Veiws
Mine
VP1 was an outstanding game, the graphics admittedly could have been better but the actual story line and character formation brought up it's standard. Now with the release of VP2 (okay it's been out for a while but i've just got around to actually buying the thing and playing it
) there was a lot to live up to. Okay the game's aren't as common and well known as other Square Enix games, but they do make time pass quicker...lol 2 days >.<
Graphics: Again the in game shots beat VP1 hands down but the out of battle mode, as in when you got to walk around with the characters was a bit poor with the pixels floating around everywhere.
Plot: I'm not going to give anything away incase i ruin the story for others, but i dont think a quick run down of the beginning will hurt In Valkyrie Profile 2, you play the through the eyes of both Alicia, the princess of the Kingdom of Dipan (fans of Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth for the PSP may remember seeing her) and Silmeria, a rebellious Valkyrie who opposed the All-Father Odin and had her soul transfused into Alicia's body (when she was still a child) as a result of her actions. Poor Alicia now seems to have a split personality as Silmeria's self pops out from time to time so everyone thinks something is terribly wrong with her and her father sends her off to a far away castle. Sometime afterwards, they are pursued by one of the other Valkyries but manage to escape. Silmeria, with a sense of urgency, tells Alicia to run to the port of Solde and their journey begins.
While the story and concept itself is already quite interesting full of Norse Mythology references, the story's progression doesn't flow along quite as well as a JRPG's story should. Near the beginning of the game, you are treated to a large number of storyline characters who seem quite likable and as you progress, you get to know more about them. However, the story progresses very slowly and boringly towards the middle of the game in the Quest for the Dragon Orb parts to the point where you trudge through an entire dungeon only to find out that the treasure isn't there and you need to go somewhere else. The game also falls prey to some predictable JRPG cliches like a romantic relationship between to major characters (which is never really given much time to develop properly). Regardless, i dont think it was a complex and difficult as others may claim and getting the jist of the main idea was easy within a few hours into the game.
Music: Not a big fan but it kept in mood with the game's rythm, as in it didnt jump around and create a raveage atmosphere when someone died ¬_¬...yes.... although very typical, to the point where it seems like you've heard this sort of music many times before. The game also sports some pretty good voice acting to compliment the game's sound. While certain lines of the characters are a bit grating and some of the Einherjar (extra allies that you can get which have no real storyline significance) have the same lines and even the same voices sometimes, the voice acting is quite professional. The game's sound effects in battle and exploration are also very solid as things never seem to be out of place.
Werid platform switches: Only regarding the PSP version, when your walking around and not in battle mode, (when you are exploring towns, dungeons, etc.), the game is actually a 2D sidescroller. You travel through towns and caves from a 2.5D perspective being able to move only left, right, and sometimes up into the background or down into the foreground to reach a new area. While this may feel a bit restrictive when compared to the full 3D controls of recent PS2 RPGs in exploration modes, its a nice reference to the first game (which also had you traverse 2D areas).
Downfall: These two huge problems are the game's skill system and level grinding. Basically, the game has another gameplay mechanic that it expects you to use which is the "skill system". In the first game, the skill system was pretty easy to use since you find a skill book in a treasure chest, learn the skill, and unlock it using earned skill points. However, instead, Valkyrie Profile 2 makes you unlock skills by equipping certain accessories. Basically, if you have a certain combination of equipment equipped onto a character, he starts learning a skill. However, the interface is very clunky and complex, and if you want to move onto another skill, you have to wade through dozens of pieces of equipment in order to find the right ones. Its complex and it isn't done in many games. As a result, many people (including me) will at first completely ignore the skill system. However, skills are actually a very important part of the game and if you don't learn the right ones quickly, you will get annihilated later in the game by your enemies. However, there's another option other than using the skill system and that option is level grinding yourself until you're powerful enough. Unless you like fighting the same enemies over and over again, I don't recommend that either. So, the two methods that you can use to win over later enemies in the game are both annoying and unlikable and as a result, progressing through the game becomes an exercise of frustration as normal enemies begin to kill you in a single attack. This will unfortunately, make the game completely unlikable to some people.
Finally: So, overall, Valkyrie Profile 2 is in a great game. It has nice graphics, a likable gameplay system, and a decent length. However, its two biggest downfalls will really make this game inaccessible to many people. As a result recomendation 2 those who are willing to level grind themselves to victory because they are the ones who will be able to appreciate this game to the fullest. The game truly is wonderful, make no mistake about that, but you should proceed with caution before getting it.
batacatafog
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria. A roleplaying game from Square Enix that gives the player the ability to take gameplay to a whole new level. It requires the mind to drive and the fingers to run. But, it does not require you to have a blast out of the game.
Graphics: When looking at VP2, you see some "acceptable" graphics that tie the game together with a series of blandly colored cutscenes and semi-real-time battle. You'll get most of the meat off the gameplay bone during mild combat. Unfortuneately, it seems as if Square Enix had one hand holding a doughnut as they worked on the outlook of this entire game. It's sometimes hard to tell that a certain character is speaking during a seriously important cutscene, which are mostly bland, straightforward, and without extra spice or feeling.
Gameplay: When playing VP2, you'll find yourself in multiple situations where it seems like the enemy is on steroids... a little mole thing hit for more than half of my characters' healthbar in one shot. Not to mention that they'll get smart with you and actually block your attacks, negating any damage dealt whatsoever. And it doesn't matter how small they are: they hurt big time.
As you entire battle mode, you'll have your party(max of 4 char. at a time) basically in the middle of a "room" with several enemies surrounding you. No matter how strong you are, no matter the level, no matter the amount of hits you can pull off, no matter how far or close you are to the enemy, the enemy ALWAYS has the advantage. Even low leveled skeletons can hurt if you get too close.
In the end, you may merely play this game just to have a thwack at an enemy, or to just rip a body apart... either way, the strongest aspect to this game is the gameplay, which isn't that strong.
jaykho213
Valkyrie Profile 2 Silmeria uses is highly inventive and challenging, requiring a certain amount of tactical creativity to use properly. a unique and unexpected soundtrack, some truly impressive visuals, and a sharp, well written story. the battle system is great very impressive. the soundtrack is a bit of lonely for me like in towns, it's very sad but i still.. it's suits the background.. The voice acting on Valkyrie Profile 2 Silmeria is something of a mixed bag. The main characters all have very solid actors assigned to them, with the vast majority of their work coming off as quite professional and believable. The Einherjar voices tend to be slightly inferior, but the largest problem with their voices isn't the level of quality, but rather the fact that most of the voice clips are re-used for two or more characters. Given that the Einherjar were already suffering from a bit of homogeny, the lack of distinction amongst their voices causes bit of a problem when trying to get a feel for them as people.
When it's all said and done, Silmeria is a fantastic RPG and a proud trophy that the Playstation 2 will display as one of the finest "farewell" games. Fans of the series will surely rekindle their love for the Norse-inspired tale of redemption, and the game more than provides on the fan-front. For newcomers, the game stands in the same light the original did; as an original and unique RPG that plays with conventions and forces an RPG gamer to question the standards of the genre. It's polished in every single way, and the development time is evident: meaning it's more than worth your time.
Cant have pictures though.....as the image code thing isn't working.....Grrr...
Wondering what people's thoughts and veiws were on VP2?