Valis 2
Reviewed by Michael LoCascio
Valis II was one of the first few games ever released for
NEC's Turbo-CD unit (not that there were all that many ever
released anyway). The original Valis never made it to the
States; I suppose that NEC felt the second installment in
the series was more likely to draw players to their
overpriced CD system. I'm not quite sure why they'd feel
that way, as Valis II is really nothing more than a
run-of-the-mill action game. Actually, the few players who
did purchase this title were probably extremely confused by
the game's plot. If you haven't the slightest idea what the
first Valis game was about, then you'll probably be lost
right off the bat when you power up this title. To make
matters worse, there are a number of inconsistencies between
the story provided by the instruction manual and the
information given in the intermission scenes during the
game. I've managed to piece together the plot and I'll
attempt to relay it as accurately as I possibly can - but
there are certainly a few elements in the game's story that
have eluded me to this day.
Valis is the name that has been given to a powerful sword
wielded by a young blue-haired lady named Yuko. From what
I've gathered from the game's intermission scenes, along
with what little knowledge I have of the original Valis,
Yuko used Valis to destroy the evil King Rogress and bring
peace to the Land of Vecanti. This premise conflicts with
the story provided by the instruction manual, which
describes Rogress as a kind-hearted man and an honorable
king who died of natural causes. Also, all of the characters
in this game pronounce his name as 'Rogless', which I
believe was the spelling and pronunciation used in the first
Valis (again, I've never played the first title, so this is
purely speculative).
Regardless of how Rogress died and what his real name is,
civil war broke out in Vecanti following his death. There
were essentially two factions involved: those who had
supported Rogress and those who had opposed him. The side
that opposed him eventually decided to play dirty by calling
on the evil emperor Magus, who had been banished from
Vecanti many years earlier. The one thing that both of these
powerful armies have in common is that they both seek to
obtain the sword of Valis. This is where you, the player,
comes in: as Yuko, you'll have to use Valis once more to
annihilate evildoers and bring peace to Vecanti.
The confusing story doesn't stop there, however; a great
deal happens along the way. The anti-Rogress faction
eventually gains power and Magus ascends to the throne of
Vecanti (Yuko actually contributes to the downfall of the
Rogress army in the first two stages of the game, as she is
forced to fight them off and protect Valis). Once the
Rogress faction is demolished for good, Yuko discovers the
truth about Magus - not only that he is now the leader of a
powerful army, but also that he is actually Rogress's older brother.
The surprises keep coming after that. Yuko eventually
discovers that she has a sister of her own (who happens to
be the ruler of a different kingdom) - but not until her
real mother dies. The irony of the story becomes apparent at
the conclusion of the game, when Magus and Yuko realize that
they had both fallen victim to a very similar set of
circumstances. Both had a rightful claim to power, but both
were sent away to distant lands by their parents in an
attempt to avoid civil strife and unrest. Of course, this
understanding doesn't come until Yuko has dealt Magus a few
deadly blows with her sword, but the story does come
together rather well once you manage to figure out what's going on.
Note that there are a couple of reasons why I am basically
summarizing most of the important events that take place in
the game. For one thing, due to the ambiguous (and somewhat
incorrect) information provided by the instruction booklet,
along with the fact that the first Valis was never released
in the U. S., most people who play this game have absolutely
no idea what the heck is happening during the adventure.
Secondly, and I'm sure you guessed it by now, the plot in
Valis II has almost nothing at all to do with the actual game play.
As complex as its story is, Valis II is really just a
generic, horizontally-scrolling action game. It consists of
six stages, none of which are all that long (although the
later ones are relatively difficult). You control Yuko, and
you run, jump, and shoot at whatever comes your way (yes,
shoot; Valis is actually more of a gun than a sword). At the
end of each level is a big strong boss monster, and in
between levels you get to view some fancy animation sequences.
There are four different types of shots that can be fired
from Valis - one of which is a homing missile (this really
is some sword, huh?). There are also some powerful special
items and various defensive aids that can be picked up along
the way, as well as 1-ups, health restorers, and all the
usual icons that are typical of this genre.
While every aspect of Valis II seems simple enough, it
really suffers in the game play department. Yuko moves along
at a relatively fast pace, but she's somewhat clumsy when it
comes to jumping, and she doesn't always react as well as
you'd like her to (she's painfully slow when it comes to
shooting). As soon as an enemy appears on the screen you had
better pull the trigger, because they typically charge right
at her, and she's not nearly quick or flexible enough to
elude any types of attack. As a result, game play consist of
taking a few steps, stopping to shoot at the enemies, and
then continuing on. The stop-and-start action really takes
away from any kind of intensity or excitement that the game
might have generated.
The graphics in the game are also disappointing. The
backgrounds are surprisingly bland, while the sprites in the
game are what you'd expect from a standard cartridge game -
not a CD title. The animation sequences are well done,
however - even if they aren't among the best that the Turbo
had produced.
On the other hand, the music in the game is wonderful. The
fast-paced tracks really possess the potential to motivate
players to keep going when the action gets a little bland
(which happens quite often). The voice acting is decent
enough, but again, it isn't the finest that the Turbo had to offer.
The only thing really intriguing about Valis II is the plot,
which can be a real pain in the neck to figure out. The
graphics and game play are uninspired, and the controls
could have used some work. The music and animation are
barely enough to make this a decent title, but there are
plenty of action games out there that are a lot more fun to
play (and a lot less trouble to figure out) than Valis II.
Overall: 6 out of 10
OR
Debt Help - Free Credit Report - Mortgages - Loans - Cheap Flights 