Valis II

Valis: The Fantasm Soldier II (夢幻戦士 ヴァリスⅡ, Mugen Senshi: Varisu Tsū), also known as just Valis II in the West, is a platform game developed and released by Telenet Japan, originally for the MSX in Japan. It was later ported to or released on several other systems. Is the second title in the Valis video game series. Like its predecessor, it is a platform game.

A poorly received SD style remake was released on the Japanese Mega Drive SD Valis (SDヴァリス, Esu Dī Varisu) and on the North American Sega 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. Details of the gameplay vary between the versions.^[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

The original version of Valis II was developed and published by Telenet Japan released on the PC-88, PC-98, MSX, and Sharp X68000 in August 1989, only in Japan. Another version of the game with enhanced graphics and anime-style cutscenes was released in a censored^[1] form for the PC Engine CD-ROM² by Telenet in Japan and for the TurboGrafx-CD by NEC in North America.

Another port of the game was released for the Sega Mega Drive in Japan (as SD Valis) by Telenet and for the Sega Genesis in North America by Renovation Products (as Syd of Valis). This title features the same gameplay and plot as the original, 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 also reuses for the front cover the boxart of Naritore the Sugoroku '92.

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 sountrack 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 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 our 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

External links

• Mugen Senshi Valis II, Valis II, and Syd of Valis at MobyGames