Valkyrie Profile

Plot synopsis:
=== Characters ===
There are 24 playable characters in the game. However, some of them can only be obtained in hard mode.
Lenneth is the primary protagonist of Valkyrie Profile, a recently awakened warrior-maiden and servant of Odin, who has been tasked with recruiting the einherjar to fight with the Æsir in their war against the Vanir and prevent the destruction of Asgard in Ragnarok. Lenneth is one of the three goddesses of fate (the other two being her sisters, Hrist and Silmeria) the three apparently share the same body, though only one is awake at any given time and can be distinguished by their hair color and armor.
Loki is revealed to be the final antagonist of Valkyrie Profile. He is half-Æsir and half-Vanir by blood. Although he has been accepted by the Æsir, he is not completely trusted by either side. Odin and Freya sealed his power so that he remains a young version of himself. He seeks the power of the Four Treasures, which will give him the power to challenge Odin.
=== Story ===
In the village of Coriander, a 14-year-old girl named Platina lives with her cruel parents. The village falls upon hard times and her friend Lucian finds out that her parents are going to sell her into slavery. The two run away, but Platina inhales the toxic pollen of poisonous flowers in a nearby field and dies in Lucian's arms.
Lenneth Valkyrie awakens in Asgard and is tasked by the god Odin and goddess Freya with recruiting the einherjar for their war with the Vanir and the coming of Ragnarok. Her first recruits are the princess Jelanda and mercenary Arngrim. After the arrogant Arngrim inadvertently embarrasses her father, Jelanda plots revenge but is kidnapped by a traitorous court minister and transformed into a monster. Lenneth helps Arngrim kill the monster and claims Jelanda as an einherjar. Arngrim, having unknowingly aided Jelanda's captors, kills the man responsible but commits suicide rather than be arrested. At Jelanda's request, Lenneth makes Arngrim an einherjar but Odin and Freya find him lacking the qualities of an einherjar and refuse to accept him into Valhalla so Arngrim remains at Lenneth's side.
During Lenneth's travels, she meets Brahms, lord of the undead and enemy of Odin, who possesses her sister Silmeria (due to circumstances explained in Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria); and the necromancer Lezard Valeth, who lures her to his tower. Lenneth learns that Lezard has been experimenting with half-elven homunculi to use as vessels to attain godhood. Lezard wants Lenneth for himself, but she refuses to cooperate and destroys his experiments. The sorceress Mystina, one of Lezard's rivals, discovers what he has been doing and takes his last remaining homunculus. When he discovers her theft, Lezard freezes her body while she is spirit walking, effectively killing her. Lenneth recruits her, though Odin and Freya refuse to accept Mystina into Valhalla and, like Arngrim, she remains with Lenneth.
=== B Ending ===
Playing through the game normally means that Ragnarok is fought at the Jotunheim Ice Fields, where the Æsir army under Thor's leadership charges the Vanir to open a path for Lenneth to storm the Jotunheim Palace and defeat Surt. At the start of the final stage, all surviving einherjar that she has sent to Valhalla rejoin the party.
Lenneth and company fight their way past Bloodbane, which awards her the sword Levantine (Levatienn), and on to the throne room, where Surt awaits and draws his flaming sword. When he is struck down, the Æsir prevail and the eternal reign of Odin and the Asgardians is assured as Freya puts Lenneth to sleep until she is needed again. However, some questions remain.
=== A Ending ===
Considered the true ending of the game, it fully explores the story and Lenneth's origins.
Lenneth eventually meets Lucian, who grew up to become a poor thief in Gerabellum. He notices that Lenneth resembles the silver-haired Platina, though Lenneth does not know who Platina is. Lucian later becomes an einherjar when he is killed by soldiers cleaning up the slums. Before he is sent to Valhalla, Lucian tells Lenneth he still loves Platina. Lenneth tells him to forget about her and kisses him before she sends him to Valhalla, but Lucian continues to brood upon Lenneth and Platina. Although Lenneth laments that love between mortals and gods is not possible after his departure, she states that she hopes he lives so they may meet again.
Meanwhile, in Valhalla, Lucian learns that valkyries "sleep" in Midgard, reincarnating in Asgard upon their human deaths. However, Odin and Freya seal their memories, as they might interfere with their valkyrie duties. Loki tells Lucian that the Water Mirror can be used to contact the valkyrie, though it is forbidden for anyone besides Odin to use. Lucian does so anyway and gives Lenneth an earring, telling her she will know where to find its match, but Lenneth is angry at him for his disobedience. Loki uses the distraction to steal the Dragon Orb and kills Lucian, using him as a scapegoat to cover his theft. When Lenneth returns to Asgard, Freya tells her of the Dragon Orb's theft and Lucian's death.
Lenneth finds the other earring at Platina's grave and her memories as Platina return. Sensing that the seal is broken, Odin performs the Sovereign's Rite, transmigrating Lenneth's soul and summoning Hrist. Hrist takes control of the valkyrie's body and tries to destroy her companions Arngrim and Mystina, who refuse to serve her, but Lenneth intervenes. The blast shatters Lenneth's soul and Mystina crystallizes the fragments to prevent them from dissipating. With the help of another collected companion, her soul is fused with the valkyrie's body and Lenneth is reborn. Her memories of Lucian and Platina intact, Lenneth is disgusted with how the gods manipulate humans and the suffering they cause.
Ragnarok occurs and Loki, with the power of the Dragon Orb, takes his adult form. He turns his attention to the Æsir, engaging Odin in battle. As one never truly accepted by the Æsir or the Vanir, Loki seeks to destroy everything. Though Odin is armed with Odin's spear Gungnir, one of the Four Treasures, he is forced to divide its power to protect Freya. With the power divided between two, Loki overpowers and kills him.
Returning to Asgard, Lenneth slays Fenrir and the dragon Bloodbane before confronting Loki. Lenneth obtains the demon sword Levantine, another one of the Four Treasures, from Bloodbane and uses it in her battle with Loki. However, Loki reveals that she cannot utilize all the power of a Divine Treasure unless she is willing to sacrifice her friends (as dividing a Treasure's power is exactly what Odin did to save Freya, and died because of it). Loki unleashes the full power of the Dragon Orb, killing all of Lenneth's companions and destroying both Asgard and Midgard. However, the process of fusing her soul back together allows Lenneth's divine powers to grow. Her compassion for mankind and love for Lucian allows her to acquire the power of creation. Lenneth undoes Loki's destruction and kills him, becoming the new Lord of Creation. She then turns to see Lucian, who has been reborn, and the two are reunited. Having recreated both Asgard and Midgard, and revived Midgard's humans who were killed, all of humanity has become Lenneth's einherjar.

Tags: tragedy

Review:
Best RPG game on the Playstation.. Ah, finally, I get to see "valkyrie profile" on the movie site, so I just can't refuse!I think Lenneth Valkyrie, the main heroine of this game, is a very good, empowering role model for girl gamers, much better than Lara Croft or Tifa Lockhart. Lenneth is smart, takes crap from no one and stands up for what she believes is right. Yes, she does sort of wear a dress outfit, but hey, at least her bust is not the center of attention (unlike most video game heroines, who are just there for looks). I wish more RPG heroines would be like her.And for once, the plot is (loosely) based on Norse/Teutonic mythology and Japanese history. Sort of how Akira Kurosawa would write Norse myths.It's also rather amusing when you send your dead-souls to Asgard and see his/her reaction to different events that are happening there.But the part that really shines is the extremely fun gameplay, which is a hybrid of RPG and Platformer games. The exploration of towns and dungeons are in the style of platform games, but the fighting style is RPG styled. You pick magic, combo up and better yet, fight together and do your special moves called "Purify Weird Soul" that will send your enemies off to Nifelheim.Oh, did I forget to mention that there are three different endings and different change styles?Overall, Valkyrie Profile is a fun-addicting RPG with a powerful plot and a dominating no-nonsense female lead character. Enix, Tri-Ace, I salut you.. Excellent game, but NOT without its faults!. "Valkyrie Profile" is quite a well-writen and addictive game that is excellent relief from the plague of the repetitive "Final Fantasy" series or the akward "Megami Tensei" games (though Persona subseries was great).It follows the tail of a Valkyrie on a quest to retrive souls of the recently departed and help them live in the afterlife of Valhallah. As she does this at commands of Frey, Freya and Odin, she suddenly meets a familiar faces of the past and must learn more about it.The gameplay is quite fun too. Kinda like a combination of the "Rockman" series meets "Super Mario RPG", plus, really vivid graphics and character designs.But the flaw of the game lies within the voice acting (of both English and Japanese version). The Japanese version, almost everyone sounds really too squeaky or high pitched. Though they use a few TV, as well as seiyuu voice actors and actresses, some stood out more than others, but TURN DOWN THE VOICE VOLUME! Unless you want to hear people talking in pseudo-baratone or pseudo-helium pitched voices. Though the English version is a little bit of an approvement, I feel that the English voice acting is better done in scenarios than it is in the battle fields, when things get quite grating and repetitive!But other than so-so voice acting, Valkyrie Profile is a classic that stands the test of time.. Excellent game, horrid conclusion! *SPOILERS*. "Valkyrie Profile" had to be one of the best RPGs out there. From fun gameplay to wonderful character designs, VP has it. The plot follows a Valkyrie named Lenneth that serves Odin, Frey and Freya. To prove her worthiness, the Valkyrie must collect souls of the dying and purge the world of the undead.The only disappointment I find is Ending A, the "best" ending. I mean are you so suppose to feel happy that she shuns all the ones that helped her and fall for a man (Lucio) that simply thinks of the past life and does nothing for her at all in the previous life? Lord how I hated Lucio. Sure, he maybe a strong fighter in your party, but he was such a useless whiner of a character that always lived in the past and sits on his hands throughout the whole game. Heck, Ending B and C made a lot more sense, even though they were simplistic endings, but far more tolerable.Oh well, she did it anyway and it made for a terrible ending. Lenneth should have just thanked the people that helped her (yes, even the mad scientist Lezard, whom sacrificed elves just to make a body for her), and just moved on with saving Midgard and Asgard. Instead she decided not to only just ignore the people whom saved her from nearly dying at the hands of her evil sister Arlie, but to avenge the death of Lucio and bring him, out of all things back to life. And comparing most humanity to Lucio was just blowing it out of proportion even more."Yay! Not only do I save the worlds of the mortals and gods, I save the worthless loser that never lets his past go. HOORAY!" (If you can't tell, I was being sarcastic)