have received a bit more TLC.
Story
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth tells many different (tragic) stories with one overarching plot. Lenneth, a Valkyrie, is tasked to find Einherjar, which are spirits that have a deep connection with the Valkyries, in order to battle during Ragnarok, which is basically the end of the world. As Ragnarok is approaching, you are sent out to see who is worthy of fighting for Odin, and who can possibly turn the tide in the battle to come. While this is a very vague description of the game’s story, in essence, it’s a collection of short stories, often with fairly sad endings, as Einherjar are in fact people who have passed away. All in all, the story is interesting, and even after all these years, we quite enjoyed exploring the narrative of this classic title.
Graphics
As this is basically a 2006 PSP port on the big screen, the graphics of the game can come across as a bit muddy. This is mainly true for the game’s backdrops and cinematics that are sprinkled in between the gameplay segments. Nonetheless, we did love the pixilated character sprites, and as a whole, this is still a good-looking game. It’s fun to see that a title this old is already using a combination of 2D and 3D elements, while also adding a few fully 3D-rendered cinematics to the mix. An honorable mention also goes out to the actual character artwork during dialogues, as many of these static pictures still look very impressive.
Sound
The cinematic soundtrack is truly what steals the show in Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. We enjoyed the overall background music, as well as the combat music which is a bit more hectic in nature. The sound effects are also decent, albeit nothing special. The game does have a bit of voice acting here and there, and we find it a shame that this next-gen port didn’t receive a bit more love. We would have loved to see this game receive fully voiced dialogues, as it would have added a lot more charm to the overall soundscape.
Gameplay
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth is an old-school RPG game, and this is actually a rerelease of a 2006 PSP port, albeit for modern consoles. The game is basically running on an emulator, which means you also have added save states and the option to rewind gameplay. That being said, the offset of the game is quite simple, as you basically progress through the story and battle monsters and other foes quite often, while also committing yourself to quite a bit of micromanaging.
While this all sounds like very standard stuff for an old-school RPG, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth is actually still a very complex game, as there are so many elements to keep track of. You are free in how you play through the game, and this means that you might recruit certain characters at other times than another player would. You will also need to strengthen the forces that you have to send up to Valhalla, while also managing the party members that stay behind. Combat seems one-dimensional at first, but after a while, you’ll notice that managing combos becomes a key element of the game. It’s easy to just mash buttons and hope for the best, but when you can execute perfect attack chains, the combat becomes quite enjoyable.
Even though you can play through the game without taking into consideration some of the game’s finer mechanics, you’ll also lose out on a lot of what makes this game a great title, even by today’s standards. The game also has a lot of extra content, if you master certain intricacies, allowing you to play through the ‘real’ ending. It’s all these small things together that create a very pleasant experience for RPG enthusiasts.
In some areas, however, the game’s age is a bit more clear, as dialogues are a bit slower than you’d like at times, the controls aren’t always that great or user-friendly, and there are just some things that wouldn’t fly by today’s standards. For example, running close to a door will already lock you into the animation of you moving inside a building or into the next frame. This is actually sometimes annoying when you accidentally move closer to a door you weren’t that interested in going through yet. You also don’t get clear prompts for dialogues, and sometimes positioning yourself to talk to an NPC can be a bit awkward as a result. It’s small things like this that make us regret this game didn’t receive a small update in some of these aforementioned areas.
Conclusion
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth is a gem that RPG enthusiasts should certainly try out; if they don’t mind a few rough edges here and there. The game offers quite a few interesting stories, with one bigger narrative stringing everything together, while still providing you with intricate mechanics and an entertaining gameplay loop. While we would have perhaps loved to see a remastered version with an updated UI and smoother controls, we do appreciate the inclusion of the save states and the rewind function. All in all, this game has withstood the test of time well.
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