Valkyrie Profile, a Warning!
I’ve just finished Valkyrie Profile a couple of days ago, so I might still be biased. I’m also very angry with the game. Or rather, I’m angry at the ending of the game.
The game involves you playing Valkyrie, training the newly departed to be warriors for a great war in Valhalla. The story of the game is fairly disjoint, but foreshadows a more sinister connection. The problem is that the game punishes you for being a good player. If you play the game as best as you can, and correctly accomplish all the tasks given to you, you’ll miss out on most of the storyline.
If you want to have the real story of the game, you need to play in a very specific average way. However, there is no way to figure this out without a FAQ. However, if you don’t follow these steps, expect to miss about 70% of the storyline. I’m serious. The real storyline can be found on Wikipedia.
I’m very offended by this type of decision. I spent 40 hours of my time playing this game. However, by not respecting a specific set of instructions (that is not explained anywhere), I have no chance of learning the real story of the game. That’s just plain bad design. I know that this game was originally intended for a Japanese audience, which have a different notion of what is difficult. However, I find this kind of design decision very difficult to justify in North America.
My final word on this, Valkyrie Profile is a nice game. However, if you want the real ending, play with a faq. Actually, let me help you by pointing you to one. Until then, I’ll be playing Jeanne d’Arc instead.
