Tag: gaming

As a retro gamer, I really do not see the point in repurchasing games I already own. Unless it’s something expanded upon and improved, like R-Type Dimensions which lets you switch between updated graphics and sound and the original sprite and chip-generated sound on the fly, I typically do not want to buy games I have in my collection and can easily play through an emulator if I so desire. I just don’t have the money for that and would rather spend it on other stuff.

I bought the Valis games for the PC Engine when I first bought my Turbo Duo console in Osaka’s Den Den Town in October 2001. Except for the first game, I probably only paid about 1,000 yen each for these games. I don’t have a Switch, but for those who missed out on the getting the original Valis series, this might be a good way to go. As far as I know though, there is nothing new to this other than playing the games on an HDMI TV (which is something I could do with my Raspberry Pi).

The original Valis came came out on the PC-88 and the Famicom, but those were pretty much kuso-ge (“crappy games”). It wasn’t until the Valis games were ported to the Megadrive and PC Engine that they were decent to play. They are still a bit clunky and suffer from lackluster gameplay, but the charm is playing as a bikini armor-clad girl swinging a sword. On the PC Engine, Valis 2-4 were released on the CD-ROM2 format, then later the first Valis game was released as a Super CD ROM format with much improved gameplay, introducing a slide kick and such. This game was never released in English for the Turbografix 16, while Valis 2 and 3 were. (Valis 4 was released on the SNES as “Super Valis,” which did not include any cutscenes and only one of the two playable characters are available to play.)

The first Mugen Senshi Valis game is so very obviously heavily inspired by the anime movie, Genmu Senki Leda: The Fantastic Adventure of Yohko. Even the titles are extremely similar: 幻夢戦記レダ and 夢幻戦士ヴァリス. Leda’s protagonist is a high school girl named Yohko and Valis’s protagonist is a high school girl named Yuuko (even their names sound similar). They are both transported to a fantasy world where they are given a magical sword, and clad in bikini armor they must defeat a handsome, blue-skinned overlord who threatens to conquer the fantasy realm. Yohko has red hair and Yuuko has blue hair. The big difference is that in Valis, Yuuko discovers that her classmate has also been transported to the fantasy realm, and has been manipulated into serving the evil overlord. Yuuko must fight her friend to the death, which is pretty heart-wrenching.

I did not know this, but the limited edition version of the Valis Collection 2 for the Switch comes with a re-issue of Kaiyodo’s 1:8 sofubi figure garage kit of Yuuko Asou, the protagonist of the Valis games. While I was searching through Kaiyodo sofubi kits on YAJ, this showed up in my search and it floored me. I’m a fan of the Valis games, despite the generally lackluster gameplay, and I never knew that this kit existed. I saw a resin kit of Yuuko at a Summer Wonder Festival event many years ago, but the sculpting wasn’t so good, so I passed on it despite the low price. I saw this sofubi kit, bid on it, and won it with only minimal competition.

So of course, this kit is soft vinyl, and comes with a resin sword.

With that hairstyle, this is unmistakably Yuuko. Very nice sculpt.

Yuuko’s arms are pretty much straight down to their sides. Not very optimal, especially when viewed from behind.

Ugh. Look at how her arms just melt into the sides of her torso. The detail is very soft here. I will have to really cut into that and recreate the detail of her arms and her sides with putty to make this look good. Still, this is very cool and I am up for the challenge! I really had no idea that there was such a sofubi figure kit from Valis, and made by Kaiyodo no less.

I just find it peculiar that they sold a Nintendo Switch LE game with a sofubi kit, considering how the popularity of sofubi kits has waned over the years and how too many gamers don’t even build models anymore (unless it’s something lazy like Gunpla). You’d think that they might have included a pre-painted figure instead. I assume the seller didn’t care for the sofubi figure and just wanted the game after all. Mine did not come with any instructions, but it is so simple that I do not need instructions.