Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume Review
Vengeance is a powerful motivator, driving neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother, and almost always ending in blood. For young Wylfred in Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume, anger and frustration become a promise of vengeance against the heavenly Valkyrie who takes the lives of warriors in battle, and took the life of Wylfred’s father, Thyodor. Wylfred will stop at nothing to sate his hatred for the Valkyrie for ruining his family, even making a deal with a demon to harness the awesome and awful power of the Destiny Plume. Control Wylfred and up to three allies in this tactical RPG, and explore this sinful and gripping story of revenge and growth. If the deep plot doesn’t capture your interest, the addicting tactical gameplay surely will.
This game is thick with plot, and there are three general plot points to keep in mind. First is the Norse Mythology setting, where Valkyries take the souls of warriors–called Einherjar–as well as the basic structure of the world as being on three planes: Asgard, land of the gods, Midgard, where humans dwell, and Niflheim, for the souls of sinners and ignoble deaths. This is the basic setting of Valkyrie Profile, and influences a lot of how people think (Einherjar and their children are highly respected) as well as some of the weapons and armor you can collect (Odin’s property is often the best equipment in the game). Within this world is a political conflict as two princes fight for ownership of the throne, resulting in strife and warfare. It’s pretty convoluted and difficult to follow the first time you play, especially the various names of lords who impact and influence the princes, but sets a good backdrop for the more detailed character development of Wylfred and company.
On the personal level, this story is about Wylfred, as he journeys to become stronger and defeat the Valkyrie for what he believes to be a wrong against his family. He goes so far as to make a pact with a demon, granting him increased power and use of the Destiny Plume but at the expense of his friends. Though allies are introduced in each section of the game, their stories do not extend beyond the chapters that introduce them, as you are liable to kill them at any time with the Destiny Plume. Still, there are important themes woven into each and every character of the game: vengeance, hatred, redemption. Wylfred is brimming with the first two as he begins his adventure, and most of the people he meets are anti-heroes, each carrying scars and burdens than hang heavily upon them. But perhaps Wylfred can reach the last quality, redemption, and end the bloodshed. It’s up the the choices you make in the game, as three different endings await you, depending on how you use the Destiny Plume. It may sound hard to follow (and it most certainly is at first), but Valkyrie Profile has a deep and powerful story that resonates throughout each and every encounter you enter. Will Wylfred take the noble path, or become absorbed by his own bloodlust? You decide.
Surround foes to conquer them!
The actual gameplay is just as intriguing. Valkyrie Profile is a tactical RPG at heart, but there are a number of twists that introduce new gameplay elements. First of all, you can only bring up to four units with you into any battle. It’s not about sheer numbers, but about how you use your characters that will bring about victory. Unlike other RPGs or even most video games, your characters are incredibly underpowered compared to enemies. In one-on-one fights, you have little hope of lasting long (though you can revive allies that die to normal attacks with items or spells). The key to victory in Valkyrie Profile is maneuvering your units so that all four units can attack a single enemy at once. One unit will initiate the attack, but anyone within attack range can join in, and with all four units attack at once, most enemies won’t have a chance. If you pincer the enemy with multiple units on two, three, or four sides of the foe, you can initiate a siege, which increases your units’ abilities. Of course, your opponents can just as easily surround and conquer you, so it behooves you to destroy enemies quickly before their allies can assist them. Archers and mages are particularly troublesome in this respect, but it’s a whole different way of thinking strategically, and once you master it, is a lot of fun to play.
It’s not just about defeating your opponents, though. It’s about obliterating them. To appease the demonic forces that Wylfred has joined, he must earn Sin points in battle by continuing to deal damage even when an enemy has fallen. Successfully earning the amount of requisite Sin in each level (different in every battle) grants you useful items and equipment at the end of the battle. Failing to collect Sin comes with no other punishment than not earning said items and equipment, but the rewards are often so valuable and powerful that you’ll be kicking yourself for missing any opportunity to collect Sin. The easiest way to deal such massive damage, though, is through Soul Crushes, devastating attacks that are available once you have charged the attack gauge through normal attacks. Each character has a different move, and most are simply brutal. Each is accompanied by a grand attack animation, and a quip from the unit, often mocking the enemy. It’s almost too pleasing to watch your enemies crumble under these Soul Crush attacks–just don’t get sucked into the same frame of mind as Wylfred.
Decimate your opponents with dramatic Soul Crushes.
All this time I’ve been mentioning it, and I’ve still yet to mention exactly what the Destiny Plume does in combat. By invoking the Plume, Wylfred can sacrifice one ally to “unlock his full potential.” All of that unit’s stats are increased tenfold, and a special ability is activated for the duration of the battle, such as auto-revive allies when they die or extend attack range by two spaces (far more useful than it sounds). After battle the unit dies, but Wylfred is able to use whatever ability that the ally activated, though with less efficiency. It almost seems counter productive, killing your own men, but since you can only bring 4 units into battle anyway, it’s easy to get rid of extra characters. There is, of course, a danger of overdoing it, and the number of times you invoke the Plume has an effect on what ending you reach. Don’t be afraid of using it when you need to though; early levels can be punishingly difficult, and the abilities unlocked by use of the Plume can change the tide of battle, so it behooves you to unlock them quickly for Wylfred to use in later fights. It’ll take every strategic bone in your body to get through some bosses or through rescue missions without using the Plume, and even some normal levels require much planning. Without the ability to save mid-battle (aside from a temporary quicksave), the game can be frustrating at times, but oh-so-satisfying when all enemies lay dead at your feet, and your Sin meter is full.
Unlike other strategy-RPGs which have tried to incorporate touch controls, Valkyrie Profile is all D-pad and face buttons. Touch controls wouldn’t really work anyway, because each of your four units is assigned to a button: A, B, X, or Y, and when you attack, you press the corresponding button to have that unit attack. It makes the battle sequences more active, and also gives you some slight control over how you raise the attack gauge for Soul Crushes. It is a surprisingly efficient system, and grants you a little more strategy over how you attack enemies. Otherwise you’ll select options from menus for attacks, items, or special moves–all standard fare. One move you might not realize instantly, though, is using the L and R buttons to rotate the camera on the battlefield. The game often tries to deceive you, hiding units behind trees or shrubbery, so remembering the L and R buttons can sometimes mean the difference between victory and sending your units to their untimely deaths.
The game’s introductory video is simply beautiful, a gorgeously composed, fully 3D introduction to Wylfred’s past. The animation is only repeated a few more times throughout the game; otherwise, you’ll be staring down on an isometric battlefield with 2D sprites, or 2D character portraits when characters are speaking outside of battle. These graphics are just as good, and even with such small, pixel-ridden sprites, there are some good battle animations for your viewing pleasure, though it is not quite the same as the opening video. Interestingly, the game has voice work, but not during cutscenes. Instead characters will spout one-liners when attacking an enemy or when an enemy has been defeated–they’re repetitive, but not so bad that they become annoying. You’ll most likely forget it’s even there, much like the background music.
Sacrifice Cheripha to the Destiny Plume to unlock Gleipnir’s Bonds, paralyzing all non-leader enemies.
The first time you play the game, you might be a little underwhelmed by the approximate 11 hours you’ll spend to reach the credits (not including deaths/retries). It might not sound like much for a proper RPG, but Valkyrie Profile sports not only three branching paths, but three endings as well. In addition, you can replay the game and use different characters, so there’s a fair amount of replay value. Unlike other games that support New Game + modes or multiple ends, you’ll definitely want to play the game again, as you’ll most likely not see the best ending (achieved by sacrificing no one to the Destiny Plume) without a few tries. Three branching paths and multiple characters mean that this is more than just going through the motions again; not only do the maps change, but you are able to see the story from a different perspective as well, giving each character a more rounded story and shedding light on some of the cryptic details. All told, it’s easy to spend 30 hours to see everything the game has to offer.
Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume has you throw out a lot of what you’ve learned about tactical RPGs; allies are expendable when they need to be, but group attacks are more effective than individual prowess. The deep and often intense combat is topped with a rich and complex plot of vengeance and redemption, wrapping around each character and exposing their true natures. It can take some time to get into, but when you master the nuances, Valkyrie Profile is an immensely satisfying strategy RPG experience.
8/10
~Eliwood
