Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth on PSP

Last week I was sick with influenza and stayed home. I stayed in bed for 5 days and slept. I also began playing Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth for the PSP and I really like it. I got about 4 hours in, realized I was not playing it right, then started over. It’s really not your typical JRPG in which every new town you visit you buy new weapons and armor for your characters at the armory shop and buy item supplies at the store next to that. In this game you must craft your own items and such. My complaint is that when I am creating new weapons and armor, it does not tell me which characters can use them, nor how much their stats would increase with the items.

I remember when this game first came out for the Playstation, at the end of the ’90s. It was refreshing to see screenshots of this game in magazines with its pixel graphics. At that time, nearly everything had to be 3D rendered and I didn’t like that. However, Valkyrie Profile came out late in the console’s life, and not many copies of the game were made. I was unable to procure one and before long, it had become terribly expensive. When it was re-released for the PSP as Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, I definitely bought it.

The world in this game is rather dreary. So much death and betrayal. As Lenneth, you must collect the souls of people who’ve died and recruit them to fight creatures of darkness so that you can send them to Asgard to fight for King Odin. Lots of sad stories. “I promise you, I won’t die! After this war, I’ll return and marry you!” Sorry bud, you’re dead. Now you get to die again in Ragnarok. That sort of thing. Perfect game for this joyous holiday season.