I touched on this briefly in our 2022 recap post but I wanted to expand on it. This year saw a little project where I played every game in the Namco Valkyrie series, well at least the ones I can get my hands on (Glory of Valkyrie 2 and the imode remake of Bouken alludes me). I've always been enamored with the character but had never really played the games. I don't know if it was Namco x Capcom where she plays a pretty important role, or her various cameos in other Namco titles but at some point I went down a rabbit hole looking up information about her. This year I decided to play said games, so let's talk about em.
We of course start at the beginning on the Famicom with Valkyrie no Bouken: Toki no Kagi Densetsu. This one came out in August in 86, the same year that Legend of Zelda and Dragon Quest both debuted. Bouken is top down action adventure just like Zelda, but we also have an experience meter and leveling giving it RPG flair. The first thing the game asks is your zodiac sign and blood type. These questions actually determine your starting stats and growth rate. I used my actual stats (well except blood type cause I always forget that) which gave me balanced growth and starting stats were magic focused. This made my life pretty difficult considering I never really had health to survive encounters.
The story is that Marvel Land, usually a peaceful place, is suddenly filled with darkness as the different races turn violent towards one another. It seems that Zouna, who was sealed away in the clock tower, had been released. The Goddess hears the cries of the people and sends her daughter, Valkyrie, down to Marvel Land in order to regain the Key of Time and reseal the darkness that plagues the land.
Marvel Land is divided into 3 main continents, the first one that you start out in being the smallest to help you sorta get your feet wet. Valkyrie has 4 way movement just like Link and a sword slash. Depending on your Zodiac sign you may also start with some magic including a fireball and healing. The game has lots of items to grab, experience to grind, and inscrutable moments to bash your head against. The game has a limited inventory which includes your armor and keys (which don't stack) so juggling items around can be quite a pain plus there's lots of required items needed to finish the adventure (like Kurino, or a whole whale).
This game is super frustrating. Enemies can deplete you in an instant, saving is done via passwords at inns, and progress can quickly evaporate. You also gotta grind quite a lot (again depending on your Zodiac sign) to gain enough strength to survive encounters. Even with all this, I had a very good time. It was kinda wild to see just how inscrutable this opening adventure was. It really does remind me of an MSX type game which is funny cause its canceled sequel was going to be for the MSX2. Honestly it's hard to recommend this one but at least check it out. It's quite intriguing and really felt like an adventure despite being a pretty small cart game.
Namco considered making a sequel on the MSX but instead opted for an arcade coin op on their shiny System 2 hardware. Gone is the adventure RPG and in it's place is a fun run'n'gun with some platformer, 2 player co-op, and fantastic presentation. Valkyrie no Densetsu is probably the game folks first think of when they think Valkyrie. Valkyrie again descends from the heavens, this time joined by companion Kurino Sandra, in search of the Golden Seed in order to bring food and resources back to Marvel Land. An evil warlord named Kamooz is also after the Golden Seed to enslave the people of Marvel Land.
Densetsu, like I mentioned above, has more in common with overhead run'n'guns like Commando or Ikari Warriors than its Famicom predecessor. The adventure is linear and stage based, though some of the stages have multiple paths and hidden treasures to find. You also have your limited inventory which can have health upgrades, magic upgrades, and weapons to use. Lots of weapons are limited use but there's a few permanent upgrades but since your inventory is small you gotta be careful with it. Magic is done by holding attack and cycling through them and you can gain them by finding the old magic baba through out the levels.
The Namco System 2 is quite an impressive board. You've got lots of sprite scaling and rotation which makes this adventure really pop. There's a really good sense of height and scale as you platform your way around floating platforms high in the sky. This is a great game but is really difficult. Even watching a 1cc run during the coin-op classic you could see just how dangerous the run can be. The game also never made it out of Japan, well not until it's port to the PS1 as part of the Namco Museum. This port is translated but might not be exactly 1 to 1 with the arcade original. Now a days you can find the original via Hamster's Arcade Archives though it is still not translated. Check this one out but be ready to bring lots of quarters.
Back to the home systems we go, this time the Super Nintendo with Sandra no Daibouken. This one is a prequel starring Valkyrie's green buddy Kurino, as he travels through Marvel Land in order to find a cure to the illness that his people and family have come under. This one is a sidescrolling platformer and while mostly linear, has plenty of story and character interaction that you'd expect from the Valkyrie series now. Kurino has his pitchfork that he can use to attack, as well as Ducktales about on top of enemies. Kurino himself moves very strangely and deliberate. Miss a bounce and you'll be stuck in the ground. Kurino also has an air dash and high jump but they both come with lots of start up and can leave you very vulnerable.
This one can get very difficult. The platforming gets pretty demanding towards the end, and Kurino dies in 1 hit no matter what. That means you sometimes gotta be super careful and patient. This one actually made it out of Japan this time, though only to PAL regions. Released as Whirlo, lots of characters were renamed and the story was a bit altered. It still retains its connections to the Valkyrie series in the end, as you fight Zouna and meet the Valkyrie for the first time. I have a love hate relationship with this one. It walks the line between having to be as careful as a cinematic platformer, but you also have fast movement capabilities that can be really fun, but punishing, to use. Give it a shot if you like punishing platforming.
Earlier I mentioned the Namco Museum series on PS1. After that series, Namco made 2 collections called Namco Anthology Vol. 1 & 2 featuring PS1 remakes of previously Famicom exclusive Namco games Including Valkyrie no Bouken. This remake follows in the style of the 2nd game, being an overhead run'n'gun with some light RPG and platforming. The game has been restructured to also be sorta stage based, though towards the end there is a bit of backtracking and puzzle solving needed. Like the arcade Densetsu, Valkyrie can grab some limited ammo weapons as well as magic spells. You again travel across the 3 continents, meeting some characters from Sandra no Daibouken here and there. Some of the major events from the original game are here like the whale and the rainbow bridge. Very interesting game and if you find the Famicom original too frustrating, give this one a shot.
Originally Rosa would of been here in this slot but computer issues at the time forced me to delay looking at that title (we're streaming it 12/28 at 4pm EST wink). Instead we go to the mobile phone with one of the last Valkryie games ever, Glory of Valkyrie. Made for feature phones and later ported to Android, Glory of Valkyrie is the 2nd sidescrolling platformer in the series. Valkyrie here goes across a world map with selectable stages finding items and new moves in order to help her get through her adventure. The game actually has lots of items needed for story progression and required backtracking though stages are small and the overall adventure is pretty short.
Valkyrie's movement here is really fun actually. You start with a double jump which can get upgraded later on to like 4 jumps. You also get upgrades to your sword moves including a downward stab and a launcher. Experience and leveling has also returned which increases your health, though MP is gone, replaced with limited use skills. This game was the biggest surprise for me as I had a complete blast with it. There is a sequel to it but it did not get the Android port treatment and remains undumped as of now.
So that leaves us here, with our final game, Valkyrie no Densetsu Gaiden: Rosa no Bouken for Windows 95. This one is a Visual Novel and just like most things Valkyrie didn't leave Japan. We'll be streaming it tomorrow (12/28 4pm EST) in an attempt to wrap up the Valkyrie Quest this year. I've got an 86box setup with Japanese Windows 98 and Universal Game Translator which will help machine translate it for us so we can get something out of the adventure. Over all I had a very good time with the Valkyrie series and it was fun to see just how varied and yet how connected all these games were. I'm hoping one day I'll see that feature phone port of Valkyrie no Bouken plus the sequel to Glory of Valkyrie. I'd also like to check out the Glory of Valkyrie manga that also exists. Below you can find my stream vods of my Valkyrie quest. Enjoy.