Going into dungeons would make
you use up 2 periods.
Valkyrie's Performance
Gamers who have been looking for non-Square quality RPGs would be delighted with the concepts found in Valkyrie Profile. First off, Valkyrie Profile stems from Norse Mythology. You are Lenneth Valkyrie, one of the three warrior-maiden goddesses called Choose of the Slain.
Odin, king of the gods, summons you to take in Einherjar or warriors, to Asgard, home of the gods. Odin needs the Einherjar to fight in Ragnarok, known also as the End of the World, so he sends you to Midgard, the human world.
I've been very fond of all kinds of mythology but I find Norse mythology darkest of all. Here I am being summoned by Odin to look for dead people. All through the RPGs I've played, my goal is always for survival, where I'm hoping that none of my characters would die in the story. They all die here - of course, that's no spoiler. You are Choose of the Slain. The concept seems kind of weird at first, but it is something new. Here, you'll be taken to stories of your Einherjar, who, like most heroes, don't lead happy lives. The background on your Einherjar gives you long dialogues, though.
The opening movie has a wonderful anime opening. The art in the anime looks really cool. It is, in fact, comparable to Xenogears. It is even cooler than Wild Arms 2. The graphics are in 2D, which reminds me of SNES Zelda, although the backgrounds are smoother. The character sketches are very nicely drawn and even the character designs for all the gods are rendered very well!
Valkyrie moves across the screen, jumping around the dungeons as if she were Alucard from Castlevania or Fei from Xenogears. She can use crystals to reach higher parts of the dungeons or to freeze enemies. Freeze enemies? Yes! Enemies walk around the dungeons so there are no random battles here. Brandish a sword by pressing X or simply approach the enemies to fight them.
The good part here is the gameplay. Time in Midgard is not limitless, as the goddess Freya tells you. Time here is divided into Chapters, and chapters are divided into periods. You are told at first that there are 192 periods till the end of the world. Rather spooky, isn't it? How you spend your periods is up to you. Your performance is evaluated by Freya each chapter.
Each chapter, Freya would require you to send Einherjar up to Asgard with the qualities that she requests. You must train your Einherjar because you are to be given both a Seal Rating and an Evaluation value. These are based on the activities you do in Midgard.
Freya gives you Materialize Points which you can use to forge Divine Items in save points or on the world map. You can also use these points to "transmute" or convert existing items to more powerful equipment. You can also convert them to MP.
As this is a preview, you are yet to experience the endings. There are 3 endings for both Normal and Hard Mode, and 2 endings for Easy Mode.
It seems Valkyrie Profile wishes to target newbies to the game with the Easy Mode because the battle system seems a bit intricate for that. There are so many things to consider. This isn't just an RPG where you find a boss and kill him and his henchmen. You have a different goal here.
The game is often compared to Chrono Cross because of the non-random battles, Legend of Mana because of the pacing and timeframe, and Star Ocean because of the Skills and Seal Rating system. It can also be compared to Suikoden for recruiting characters. However, the very concept of VP is so different that it just can't be easily compared to other games. The way of thinking involved is in a whole new different level from the games it is being compared to. It is a new format, one you should try if you're a seasoned gamer looking for an alternative.
