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VALKYRIE NO BŌKEN - TOKI NO KAGI DENSETSU
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ワルキューレの冒険 時の鍵伝説
©1986 Namco Ltd.
Release: 1986-08-01 (¥3900)
Cartdridge NWB-3900
Action/Adventure
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Valkyrie no Bōken Toki no Kagi Densetsu ("The adventures of Valkyrie -
the legend of the time key") is an action/adventure game by Namco.
Marvel Land is at stake, the dark lord Zouna has stolen the
key of time and now spreads terror over the whole kingdom. The gods are
compelled to answer the people's prayers and, one day, they send a maiden
Valkyrie from the heavens to save Marvel Land and its defenseless
inhabitants. The heroine wanders around a top-down world map (which features a
day/night cycle) and randomly encounters monsters who periodically surround her.
She starts her long journey equipped with a short sword and more powerful weapons
can be purchased later in the game, as well as other items such as potions
(restore health), Cure (cures poison), Axes (to cut through forests), Helmets, keys
(to unlock doors and chests), lanterns (to light up dungeons) and so forth. As
she progresses through the game, she also finds chests that contain many different
items. However, Valkyrie no Bōken is not a traditional RPGs - Valkyrie
doesn't talk to other characters on her journey and the gameplay is mainly action-oriented
and relies on item-fetching. Although Valkyrie gains experience points as she
defeats enemies, she doesn't level up on the battle field but when she rests
inside Inns scattered throughout the game. Leveling up also gives her later
access to magic spells such as Healing, fireballs, enemy freeze
and so forth. By pressing Start during the game, she can equip weapons or items
and map them onto the B button (by pressing left and right) or map spells onto
the A button (by pressing up and down). Interestingly, whenever the player
starts a new adventure, the game asks a couple of personal questions such as
Zodiac Sign, Blood Type and favorite color. The answers actually
influence the internal rules of the game and the player's status at the beginning
of his journey.
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The first Valkyrie game was released for the Famicom in 1986 and called
Valkyrie no Bōken: Toki no Kagi Densetsu (version tested here). The game
was immensely popular in Japan and a sequel called Valkyrie no Densetsu followed
in 1989 - first as an arcade game, it was then
ported to the PC Engine in 1990. The original arcade game
can also be found on Namco's Museum Volume 5 (Playstation, 1997). The next
Valkyrie game was Sandora no Daibōken
(Super Famicom, 1992) and only
featured Sandora. This title was chronologically set right before the first game
and was released in Europe under the name Whirlo. Other Valkyrie games exist,
the most noticeable is the remixed version of Valkyrie no Bōken that Namco included
in their Namco Anthology 2 (Playstation, 1998) which plays a lot like
Valkyrie no Densetsu. An obscure digital comic called Valkyrie no Densetsu
Gaiden Roza no bōken was released in Japan for Windows 95 in 1996 - it
featured the voice of the j-pop singer Aya Hisakawa and told the story of a
young goddess named Roza who accompanies Valkyrie on a new journey. Finally
Valkyrie no Eikō (The Glory of Valkyrie) was released for mobile
phones in 2007 - it is a simple side scrolling action game borrowing elements and
enemies from Valkyrie no Densetsu. A sequel called Valkyrie no Eikō 2
followed in 2009. As a side note, Namco also released an updated version of
Valkyrie No Bōken for mobile phone in 2006 with enhanced graphics and musics.
The Valkyrie franchise is still strong in Japan and literally tons of goodies can be
found (figurines, phone cards, videos, comic books, soundtracks and so forth) and
Valkyrie has appeared as a cameo in countless Namco games such as
Soul Calibur 2 (arcade, 2002), Namco X Capcom (Playstation 2, 2005)
and Tales of the Abyss (Playstation 2, 2005).
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Game Staff (Copied from the end credits) :
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STAFF
Programmed by
A. Wachi (Sco.B)
Music Directed by
H. Kawada (Leo.O)
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Original Character Design
H. Fuji (Vir.A)
English Advisor
N. Watanabe (Vir.A)
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Executive Observer
Wan Wan (Sag.O)
Special Thanks to
M. Koizumi
K. Saito
S. Takigami
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Directed by
S. Macco (Aqu.AB)
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G
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Japanese Guidebook
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Japanese Guidebook
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Japanese Novel
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Japanese Guidebook
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Japanese Book
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Japanese Phonecard
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Japanese Boardgame
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O
M
A
K
E
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Click on picture to enlarge |
S
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Here are some hints to help you at the beginning of the game:
Items:
Most of the items do wear and break after many uses. Only the blue items (blue axe,
blue lamp, blue mantle and so forth) can be continually used without breaking.
The ship:
Obtaining the ship is Valkyrie's first task. It is located North, in a mountain path guarded by
a large blue Shīzasu monster. Defeat him to collect a key. Then walk along the path and find a
chest. Unlock it with the key to collect the ship.
Levels:
Valkyrie's strength is important. The more HP she has, the more powerful she becomes.
For instance, she can only chop trees with the axe at first, but soon she is able to
break through mountains with it.
Desert:
Valkyrie can't walk in the desert unless she equips a mantle first.
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Warp Gates:
To operate the warp gates, you just need to stand on them and to press A.
However, the direction you face when you activate a gate is important and it will send you
to another area of the world.
Pegasus Warps:
Some dungeons have a tile with a large Pegasus on them. It is also a warp gate.
Stand below one of the dark boulders and press A.
The Pyramids:
You will probably find pyramids in the desert. Unfortunately, you can't enter them
and an image of Sandora (green character) appears when you try to walk through
their doors. To find the soul of Sandora, just fight the black sandoras
found around this area. One of them will eventually drop the Soul of Sandora.
Make sure you collect the blue mantle from the North pyramid and the blue Helmet
from the South pyramid.
I leave the rest to you...
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LK
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Add your Pov here !
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P
O
V
s
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Valkyrie no Bōken does so many things right that it's almost
heartbreaking to see how many things it actually does wrong. The gameplay
is simple to get into - just walk around a map and slash enemies that randomly
appear on the screen, visit dungeons and collect items. Unlike other role playing
games at the time (such as Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy),
battles don't break the flow of the game and follow a Zelda-ish formula
instead. Then the visited world is fairly large with four continents to explore.
But not everything about the game is golden and here comes the downfall.
Valkyrie no Bōken is frustratingly hard and punishing. Enemies are
relentless and appear out of thin air, soon they even start shooting fireballs
that will eat your life bar like zombies eat brains. Then Inns are useless, it
will cost you money to restore every single health point from your life bar - who
came up with that genius idea ? All the gameplay flaws aforementioned just add an
unnecessary difficulty level that burdens the whole experience. It is a shame
because Valkyrie no Bōken has a lot to offer and could have rivaled with the
likes of Zelda back in the days - it also has no Japanese text so the game is
as English friendly as it gets. It is still highly regarded in Japan to this day
but you will need tremendous patience to enjoy it.
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