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Valhalla Knights launched late in 2007 on European
shores. Developed by Marvellous Interactive, the title was released
in Japan in August 2006 and published by XSEED
 Games in the US of
April 2007, so it’s clear the localisation process has taken quite
some time. The responsibility of which falls to Rising Star Games’
in the UK, a publishing company becoming synonymous with bringing
titles appreciated by the Hardcore to our shop shelves, despite to
odd dip into the Causal Gamer market with titles such as
Super Swing Golf. Valhalla Knights, however, fits
quite snugly into the former category, through-and-through a
Role-Playing Game for the Hardcore Gamer.
Since the title’s arrival in the UK, a sequel has been
firmly announced, and the original Valhalla Knights can be
found at a budget price at many retailers, and so the title may well
seem to offer value-for-money, but can it compete with the
bigger budget PlayStation Portable Role-Playing Games like
Crisis Core –Final Fantasy VII– and Disgaea: Afternoon
of Darkness?
As the game begins, the player is immediately thrown into a Battle
Sequence featuring a rather cluttered Menu arrangement, and leaving
the player work out the basics of the Real-Time Combat System for
themselves. The X Button executes basic attacks, while the R Button
locks onto an enemy, and this is all the player will need to
proceed.
After the rather brash introduction to the combat, the player is
then asked to create a character. The Character Creation System is
wonderful – allowing for amazing depth and casting the player as
commander of how they choose to play the game. Further to this, when
a character gains enough EXP from defeating enemies to allow them to
Level-Up, Bonus Points are granted with which the player may
allocate to their chosen attributes at will – further customising
their character on top of a basic model. However, the
fly-in-the-ointment here is the sheer lack of information. While
Role-Playing Game fans may well be aware of what differences the
Fighter and Thief Job Classes carry, a player new to the genre may
not, and so a four-word explanation really wouldn’t suffice.
The town your hero awakens in acts as the HUB for the title, from
which Quests can be selected from the local Guild, as well offering
additional party members, and items can be purchased from the store
before continuing the main plotline. Suffering from amnesia,
Valhalla Knights takes the player on a journey to piece together
your memory, with nearly every twist being decidedly predictable.
While enjoyable in its small doses, the story unfolding in
Valhalla Knights certainly won’t win any awards.
The player has an advisor of sorts – a The Legend of Zelda:
Ocarina of Time Navi-inspired ethereal being who dispenses
advice. Unfortunately, the player is unable to call upon their guide
when most needed – such as when lost for an objective – and his
presence is most notably interjected when the player already has a
full agenda. Control of your party can be left to the Artificial
Intelligence – which will perform an adequate job – should the
player wish, however to do so is to miss yet another layer of deeply
customisable attributes. Players can not only perform all the usual
item-swapping and Levelling-Up tricks that are often offered over
party members in Role-Playing Games, but also take control of
another character mid-battle and launch a new offensive or create a
distraction, allowing for some deeply tactical play.
Enemies can be identified on the player’s Mini-Map as bright red
dots, meaning a more subtle player may well be able to avoid combat
when necessary – which becomes handy towards the end of the game.
The death of your entire party sends you reeling back to the Inn –
minus a fee – to begin your journey again. To begin with, this is of
little consequence, but as your journey continues and fewer Warp
Points become available, the lack of mid-dungeon revival options
soon begins to grate.
Valhalla Knights is a fantastic looking game – easily one of
the best on the PlayStation Portable. The Character Models are well
drawn and the equipment given to a character is visible at all
times, which, much like Rising Star Games’ recent Wii Role-Playing
Game release,
Baroque, adds a customisable layer of detail to a
pre-constructed Character Model. The soundtrack is predictable
Japanese Role-Playing Game fodder, but doesn’t detract from the
on-screen action.
Hardcore Gamers looking for a new Role-Playing Game challenge on the
PlayStation Portable have little other option; but that’s not
necessarily a good thing. Valhalla Knights performs well to
standard, but has little flair and exercises few truly original
ideas. Casual Gamers need not apply, but for those wanting little
more that a predictable Role-Playing Game romp could do much worse. |
