The genes of a valkyrie

A pair of warrior maidens are about to descend from the heavens and into our PlayStations. Where did they come from?

Words: Christian Nutt, GamesRadar US

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However, we can't ignore the gap between the two games. According to Yamagishi, "The time has always been right for Valkyrie Profile 2; we just never had the opportunity to develop it. We’ve been planning Valkyrie Profile 2 since the completion of Valkyrie Profile, but large scale projects such as Star Ocean and Radiata Stories took us away from the development." That might just explain why Lenneth made cameos in each of those games.

Above: Valkyrie Profile 2 ups the ante significantly when it comes to graphics, but its world is as dark and intriguing as ever

Lenneth isn't the heroine of Valkyrie Profile 2, however. It stars a young girl named Alicia who has become possessed by the soul of a Valkyrie - the title's Silmeria. The gameplay has seen changes, too. Most obviously, the battles have moved from 2D to 3D, bringing in an element of strategy - you must choose your angle of attack. When it comes to changes from game to game, Yamagishi offers, "We aren’t necessarily sticking to a certain system, and this is also the same idea for the content presentation for our company as well. If we decide a system is valuable, and there is an environment to utilize it, we prefer to push it ahead of others."

If you look back at the company's output, you can see that this is how they have always worked. Each game shares common threads: the action-packed fun of battle, and the attention to detail. Most strikingly, their characters sparkle with personality - like Lenneth Valkyrie, who developers couldn't resist putting in all of their games, whether or not it made much sense. Will Valkyrie Profile 2 stand up to this legacy? Early impressions point to yes. Its gameplay builds on the ideas of all of the prior games, and its detailed visuals live up to the tri-Ace legacy. We can only hope that the game will be the culmination of that expertise.

Hungry for more? Read our preview of Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria and feast on more details of tri-Ace's latest adventure.