Valkyrie Profile is the first cult classic I remember reading about that I could not play despite my desire to. I neither owned a PSP at the time, so the enhanced Lenneth release was out of my reach, nor did I have hundreds of dollars to spend on an original PS1 copy. And while I eventually found a way to play the game, I would have snapped at the chance to play a more easily accessible copy.
Now, Square Enix has released a brand-new port to the PS5 and PS4 of the 2006 PSP re-release. As ports go, it’s textbook. A few new quality of life improvements are the defining new feature, but by and large this is the same game that was released well over a decade ago. Fortunately, this is Valkyrie Profile, so that means you’re getting a classic JRPG that still feels great to play all these years later.
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth follows the Valkyrie Lenneth as she is tasked by Odin to find and recruit brave warriors in Midgard to fight in Ragnarök. Divided into chapters, Lenneth must search for souls, improve them to the point where they satisfy the requirements for ascension, and send them on their way. Lenneth, as a heavenly being, holds a different outlook on the world than the party members she recruits. Their interactions with each other and the world writ large are compelling, and it speaks to the strength of the writing that it’s still great all these years later.
Yet Valkyrie Profile is also obtuse to a fault. You are under a time limit in each chapter, and you can only explore a certain number of areas and view key scenes before you are evaluated and can choose to send a character up to Odin. How to improve those characters is poorly explained, and trial and error is required in order to figure out how best to utilize what little time you have. And despite the fact that the introduction and tutorials are quite long, they don’t elaborate enough on the many things you need to keep track of.
“Valkyrie Profile is a great game, a cult classic that still feels fresh over two decades since its original release.”
If you’re playing Valkyrie Profile for the first time, odds are you’ll miss out on a lot on the first playthrough. Yet it’s to Valkyrie Profile’s credit that this is a minor quibble. Because as poor as it is at explaining its mechanics at times, that gameplay still feels fresh all these years later. Character attacks are assigned to each face button, and proper timing of basic attacks, skills, and spells is required in order to defeat most foes. The platforming in dungeons works surprisingly well, and makes exploration enjoyable.
There are multiple ways to improve characters, though the fact that you’ll have to send your best and strongest to Asgard means you must rely on the remaining weaker party members each chapter. And the absence of traditional currency—you instead gain points with each evaluation that can be spent on items—makes crafting weapons consequential.
This port brings a handful of quality of life improvements, including save states, three different visual settings, screen zoom, and a rewind feature. These are neat additions to have, with save states being the most impactful due to the aforementioned obtuseness, but they are not major improvements. By and large, this is a straightforward port of the 2006 PSP release, and the changes are geared towards new players.
That’s not a bad thing. Valkyrie Profile is a great game, a cult classic that still feels fresh over two decades since its original release. It performs well on PS5, and both newcomers and series veterans alike should appreciate the opportunity to experience the game on brand-new platforms.
