Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria

Holy zombie jesus. I haven't played the first Valkyrie Profile, but if it's at all like Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria I'm there. Valkyrie Profile 2 is probably the best PS2 game I've played in a long time. It's by no means perfect and it won't appeal to everyone, but it combines an enthralling story, superb graphics and a thoroughly unique combination of real time and turn based fighting elements to make a game which is hard to stop playing.

The story revolves around a princess who shares her body with a warrior goddess called a Valkyrie. Apparently sharing bodies with Valkyries is against Odin's will, so it is up to you to keep her alive. To do this you will wander across the world recruiting new people to your cause and releasing einherjar (undead soldiers trapped in weapons) to help you on your quest to save your home country from Odin's wrath. The story really is the star of this game, the interactions between the characters in your party and between the Gods and valkyries makes you want to continue playing the game long after you should be in bed just to get the next chunk of story.

The way the game takes you across the world is innovative, using a distinctive side-scrolling level design to give players a new perspective on how they explore dungeons and cities. It also uses things called "Photons" to provide the player with interesting and occasionally complex puzzles which need to be solved. What happens is the player can fire a photon at an enemy, and that enemy will freeze. Once frozen the enemy is unable to attack you, allowing you to escape, or alternatively you can fire a second photon at the enemy to teleport and switch places with them. Using this to its full advantage is a must throughout the game and it gives an extra depth to the dungeon crawling. Where you would once have simply attacked every creature you saw, you can now use them to further your quest.

The originality doesn't end there however, as you will find out when you first enter a battle. The tutorial explains the basics of the faux real time attack system, but it can be quite some time before you fully master the use of all your players. Basically you enter a battle with 4 characters, each character assigned to a face button on your control pad. When you press the button corresponding to the character they will attack, provided they're in range, and the attack will use some Action Points. It's quite easy to find yourself mashing buttons to get off as many attacks as possible, but you'll quickly find a good strategy will save you Action Points and allow you to dispose of tougher enemies quicker. The depth of strategy increases when you bring into play the equipment. You can equip 9 different pieces of armour and weaponry, and some of those pieces can be linked to increase their power. Unfortunately, the system for equipping is very clunky, and it takes away a little from an otherwise very polished experience.

Graphically, this game is stunning. The starting CGI is fantastic, and while the rest of the story is shown through in game cut-scenes it still looks fantastic. The characters are presented in full 3d throughout the entire game, even in the side-scrolling parts. In battle the game transfers to a more conventional battle area somewhat reminiscent of Final Fantasy XII. The backgrounds in the game are really well made, and the whole art style is perfect for the Norse Mythology setting. If I were unhappy about anything at all, it would have to be the mouth movement. Because characters are actually voiced in this, the developers decided they needed to make their mouths move. They didn't do a great job on this however, and it often looks quite silly. It's quite easy to ignore though, so it doesn't ruin the experience too much.

A quick word on the replayability. This game allows you to start the game over again and again each time increasing the difficulty. I played the game more for the story than anything else, but the combat is so much fun I have found myself playing through a second time to see if I missed anything on my last run. Apparently if you want to unlock all the characters in the game you must play through 3 times, so I'll probably end up doing that. It's just that cool.

I never expected to enjoy this game. I'm not huge on the JRPG scene, I've enjoyed the Final Fantasy series and the Breath of Fire games but in general if someone hasn't played it already and told me to get it I won't play it. It's a shame, because if this gem of a game hadn't been sent to me to review I never would have considered it. If you are like me and you're waiting for someone to tell you to give it a try, here it is. Get this game. It's an enthralling game with an excellent story and one of the most involving combat systems I've played in years. You won't regret it.