Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume

Okay, everyone! All of you who loved the original Final Fantasy Tactics, raise your hands. Now. All of you who wanted to love the GameBoy Advance version and the DS version, but couldn't get into them because of snowball fights and overly perky lead characters, raise your hands! Okay. I can't see any of you; I just wanted to make you all raise your hands so someone observing you at your computers would think you are weird. Please. Put your hands down.

Sorry about that. I do have a point though. I bet a lot of you wished you had the serious tone of the original Tactics in a portable game. Yeah, yeah, I know: the PSP version. Does anyone actually own one of those things? You want a serious strategy game for a portable system you actually care about! Anyway, I digress. How exactly does Square expect us to go from half-sisters being blown up during a revolution to "let's drink hot cocoa and read a storybook together to warm up after our snowball fight!" Whee! Ummm. No.

The Tactics games had sound strategic engines, tons of job cIasses and for the most part, played like the original. The story-lines just, well, sucked. I'm also tired of bunny-women, moogles, lizard dudes and sheep men. Who are they trying to appeal to? Kids generally don't like strategy games and adults don't want to have snowball fights and battle obese chickens! We want to make life or death decisions, have heart-wrenching motivations for fighting and see lots of arterial spray. (Hey! How 'bout that Vandal Hearts announcement? Cool, aye? Oops! Off-track again!)

Ugh.

Well, the game you've all been waiting for has FINALLY arrived...

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**and all of you doofuses are ignoring it!** :evil:

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How many of you have actually boughtValkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume for the DS? Raise your hands!

**Please tell me you didn't just fall for it again**

...Well, why the Hel not?!

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Here's a summary of the plot: You play as Wyl. Your Dad was killed on the battlefield and taken by Lenneth Valkyrie to the halls of Valhalla to drink a bunch of mead and celebrate his life until he is chosen to fight at the final battle at the end of the reign of the Gods (Ragnarok). To a warrior, there is no greater honor. To the family of the fallen warrior left behind, it basically means the head of your household is dead and you are doomed to starve to death. Just like Wyl's little sister did. Wyl doesn't like Lenneth all that much. In a turn of events during a routine mercenary practice session, Wyl is mortally injured and is forced to make a deal with Hel. He is to sacrifice human lives and commit enough sins to blacken a plume from Lenneth's wings, to provide himself with a magic powerful enough to KILL the Valkyrie! He is to befriend allies and then sacrifice them in battle, (1) to absorb their skills, (2) to turn the tide of battle when things are looking grim and (3) to feed the bloodlust of the Black Plume! A bit more interesting than snowballs and spoiled-brat princes, eh?

So the mood is there. The motivation is there. And, you couldn't get a darker plot if you tried. Throw in multiple endings and game paths, serious life and death decisions and the guilt of living with yourself... you evil, evil bastard... and you FINALLY have a worthy, spiritual successor to the original FF Tactics!

Better yet, it is set in the world of Valkyrie Profile! The sequel may not have been too hot, but the original ranks up there with Vagrant Story as one of my favorite RPGs of all time! Those two games alone would have made owning the PSOne worth it, even if that VII game never came out! (Again, I digress...) You are treated to serious themes in this game. You get to see beautiful, stylized character portraits and the text and story is given that special Nordic flair! Lots of honor, lots of bloodlust, lots of cruelty and pain... and not a single bunny-woman in sight! You get to fight a lot of soldiers and sorcerers and, of course, wolves, demons and half-human/half-plant monstrosities. The sprites look like Tactics sprites, but the allies and enemies have that Valkyrie Profile personality to them.

What ties it all together is the cIassic VP battle gameplay. You manuever your troops on the battlefield to flank your enemies for stat bonuses and such, but the battle actually plays out just like the VP of olde. Each character is assigned to a face button of the DS. As your gauge allows, you keep on pressing the buttons corresponding to the characters, combo-ing and juggling your enemy til they either die --OR-- you build up enough meter to do a SUPER Special Attack (Think: Nibelung Valesti. Which, if my guess serves me right, YOU will be on the receiving end of at some point in this game! Oooo! Scary!) --OR-- your time runs out for that turn.

There's so much more to it than this, of course. This is a 2009 Sqaure-Enix game, is it not? Your a bad man, remember? You almost NEED to OVERKILL your enemies to commit enough SIN to please Hel! You don't want to piss this goddess off! If you do, (1) You get less loot at the end of your battle --AND-- (2) She sends dopplegangers of YOU and your fallen allies to seriously kick your arses next battle! You DO NOT want this to happen! Trust me! It's B-A-D ! ! ! This makes for some heavy strategic consideration while playing! You gotta kill your enemies BUT. GOOD.Did I mention you're a bastard? Assignable Tactics and Learnable Techniques make all of this possible, but certainly NOT easy. This is NOT your little brothers strategy game! (For a change... on a Nintendo system! Yay!)

The game is comprised of 5 Chapters, but your paths will vary as you make different decisions. Who you choose to sacrifice and who you do not MUST make a difference in the course of the game! I will not lie, I am just starting this game now; this is not meant to be a review. I am playing an AMAZING SRPG on my DSi, but no one else seems to be talking about it!? I just had to get the word out! This is the kind of game I've been yearning for, for a while. I KNOW I will play through this more than once to discover the different endings. This game is brilliant strategy with a sound, satisfying battle system and best of all, it has deep replayability. I could be wrong here, but there just has to be a way for Wyl to redeem himself. If there is not, that would make this game that much more unique and would culminate in an end-battle I just can't even fathom...!

People constantly complain about the casual or kiddy appeal of all of the games on Nintendo's various systems, but when a game like this is released and ignored, can you blame developers for not even trying anymore? Nope! You only have yourselves to blame! Now! Who's man or woman enough to take on this game with me?! Come my DS Einherjer! A portable Valhalla awaits!

Looks interesting, thanks for the overview! I'll probably pick this one up as soon as I have the money.

I already bought it forever ago because I've been a big fan of the VP series for a long time already.

I already bought it forever ago because I've been a big fan of the VP series for a long time already.

child_of_lileth

how long is the game just about?

This is probably my favorite game amongst my collection (even with games such as FF4 in it) It's a truly unique game and the first playthrough can get pretty challenging depending on which path you take. I'd definely recommend it to anyone who isn't completely "lawlz, the pwr o frendshipzzz!!"

[QUOTE="child_of_lileth"]

I already bought it forever ago because I've been a big fan of the VP series for a long time already.

Silk_Wood

how long is the game just about?

For me, the first playthrough was around 10 hours, but you'll find yourself playing it multiple times in order to get the bonus dungeon.

[QUOTE="Silk_Wood"]

[QUOTE="child_of_lileth"]

I already bought it forever ago because I've been a big fan of the VP series for a long time already.

magitekk

how long is the game just about?

For me, the first playthrough was around 10 hours, but you'll find yourself playing it multiple times in order to get the bonus dungeon.

hey good to know mate' ill definately pick this one up (i was actually debating at FYE to get this or GTA CW but i gotGTA, now seeing that this is also a must buy ill get it aswell) ;)

[QUOTE="magitekk"]

[QUOTE="Silk_Wood"]

how long is the game just about?

Silk_Wood

For me, the first playthrough was around 10 hours, but you'll find yourself playing it multiple times in order to get the bonus dungeon.

hey good to know mate' ill definately pick this one up (i was actually debating at FYE to get this or GTA CW but i gotGTA, now seeing that this is also a must buy ill get it aswell) ;)

I borrowed this game and i hated it, this one turned into a game "love it or hate it". The story is awesome, the music is awesome, the game voice acting is one of the best in all the gaming story, the characters are awesome... so where this game fall short?

GAMEPLAY.

Yes, gameplay. The bad mix of genres, turn based strategy with Valkyrie Profile battle system turned this game into a huge letdown for a lot of people.

*Ranting time*:

This game would be much, much better if it was like the original Valkyrie Profile.

*end of ranting time*

So yeah, get it at your own risk, who knows? You might end liking it like that magitekk dude.

Off-topic: Why they don`t stick with the original formulas? Sometimes it just the better idea. Similarly with this game, super robot taisen OG saga also broke with the sucessful super robot taisen series formula by being a game of turn based battles, instead of strategy turn based. If you allow me to say, if this makes any success, it will be due to the eye candy and the success of robot taisen series.

Im woman enough!I loved the second one one,but never saw the first one.This game definetly intrests me,but the super difficulty could get on my nerves but ill get over that.

Also im sick of the "save a princess storys as a bratty guy with a huge sword fighting fluffy bunnies"(what a mouthful)so killing irrattaing teammates will be fun.I s it out in ireland yet?i havent seen it yet.

I was thinking about getting it I just got a DSi the Thursday before Easter and I only have 2 games Fire Emblem and Pokemon so when ever I can I will defenately buy this game I like SRPGs.

I may pick this up. I'm actually playing through Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria right now though, so It will have to wait for a bit. Btw, the PSP hate at the beginning of this post is just silly. ;)raven_squad

i agree mate bout the PSP part, but when you think about it (me atleast) everyone owns/has owned a DS =P

I may pick this up. I'm actually playing through Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria right now though, so It will have to wait for a bit. Btw, the PSP hate at the beginning of this post is just silly. ;)raven_squad

To be honest, I was never going to post this anywhere but in my blog. I have been enjoying this game so much, I thought I would share my opinion with the DS Forum too. I didn't even remember the PSP part was in there! I don't hate the PSP at all. I was just merely poking fun at some of the users that watch my blog; they know me better than to believe I actually care about System Wars stuff or to take me seriously when I say things like that.

Posting this outside of my blog, I should have removed it, but, oh well! Too late now!

just wondering mates' but do all of your team members have to attack one guy at a time? of can you attack foes one on one like FFTA?

just wondering mates' but do all of your team members have to attack one guy at a time? of can you attack foes one on one like FFTA?

Silk_Wood

You can attack one on one but it's best to attack with all of your characters on one enemy in order to get 100 points of sin for each enemy

[QUOTE="Silk_Wood"]

just wondering mates' but do all of your team members have to attack one guy at a time? of can you attack foes one on one like FFTA?

magitekk

You can attack one on one but it's best to attack with all of your characters on one enemy in order to get 100 points of sin for each enemy

so it plays out just like a FFTA except when you attack an enemy with multiple people, right? like, does it go to a whole new battle screen everytime you attack?

[QUOTE="raven_squad"]I may pick this up. I'm actually playing through Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria right now though, so It will have to wait for a bit. Btw, the PSP hate at the beginning of this post is just silly. ;)Phantom_Leo

To be honest, I was never going to post this anywhere but in my blog. I have been enjoying this game so much, I thought I would share my opinion with the DS Forum too. I didn't even remember the PSP part was in there! I don't hate the PSP at all. I was just merely poking fun at some of the users that watch my blog; they know me better than to believe I actually care about System Wars stuff or to take me seriously when I say things like that.

Posting this outside of my blog, I should have removed it, but, oh well! Too late now!

by the way mate' thanks for this great overview

[QUOTE="magitekk"]

[QUOTE="Silk_Wood"]

just wondering mates' but do all of your team members have to attack one guy at a time? of can you attack foes one on one like FFTA?

Silk_Wood

You can attack one on one but it's best to attack with all of your characters on one enemy in order to get 100 points of sin for each enemy

so it plays out just like a FFTA except when you attack an enemy with multiple people, right? like, does it go to a whole new battle screen everytime you attack?

Yeah, I guess so. I've never played FFTA but when you attack an enemy, it shows only the character you attacked with (or characters, if you have any more characters around) and the enemy you're attacking

Wow you put a lot of effort it writing this, and that just makes me feel really bad. I just feel so guilty that I don't even like strategy rpg's and so therefore I don't have a mind to get Valkyrie Profile. I mean the first two games seem to be really difficult, and while I have them I don't think I'll ever get around to playing them, what with all the other games that I find more enjoyable to play.

But I wish that others here, "true gamers" as it were, would buy this game because I'm sure it fits right on the bill for what they want in a game: challenge, a relatively mature story, and replay value. More people should buy this game.

Wow you put a lot of effort it writing this, and that just makes me feel really bad. I just feel so guilty that I don't even like strategy rpg's and so therefore I don't have a mind to get Valkyrie Profile. I mean the first two games seem to be really difficult, and while I have them I don't think I'll ever get around to playing them, what with all the other games that I find more enjoyable to play.

But I wish that others here, "true gamers" as it were, would buy this game because I'm sure it fits right on the bill for what they want in a game: challenge, a relatively mature story, and replay value. More people should buy this game.

thattotally

well said mate', i bought this game yesterday and i have to say, a 6/10 from Gamespot is VERY VERY harsh mate':? this gets atleast a 8.5 - 9/10 in my book:D

[QUOTE="thattotally"]

Wow you put a lot of effort it writing this, and that just makes me feel really bad. I just feel so guilty that I don't even like strategy rpg's and so therefore I don't have a mind to get Valkyrie Profile. I mean the first two games seem to be really difficult, and while I have them I don't think I'll ever get around to playing them, what with all the other games that I find more enjoyable to play.

But I wish that others here, "true gamers" as it were, would buy this game because I'm sure it fits right on the bill for what they want in a game: challenge, a relatively mature story, and replay value. More people should buy this game.

Silk_Wood

well said mate', i bought this game yesterday and i have to say, a 6/10 from Gamespot is VERY VERY harsh mate':? this gets atleast a 8.5 - 9/10 in my book:D

Most of the ratings given to this game that are around a 6 were usually given because of how "demanding" the game is. They say that the story is brilliant and everything, but that the sin requirement is too much to handle. That's no way to rate a game -.-

[QUOTE="Phantom_Leo"]

[QUOTE="raven_squad"]I may pick this up. I'm actually playing through Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria right now though, so It will have to wait for a bit. Btw, the PSP hate at the beginning of this post is just silly. ;)Silk_Wood

To be honest, I was never going to post this anywhere but in my blog. I have been enjoying this game so much, I thought I would share my opinion with the DS Forum too. I didn't even remember the PSP part was in there! I don't hate the PSP at all. I was just merely poking fun at some of the users that watch my blog; they know me better than to believe I actually care about System Wars stuff or to take me seriously when I say things like that.

Posting this outside of my blog, I should have removed it, but, oh well! Too late now!

by the way mate' thanks for this great overview

You're welcome!

[QUOTE="Silk_Wood"]

[QUOTE="thattotally"]

Wow you put a lot of effort it writing this, and that just makes me feel really bad. I just feel so guilty that I don't even like strategy rpg's and so therefore I don't have a mind to get Valkyrie Profile. I mean the first two games seem to be really difficult, and while I have them I don't think I'll ever get around to playing them, what with all the other games that I find more enjoyable to play.

But I wish that others here, "true gamers" as it were, would buy this game because I'm sure it fits right on the bill for what they want in a game: challenge, a relatively mature story, and replay value. More people should buy this game.

magitekk

well said mate', i bought this game yesterday and i have to say, a 6/10 from Gamespot is VERY VERY harsh mate':? this gets atleast a 8.5 - 9/10 in my book:D

Most of the ratings given to this game that are around a 6 were usually given because of how "demanding" the game is. They say that the story is brilliant and everything, but that the sin requirement is too much to handle. That's no way to rate a game -.-

yeah, but even if you dont fill the sin, all you have to do is fight more =P (as far as i can tell)

bump

I just need the money now, I'm really excited for this one! I've become addicted to strategy games such as this(thanks to Fire Emblem...) and I need something to keep me occupied (within said genre).

Thanks for taking time to adress the lack of interest among people about this game. I sort of blew it off, (I was going to get the PSP Valkyrie Profile game instead) after I saw a lot of people complaining about it on the forums and the low Gamespot rating. But you've convinced me to pick this one up as well when I get the chance; this looks like a series I'd enjoy.

Should you dare to challenge this game and walk the path that I chose (I will NOT invoke the plume!)...

**Here's a few words of advice and encouragement**

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(1) Yeah. Read the directions. For the first couple of hours, I didn't know that pressing the "Y' button lets you choose what ally you want to use and when. I thought there was a pre-set order: Wyl>Character at X>Character at A>Character at B. So NOT so, and playing this way makes it nearly impossible to set up effective flanks. Oops! As a testament to how much I love the game though, even under such restrictive, self-imposed, difficulty, I was still enjoying it. It's just now I am playing it correctly and enjoying it THAT. MUCH. MORE!

(2) See rule #1. The L and R buttons rotate the battlefield. How stupid am I that I thought it was horrible programming when enemies moved behind structures and I would get angry cause I couldn't see them? Duh.

(3) There are times when it is going to seem like you are in an impossible situation. ESPECIALLY when you have to rescue someone and all they seem to be good at doing is DYING and earning you a "Game Over." You are going to be tempted to use the plume over and over. Go ahead if you want --BUT-- I feel more rewarded when it is my strategy and skill that beats a near-death struggle and --NOT-- sacrificing one of my valued teammates! You will have to replay battles over and over, and this CAN teeter on becoming tedious --BUT-- the feeling of beating a battle like this is priceless!

(4) Use all the tricks, techniques and tactics at your disposal! Ever play Disgaea? Know how you can NOT move a character, use that character in a Team Attack, then move that character into another Team Attack in the same turn? It's called "Siege" here and --GET USED TO IT-- as it will be your best friend. NOT doing this will make the game nearly impossible; You will NEVER earn enough SIN and you --WILL-- quit out of frustration! This is not cheating, this is strategy, and you need to figure out how to use this effectively whenever you can! Also Techniques and Tactics are indisposable! Buy them. Equip them. Use them! Quite a few battles you will juuust missgetting to one of your allies in time before they are killed by NOT using the "Dash" Tactic effectively. This game is only as hard as you make it! It is challenging, but NOT AT ALL AS IMPOSSIBLE as some of the (poor) reviews would lead you to believe! The reviewers obviously, simply DID NOT take the time to learn to play this game properly! Keep at it, you will succeed!

(5) Learn the nuances! Re-order your attacks. Pay attention to what attacks build your meter faster. Who combos best after whom? Who juggles to earn crystals and more experience? Who is the best Overdrive to use and when? The timing of the activation of certain Techniques is MORE IMPORTANT than simply just using them. This game forces you to pay attention and learn your lessons WELL. This is STRATEGY. This game is for big boys (and girls) with more than a minute's attention span! Like I said before: this game will NOT hold your hand (if you choose the noble route, that is!)... it is as CRUEL as the world that it portrays, but you'll get an extreme appreciation for what the developers were trying to do by learning to work WITH their system. It REALLY is a sound, good and unique one... again, DESPITE what the lazy reviewers had to say!

(6) Realize you can go back and play different paths as a Bad-Ass, if you want to. I want to die as the noble Wyl, not the Bastard! I will plow through the "Bad" endings with Overpowered, Evil Wyl as a reward for getting through the game FIRST as Noble, Regretful Wyl-with-a-Conscience! This game is SO WELL DONE I am going to enjoy playing it more than once; that is rare for me...! At 10 hours a playthrough, it is entirely feasible though. Hope some of my words of advice help your playthroughs too!

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The Camera isn't an issue once you discover you can rotate the battlefield.

I thought the L/R buttons were useless until I clicked them and was panicking as i couldn't see my characters. Then I couldn't stop spinning when i figured out what happened. Maybe this function should have been explained during the game. Admittedly even with the constant spinning, sometimes the camera angle is a bit whiffy at times and gets very dizzy.closet_skeleton

I don't understand what you mean by this. On your DS when you press one of the shoulder buttons, it spins constantly? It shouldn't do THAT.

Mind you when my DS screen turned black without before saving, I started screaming. If you have a temperamental DS like I do, this game will test your nerves by appearing to shut down after battles without being saved.closet_skeleton

It definitely sounds like there's something up with your DS. I'm not experiencing what you describe here at all.

Oh yeah, what happens if you don't fulfill Sin requirements constantly? Never tried it out as Wyl has been a very good little sinner. closet_skeleton

Hel sends dopplegangers of YOU and anyone you've sacrificed into the next battle. They are EXTREMELY powerful and you will most likely have to sacrifice someone ELSE to beat them. You WANT TO fulfill the Sin Requirements E-V-E-R-Y battle, TRUST ME!

I think ill wait for Knights in the Nightmare as far as SRPGs are concerned.

Yes, I was one of the few who bought the psp remake, and all I can say is, the battle system just wasn't my thing. I keep hearing people complain that VP: CotP's gameplay is terrible because its not like Lenneth's, but it sounds like a good thing to me.

I loved this game so much, extremely fun and very challenging.