Valkyrie Profile is celebrating its 25-year anniversary at this time, August 29, 2025. Beneath, we glance again at why the RPG went missed on the time, and what makes it nonetheless stand out as particular at this time.
It is not onerous to see why Valkyrie Profile wound up missed in its preliminary North American launch. Japanese writer Enix had solely lately revived its US department, possible because of each the surge of recognition of JRPGs within the post-Remaining Fantasy 7 period and the success Sony had licensing and releasing Star Ocean: The Second Story globally. But it surely was going to be an uphill wrestle to get a brand new PS1 RPG any traction, even one made by Star Ocean 2 developer Tri-Ace. The Dreamcast was already out, the US launch of the PS2 was lower than two months away, and Squaresoft had dropped Chrono Cross, a follow-up to the beloved Chrono Set off, a few weeks earlier.
It was my freshman 12 months of school, the weekend simply earlier than my birthday, and I wished a brand new RPG to maintain me occupied between courses. I had two selections: Valkyrie Profile or Chrono Cross. After having a pleasant expertise with Star Ocean 2 the summer time earlier than, my intestine was telling me that Valkyrie Profile was the one I ought to decide.
I’ve by no means as soon as regretted my buy. Valkyrie Profile was–and nonetheless is–one of the best RPGs of its period, a sport that–despite common acclaim from its many devoted fans–remains criminally underplayed. It has been 25 years, and there is nonetheless nothing else that captures the identical magic.
As you would possibly surmise from the title, Valkyrie Profile’s setting is constructed round ideas impressed by Norse mythology–with a great deal of artistic wiggle room, in fact. Lenneth, the titular Valkyrie, has been summoned to the service of the good god Odin, ruler of the heavenly realm of Asgard. He has realized that the legendary Ragnarok is nigh, and between that and the Aesir gods’ wrestle with the Vanir heating up, they want manpower within the type of worthy human souls: einherjar. Lenneth should discover the worthy souls of the lately departed on the decrease aircraft of Midgard to coach and switch to Asgard earlier than the gods’ last confrontation. There are additionally loads of messes on Midgard to scrub up, however–the undead seeping in from Niflheim, a rebellious former einherjar, and people overstepping their boundaries.
It is clear from the outset that, in distinction to the gilded realm of the gods, Midgard is a den of abject distress. Villages exist getting ready to catastrophic collapse. Desperation has led to many partaking in harmful actions to make a dwelling. Illicit trades like smuggling, thievery, and even human trafficking thrive on this harsh, bleak realm, and plenty of appear to reside daily with one foot already within the grave. You possibly can’t assist however marvel if the cataclysm of Ragnarok is likely to be a small mercy to finish all of the struggling that is seen.
Lenneth, with the present of non secular focus, can sense the struggles and anguish of the departed. When she involves take their soul beneath her wing, she sees what their last days of existence have been like, their tragic fates laid naked. Her first recruits contain a haughty princess and a gruff mercenary who discover themselves caught up in a convoluted plot by a traitorous noble–one that dooms them each. Extra tragedies comply with. A warrior strikes a faustian cut price to treatment his sister’s blindness, solely to perish by the hands of his interior demons. A headmistress at a magic academy finds herself slaughtered by her personal husband, remodeled right into a monster by a vengeful scholar. These are only a handful. Not each loss of life feels undeserved, as not everybody who Lenneth recruits is a very good particular person. It is their usefulness to Odin that matters–and Lenneth can assist form them into the proper fighters.
Data of Midgard’s geopolitical atmosphere might be gleaned from the interwoven sagas of the departed, and whereas the gods typically care little about most human affairs, Lenneth encounters quite a few personalities that shake up her ongoing mission. There’s an einherjar who appears oddly accustomed to Lenneth. Then there’s Brahms, the lord of the undead, who seems to carry somebody vital to Lenneth and the gods hostage to forestall them from destroying him. And, in fact, sorcerer wunderkind Lezard Valeth: The solely factor worse than his creepy obsession with making the Valkyrie “his” are the immoral means he’ll stoop to to make that occur.
The ever-present tragedy of Valkyrie Profile helps set it other than most different RPGs of the period, however a number of what makes it really feel particular to today are its distinctive interlocking gameplay mechanics. One of those is the sport’s distinct construction. Exploration is basically freeform, permitting you to go to areas, recruit einherjar, and delve into dungeons once you see match. Development is as an alternative dictated by a timer system: The sport’s chapters are divided right into a set variety of “durations,” and actions–recruitment, exploration, resting–all have a set time value. If you attain the tip of that chapter’s durations, Lenneth receives an analysis from Asgard. Actions carried out through the chapter, corresponding to sending appropriate einherjar and misplaced artifacts to Asgard, rely in direction of your analysis. Carry out properly, and also you get rewarded. You then transfer on to the subsequent chapter. Whereas some characters and areas solely turn into out there in sure chapters, you are often not obligated to finish something as quickly because it seems, supplying you with a number of freedom.
One other defining gameplay attribute are the dungeons. These are introduced as 2D, sidescrolling platformer-style affairs, laden with traps, enemies, jumps, and gimmicks. They typically characteristic bespoke obstacles and tips that Lenneth might want to overcome, including a component of puzzle-solving to the platforming motion. Fortuitously, Lenneth has a useful little instrument to assist: a crystal projectile. This gives all kinds of makes use of: briefly freezing enemies, creating limitations and platforms, even refracting gentle or manipulating objects from afar. She will be able to additionally carry out superior motion methods by constructing and shattering crystals in numerous methods, propelling her into hidden enclaves (and permitting for some enjoyable velocity tech).
However Valkyrie Profile’s most memorably distinctive ingredient is its fight. Tri-Ace’s earlier Star Ocean video games added a component of motion gameplay to the same old RPG proceedings, and Valkyrie Profile does one thing related in idea, but fully totally different in execution. Every flip of fight sees you controlling 4 characters, one assigned to every face button. Relying on the weapons you have outfitted, every character could have entry to sure set assaults, which they’ll execute once you press a button. Some assaults have particular properties, corresponding to breaking an enemy’s guard or launching them airborne for juggles. Land sufficient hits in a flip and you may fill a gauge, permitting you to unleash certainly one of your occasion member’s final assaults. With some technique and apply, you possibly can be taught to chain combos and supers equally to the best way you’d in a preventing sport.
Nevertheless, the enemies will not all the time make it easy–they’ll guard, parry, and sidestep once they can, upsetting your fight circulate and making them way more difficult to slay. Observing and determining the properties of your attacks–how they hit, what number of hits they’ve, if they’ll juggle or harm enemies on the ground–is essential to each defeat robust enemies and earn a number of post-combat rewards. Studying how the enemies react to your assaults and conduct offense on their flip is vital, as properly, since it’s also possible to dodge, counter, and guard, supplied you have obtained the suitable abilities. As cool as this would possibly sound, I am really oversimplifying the fight: There is a super quantity of ability and nuance right here that can problem RPG vets and seasoned action-game gamers alike.
An in-depth ability system bolsters Valkyrie Profile’s gameplay depth. Not solely does studying abilities assist characters in fight, however additionally they increase characters’ Hero Worth and provides them constructive traits, making them extra appropriate for service in Valhalla. Passive character abilities grant stat boosts, take away unfavourable character traits, and have a tendency to return as particular requests from the gods. Fight abilities embody auto-heals and low-HP survival methods, counterattacks, added results to regular strikes (like splash harm and additional hits), and highly effective methods to catch enemies unaware.
WARNING: Spoilers for Valkyrie Profile’s ending, together with its true ending, comply with.
Every little thing culminates within the sport’s last chapter, the place Lenneth leads the einherjar in an assault on the Vanir stronghold. When she emerges triumphant, you would possibly count on an excellent celebration in Valhalla. However that is not what you get. The ending you obtain for this stellar efficiency is… bland. And brief. Eerily so, as if there’s one thing being hidden from you. And there may be! Valkyrie Profile is a multi-ending sport, and a part of why it stays so strongly within the reminiscence of gamers is the trick it pulls on them.
The key to acquiring the true, greatest ending within the sport is a radical departure from what gamers are sometimes led to count on. It is simple to imagine that performing the duties the sport units out for you exceptionally properly would yield larger rewards, and thus, a greater ending. However that is not what Valkyrie Profile does. As a substitute, Valkyrie Profile desires you to query and doubt your assigned activity.
There are hints all through that Odin and the gods aren’t fully noble, seeing humanity as merely helpful instruments for his or her battle and repair. By strictly following the orders that Odin has given her, Lenneth performs proper into his fingers, appearing as his obedient pawn. However what if Lenneth disobeyed? Clearly, outright rise up beneath the watchful eye of a robust god would put her immediately in his crosshairs for elimination.
What the participant should do to free Lenneth from Odin’s management is stage small acts of rise up over time: sending up solely the required variety of einherjar, deciding to maintain a number of the gods’ sacred treasures present in dungeons, visiting locations tied to a forgotten previous. Even the straightforward act of eradicating the ring Odin bestowed upon Lenneth when consulting with Asgard between chapters will assist break his sway over her. Decrease the Seal Worth sufficient, and once you enter a sure space in Chapter 7, a collection of dramatic occasions will happen, ushering in a second of reckoning for Lenneth with the destiny of all of the realms hanging within the steadiness.
The distinctive necessities to entry this ending was fairly a shock to gamers when the sport first launched, and even now, it stands out. We’re conditioned to do what we’re instructed will get us reward and rewards in video games, not often stopping to query why we’re doing it. Valkyrie Profile, in distinction, solely reveals the complete reality about its world to those that intentionally and defiantly mess around its core programs.
Valkyrie Profile has had sequels, spin-offs, and non secular successors, in addition to giving inspiration to many video games that adopted. A few of these video games have been glorious in their very own proper, others not a lot. However all the video games which have come since have deviated not directly from the unique gameplay components that helped make Valkyrie Profile the incredible expertise that it’s. Maybe it is only a case of lighting in a bottle–the world of video games and sport growth have modified a lot since its unique launch which you can’t recapture the identical magic. That is why its lack of availability on fashionable platforms is so tragic: solely a compromised cell port and a PS4/5 re-release of the PSP model exist. I can solely hope that modifications finally, as a result of there’s nothing else like Valkyrie Profile, and there most likely by no means shall be. After I first performed all of it these years in the past on PS1, I used to be entranced. 1 / 4 of a century later, I nonetheless am.