Valis II

Valis II (ヴァリスⅡ, Varisu Tsū) is a platform game developed and released by Telenet Japan originally for TurboGrafx-CD. Valis: The Fantasm Soldier II (夢幻戦士 ヴァリスⅡ, Mugen Senshi: Varisu Tsū), a version for home computers, was later released for PC-88, PC-98, MSX2, and X68000 in Japan. It is the second title in the Valis video game series.

Valis II
MSX cover art
Developer(s)Laser Soft (PCE)
Reno (PC-88/98, MSX2, X68000)
I.S.C., Laser Soft (MD)
Publisher(s)
Composer(s)Tenpei Sato
Shinobu Ogawa
Masahiro Kajihara
SeriesValis
Platform(s)PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 (CD-ROM²/TurboGrafx-CD), PC-8801, PC-9801, MSX, X68000, Windows
ReleaseCD-ROM²/TurboGrafx-CD
  • JP: June 23, 1989
  • NA: 1990
PC-8801
  • JP: July 1989
PC-9801
  • JP: August 5, 1989
MSX
  • JP: August 9, 1989
X68000
  • JP: November 23, 1989
Mega Drive/Genesis
  • JP: February 14, 1992
  • NA: 1992
PlayStation Network
  • JP: March 17, 2011
Genre(s)Platform game, hack and slash
Mode(s)Single-player

An SD style remake was released on the Japanese Mega Drive as SD Valis (SDヴァリス, Esu Dī Varisu) and for the North American Genesis as Syd of Valis.

Gameplay

Like the other titles of the series, Valis II is a side-scrolling platform game. It requires the player to navigate through two-dimensional levels, battling enemies, jumping from ledge to ledge, and running until the player faces a boss at the end of each level. Despite details of the gameplay varying between the versions, all versions do share several similar features with both Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, and Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse as well.[1] The mobile remake added new stages and alternate costumes and weapons.

Plot

Time passes, and Vecanti is set to rule under its next emperor after Rogles, his brother Megas (めがす, Megasu) (voiced by Hirotaka Suzuoki), who wishes to stamp out any trace of the former tyrant, to the point of murdering any supporters Rogles might have had. Furthermore, his bloodthirsty tendencies recognize Yuko and the Valis sword as viable threats to his claim of the throne, and he orders his minions to eliminate her first before she has the chance to thwart him. Megas, too, falls to her magical blade, and peace once more comes to the dream world, as Yuko again returns home to resume an otherwise ordinary human life.[2]

Release

Telenet Japan developed two main versions of Valis II at around the same time.[1] The PC Engine CD-ROM², which was released first, was later published by NEC in North America. The home computer version, believed to have entered development earlier, was released for the PC-88, PC-98, MSX, and Sharp X68000 in Japan, and featured more graphic cutscenes.

Another remake of the game was released for the Mega Drive in Japan (as SD Valis) by Telenet and for the Genesis in North America by Renovation Products (as Syd of Valis). This title features the same gameplay and plot development as the PC Engine CD-ROM² version, but the character design was changed to a super deformed (SD) style. The North American version of the game incorrectly identifies Yūko as "Syd" and reuses the box art of Naritore the Sugoroku '92 for the front cover.

Project EGG released various emulated versions of the game for Windows,[3][4][5][6] along with the 2011 compilation Complete Plus that came with a soundtrack CD and a figure.[7] The PC Engine was also released by SunSoft on the PlayStation Store in 2011.[8] A 1993 CD Valis Visual Collection contains all the cutscenes from the PC Engine version of Valis II.[9]

Reception

Valis II

Valis II was generally positively received by critics. Review scores for the PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 version included 74% from The Games Machine,[10] 76% from Italian edition of Computer & Video Games,[11] 70% from Génération 4,[12] 92% from Joystick,[13] 75% from Tilt,[14] and three out of five stars from TurboPlay whose reviewer was impressed by the game's visuals and music but disappointed by its perceived too low difficulty.[15]

SD Valis

On the other hand, SD Valis / Syd of Valis was rated just 36% by Consoles+,[16][17] 56% by Joystick,[18] and 63% from Joypad.[19][20] Sega Force bashed its "very dull" gameplay despite "great" levels and enemies, predicting that "even platform addicts will only play it for a while."[21] James Scullion from Sega Pro gave SD Valis a mediocre score of 65%, recommending saving money for some other game.[22] Retrospectively, Sebastian Sponsel from Sega-16 scored it only 2 out of 10, stating: "Syd of Valis is a disappointment for fans and non-fans alike (...) It’s like the game was created as a joke, one that the producers didn’t get but released anyway."[23]

References
  1. "Valis". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  2. "MSX Force 1-12". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  3. "夢幻戦士ヴァリスII / レトロゲーム総合配信サイト、プロジェクトEGG". Amusement-center.com. 2002-11-01. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  4. "夢幻戦士ヴァリスII / レトロゲーム総合配信サイト、プロジェクトEGG". Amusement-center.com. 2007-07-10. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  5. "夢幻戦士ヴァリスII / レトロゲーム総合配信サイト、プロジェクトEGG". Amusement-center.com. 2009-11-10. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  6. "夢幻戦士ヴァリスII / レトロゲーム総合配信サイト、プロジェクトEGG". Amusement-center.com. 2012-01-24. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  7. "夢幻戦士ヴァリスCOMPLETE PLUS / レトロゲーム総合配信サイト、プロジェクトEGG". Amusement-center.com. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  8. "ヴァリスII | ソフトウェアカタログ | プレイステーション® オフィシャルサイト". Jp.playstation.com. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  9. "Valis Visual Collection - The PC Engine Software Bible". Pcengine.co.uk. 1993-02-19. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  10. "The Games Machine Issue 26". Archive.org. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  11. "Computer+Videogiochi 7". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  12. "Tests PC Engine : Valis II" (JPG). Download.abandonware.org. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  13. "Valis II Review image" (JPG). Download.abandonware.org. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  14. Alain Huyghues-Lacour. "Le site des anciennes revues informatiques". Abandonware-magazines.org. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  15. "TurboPlay Magazine #03 (October/November 1990) :: TurboPlay Magazine Archives". Archives.tg-16.com. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  16. "Megadrive Review" (JPG). Download.abandonware.org. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  17. "Megadrive Review" (JPG). Download.abandonware.org. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  18. "Syd of Valis" (JPG). Download.abandonware.org. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  19. "Megadrive" (JPG). Download.abandonware.org. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  20. "Review" (JPG). Download.abandonware.org. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  21. Sega Force (UK) 4, page 55.
  22. "Out-of-Print Archive • Mega Drive reviews • SD Valis". Outofprintarchive.com. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  23. Sebastian Sponsel (2012-01-30). "Sega-16 – Syd of Valis". Sega-16.com. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
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