Whenever it comes to “discovering” video games or video game franchises that I have never heard of before, I have always liked looking towards the past to find these titles. Not to say I have never wanted to play more unique games that have been released in more recent years, but there is just a certain charm that titles from the 80s and 90s have that just simply cannot be replicated by newer games, hence why I keep coming back to them over and over again. I mean hell, why else do you think for the 300+ games I have reviewed on this website, they have all been ones from the 70s to the early 90s? I am just a diehard fan of those eras of video games, and I don’t think any bad games like Alex Kidd or A Boy and His Blob will ever change that for me. And hey, with this research into the games of yesteryear, I typically end up finding a lot of games I end up enjoying and adding to my personal favorites, such as the case with today’s game, Valis: The Fantasm Soldier.
I have been wanting to check out this series for the LONGEST time, ever since I saw ProJared play the fourth game on his Let’s Play channel, and of course, because of my chronological mindset, I had to start with the original game. But even doing that was difficult, because when I went to purchase the original game on the Switch, I found that they had listed three different versions of the game on the store, those being the MSX, Genesis, and PC-Engine versions. I had debated with myself for a good ten minutes or so which one to cover, whether it would be best to go with the original version, the one that most people have probably played, or what was undeniably gonna be the best one? After thinking on it, I decided to get the best version, which is the PC-Engine version, and I am so glad that I did. I found myself having a great time with the game, thinking that it was pretty good. Sure, it doesn’t do too much to innovate the genre, but for what I got here, I still ended up having a really good time.
The story is literally the most generic anime plot I have ever seen (and this is coming from someone who doesn’t even watch anime), but I ended up liking it despite how predictable it was, the graphics are great, not only having a great style, but also taking advantage of the PC-Engine’s capabilities with extra animation and sprite movements that look great to this day, the music is pretty good, having plenty of rocking tracks that go pretty well with both the action in game and the genre that the game is inspired by, the control is very solid, working as well as it should, even if the jumping can be a little rough around the edges, and the gameplay is pretty standard, but still manages to be fun due to what it contains and what it is paired with.
The game is your typical action 2D platformer, where you take control of Yuko, the eponymous Fantasm Soldier, go through plenty of typical levels for the type of game this is, take on many different enemies that will attempt to take you down on your way to conquer evil, gather plenty of powerups, health and magic items to give you an advantage against your foes along the way, and take on a set of tough, yet manageable bosses. Now, yes, it is your typical 2D platforming game, which is to be expected since it released in 1986, but for those familiar with the genre, you would know that even if there isn’t too many unique elements present, it can be excused if the gameplay is solid enough, and when it comes to Valis, it manages to do just that. I was having a lot of fun playing through the game, with a good amount of the powerups being very satisfying to use, especially when you upgraded them, and taking out these enemies feels very satisfying.
That isn’t all that this game has going for it though. Specifically for this version of the game, there are plenty of fully animated anime-esque cutscenes, complete with full Japanese voice acting, and these also helped me enjoy the game a lot more then I would have otherwise. It is very impressive for the time, and while I can’t say for sure if the voice acting itself was good or not, it at least helped me enjoy the story more despite it being incredibly generic, so it is doing the job it is meant to do. I haven’t looked into the other versions to know what differences each version has when compared to each other, but I have a good feeling that this is probably the only version with full voice acting and cutscenes animated to this extent, which definitely makes it the best and most enjoyable version amongst the rest.
With that being said, if you don’t get into the game yourself, then that is completely understandable. It is, all in all, a generic action platformer, doing nothing new for the genre despite still providing a fun enough experience. Sure, for the original 1986 release, a lot of these elements could be seen as revolutionary, but for the version I had played, it was made in 1992, and there had been plenty of games that had also done a lot of the things that this game does, while also managing to provide a better experience. Despite that though, I still had a pretty good time with it, and I am definitely going to be playing through the other versions at some point, as well as the rest of the games in this series… despite what kind of content they may contain (more on that much, MUCH later).
Overall, despite not providing too much that would appeal to casual players, I found myself being pleasantly surprised by Valis, being a pretty fun action-platformer that has plenty of charm with its anime cutscenes and voice acting, and making me a fan of the series now. I would definitely recommend checking it out if you are a fan of old-school platformers like me, and while I can’t speak for the quality of the other versions of the game, I can certainly say that the PC-Engine version is a great time. Now, let’s just hope that later games in the series don’t make me regret being a fan of the series now… with that title aside.
Remake #2
I have been wanting to check out this series for the LONGEST time, ever since I saw ProJared play the fourth game on his Let’s Play channel, and of course, because of my chronological mindset, I had to start with the original game. But even doing that was difficult, because when I went to purchase the original game on the Switch, I found that they had listed three different versions of the game on the store, those being the MSX, Genesis, and PC-Engine versions. I had debated with myself for a good ten minutes or so which one to cover, whether it would be best to go with the original version, the one that most people have probably played, or what was undeniably gonna be the best one? After thinking on it, I decided to get the best version, which is the PC-Engine version, and I am so glad that I did. I found myself having a great time with the game, thinking that it was pretty good. Sure, it doesn’t do too much to innovate the genre, but for what I got here, I still ended up having a really good time.
The story is literally the most generic anime plot I have ever seen (and this is coming from someone who doesn’t even watch anime), but I ended up liking it despite how predictable it was, the graphics are great, not only having a great style, but also taking advantage of the PC-Engine’s capabilities with extra animation and sprite movements that look great to this day, the music is pretty good, having plenty of rocking tracks that go pretty well with both the action in game and the genre that the game is inspired by, the control is very solid, working as well as it should, even if the jumping can be a little rough around the edges, and the gameplay is pretty standard, but still manages to be fun due to what it contains and what it is paired with.
The game is your typical action 2D platformer, where you take control of Yuko, the eponymous Fantasm Soldier, go through plenty of typical levels for the type of game this is, take on many different enemies that will attempt to take you down on your way to conquer evil, gather plenty of powerups, health and magic items to give you an advantage against your foes along the way, and take on a set of tough, yet manageable bosses. Now, yes, it is your typical 2D platforming game, which is to be expected since it released in 1986, but for those familiar with the genre, you would know that even if there isn’t too many unique elements present, it can be excused if the gameplay is solid enough, and when it comes to Valis, it manages to do just that. I was having a lot of fun playing through the game, with a good amount of the powerups being very satisfying to use, especially when you upgraded them, and taking out these enemies feels very satisfying.
That isn’t all that this game has going for it though. Specifically for this version of the game, there are plenty of fully animated anime-esque cutscenes, complete with full Japanese voice acting, and these also helped me enjoy the game a lot more then I would have otherwise. It is very impressive for the time, and while I can’t say for sure if the voice acting itself was good or not, it at least helped me enjoy the story more despite it being incredibly generic, so it is doing the job it is meant to do. I haven’t looked into the other versions to know what differences each version has when compared to each other, but I have a good feeling that this is probably the only version with full voice acting and cutscenes animated to this extent, which definitely makes it the best and most enjoyable version amongst the rest.
With that being said, if you don’t get into the game yourself, then that is completely understandable. It is, all in all, a generic action platformer, doing nothing new for the genre despite still providing a fun enough experience. Sure, for the original 1986 release, a lot of these elements could be seen as revolutionary, but for the version I had played, it was made in 1992, and there had been plenty of games that had also done a lot of the things that this game does, while also managing to provide a better experience. Despite that though, I still had a pretty good time with it, and I am definitely going to be playing through the other versions at some point, as well as the rest of the games in this series… despite what kind of content they may contain (more on that much, MUCH later).
Overall, despite not providing too much that would appeal to casual players, I found myself being pleasantly surprised by Valis, being a pretty fun action-platformer that has plenty of charm with its anime cutscenes and voice acting, and making me a fan of the series now. I would definitely recommend checking it out if you are a fan of old-school platformers like me, and while I can’t speak for the quality of the other versions of the game, I can certainly say that the PC-Engine version is a great time. Now, let’s just hope that later games in the series don’t make me regret being a fan of the series now… with that title aside.
Remake #2