Square Enix’s strangest PS1-era RPG is available once again - Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth Quick Review
PLAY IT OR SKIP IT?
Skip it, unless you’re looking for a JRPG history lesson. Though it has a cult following, I have to admit that I never really got the buzz behind 2000’s Valkyrie Profile, one of Square Enix's more obscure releases during what was arguably the publisher's most successful era ever. Now that I’ve spent some time with the Lenneth remake—previously only available on PlayStation Portable and mobile platforms but now on PlayStation 4 and 5 as well—I can firmly say that I still don’t get it. Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth has a compelling Norse mythology-inspired setting and some intriguing characters, but between the repetitive combat, terrible platforming, and glacial story pacing, there’s not much reason to check it out unless you’re already a fan.
TIME PLAYED
I spent five hours with Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth stretched across two sittings. That provided enough time to complete the prologue and first chapter, including the lengthy first dungeon, and make it most of the way through the second dungeon.
WHAT’S AWESOME
• Setting. Especially coming off of God of War: Ragnarok, I can’t seem to get enough of Norse mythology. Valkyrie Profile provides its own unique take on gods and goddesses like Odin and Freya, and it also spends a lot of time giving glimpses of the day-to-day lives of random citizens in the world of Midgard.
• Sense of urgency. Once you finish the prologue, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth introduces one of the game’s standout features: a limited clock on what you can actually accomplish. Entering a town or dungeon or performing other tasks eats up “periods,” which in turn will wind down each chapter until, finally, Ragnarok begins. I appreciated how this clever system made me think carefully about each move I made and whether it would be a waste of my limited time before the endgame. If any part of Lenneth made me want to stick with the game, this was the one.
WHAT SUCKS
• Simple and poorly explained combat. Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth uses a turn-based combat system, like many Square Enix-published JRPGs, but in this case turns were shared by my entire group of up to four heroes. Most basic attacks were accomplished just by tapping a button, and by stringing those attacks together, I was able to pull off combos. Combos were sometimes required to break an enemy’s block, but beyond that I didn’t find a lot of depth to the battles, and some mechanics, such as the special attacks that could be performed by filling up a meter, were not really explained at all.
• Platforming. Dungeon exploration in Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth takes place in 2D levels with some of the stiffest and most unsatisfying platforming I’ve experienced in ages. It wouldn’t be as bad if the level designed stayed simple, at least, but these labyrinths twist around and often require obscure tricks and an annoying degree of accuracy to reach certain ledges and progress through the level.
• Pacing. This is less of an issue the deeper into the game you get, but geez, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth sure does start slow. The first two or three hours of the game are filled to the brim with long cutscenes and buckets of dialogue from characters you haven’t got a reason to care about yet discussing situations that don’t really make sense with the limited context provided. I liked where it all settled eventually, but getting there was a real struggle.
💬 Does Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth make your play it list, or are you planning to skip it as well? Share your opinion in a comment!
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