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ワルキューレの伝説
©1986 1990 Namco Ltd.
Release : 1990-08-09 (¥6800)
HuCard (4 Mbits) NC90006
Action / Adventure game
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Valkyrie no Densetsu is an action/adventure game by Namco and
conversion of the arcade game of the same name originally released in 1989. A
cute and courageous young Valkyrie is sent from heaven to save the country
of Marvel Land. She is accompanied by Sandora, a green looking creature
from the Sandora clan who is on a long journey in search of the Golden Seed,
a magical artifact capable of granting all wishes. But the seed has only brought chaos
and disaster to the world and Valkyrie is given the mission to find it and to destroy
it before it falls into the wrong hands. With her sword and magic powers, she travels
through six large areas - from swamps to rocky hills, deep caves and creepy dungeons.
Coins can be collected along the way to purchase various items and new weapons from
shops scattered (and sometimes hidden) around the game. The extensive list of items
ranges from additional health containers, healing herb, wide beam shots,
drill shots, four-way shots and so forth. Each special weapon only come in
limited quantities though and disappears when it runs out of ammo. Valkyrie can also use
her divine magic powers to cast powerful spells such as the multiple-valkyrie,
the bomb or one that makes her grow to an enormous size. The game has somewhat of
an adventure feel to it and each area has its share of special events that need to be
resolved for extra bonuses. Other stages feature hidden villagers who ask the
valkyrie questions and right answers are rewarded with special items or spells. Later
stages also have a non-linear structure to them and different paths lead to different
areas to explore. The game is vast and a password system allows the player to
continue an earlier game.
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Valkyrie No Densetsu is based on an arcade game originally released in 1990
(picture on the left) and sequel of Valkyrie no Bōken: Toki No Kagi Densetsu
released for the Famicom in 1984.
The PC Engine version tested here shows some differences with the original arcade game.
It has sadly lost the two simultaneous player mode (a second player could control Sandora,
Valkyrie's green little companion, in the original game) and the graphics were also a lot more
impressive and featured some really neat scaling effects (for instance, after the first village,
the valley in the background smoothly zooms out as our heroine climbs up the hill).
The PC Engine also has small differences in stage layouts, some have been literally altered
or shuffled around - however, the version also features an extra area at the end of the game and
an exclusive new boss not seen in the original arcade game (which I won't spoil here).
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Japanese Guidebook
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Click on picture to enlarge |
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Add your Pov here !
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Valkyrie no Densetsu is an excellent game and Namco has
produced here an adaptation extremely close to the original arcade game
(the two player mode was sadly removed from this version, so no way to
control the green Sandora). But most of all, the level design is
amazing, stages are varied and Namco has tried to preserve some of
the role playing elements featured in the first game. Consequently,
Valkyrie no Densetsu has an interesting non-linear structure (which
is very unusual for an arcade/action game) with shops scattered around the levels and our
heroine can also use various magic spells. The music is also incredibly catchy and
will stick to your mind for years to come. Japanese language is not much of a
problem - be aware that it may be a slight barrier at first, various characters
happen to ask you questions during the game and you can only receive special
items by answering correctly. Finally, I think that the graphics could have
been better (they're a bit rough in places) but still, Valkyrie no Densetsu is a very enjoyable
game that's full of charm and character.
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