Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria Comments by Simon Parkin

If you thought that Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth was boring, the combatsystem was simplistic, that the platforming had no place in the game and that the dungeonsystem was annoying... well... would you like this game?

i got a bit into it.. seemed like a great little game but movin outside of battle mode in that pseudo 3D envoirnment drove me crazy..

hmmm maybe have to hook the ps2 back up again.

The potent mixture of action with the high-level statistical balancing will quickly seduce the right-minded player
This is definitely true. I'm still trying to determine whether I am of that right mind. Silmeria undoubtedly boasts an impressively complex battle system, but that complexity can be frustrating if the player, like me, lacks the necessary patience.

If you thought that Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth was boring, the combatsystem was simplistic, that the platforming had no place in the game and that the dungeonsystem was annoying... well... would you like this game?

No. It's basically the same game with a slightly improved battle system, no time constraint and a proper story. I love it, but like every tri-Ace game it divides opinions.

>Can anyone tell us what the right etiquette is when dogs do that?

Watch "American Pie the Wedding" for tips...

Sounds great! I guess I'm hoping a little too much for a European release?

Oh well. Another one to add to my post-PS2/pre-next-gen import list.

When's it out over here?

Its not "Out now!" for eurogamers, as your gameinfo page states.
When you do a us-import-review, it would be nice to have some infos on a release in europe. Any announcements or rumors?

Or do i finally have to chip my ps2 ? I`m really tempted by this, Okami and FF XII. Boy, its hard to be a european gamer *sheds some tears* ...

Well, Okami and FFXII are both coming to Europe early next year. I wouldn't worry overly about them.

Hmm. if the difficulty level is like that of Star Ocean (another Tri-Ace developd game) i'm mixed on this one, Star Ocean was harsh one moment you're easily killing the enemies that seem weak in one area, then when you go to the next area the enemies can kill you so easily it's not even funny.

Sounds interesting the thing with these types of RPG's is that when it does eventually launch over in Europe they either.

a)Stay at full price for a very long time.
b)Don't stay on the shelves long enough for a price cut to happen.

But import reviews like this really make me want to jump on the import bandwagon. :(

Damn you EG!!

I wish import reviews were clearly marked as such...

Although I can see the graphics could be wonderful did you not think they turned into a shimmering mess when moving? I for one was desperately disappointed by this after the wonderful pre-rendered intro movie. It certainly looks like a mess compared to Xenosaga 3.

I don't know, I just don't seem to be able to summon the enthusiasm to play it at the moment - Especially after being emotionally traumatized by the ending of XS3:-)

"The glorious if a little artistically passé FMV introduction hearkens back to Square's PSone era of stentorian visual introductions, and reaffirms the company's considerable talent for the lavish CG."

Developers are tri-Ace who were previously published by Enix prior to the merger.

Another opportunity to put the boot into Wild Arms 4 just couldn't be passed up I see.

Most 'inventive' RPG for the PS2 though? I don't know about that.

I really want this - but every other site seems to mark it down for the difficulty level.

Specifically, it's supposed to be unbelievably difficult in some of the middle battles, with dreadful save points........if that's true then I'll leave it - life is stressful enough.

Import reviews suck ass

/puts wallet back in pocket

"Another opportunity to put the boot into Wild Arms 4 just couldn't be passed up I see."

Yes, please stop. We know how you feel:-)

A bold move? They're just continuing how the series has worked since it started 6 years ago, that's hardly bold. Or a move.

Specifically, it's supposed to be unbelievably difficult in some of the middle battles, with dreadful save points........if that's true then I'll leave it - life is stressful enough.

It's one of the toughest JRPGs I've ever played; there's a difficult spike fairly early on that lets you know what you're in for. The game places great emphasis on the set-up of your team, the manipulation of your opponents' elemental weaknesses, and how well you utilise the "sealstones" (objects that affect battle conditions and various parameters) found within dungeons. Pay insufficient attention to these and you will indeed have a stressful time.

Looks very interesting to me, but I won't be getting it unless it comes out in the UK, and with a decent PAL conversion to boot.

is the battle system more complex than mario and luigi: brothers in time? cos i'm struggling to keep patience with that.

the game shares a lot in common with the aforementioned Vagrant Story

/buys

ooh, err...

/waits

Step: it is a move in that the original was a wholly 2D-based game that operated solely on 2D planes. That this title decides to move to 3D environments but only for its battle sections is a bold and interesting move. It bucks convention and expectation.

Nonsense, it's effectively identical to the original. You can't directly manipulate your characters in a 3D plane during battle, it's just presented more in that viewpoint. In VP it's exactly the same concept only the graphics aren't polygonal.

So... This or Disgaea 2?

looks like i'll be using swap magic for this one

So... This or Disgaea 2?

Tough choice. I would go for Disgaea personally, its very close though and I'm having a bit of a backlash against all of the pseudo realtime battle systems cropping up recently which is colouring my judgement.

"You can't directly manipulate your characters in a 3D plane during battle"

step: you're exactly wrong. Although the view switches sideways on for the actual attacks the whole system of battle strategy is carried out in a 3D environment - although any battle screenshots you've probably seen don't communicate that very well.

Thanks Cappy. I'm not a huge fan of realtime stuff either. Plus Disgaea 2 has the advantage of being available for PAL regions in a few days.

goz: OK, I seem to have misunderstood slightly, but even so the only difference between VP1 and VP2 battles seems to be that you can move your characters around during battle(right?) which is still hardly a "bold move", compared to what happened already in the series. Other than that, the systems are more or less identical in concept, side on for towns/dungeons, depth of field for battles.

would love to get my hands on it but i kinda doubt it will launch in europe. heres hoping though.

"If you thought that Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth was boring, the combatsystem was simplistic, that the platforming had no place in the game and that the dungeonsystem was annoying... well... would you like this game?"

After having spent a few hours with this one today I think I can safely say that this isn't the game for you:-) The only comment I wouldn't agree with is the combat being simplistic - In VP2 it seems that they made the combat needlessly overcomplicated with the ability to split and control multiple groups - This feels about as far from simple and intuitive as it's possible to get.

On the plus side the graphics seem to improve greatly once you get out of the first town - The first dungeon at least doesn't seem to have all shimmering.

I'd seriously suggest a try before you buy policy on this one; I definitely think it's an acquired taste...

Great review, very seriously the best I've read on EG for a long time. I was worried that whoever reviewed this wouldn't 'get' it and it could have easily ended up being overlooked. Currently this is vying for third place in my GOTY list. Some small points, however:

You have no choice on the emphasis of strategy or action in the battles; if you rush in like a bull in a china shop, you will get trounced.

Similarly, button bashing will not work as a strategy, at least not for very long.

It's a shame you had to resort to a Greek reference when trying to trump up the intro, had you found a Norse one it would have added that extra touch of class. ;)

Also, to anyone asking about difficulty, there was (for me) one seriously hard battle in the whole game before the very last fight, but once I'd thought about what skills or party set-up would benefit me the most I got through it no problem. The final boss could, I suppose, cause some big problems, but again if you plan out what you're going to do before you do it (or, in my case, before you go to do it a second time...) you'll have much better results. Don't listen to Decoded, he just isn't hardcore enough. :p

Yeah, I missed the import notice. I went into work today and spent about 15 minutes searching through all our PS2 stock for this thing and it turned up nothing. I get home and find the release date on the site has changed from "Out now!" to "TBA". That's bloody annoying. I suppose it's better in the long run - I'm still wrking through Kingdom Hearts as after playing the second one for about an hour I had NO idea what was going on.

no need to chip your ps2, just get swapmagic, which works for just about everything

Is it PS3 compatible?

yes it is! beeyootiful

@fluff_the_tiger

Yes, but SwapMagic does not work for DVD9 games like Xenosaga, much to my dismay. Also, it doesn't work with DVD+-RW discs, which is a problem if you're a freak like me who keeps the originals locked in a Swiss bank and plays off copies, since I end up wasting lots of DVD+-Rs.

Well that was confusing, I knew I'd read this review before. Didn't think it was nearly a year ago though.

So, just to help out those missing the dates on the first few comments (which were made when the import version was reviewed). This game is now out over here, and only £17.99 at play.com.

60hz?? This is one game that really needs it!

So... This or Disgaea 2?

Maybe the one of the two that you can find in shops?

Curse EG for getting our appetites all whet with an import review!

has a fully optimised PAL conversion!

Just bought it, great game and great pal conversion, they've upped the FPS from 30 to 60 and the shimmer has been eliminated, it actually looks better than to US version! good job Square-Enix! :)

Squeenix in decent port shocker!