Valkyrie Profile: SO that's where Odin Sphere got its inspiration.

I can't think of another game on PSX or PS2 that was more hyped (by fans) than Valkyrie Profile, except maybe Legend of Dragoon. I remember TheGIA's coverage (RIP) of VP, and I wasn't impressed back then.

It's frustrating too, because I was quite intrigued by the prologue and the beginning part of the game.

What I Liked

Again, the premise was very interesting. It's got a dark seriousness not found in very many other role playing games of this type.

Auto advancing cutscenes are a rarity even now, so I enjoy games that made/make use of this.

In general the artwork is quite good for the time, especially the interlaced cutscenes to animate key segments and sprite animations.

What I Didn't Like

Segments of the game that are more platforming in nature just don't translate well, because the controls are downright sloppy. When you're running on solid ground everything is smooth and fluid, but when you need to climb, all of a sudden Lenneth doesn't want to jump forward like she normally does. This was a very frustrating experience especially since the very first dungeon forces you to basically climb back up out.

Controls - because of the PSX controller - combine functions into single buttons, and the default configs were, as a friend used to refer to them as, "A-hole configs". I switched it and it helped, but then the menu navigation functionality got jacked up. Ultimately I just dealt with it.

Just as with SaGa Frontier, at a point it's "now go out and find _" with no guidance. I swear, I can't stand games that do this. I gave it a chance by exploring various towns (you're free to fly wherever), and all I found was emptiness and random, pointless NPCs. As a kid with more free time than money and no job, I might have enjoyed this experience, but as an adult where time is already limited, it feels constricting and frustrating.

(Yes, I know you can hit Start and hear stuff. That's fine. But I'd rather it just do whatever it needs to do anytime I hit the map screen automatically, since the game knows you need to do it anyway.)

The first two characters that join you do so in a strange segment where they're supposed to be antagonists, but just randomly and suddenly cooperate and show concern for each other. In fact, the sequence that leads you to them is completely forgotten and later ignored.

The voice acting. Oh my. Certainly not as cringeworthy as Arc Rise Fantasia by any means...but it's bad. Really bad. The lines are okay, the delivery is horrible. Especially from females.

The UI is also strange. There are times during battle that Lenneth can perform follow-up attacks in a chain, but the UI doesn't give you any visual indication of when this is a thing. The result is either missing out on additional damage or spamming Square (or wherever you assigned her) to take advantage.

The time limit is annoying. I can't say it's something that completely turned me off or anything, it's more of an annoyance.

If this were a game I'd played before Final Fantasy VII, I would have been comparing it to the Breath of Fires and the Lufias and the Lunars of the world. By that measure it isn't close. It feels like a SaGa game, meaning that if you enjoyed Romancing SaGa or SaGa Frontier types of games, or even Dewprism ("Threads of Fate" for you in the US), this one is certainly playable. But I wouldn't have it anywhere near the top of my list. I suspect that most people were just enticed by a completely different battle engine after being burned out on turn-based.