Even if it wasn’t the most creative or original game of its genre, I managed to have a pretty good time with Valis: The Fantasm Soldier. It had plenty of good 2D action going for it, it had a lot of anime-styled cutscenes for the time, and voice acting that still holds up pretty well to this day, making it a good surprise when I did eventually get to play it for myself. All that being said though, I did also completely understand why not too many others were able to get into it, as it really doesn’t do anything new for the genre whatsoever, and if you weren’t able to get into the anime cutscenes, then the game didn’t really have much else to offer. Now, as I ventured forth into the second title in this series, I was a little hesitant to do so, as based on what I had played from Psycho Dream, I had a feeling that Telenet could only make one type of game, and this next title was going to be more of that. But, I decided to give it a shot anyways, and played through Valis II.
If there was a word that I could use to describe Valis II in comparison to the original game, I would say it was “simple”. The game as a whole feels much more simple, and more so basic, then the original game, in terms of its gameplay, story, and presentation, which is saying a lot, considering that the original game was already pretty basic on its own. Not to mention, if you didn’t like what the original Valis gave you, then you aren’t going to like this game at all, as it does pretty much nothing to innovate on the previously established formula. With all that in mind, I would still consider Valis II to be a good game all in all, but if I were given the choice to go back to playing either this one or the original, I would choose the original any day.
The story is, when paired alongside the generic anime plot of the last game, another generic anime plot we have seen plenty of times before, with twists and turns that are also extremely generic, but once again, I didn’t really mind all too much, the graphics are pretty good for the time, having plenty of detail for a game made in 1989, along the cutscenes themselves also being very well animated, again, for a video game made in 1989, the music is alright, providing plenty of decent tracks to listen to as you go slashing every monster you see, but nothing really sticks out as being all that memorable, the control works well enough, but I do find it odd that the special attack is mapped to up on the D-pad, and turning and ducking can also be pretty stiff, and the gameplay is pretty much exactly what you would expect from a Valis game, to its own detriment.
The game is a 2D action platformer, where you take control of Yuko Asou, the Valis Warrior, take on a set of six stages, or Acts as they are known as in this game, take out many different enemies and creatures of scaly and deadly proportions using either regular or special attacks, gather plenty of different kinds of projectiles, crystals, hearts, and powerups to assist you throughout the stages, and to help upgrade both your health and attack power to give you an advantage over your foes, and take on plenty of bosses, who may seem threatening at first, but when you have the right arsenal to use, you then are able to take them down very quickly. If you are thinking that this sounds exactly like the original Valis, then you would be correct, as all in all, it is the exact same game as the original. However, unlike other games I have covered like Splatterhouse 2 or Golden Axe II, I didn’t mind that so much here.
Valis II is still a fun enough game, and it does feel pretty satisfying to try out all the different projectiles and weapons that you find in the game to find the one that is suited for your needs. Not to mention, whenever you get enough powerups to upgrade your weapon to max, it allows you to absolutely annihilate anything in your way, and it was fun to experience for a good while. In addition, like with the original game, this game has plenty of anime cutscenes that detail the events of the game, complete with full voice acting for all of the characters. Sure, the animation itself is pretty primitive, and there are several errors that I spotted throughout, but again, for a game made in 1989, it is very impressive for what they managed to do, and it does make the story more engaging. I mean, it’s at least better then just staring at a bunch of static images with text boxes under them.
With all that being said though, like I mentioned, if you didn’t like the original Valis, you aren’t going to like this game. It does absolutely nothing whatsoever to innovate the base gameplay, and the story itself isn’t creative or interesting enough to where you would give that much of a shit about it. Sure, it may be able to please plenty of die-hard Valis fans out there, but that’s really all that it would appeal to. Not to mention, it does feel like a “whatever” game. By the time I reached the final stage and the final boss, I thought to myself “Oh damn, we’re already here? That was fast.” and the final boss himself was piss easy, so the game does really go by without that much of anything to do or say. Based on what I had researched, there are some versions of the game that have scrolling shooter segments, which sounds pretty cool, but not only did I not play those versions, but based on screenshots I have seen, they don’t look all that exciting. Maybe they would’ve helped make the game feel more unique, but I highly doubt it.
Overall, despite still having a great presentation for the time and good enough gameplay, Valis II is one of the most basic, rehashed sequels I have ever seen, not changing up practically anything in the gameplay and feeling like an add-on to the original game that was given a sequel number and release. I wouldn’t say it is as offensive as other lazy sequels, like Golden Axe II, but it is still pretty barebones all around. I would definitely recommend it for huge fans of the Valis franchise, but for everyone else, you are much better off playing any other platformer from this era. But hey, who knows? Maybe there is a chance that this game can redeem itself. After all, there was a chibi-styled remake made for the Genesis three years later, so maybe it- oh, ok, it got worse reviews than the original. Great. Didn’t even get to finish my sentence before reality hit me in the face.
Game #384
If there was a word that I could use to describe Valis II in comparison to the original game, I would say it was “simple”. The game as a whole feels much more simple, and more so basic, then the original game, in terms of its gameplay, story, and presentation, which is saying a lot, considering that the original game was already pretty basic on its own. Not to mention, if you didn’t like what the original Valis gave you, then you aren’t going to like this game at all, as it does pretty much nothing to innovate on the previously established formula. With all that in mind, I would still consider Valis II to be a good game all in all, but if I were given the choice to go back to playing either this one or the original, I would choose the original any day.
The story is, when paired alongside the generic anime plot of the last game, another generic anime plot we have seen plenty of times before, with twists and turns that are also extremely generic, but once again, I didn’t really mind all too much, the graphics are pretty good for the time, having plenty of detail for a game made in 1989, along the cutscenes themselves also being very well animated, again, for a video game made in 1989, the music is alright, providing plenty of decent tracks to listen to as you go slashing every monster you see, but nothing really sticks out as being all that memorable, the control works well enough, but I do find it odd that the special attack is mapped to up on the D-pad, and turning and ducking can also be pretty stiff, and the gameplay is pretty much exactly what you would expect from a Valis game, to its own detriment.
The game is a 2D action platformer, where you take control of Yuko Asou, the Valis Warrior, take on a set of six stages, or Acts as they are known as in this game, take out many different enemies and creatures of scaly and deadly proportions using either regular or special attacks, gather plenty of different kinds of projectiles, crystals, hearts, and powerups to assist you throughout the stages, and to help upgrade both your health and attack power to give you an advantage over your foes, and take on plenty of bosses, who may seem threatening at first, but when you have the right arsenal to use, you then are able to take them down very quickly. If you are thinking that this sounds exactly like the original Valis, then you would be correct, as all in all, it is the exact same game as the original. However, unlike other games I have covered like Splatterhouse 2 or Golden Axe II, I didn’t mind that so much here.
Valis II is still a fun enough game, and it does feel pretty satisfying to try out all the different projectiles and weapons that you find in the game to find the one that is suited for your needs. Not to mention, whenever you get enough powerups to upgrade your weapon to max, it allows you to absolutely annihilate anything in your way, and it was fun to experience for a good while. In addition, like with the original game, this game has plenty of anime cutscenes that detail the events of the game, complete with full voice acting for all of the characters. Sure, the animation itself is pretty primitive, and there are several errors that I spotted throughout, but again, for a game made in 1989, it is very impressive for what they managed to do, and it does make the story more engaging. I mean, it’s at least better then just staring at a bunch of static images with text boxes under them.
With all that being said though, like I mentioned, if you didn’t like the original Valis, you aren’t going to like this game. It does absolutely nothing whatsoever to innovate the base gameplay, and the story itself isn’t creative or interesting enough to where you would give that much of a shit about it. Sure, it may be able to please plenty of die-hard Valis fans out there, but that’s really all that it would appeal to. Not to mention, it does feel like a “whatever” game. By the time I reached the final stage and the final boss, I thought to myself “Oh damn, we’re already here? That was fast.” and the final boss himself was piss easy, so the game does really go by without that much of anything to do or say. Based on what I had researched, there are some versions of the game that have scrolling shooter segments, which sounds pretty cool, but not only did I not play those versions, but based on screenshots I have seen, they don’t look all that exciting. Maybe they would’ve helped make the game feel more unique, but I highly doubt it.
Overall, despite still having a great presentation for the time and good enough gameplay, Valis II is one of the most basic, rehashed sequels I have ever seen, not changing up practically anything in the gameplay and feeling like an add-on to the original game that was given a sequel number and release. I wouldn’t say it is as offensive as other lazy sequels, like Golden Axe II, but it is still pretty barebones all around. I would definitely recommend it for huge fans of the Valis franchise, but for everyone else, you are much better off playing any other platformer from this era. But hey, who knows? Maybe there is a chance that this game can redeem itself. After all, there was a chibi-styled remake made for the Genesis three years later, so maybe it- oh, ok, it got worse reviews than the original. Great. Didn’t even get to finish my sentence before reality hit me in the face.
Game #384