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Valkyrie Profile

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For other uses, see Valkyrie Profile (disambiguation).
Valkyrie Profile
Logo of Valkyrie Profile
Genre(s)Role-playing
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
Creator(s)Masaki Norimoto
Artist(s)
Composer(s)Motoi Sakuraba
Platform(s)PlayStation, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
First releaseValkyrie Profile
December 22, 1999
Latest releaseValkyrie Anatomia: The Origin
April 28, 2016

Valkyrie Profile (ヴァルキリープロファイル, Varukirī Purofairu) or Valkyrie (ヴァルキリー, Varukirī) is a series of role-playing video games created by Masaki Norimoto, primarily developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix (formerly Enix). The series is notable for featuring elements from Norse mythology.

Development

History

The Valkyrie Profile series is developed by tri-Ace and published by Enix (now Square Enix). It was created by Masaki Norimoto, one of the founders of tri-Ace. Motoi Sakuraba composed the music for the series.

Before the announcement of Valkyrie Elysium, the series was called Valkyrie Profile;[1] afterward, Square Enix began referring to it as the Valkyrie series.[2]

Creation and design

Valkyrie Profile draws heavily from Norse mythology, although it takes artistic liberties with the source material and deviates from it significantly.[3]

Games

Release timeline
1999Valkyrie Profile
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria
2007
2008Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016Valkyrie Anatomia: The Origin
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022Valkyrie Elysium
Title Year Platform Notes
Valkyrie Profile
PlayStation, PlayStation Portable, iOS, Android An enhanced port, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, was released for the PlayStation Portable in Japan and North America in 2006 and in the PAL region in 2007.
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria
PlayStation 2 The second game of the series, taking place hundreds of years before the original game.
Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume
Nintendo DS Known as "Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One" (ヴァルキリープロファイル 咎を背負う者) in Japan.
Valkyrie Anatomia: The Origin
  • JP: 2016
  • WW: 2019
 iOS, Android Developed by Dokidoki Grooveworks. Ended service in 2020 worldwide and in 2021 in Japan.
Valkyrie Elysium
  • WW: 2022
 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 Action role-playing game developed by Soleil.[4]

Common elements

The Valkyrie Profile series has been distinguished for its inventive gameplay.[5] Aesthetically, the series is known for its muted colors and melancholic ambiance.[5] Players usually take the role of a valkyrie, one of a host of female figures who choose warriors who may die in battle and lead them into the afterlife, though sometimes they play mortals called upon by the divine beings.[5]

Music

The music of all the Valkyrie Profile games was composed by Motoi Sakuraba. Valkyrie Profile and its remake Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth were composed by Motoi Sakuraba, with original soundtrack version highlighting just a handful of the songs on the game soundtrack as being really enjoyable, with his use of rock music and harpsichord.[6] The music of Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria composed by Motoi Sakuraba of Star Ocean. It has two original soundtracks, Alicia and Silmeria. Each soundtrack is divided into two discs totalling 70 songs from the game. Prior to the release, a special artifact box was released which included a copy of the game, ten musical tracks, a keychain, and a figurine.[7] The in-game score was written as MIDI tracks, allowing it to fit easily onto the DS cartridge.[8] Drawing from the darker themes of the narrative, Sakuraba created a subdued and emotional score that noticeably moved away from his score for Silmeria while still being separate from his work on Valkyrie Profile. The score included original composition and arranged versions of tracks from Sakuraba's scores for Valkyrie Profile.[9] The soundtrack conversion for the DS cartridge was done by sound design studio Noisycroak.[10] A two-disc soundtrack album was published by Square Enix's music label on November 5, 2008.[11] For the album release, Sakuraba used the MIDI originals as reference and redid all the tracks with full orchestration. While faithful to the original, the larger range of sounds resulted in some differences.[8] A twelve-track arrange album, handled by Sakuraba, was published alongside the main soundtrack album.[12] Producer Yoshinori Yamagishi mentioned his favorite way of drawing out emotion in players was through music and sound effects, helping to both immerse new players in the world of the game and play upon the nostalgia of series fans.[13] The game utilizes a mixture of music from the franchise and new compositions.[13]

Printed adaptations

Several manga have been written based on the series. They are Valkyrie Profile, Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria, and Valkyrie Profile: The Dark Alchemist. A manga anthology called Valkyrie Profile Enix Supercomic Gekijoh is based on the PlayStation Portable version of Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth.

Reception

Sales and review scores
Game Units sold Famitsu Metacritic
Valkyrie Profile 709,000[14] 35/40[15] 81/100
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth 248,000[16][17] - 80/100
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria 400,000 (JP)[18] 34/40[19] 84/100
Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume 230,000[20] 32/40[21] 74/100

Overall, the Valkyrie Profile series received positive critical reception both in Japan and the West. The series has shipped 2.2 million copies by 2016.[22]

Some Valkyrie Profile games have been included in various lists of top games. In a 2006 reader's poll conducted by Famitsu, the first Valkyrie Profile was voted the 27th best video game of all time.[23] Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth received IGN's award for Best PSP RPG of 2006.[24] Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria received IGN's award for "Best Game No One Played".[25]

References

  1. ^ "Valkyrie Anatomia -The Origin- Global on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 2022-04-30.[user-generated source]
  2. ^ "Valkyrie Profile Elysium Story, Staff Details Translated, Screenshots". DualShockers. March 9, 2022.
  3. ^ Berger, Bradley (March 16, 2022). "Square Enix Announced A Sequel to Valkyrie Profile – Valkyrie Elysium". Lawod. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  4. ^ "Square Enix announces action RPG Valkyrie Elysium for PS5, PS4, and PC". Gematsu. March 9, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Parkin, Simon (April 23, 2009). "Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume". Eurogamer. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  6. ^ Napolitano, Jayson (July 9, 2008). "Valkyrie Profile: Odins 9 Strong Songs These are Not (Review)". Original Sound Version. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  7. ^ Spencer (2006-03-28). "Inside the Valkyrie Profile 2: Artifact Box". Siliconera. Retrieved 2015-04-20.
  8. ^ a b サウンドトラック本日発売！ (in Japanese). Square Enix. 2008-11-06. Archived from the original on 2009-11-10. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  9. ^ Motoi Sakuraba (2008-11-05). "Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume Original Soundtrack booklet". (in Japanese) Square Enix. SQEX-10125~6. Retrieved on 2019-07-21.
  10. ^ ヴァルキリープロファイル 咎を背負う者 (in Japanese). Noisycroak. Archived from the original on 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  11. ^ ヴァルキリープロファイル 咎を背負う者 オリジナル・サウンドトラック (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  12. ^ ヴァルキリープロファイル ―咎を背負う者― アレンジアルバム (in Japanese). Team Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  13. ^ a b "【インタビュー】『ヴァルキリーアナトミア ‐ジ・オリジン‐』シリーズ初のスマホ化に際する着想と実装 タイトルに込められた意味とは". Gamebiz. May 30, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  14. ^ "Sales Record - tri-Ace Corporation". tri-Ace.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
  15. ^ "Cross Review". Famitsu (576).
  16. ^ "Sony PSP Japanese Ranking". Japan-GameCharts.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
  17. ^ "FY2007 First-Half Period Results Briefing Session" (PDF). Square-Enix.com. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  18. ^ "2006年ゲームソフト年間売上TOP500" [2006 Game Software Annual Sales Top 500]. Famitsū Gēmu Hakusho 2007 ファミ通ゲーム白書2007 [Famitsu Game Whitebook 2007] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Enterbrain. 2007. p. 387. ISBN 978-4-7577-3577-4. JPNO 21240454.
  19. ^ "Cross Review". Famitsu (915).
  20. ^ "Results Briefing: Fiscal Year ended May 31, 2009" (PDF). Square-Enix.com. May 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  21. ^ "Cross Review". Famitsu (1038).
  22. ^ Square Enix (28 April 2016). "Valkyrie Anatomia Press Release" (PDF). Square Enix. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 May 2019.
  23. ^ Edge staff (March 3, 2006). "Japan Votes on All Time Top 100". Edge-Online.com. Archived from the original on July 31, 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
  24. ^ "Best of IGN 2006". IGN. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013.
  25. ^ "IGN presents The Best of 2006". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 2007-01-10. Retrieved 2015-04-20.
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