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Reviews An innovative RPG for hardcore gamers, December 6, 2006 Rating: 8.3/10 By zeroinitiate Valkyrie Profile 2 Silmeria is an RPG based on Norse mythology. Its unusual premise is only one of the characteristics that differentiate the game from others in the genre. What's important is that most of the innovations introduced in Silmeria work, resulting in a game that's unique, cohesive and, once you master its different quirks, ultimately satisfying.
You play the game as princess Alicia, who has the soul of a valkyrie named Silmeria trapped inside her. Silmeria's out for revenge against Odin and, being the unfortunate submissive that Alicia is in their coexistence, it's up to her to do the legwork and find how they can defeat a god.
Similar to most console RPGs, gameplay is divided into two things: exploration and combat. Between them, exploration is the weaker half. Visiting the game's various locales is a two-dimensional, side-scrolling affair. As Alicia, you can move left and right as you go through towns, dungeons, etc. You can push up or down when you get to an exit to move to the next area. The towns are very linear so you won't be spending a lot of time exploring them. They're structured as simple lines where you go from point A to point B, with doors placed along the way that you can go "up" to if you want to enter them.The dungeons use different layouts that prevent them from becoming as straightforward as the towns, which is mostly a good thing. Think of the dungeons as larger lines. You still have endpoints, but the paths are often crooked, with inclines and slopes intended to give the impression that you're exploring unfamiliar terrain. Some of the larger dungeons have multiple endpoints, giving them a sense of scale.
The side-scrolling exploration sequences also feature gameplay mechanics usually associated with platform titles, namely jumping interspersed with a few puzzle elements. It's an uncharacteristic twist for an RPG, but for the most part, it works. You'll often run into a ledge that you have to jump to to get to the next area. Other ends will be unreachable unless you step on a platform of some sort. Alicia can fire photons that freeze ghosts (more on that later) in place, turning them into crystals that you can step on. Furthermore, hitting a crystal with another photon causes a switch of positions between Alicia and the crystal. When you start jumping and puzzle-solving during exploration, the side-scrolling design begins to feel more cohesive. It might seem a little off at first but it will soon make sense. On the other hand, map exploration is almost non-existent. It's only a point-and-click process where you simply point the cursor to the location that you want to go to. It's a stark contrast to the scale brought by the game's dungeons. Sure, it's a convenient way to travel, but you don't really get the feeling that you're crossing great distances.
When you enter a dungeon or any hostile area, your foes are represented by generic bluish/purplish ghosts. Note that your enemies aren't actually ghosts, they're just represented by them. One ghost usually contains multiple enemies. Making contact will take you into combat. Compared to exploration, battles are rendered in full 3D. You have a third-person view of your characters and their positions relative to their foes. You can fight it traditionally by eradicating all of them or you can end things quickly by going after their leader, who is always marked clearly. Combat is pseudo-turn-based. It looks like it's real-time but it's not. You and your foes have consumable action bars that share the same amount of usage in terms of movement. If you move, they move. If you don't, then they'll remain still. To bridge the distance between yourself and your enemies, you can either run or dash. Running replenishes your action bar but allows your enemies to move as well. They usually have cone-shaped markers in front of them that indicate their attack range. Cross that and they'll get first strike. Dashing depletes your action bar but gives you the advantage of closing in on their weak sides. They don't move when you dash, so it's simply a matter of closing in on their vulnerable spots, away from their attack ranges, and engaging them from there.
The actual combat shifts the camera from a third-person perspective to a side-to-side view, similar to a fighting game. It even displays your opponent's health. Your action bar, or whatever's left of it if you dashed in, is also shown. Each character is assigned a specific button on the controller. Pressing those buttons will cause them to attack. As you attack, three things will start depleting: your opponent's health, your action bar and the number of attacks you can do. If any of those run out, then your turn is over. If your foe lives through your assault, then it will naturally fight back. You'll get a replenished action bar on your next turn.
It probably sounds like combat is a very involved process. That's because it is. Your foes are represented by ghosts, which means that you have the choice if you want to fight them or simply turn them into crystals and walk past them. If you fight them, you're taken to the battlefield where you have the option of going after their leader or engaging them all. When you're actually fighting them, you have different moves to make. All in all, the game does a good job of making each fight satisfying. The turn-based combat has enough of a real-time feel to it to make it lively and interesting. You can play it strategically by plotting each press of a button systematically, or you can go ballistic and simply button-mash your opponents to oblivion. Either way, the experience is rewarding, even if it can be a bit difficult.
The game's graphics are very well done. The 2D landscapes are handsomely drawn and do a good job of keeping things immersive. Character models are detailed and animate fluidly. The actual fighting is particularly flashy. It's a treat to watch if you're into beautifully-rendered destruction. The audio is also pretty solid. There's a good amount of voice acting in the game and it's done well. The music is mostly orchestral and, while it's not catchy, it helps in keeping things in line with the game's setting.
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria is a console RPG with a lot of unconventional features. It's based on a mythology that you don't see often in video games, it uses platform mechanics that you almost never see in RPGs and it has a deep combat system that has a lot of nuances in it that keeps it distinct. Hardcore gamers and those who are looking for something different will find a lot to like in Silmeria. It's not for everyone, but if you've got the patience to study how its different systems work, then you're in for a very satisfying experience.
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