Valkyrie Profile
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'Valkyrie Elysium' is an action-RPG sequel to PS1's 'Valkyrie Profile'
Square Enix is dipping into its back catalog with the launch of Valkyrie Elysium, a new instalment in the Valkyrie Profile series.
Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plummeting Price
Amazon is offering us a brief reprieve from the Square Enix Tax that is usually applied to Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume. For the Deal of the Day offering, Amazon has cut the SRPG's price in half to a reasonable $19.98. At the very least, it's a cheap boost for your Square Enix Members points, with a bonus video game included.According to reviews, that video game might actually be a good one, among the best of the surprisingly large number of strategy RPGs on the system (which includes a surprising number of SRPG spin-offs of other series, like Blue Dragon). If tri-Ace had to take out Valkyrie Profile's battle system, we're glad it at least replaced it with something fun.
Square Enix dates full Q1 '09 lineup
We're barely surviving 2008's consumerism climax and already publishers are dangling their 2009 wares in front of us. Alright, Square Enix, we'll play your despicable game, if only to take our minds off the current gaming glut. Square Enix's North American (and heavily subtitled) lineup for Q1 2009 is as follows: Star Ocean: Second Evolution (PSP / 6 Jan.): Being the remastered portable version of the interstellar -- and considered by some to be just plain stellar -- sequel. Features new voice work, new cutscenes and people crying in space. Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (DS / 17 Feb.): Being the hitherto unlocalized entry in the venerable RPG series. Yes, Dragon Ball Z guy designed these characters too. Star Ocean: The Last Hope (Xbox 360 / 3 Mar.): Being tri-Ace's long-awaited continuation of the science-fiction franchise. The subtitle implies that this is a big deal for the Xbox 360 in Japan. Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume (DS / 17 Mar.): Being the third instalment in the respected Valkyrie Profile series. If you're looking for an explanation of the title, we're afraid you're plume out of luck.
Valkyrie Profile: Localization of the Game [update]
Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One shipped in Japan just a few days ago, racking up 80,000 sales in its first week and finishing in second place in the charts (to, um, Grand Theft Auto IV).With a triumphant Japanese launch under its belt, Square Enix is now turning its attention to us, and has opened an understated teaser site to announce the localization and release date of the game in the U.S. As previous evidence has hinted, it'll be known as Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume in North America, and will release on March 17th. Is the DS the greatest system for RPGs since the SNES or what? That's rhetorical, because it clearly is.Also, the beautiful Japanese boxart would be welcome here, if anybody from Square Enix is reading![Update: A Square Enix press release informs us Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride will reach the States on February 17th! Too. Much. RPG. Goodness.]%Gallery-33399%[Via Siliconera]
DS Fanboy's Media Summit screen round-up
The worst bit about big industry events for impatient bloggers and readers? The game assets. Oh Lordy, the assets. An absolute landslide of screens, usually scattered about across, ooh, dozens of pages. But not at DS Fanboy! Not on our watch! Because we wub you, readers, we've collected a big old stack of new screens for your viewing pleasure and placed them all after the break of just one post. This post, in fact. From the well-known to the obscure, we'd be amazed if there's not at least one game that appeals to everyone past that line of blue text. Mario & Luigi 3, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time (right), Professor Layton and the Last Time Travel, Shining Force Feather, and Picross 3D is only scratching the surface, so make the jump!
Valkyrie Profile delay softened by new footage
Square Enix has delayed the Japanese launch of Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One by four weeks, citing a need to improve the game (in ... four weeks?!); the title has now been shifted to October 30th.While we immediately began to fret over the implications of this development, Square Enix skilfully took advantage of our famously short attention spans and chucked a new video our way, one that left us gurgling with pleasure at some of the ridiculously over-the-top attacks that will be available. Honestly, give us some bright colors and fast-moving images, and you've got our undivided attention.Source: Nooo! Delay!Source: Yaaay! Video!
Castlevania, Chocobo, and Valkyrie coming in October ... to Japan
The Japanese release date for Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia might not seem like useful information to you readers out west, but the desperate, Castlevania-starved gamers among you will at least now know the exact day their import copy will begin its trans-Pacific journey towards their hands -- October 23rd, 2008.Furthermore, considering that the US release for Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin was only three weeks after Japan's, we also now have a general idea of when Order of Ecclesia will see its stateside release -- mid-November.Square Enix also has two titles scheduled to hit Japan during the tenth month, Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One (October 2nd) and Cid and Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon: Labyrinth of Time DS+ (October 30th), the latter being a roguelike remake of Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon.Perhaps the publisher will keep the promise it made back in March to aim for simultaneous worldwide releases with its new titles? It's unlikely, but we can dream ...%Gallery-22992%%Gallery-27055%
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth gets reprint, only $30 [Update]
We don't really know why we're sharing this because we thought perhaps putting in our pre-order first and securing a copy for ourselves would be a wise choice before sharing the scoop. But, we've got an obligation to you dear readers and we wouldn't do that to you. If you haven't picked up a copy of Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth (a PSP port of the PSOne classic) then now would be a good time. Online retailer GameQuest Direct has grabbed reprinted copies of the game and is selling them at 30 bucks. The games will ship June 27, so there's really no reason to hesitate. Go pre-order. [Via CAG] Update: GameQuest Direct informed us they are not carrying exclusive reprints of the game. You can check other retailers for copies as well.
Valkyrie Profile scans profile in-game characters
A pair of new scans for Valkyrie Profile have surfaced on the net. Coming from Japanese mag V-Jump, the scans are chock full of goodies from the game. We've got a look at some of the title's characters, which you can see above in the cropped image, as well as some very nice in-game screenshots. It's pretty much become par for the course. Now let's just hope we actually have a chance of getting the game outside of Japan.
Rumor: Square Enix trademark points to localized Valkyrie Profile
Square Enix, like all companies, trademarks stuff from time to time, giving away snippets of precious information about its future plans. Sometimes, said plans are pretty straightforward, other times ... the dots need joining up. The company's latest visit to the Patent and Trademark Office yielded one of its more enigmatic trademarks: "Covenant of the Plume."While we were still scratching our heads like simpletons as to what this could mean, Siliconera's Spencer had already identified a likely candidate: he reckons this could be a subtitle for the U.S. version of Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One, and hence confirmation of a localization! It's not a massively outrageous leap to make: "Plume" equals "feather" equals "Omigosh what's that in the logo." Not too hard to believe, is it?
Valkyrie Profile: The Scanned One
Another spread of Famitsu scans featuring Square Enix's Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One are being hosted by Jeux France, largely featuring screens of the game's battle system, but also introducing some of the typically androgynous heroes you'll be questing as.These include archer and all-round warrior dude Valmur (probably the manliest of the bunch), the Aryan-looking Langrey, and Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen tribute act and magician Fauxnel. We're not certain what role the befrilled Kristoff plays, but if he doesn't spend his evenings with a Sex and the City DVD box set and a bottle of his favorite Baby Pink nail varnish, we'd be enormously surprised.
Famitsu brings us fresh Valkyrie Profile shots
Almost two months have passed since we last heard a peep out of Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One (but what a peep it was, if you remember: this extremely fine trailer, which we just watched and got really excited about again). Now, Famitsu has broken the silence over the game, revealing a bunch of new screens, as well as the news that the tri-Ace RPG will be out in Japan at some stage this year.Click the image above for numerous shots of magnificently coiffed, epicene young men and further screens of the combat system (including the returning "Soul Crush" battle mechanic).
Valkyrie Profile trailer is the cat's pajamas
As much as we love to knock Square-Enix for its incessant rehashes and poor online mode implementations, the publisher can still put together a trailer guaranteed to knock our socks off. Never mind that it's all CG -- who cares when it's this well executed?The lonesome music and desolate scene work together in this clip to effectively convey that something epic and desperate is taking place, that you'll not only miss out on a great RPG if you pass on the game, but a great experience. That's not to say we're assuming Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One will automatically be a perfect release; we just appreciate the money and effort Square-Enix invested to get us hyped.Even if you're unfamiliar with the tri-Ace-developed series, how could you not be interested after seeing a trailer like this?
Soul-crushing Profile
The latest screens from Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One make it abundantly, obviously clear that a major component of the Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria battle system is returning for the DS game: the Soul Crushes. We can tell mostly by the gigantic words "Soul Crush" on the screen there. In Silmeria, the Soul Crush is a special attack that is enabled when your party has racked up enough hits on a creature to fill a Special Attack Gauge. You can then have everyone in the party execute big attacks until the gauge empties.A similar ability was present in the first Valkyrie Profile, under the significantly more excellent name "Purify Weird Soul."
Screens for Valkyrie Profile you don't have to squint at
Famitsu has a small piece up on Square Enix's upcoming DS entry in their Valkyrie Profile series, providing us with some screens, as well as a small taste of the brilliant cutscenes that often get sprinkled liberally throughout the RPG kingpin's titles. And while we'd like to report on more of the game, we just cannot. We're not even sure when this is going to release in Japan right now.Head on over to Famitsu to check out the screens (now with 100% less blur!).[Via Go Nintendo]
Square Enix preps Valkyrie Profile for the DS
From the pages of Japan's Jump magazine comes news that Square Enix is giving tri-Ace's RPG franchise Valkyrie Profile a touchable makeover, with the series' latest sequel heading to the Nintendo DS. So say the translation sages at IGN: The game will carry the cumbersome title of Valkyrie Profile: Toga wo Seou Mono, and will introduce a new hero named Wilfred alongside unspecified series regulars. The game marks the series' second official sequel, and the third title since 2006 following Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria for the PlayStation 2 and Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, a remake of the PlayStation original for the PSP. Unlike those games, however, Toga wo Seou Mono looks to adopt a three-fourths perspective on top of the 2D side scrolling profile view for which the series is known. That said, we're creatures of habit; we fear change -- but with tri-Ace again at the helm we're excited to see where the devs take the Norse mythology-based RPG franchise next.
Valkyrie Profile game in the works for DS
According to this week's Jump magazine, tri-Ace is currently slogging away on a Valkyrie Profile game for the DS. Barely anything substantial is known about Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One, though three rather fuzzy scans have found their way onto the interwebs.Murky as they are, these shots seem to suggest that the game will feature 2D sprites in an isometric game world, much like NIS' forthcoming Disgaea. We'll be playing as Wilfred, a young soldier with a grudge against the Valkyries who is given a feather by Goddess of the Underworld Heru, and who intends to use said feather to wreak revenge. It all sounds suitably overwrought.Apart from that, we haven't the foggiest on how the actual battle system will work yet, but we do have scans, which you can find beyond the break.
Metareview - Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth
IGN was one of the first outlets out of the gate with a Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth review as they awarded it an Editor's Choice award, but now, more reviews have been pouring in. While this is another port, which some people don't seem to like, it seems like it's one of the best RPGs yet for our beloved PSP. However, that may not mean a whole lot since the PSP's RPG library is nothing to write home about. Will Lenneth change all that? IGN (85/10) gets right to the point by saying it's "the best RPG that the PSP has received to date." 1UP (80/100) appreciates the change of pace Lenneth brings to the table. "As an originator, Valkyrie Profile is an inspired maverick in a field of me-too RPGs, beautiful to look at and exciting to play." Gamespot (75/100) thinks it's a decent game, but only fans of the genre may have fun with it when they said, "A solid port of a one-of-a-kind role-playing game that is endlessly appealing to genre fans who are looking for something different, but it's a bit too dense for everyone else." So there you have it. While Lenneth doesn't appear to be anything spectacular, it should offer someone itching for some RPGing on the go a lot of fun.
Valkyrie Profile earns an IGN Editor's Choice award
Another day, yet another Valkyrie Profile review. The 1UP Show got me thinking: "maybe the load times will make this a bad game." Rest assured, IGN has posted their review of the game, one long day before its final release, and it is good. In fact, it's so good, it gets a shiny Editor's Choice award. While I nervously wait for 24 hours to pick this game up, the IGN staff goes into painful detail about the non-linear gameplay, multiple difficulty settings, multiple endings and revamped audio. With a potential of 40 hours of gameplay, you're only paying a buck for an entire hour of gameplay. It might not be as impressive as Blade Dancer's supposed 70 hours of gameplay, but it's enough for me to take the plunge. So how about you, PSP Fanboys? Will you be making the trek to your local video game store tomorrow to play with the gods?
Japanese software chart, June 19 - June 26: Mario makes like the end-of-level flagpole
Well, it's finally happened. Our favorite shroom-lovin' plumber has been overthrown from his Japanese software sales throne. There's really only one force that can bring him down in the Land of Rising Sun, and indeed, Square Enix managed to take him down a peg with their new Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria, released for the PS2. Five weeks as king ain't too shabby, and of course, the Brain Age series is still running strong. Software - This Week | Total Sales 1.) Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (PS2, Square Enix) - 281,510 | NEW 2.) NEW Super Mario Bros. (NDS, Nintendo) - 170,168 | 1,848,814 3.) Brain Age 2 (NDS, Nintendo) - 57,752 | 2,594,990 4.) Winning Eleven 10 (PS2, Konami) - 49,926 | 863,457 5.) Brain Age (NDS, Nintendo) - 38,766 | 2,437,374(Further numbers are as of yet unconfirmed; official sales tallies will be released forthcoming.)
