Valkyrie Profile Silmeria [PS2/JPN]

» As the game opens, the camera rests on a cloud covered city before panning towards the sun and then dropping downwards through clouds as a voice over begins which sets up the prologue. Scene shift - lightning strikes a tower and the view changes inside to a bright-eyed Alice+Silmeria entity who rises from kneeling position and looks up to the heavens. Soon, she's shielding her eyes from rays which shower down from the ceiling of a cathedral-like dome. Odin is angry. She runs out and lightning bolts outside continue to strike. The camera shifts to her footfalls as she runs through the cavernous interior of the building. A beam of light arcs downwards into the ground in front of her - it's a spear thrown by a blue-armored Valkyrie who walks into view behind Alicia. A battle ensues where the two women clash and the Silmeria portion of Alicia throws a bolt at the Valkyrie which results in a massive explosion. The camera switches to a darkened view of the interior - the blue Valkyrie is still standing and she spins around and leaves. Outside, Alicia is running through a wilderness trail when she wanders onto a field of flowers with petals floating up in the air. She stops, turns around and laments before slowly walking in the direction of the petals. The wind picks up which sends the petals swirling and the Valkyrie Profile logo drifts into view.

» Title screen selections:
NEW GAME / Start a new adventure
LOAD GAME / Resume a saved game from memory card
SETTING / Change button configs, set sound options, Dual Shock vibration, etc

» Upon starting a new game, the camera checks out a lifelike meadow with mountains in the background as a bird of prey circles overhead. A traveler on a horse drawn cart appears and riding on back is a passenger in a white cloaks who looks downwards forlornly. As the cart trundles along, it passes a windmill and the stranger rises up to take in the sights and the path ahead. The camera rises up to view a village known as Solde in the distance and the scene shifts. The rider is revealed to be Alicia and she's walking through the village. The camera takes in more of the environs and she's later on a boat guided by a lone ferryman. As Alicia ventures deeper into the village, she looks up at a castle with a Valkyrie statue in front with wings spread and lance held in her right arm. The credits soon disappear and the proper game begins with Chapter 1.

» The cries of gulls sound off and scenes of village life are shown by the camera. Alicia walks into the village and Silmeria's voice holds a dialogue with her. When Alicia talks, her dialogue is colored white while Silmeria is colored blue to distinguish the two voices. Alicia's in the middle of a street turning and talking to herself. As she continues her self-dialogue, she attracts the stares of strangers who turn around and gape at the strange being who talks to the air. She walks onwards and eventually reaches a tavern with a crowd of adventurers inside. Draping her cloak on a trestle, she stands at the doorway and is about to leave when Silmeria spins her around and goads her on to meet a seated traveler named Rufus.

» Alicia's unable to address Rufus but Silmeria takes over and binds him to her will. He eventually gets up and joins Alicia's party.

» Once control is handed over, players view Alicia from a side-view perspective outside the tavern. Either the D-pad or L-analog may be used to move her left and right. The "X-Button" is used to make the princess jump and the "O-button" addresses a citizen that is nearby but no other buttons work for the time being.

» As Alicia moves around, the view is that is a pseudo 3D perspective where she's on a 2D plane but the world moves in 3D around her with depth and rotating perspective. If she runs to the right of the screen, she boards a boat that's not ready to lift anchor. Move to the left and a larger portion of the town may be explored. She may even enter a home with two cats on the stairs and take something from a treasure chest within. In one of the buildings where two guys are chatting it up, Alicia can walk in and save her progress to memory card. Up to three slots are available for saving data.

» If Alicia continues walking to the left, she'll eventually reach the town exit. A short sequence plays which shows Silmeria and Rufus walking on a bridge away from the city. To travel to the next area (Lost Forest), Alicia runs daintily from left to right. The "O-button" now activates a sword slash accompanied by Alicia yelling, "HAH!" to indicate the force of her blow. After reaching the end of the first screen, the two adventurers run into a specter that's walking towards their general position. Silmeria encases the creature in a block of amber ice with purple fireflies that roll around it. The specter breaks the ice and a training battle ensues. The scene shifts into a 3D battlefield with the party located on the bottom of the screen and the enemy on the top of the screen.

» Alicia's attack is triggered by pressing the SQUARE button and Rufus shoots a 3-way arrow when the X button is depressed. Each hero has an HP bar and a party AP (Attack Power) bar is located on the bottom of the screen with 5 segments. To shift active party members, move the D-pad left and right to select them. To attack, move the heroes up to the beast and press SQUARE and X alternately to force Rufus and Silmeria into attacking the creature. Simultaneous attacks may also be effected for impressive clashing action where the target creature is hacked into pieces.

» To dash into battle quickly, press the R1 trigger and your party will literally leap into the fray and stand in front of the enemy, ready to do damage.

» Although the party normally moves together as a cohesive unit, it's possible to separate them so that each one is controlled independently of the others. To isolate a fighter, select him/her by moving the D-pad left or right and press up on the D-pad. A blue circle will ring the selected character to indicate that independence has been granted.

» There's a lot of cats that lounge around the various locations in the game.

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