From Square's Final Fantasy to Enix's Dragon Warrior, RPG scenarios nearly always feature personal stories told against the backdrop of an unimaginable conflict. Tri-Ace's traditional RPG Valkyrie Profile, published by Enix, is no exception. But Valkyrie Profile raises the stakes, taking place against the backdrop of perhaps the largest conflict of them all: Ragnarok, the final confrontation between the Aesir gods and the Vanir gods. And you, Valkyrie Lenneth, are on the front lines.
Norse mythology holds that Valkyries are female warriors responsible for ferrying the souls of the dead from this world to the next. In Valkyrie Profile, that's precisely what you do. The demigoddess Valkyrie travels around the world, entering the lives of heroes just before they die - or just after. The Valkyrie then takes their souls into her possession, where they fight alongside her in an attempt to find retribution. Each of the more than 20 characters that join your party is either deceased or immortal. With such heavy prerequisites for joining Club Valkyrie, it's not surprising that many of the game's engaging scenarios are filled with pathos, tragedy, and high drama. The story only loosely adheres to the original Norse myths: The one-eyed Odin is fully sighted and exceedingly youthful in this game, and Valkyrie Profile's Frey is definitely not a man. But considering how most Japanese RPGs "respect" other cultures' mythologies, this is mostly a nonissue.
From Square's Final Fantasy to Enix's Dragon Warrior, RPG scenarios nearly always feature personal stories told against the backdrop of an unimaginable conflict. Tri-Ace's traditional RPG Valkyrie Profile, published by Enix, is no exception. But Valkyrie Profile raises the stakes, taking place against the backdrop of perhaps the largest conflict of them all: Ragnarok, the final confrontation between the Aesir gods and the Vanir gods. And you, Valkyrie Lenneth, are on the front lines.
Norse mythology holds that Valkyries are female warriors responsible for ferrying the souls of the dead from this world to the next. In Valkyrie Profile, that's precisely what you do. The demigoddess Valkyrie travels around the world, entering the lives of heroes just before they die - or just after. The Valkyrie then takes their souls into her possession, where they fight alongside her in an attempt to find retribution. Each of the more than 20 characters that join your party is either deceased or immortal. With such heavy prerequisites for joining Club Valkyrie, it's not surprising that many of the game's engaging scenarios are filled with pathos, tragedy, and high drama. The story only loosely adheres to the original Norse myths: The one-eyed Odin is fully sighted and exceedingly youthful in this game, and Valkyrie Profile's Frey is definitely not a man. But considering how most Japanese RPGs "respect" other cultures' mythologies, this is mostly a nonissue.
