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- ConnectionsFollowed by Valis II (1989)
Featured review
Sword Wilding Heroine
This is another part of the collection in the "Under the Radar Video" series. "Valis" is a franchise that was popular at the time in its home region but not in the states. However, as time has gone in with the subculture of retro gaming and anime/manga at peak heights, this franchise has become a sleeper cult classic. As a kid from the 90's I was one of those few out there that have heard about this series; this happened when my interest in gaming was growing, and I was fascinated by games overseas along with Japanese Anime both were underground subcultures at the time. Let alone a fan of the Fantasy genre, and this game felt like one of the best calls for fans of that genre.
The game is pretty much a platform actioner in the same vein as "Castlevania" and "Ninja Gaiden" like in those games it's pretty much getting all the way from point A to B. Nothing new but it's in its execution that makes it unique.
The format of the game goes from point A to B but of course we know it's not as easy as that. Just like with "Castlevania" and "Ninja Gaiden" each of the levels are formatted differently as they add some twists and turn to them. This game also has that as well, so it doesn't feel like the same old path. In some levels you must go down or jump up platforms to get to your destination, but what really makes this game unique is that it has diagonal pathways which at the time was something unique at the time. I really like this because it really gives the game a sense of fluidity as you go forward in those pathways, but also heightens the concept of up and down in the platform action genre.
The graphic presentation is solid if not exactly striking but good enough, I do like the character models as they're well detailed. Like one of my favorites is the hydra boss which looks cool as I'm a fan of Greek Mythology and I just simply love super-sized monster foes in video games.
The gameplay is solid, it's your typical run and slash, I really like the design of that sword, I remember as a kid I wanted that sword. Kind of surprised there hasn't been any swordsmith's that haven't tried to replicate the design of this sword from the game. Anyway, this sword is a magic sword, no surprise for a game that takes place in a fantasy world. Your sword of course shoots out magic bolts and any other depending on what kind of power up you collect. But one of the other things that make the game unique is that you can build up the power of that magic bolt, when you collect enough of the same kind of power up. Like for example making your regular magic bolt shots into spread shot and a laser bolt into shooting two to the front and on in the back.
Difficulty is on the medium hard side at least for me, like with most of those games it starts off slightly easy but then as you progress the difficulty starts to ramp up a bit, which also means you must step up your game as well. For a veteran of the platform action genre, I honestly don't mind as the bigger the challenge the bigger the reward, knowing it was your skill alone that got you where you are now.
However, from all this the game has two highlights that make it stand out. The music, which is one of the best video game tracks I've ever heard that just sing out ongoing fantasy action, hard to decide as each of them are good and memorable in their own way. Sidenote, these are also more tracks that I play during my workouts.
The other highlight of course are the cinematic cut scenes, they are just great from how well animated and detailed they are. Most notably the characters, one of them of course being your main character who looks like Lynn Minmay from "Macross".
Anyway, I really love the story of the game which is strong storytelling because of the amount of depth in it. This was a rare and novel concept in video games at the time, and it really kept my interest in the game almost felt like I was watching a season of an anime series. The story is good as it reminds me a little of the anime series "Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon" and even "Magic Knight Rayearth" this game was years before those series. Just the whole concept of Earth having a forgotten era where the things of fantasy are real and being a reincarnated warrior are cool and uncannily like the storyline of "Sailor Moon".
Along with the main character Yuki, the outfit she wears and the sword she welds both look like both things from "Magic Knight Rayearth". Yuki kind of like with Usagi/Sailor Moon we see in the story at first is reluctant and a bit of a wimp though understandable if ever thrust into circumstances beyond your understanding. But it's interesting seeing as you continue playing you see her character evolve and get stronger in both power and persona. The constant developing story just motivated me to play more as I wanted to know what more was going to happen but also made me feel like what I was doing in the game actually affected things and that it really mattered whether I won or lost.
The only mis swing of the game for me is the sound, it's not great. This is only a little quibble I have and doesn't affect the game necessarily; it's just the sound effects are kind of generic. For a game of this nature, I'd want the swing of the sword to sound cool along with those bolt discharges and explosions you cause, kind of like with the arcade game "Strider". But oh well, I can duck on this mis swing as it's the action of the game that carries it out.
If you're a vintage gamer that's highly into the platform action genre then this vintage classic is worth a swing, as it's sharp enough to keep you interest.
Rating: 3 stars.
The game is pretty much a platform actioner in the same vein as "Castlevania" and "Ninja Gaiden" like in those games it's pretty much getting all the way from point A to B. Nothing new but it's in its execution that makes it unique.
The format of the game goes from point A to B but of course we know it's not as easy as that. Just like with "Castlevania" and "Ninja Gaiden" each of the levels are formatted differently as they add some twists and turn to them. This game also has that as well, so it doesn't feel like the same old path. In some levels you must go down or jump up platforms to get to your destination, but what really makes this game unique is that it has diagonal pathways which at the time was something unique at the time. I really like this because it really gives the game a sense of fluidity as you go forward in those pathways, but also heightens the concept of up and down in the platform action genre.
The graphic presentation is solid if not exactly striking but good enough, I do like the character models as they're well detailed. Like one of my favorites is the hydra boss which looks cool as I'm a fan of Greek Mythology and I just simply love super-sized monster foes in video games.
The gameplay is solid, it's your typical run and slash, I really like the design of that sword, I remember as a kid I wanted that sword. Kind of surprised there hasn't been any swordsmith's that haven't tried to replicate the design of this sword from the game. Anyway, this sword is a magic sword, no surprise for a game that takes place in a fantasy world. Your sword of course shoots out magic bolts and any other depending on what kind of power up you collect. But one of the other things that make the game unique is that you can build up the power of that magic bolt, when you collect enough of the same kind of power up. Like for example making your regular magic bolt shots into spread shot and a laser bolt into shooting two to the front and on in the back.
Difficulty is on the medium hard side at least for me, like with most of those games it starts off slightly easy but then as you progress the difficulty starts to ramp up a bit, which also means you must step up your game as well. For a veteran of the platform action genre, I honestly don't mind as the bigger the challenge the bigger the reward, knowing it was your skill alone that got you where you are now.
However, from all this the game has two highlights that make it stand out. The music, which is one of the best video game tracks I've ever heard that just sing out ongoing fantasy action, hard to decide as each of them are good and memorable in their own way. Sidenote, these are also more tracks that I play during my workouts.
The other highlight of course are the cinematic cut scenes, they are just great from how well animated and detailed they are. Most notably the characters, one of them of course being your main character who looks like Lynn Minmay from "Macross".
Anyway, I really love the story of the game which is strong storytelling because of the amount of depth in it. This was a rare and novel concept in video games at the time, and it really kept my interest in the game almost felt like I was watching a season of an anime series. The story is good as it reminds me a little of the anime series "Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon" and even "Magic Knight Rayearth" this game was years before those series. Just the whole concept of Earth having a forgotten era where the things of fantasy are real and being a reincarnated warrior are cool and uncannily like the storyline of "Sailor Moon".
Along with the main character Yuki, the outfit she wears and the sword she welds both look like both things from "Magic Knight Rayearth". Yuki kind of like with Usagi/Sailor Moon we see in the story at first is reluctant and a bit of a wimp though understandable if ever thrust into circumstances beyond your understanding. But it's interesting seeing as you continue playing you see her character evolve and get stronger in both power and persona. The constant developing story just motivated me to play more as I wanted to know what more was going to happen but also made me feel like what I was doing in the game actually affected things and that it really mattered whether I won or lost.
The only mis swing of the game for me is the sound, it's not great. This is only a little quibble I have and doesn't affect the game necessarily; it's just the sound effects are kind of generic. For a game of this nature, I'd want the swing of the sword to sound cool along with those bolt discharges and explosions you cause, kind of like with the arcade game "Strider". But oh well, I can duck on this mis swing as it's the action of the game that carries it out.
If you're a vintage gamer that's highly into the platform action genre then this vintage classic is worth a swing, as it's sharp enough to keep you interest.
Rating: 3 stars.
helpful•00
- hellraiser7
- Nov 29, 2023
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