Valkyrie Profile - Tri-Ace / Enix - 2000 - RPG
I really miss video game magazines, and oddly enough the ads are one of the things I miss the most about them. I remember seeing those full page ads and being excited for sooooo many games, this one included. Even when it just got a 1/3rd page review in the magazine instead of a full or multipage one like other major RPGs were getting, I was still excited for the title. I didn't end up getting the game for YEARS after it came out due to geography and scarcity, a situation similar to Star Ocean 2 and Suikoden 2 actually, but while those titles drifted into almost Holy Grail territory, this one just seems to have fallen into obscurity. It's too bad really, since this is far and away my favorite of the three titles, and I've always wondered why people never cared about it.
Actually, maybe that's not entirely true, because I fully recognize a divergence between what most people want in an RPG and what I want that began around the time this game hit that likely explains why, and it mostly centers around the story. Comparing it to the Final Fantasy series, VP is a lot more like the second half of Final Fantasy VI than anything else, where there is the larger goal you are working towards with relatively light story development pushing you towards it, which is a far cry from the stronger narratives other titles were bringing to the table. The opinion that story is the most important part of an RPG is still a popular one today, and in VP the majority of the experience, like the World of Ruin, is centered around individual stories tied to characters and exploring dungeons. Even that, however, isn't the most apt comparison, because most character development in VP is tied only to a single cutscene showing the circumstances surrounding a character's death (spoilers: everyone dies), where characters in FFVI were already established and lent further development in the second half, but it makes a lot of sense how Tri-Ace approached the story considering the circumstances of the game. You are, after all, a Valkyrie collecting the souls of the worthy to send to Valhalla to fight during Ragnarok, and much of their life is neither known nor important to you. That said, the game is far from devoid of story, especially when going for the unlockable ending, it's just that it forgoes the stronger narrative found in many other popular titles for a more unconventional one. And, actually, that's really descriptive of the title itself as a whole: unconventional. Almost everything about the game does things differently, and maybe that too put off some people.
For instance, instead of a traditional world map, Lenneth flies around the world and can search for new points of interest to explore, pointing to either a new dungeon or person to recruit. Additionally, game progression isn't tied to completing 'dungeon x and fighting boss y to see story segment z', but instead is broken into chapters until Ragnarok, each comprised of several periods that are consumed with Lenneth's actions on the map. Fortunately, while this does impose a time limit of sorts, the game gives you far more time periods than are required to complete the game, and it is possible to skip your remaining time to continue the story whenever you are ready.
Looking past the map, dungeons are also genre unconventional, being 2D platforming segments with a fair bit to explore and, on hard mode, lots of puzzles. In these areas Lenneth can jump, attack, slide, and create crystals to use as platforms and reflect lasers, ect. I always enjoyed exploring the stages, getting to places I probably shouldn't have often only to find a chest stashed away to reward me. It's always nice when developers intended their areas to be so thoroughly explored. 
The game's artwork is also beautiful and brings a lot of these areas to life, especially the Clockwork Mansion that opens in hard mode. Which, all things considered, is probably good since I ALWAYS get lost in there.
(AHHHHAHAHAHAHA, AHA, AHA, AHHHHHHHH.
Then you must be me.
Yes, yes, I know. See you again in about five hours, rude ass room)
Another much appreciated feature of the game is that there are no random encounters, with monsters appearing on the map where you can engage or avoid them. If you whap them with your sword you get the initiative in the fight, or, rather, prevent them from getting it. You can also freeze them with your crystals and bypass them entirely, using them as platforms to reach higher areas. The freeze doesn't last all that long, but it's more than adequate, and you can attack them while frozen to start a fight as well.
Once combat begins, it too is unconventional for the genre despite retaining a turn-based engine. Your characters attack when you press the button assigned to them and, weapon dependently, can use different attacks to combo with each other. Using this you can attempt to juggle enemies for bonus xp, OTG them for bonus stamina recovery, or just get a large enough string to activate your special attacks, each of which is characters specific and (usually) pretty damn spiffy. For the most part I like giving Lenneth a bow and launching enemies with it, then brutally mobbing them with everyone else while they are in the air. There's a lot of intricacy to the combat, and it takes a bit to get used to, but it's pretty satisfying once you understand it.
I love Tri-Ace, I love how quirky their titles usually are, and this game, barring Tales of Phantasia if one counts it, towers above everything else they've ever made. The stages, premise, characters, combat, item creation (which I skipped over completely), everything about the title is just SO well done, and it is easily one of the best RPGs the PS1 has to offer. Just invest a little bit of time in learning the combat system and your effort will be completely rewarded. It's may not have the strong story Suikoden II did, or the super fancy 3D grafix of FF7, but it most definitely still is . . .
an awesome game you should know about 
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