After Yuko has defeated the evil Rogles, peace descended upon Earth and the magical world of Vecanti. But a new threat has arisen: an enigmatic man named Glames from the Dark World, possessor of a sword named Leethus, is planning to conquer both Earth and Vecanti, convinced that there is no other way to save his world from imminent destruction. A young girl from the Dark World named Cham escapes from Glames, and asks Yuko to help her stop him with the aid of her Valis sword. Like its predecessors in the series, Valis III is a side-scrolling platform action game. Unlike the previous installments, the player can control three characters in the game: Yuko, Cham (who uses a whip and fights similarly to Castlevania protagonists), and princess Valna from Vecanti, who is weaker physically, but can cast more powerful magic. Each of the characters can equip different weapons and has access to her own magic spells.
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What was a basic, yet still enjoyable start to a series with the original Valis, or more specifically the remake of that game, then led to repetition and blandness with the release of Valis II. That’s not to say that that game was necessarily bad, but it was clearly just “another Valis game”, with no real extra bells or whistles being added onto the formula, and it was definitely the weaker of the original two Valis games. Nevertheless, as I venture further onto what else this series has to offer me, I still hold hope that the series will manage to pick itself back up and maybe try something new with its gameplay, but since I had already played other games from Telenet like Psycho Dream, which was essentially the same as Valis in many different ways, it wasn’t looking too good. Thankfully though, my wishes were somewhat fulfilled, while simultaneously crushed, by Valis III.
I’m assuming one day, while at the offices of Laser Soft, one of the game’s directors suddenly had an epiphany, and spoke aloud saying “What if we actually made changes to our series?”, and thus, what we got here is a game that is very similar to the previous two Valis games, but also incorporates several noticeable changes to make it somewhat stand out. However, unfortunately, some of these changes, combined with some choices made in the game itself, ultimately dragged this down to being what I would consider the weakest entry in the series so far. Granted, I would still say it is a good game, and if you were a big fan what the previous Valis installments gave you, you won’t be disappointed here, but for everyone else, you may or may not have a similar outcome to the one I had when I finally sat down to check it out.
The story is fairly similar to previous titles, where the evil overlord known as Glames, while in possession of the sword Leethus, plots to destroy both the human world and Dreamland with his army, and it is up to Yuko, accompanied by new allies Cham and Valna, to stop him once and for all, which is a typical set up for one of these games, but there is a lot more detail given to the backstory of it, so it is an enjoyable one, the graphics are pretty much the same as with the Valis I remake, so there really is nothing too worthy to mention about it, but I will say it still looks good, and the enemies and cutscenes are pretty nice to look at, the music is pretty good, with there being plenty of sweet tracks to listen to, but nothing really stuck with me after my playthrough, the control is pretty much the same as every other Valis game so far, so there is nothing more to say about that, and the gameplay is familiar for those who have played the previous Valis titles, but there are actual new features this time around to make it somewhat more interesting.
The game is a 2D action platformer, where you take control of either Yuko, Cham, or Valna, go through plenty of different stages through several plain-looking environments, defeat many different enemies that will block your path using either your regular attacks or various special attacks with plenty of different uses, gather plenty of health items, magic items, and powerups to help you along on your quest, and take on plenty of menacing, yet manageable boss fights that will provide a bit of a challenge, but nothing that you won’t be able to handle. At its core, the gameplay is almost identical to that of previous Valis games, so I wouldn’t blame you if you are initially turned away thinking it is just another rehash, but there is at least a little more added onto that rehash to make it less rehashy… yeah, that’s a word now.
As previously mentioned, you can play as three different characters in this game rather than just sticking with Yuko the whole time, and each one does feature their own different weapons and upgrades that you can swap between most of the time, which is a pretty cool addition. The weapons themselves that each of them use aren’t necessarily too radically different from each other, but there were plenty of times where one weapon was much more effective then another, making experimenting with them satisfying when you get it right. Also new to the game is the addition of a sliding mechanic, where you can not only use it to deal damage onto enemies and get through tight spaces, but also slide over large gaps that would otherwise be impossible to get by otherwise. It is cool to see a mechanic like this get introduced, and I really appreciate how it is used as a means to help you progress forward rather than just simply being a different attack. Adding alongside that are also several new sections of the game where you simply don’t just “run to the end and win” like in most scenarios, but instead, you have to use specific special attacks or different means to proceed forward, which is, again, something that I really appreciate being added here.
However, that doesn’t make these sections any fun to play through. The sections that I am referring to primarily reside in the ice stage of the game, where you have to freeze certain enemies in order to get over these gaps, as well as another section where you have to constantly ring a bell to get past this door to continue on with the game. Both of these sections are a pain in the ass, specifically because of the amount of enemies that swarm you, and you aren’t given enough time in either circumstance to where you can easily avoid taking damage, which made things way more frustrating than they needed to be. In addition to those issues, one other big one I had was that the different ways of attacking are completely gone, and now the powerups in the game are only meant to increase the strength of your main weapons. That’s fine and all, but not only can you max out on this very quickly, but the main weapon itself isn’t nearly as satisfying to use in comparison to what you could manage in the previous game. Sure, they do kinda make up for this with, again, the fact that the different characters use different weapons, but none of the weapons reach the same level of satisfaction as the strongest weapons from the previous game, which does really suck.
And for my final complaint towards Valis III, it would have to go specifically towards its cutscenes. Now, don’t get me wrong, the cutscenes in this game are still pretty great for the time, the visuals are pretty neat to look at, and the voice acting, at least with the English version, is actually not that bad, all things considered. But the problem with them is that there are so little of these cutscenes to enjoy. In Valis II, you got a cutscene after every level, which could be seen as annoying, but they were entertaining to watch, and they helped give some kind of depth to that game’s extremely simplistic story. In this game though, while there are still quite a few cutscenes, they aren’t nearly as enjoyable or plentiful as the previous game, which is kind of a big letdown. They didn’t really add much, but sometimes the little things can go a long way, you know?
Overall, despite the additions of new characters and new moves you could pull off, none of it was able to save what I would consider the weakest entry in the series so far, one that did manage to innovate where Valis II wasn’t able to, but managed to get rid of enough to where it lowers the quality of the product as a result. I would recommend the game for those who are big fans of the previous Valis games, as well as those who love action platformers, but for everyone else, this isn’t a title that you need to seek out anytime soon. But hey, who knows, maybe the next game will end up fixing all of these issues and turn out to be the best in the series. It is the last main game, so maybe they managed to end it off with a bang, right?........................ please?
Game #424
I’m assuming one day, while at the offices of Laser Soft, one of the game’s directors suddenly had an epiphany, and spoke aloud saying “What if we actually made changes to our series?”, and thus, what we got here is a game that is very similar to the previous two Valis games, but also incorporates several noticeable changes to make it somewhat stand out. However, unfortunately, some of these changes, combined with some choices made in the game itself, ultimately dragged this down to being what I would consider the weakest entry in the series so far. Granted, I would still say it is a good game, and if you were a big fan what the previous Valis installments gave you, you won’t be disappointed here, but for everyone else, you may or may not have a similar outcome to the one I had when I finally sat down to check it out.
The story is fairly similar to previous titles, where the evil overlord known as Glames, while in possession of the sword Leethus, plots to destroy both the human world and Dreamland with his army, and it is up to Yuko, accompanied by new allies Cham and Valna, to stop him once and for all, which is a typical set up for one of these games, but there is a lot more detail given to the backstory of it, so it is an enjoyable one, the graphics are pretty much the same as with the Valis I remake, so there really is nothing too worthy to mention about it, but I will say it still looks good, and the enemies and cutscenes are pretty nice to look at, the music is pretty good, with there being plenty of sweet tracks to listen to, but nothing really stuck with me after my playthrough, the control is pretty much the same as every other Valis game so far, so there is nothing more to say about that, and the gameplay is familiar for those who have played the previous Valis titles, but there are actual new features this time around to make it somewhat more interesting.
The game is a 2D action platformer, where you take control of either Yuko, Cham, or Valna, go through plenty of different stages through several plain-looking environments, defeat many different enemies that will block your path using either your regular attacks or various special attacks with plenty of different uses, gather plenty of health items, magic items, and powerups to help you along on your quest, and take on plenty of menacing, yet manageable boss fights that will provide a bit of a challenge, but nothing that you won’t be able to handle. At its core, the gameplay is almost identical to that of previous Valis games, so I wouldn’t blame you if you are initially turned away thinking it is just another rehash, but there is at least a little more added onto that rehash to make it less rehashy… yeah, that’s a word now.
As previously mentioned, you can play as three different characters in this game rather than just sticking with Yuko the whole time, and each one does feature their own different weapons and upgrades that you can swap between most of the time, which is a pretty cool addition. The weapons themselves that each of them use aren’t necessarily too radically different from each other, but there were plenty of times where one weapon was much more effective then another, making experimenting with them satisfying when you get it right. Also new to the game is the addition of a sliding mechanic, where you can not only use it to deal damage onto enemies and get through tight spaces, but also slide over large gaps that would otherwise be impossible to get by otherwise. It is cool to see a mechanic like this get introduced, and I really appreciate how it is used as a means to help you progress forward rather than just simply being a different attack. Adding alongside that are also several new sections of the game where you simply don’t just “run to the end and win” like in most scenarios, but instead, you have to use specific special attacks or different means to proceed forward, which is, again, something that I really appreciate being added here.
However, that doesn’t make these sections any fun to play through. The sections that I am referring to primarily reside in the ice stage of the game, where you have to freeze certain enemies in order to get over these gaps, as well as another section where you have to constantly ring a bell to get past this door to continue on with the game. Both of these sections are a pain in the ass, specifically because of the amount of enemies that swarm you, and you aren’t given enough time in either circumstance to where you can easily avoid taking damage, which made things way more frustrating than they needed to be. In addition to those issues, one other big one I had was that the different ways of attacking are completely gone, and now the powerups in the game are only meant to increase the strength of your main weapons. That’s fine and all, but not only can you max out on this very quickly, but the main weapon itself isn’t nearly as satisfying to use in comparison to what you could manage in the previous game. Sure, they do kinda make up for this with, again, the fact that the different characters use different weapons, but none of the weapons reach the same level of satisfaction as the strongest weapons from the previous game, which does really suck.
And for my final complaint towards Valis III, it would have to go specifically towards its cutscenes. Now, don’t get me wrong, the cutscenes in this game are still pretty great for the time, the visuals are pretty neat to look at, and the voice acting, at least with the English version, is actually not that bad, all things considered. But the problem with them is that there are so little of these cutscenes to enjoy. In Valis II, you got a cutscene after every level, which could be seen as annoying, but they were entertaining to watch, and they helped give some kind of depth to that game’s extremely simplistic story. In this game though, while there are still quite a few cutscenes, they aren’t nearly as enjoyable or plentiful as the previous game, which is kind of a big letdown. They didn’t really add much, but sometimes the little things can go a long way, you know?
Overall, despite the additions of new characters and new moves you could pull off, none of it was able to save what I would consider the weakest entry in the series so far, one that did manage to innovate where Valis II wasn’t able to, but managed to get rid of enough to where it lowers the quality of the product as a result. I would recommend the game for those who are big fans of the previous Valis games, as well as those who love action platformers, but for everyone else, this isn’t a title that you need to seek out anytime soon. But hey, who knows, maybe the next game will end up fixing all of these issues and turn out to be the best in the series. It is the last main game, so maybe they managed to end it off with a bang, right?........................ please?
Game #424
Deus criou o PC engine CD, o diabo com inveja criou o super nintendo
Pure Kino
Pure Kino
Pretty good game
Me and my girl Cham are out here stompin' the crap out of this giant crystal to free Nizetti while jammin' out to this goofy-ass penis music. Yeah, that's right, I replayed Valis the Third and I hated it!
Ok, "hate" is a strong word. It's more like I just don't care much for Valis III. I did not play Valis II because until ten minutes ago I was under the impression it never released for the Sega Genesis. This means I have no direct reference for how much Valis II improved on the original, and consequently how much Valis III improved upon that, but given its reception by the games media, I'm going to guess it's not great. Apparently Valis II for the Genesis is Syd of Valis, a mistranslation of SD Valis, presumably because nobody at the time really knew what "super deformed" was and interpreted "SD" as a word and not an acronym. Therein lies my mistake, as I was previously aware of Syd of Valis but did not realize it was actually a remake of Valis II, and I think after all of this I need to undergo a neurological evaluation by a trained team of medical professionals.
In any case, I think it's forgivable to not realize Valis II released on the Genesis, because the improvements Valis III makes over the original are marginal. Hurtboxes are improved and enemies no longer glitch out all over the screen, but your weapons still feel lousy, to the point that you might believe yourself to be some frail force in this hostile world and not, you know, an all-powerful warrior of Valis. Leaping vertically is still floaty, but maneuvering to the left or right mid-jump is much less stiff than it was, making platforming easier. Levels are more involved but they're still kinda bland, including a ferry sequence early in the game that might be one of the most uninspired auto-scrollers I've played since uhhh... well, 2021 when I first beat Valis III.
Graphically, Valis III is less drab than the first game thanks to its use of more vibrant color pallets, though in terms of detail it's roughly the same. The importance of cutscenes can again not be more overstated, as they remain the most impressive singular element of the Valis experience. They look even better than before, almost to the expense of every other part of the game. It's like this team just wanted to make a damn anime, but circumstances confined them to the (in 1990) more limited medium of games. Love Cham's design, though. I wish I were able to design characters that looked as cool as Cham does. Maybe all this resentment towards Valis is really borne from jealousy.
This game also does something that drives me absolutely insane, which is having dialog boxes pop up with zero differentiation between who is talking. I'm looking at two extremely garbled sprites, neither of them are moving yet both of them are talking and there's no name prefacing anything that's being said. You would not draw a comic with two characters talking in the same panel and not put tails on the word bubbles to delineate between who is saying what, it would be considered bad form, and yet it's something that happened in games a lot during this era and which sometimes still happens (Sonic Frontiers.) Docking half a star for it. Maybe I'm overly critical of this sort of thing, but hey, I'm crazy and I like dialog to actually be readable.
Though many of Valis' problems are still present, they are at least smoothed over, made more tolerable. The ability to swap between different characters similar to Castlevania III also adds a good gameplay hook to differentiate this game from its predecessors, but I also feel it could've been used to greater effect, and mostly exists as a valuable means to play as anybody other than Yuko. But, hey, at least if Super Valis IV follows tradition and makes small improvements over this game, it'll at least be ok. Now that's something worth looking forward to, a perfectly fine Valis game.
Ok, "hate" is a strong word. It's more like I just don't care much for Valis III. I did not play Valis II because until ten minutes ago I was under the impression it never released for the Sega Genesis. This means I have no direct reference for how much Valis II improved on the original, and consequently how much Valis III improved upon that, but given its reception by the games media, I'm going to guess it's not great. Apparently Valis II for the Genesis is Syd of Valis, a mistranslation of SD Valis, presumably because nobody at the time really knew what "super deformed" was and interpreted "SD" as a word and not an acronym. Therein lies my mistake, as I was previously aware of Syd of Valis but did not realize it was actually a remake of Valis II, and I think after all of this I need to undergo a neurological evaluation by a trained team of medical professionals.
In any case, I think it's forgivable to not realize Valis II released on the Genesis, because the improvements Valis III makes over the original are marginal. Hurtboxes are improved and enemies no longer glitch out all over the screen, but your weapons still feel lousy, to the point that you might believe yourself to be some frail force in this hostile world and not, you know, an all-powerful warrior of Valis. Leaping vertically is still floaty, but maneuvering to the left or right mid-jump is much less stiff than it was, making platforming easier. Levels are more involved but they're still kinda bland, including a ferry sequence early in the game that might be one of the most uninspired auto-scrollers I've played since uhhh... well, 2021 when I first beat Valis III.
Graphically, Valis III is less drab than the first game thanks to its use of more vibrant color pallets, though in terms of detail it's roughly the same. The importance of cutscenes can again not be more overstated, as they remain the most impressive singular element of the Valis experience. They look even better than before, almost to the expense of every other part of the game. It's like this team just wanted to make a damn anime, but circumstances confined them to the (in 1990) more limited medium of games. Love Cham's design, though. I wish I were able to design characters that looked as cool as Cham does. Maybe all this resentment towards Valis is really borne from jealousy.
This game also does something that drives me absolutely insane, which is having dialog boxes pop up with zero differentiation between who is talking. I'm looking at two extremely garbled sprites, neither of them are moving yet both of them are talking and there's no name prefacing anything that's being said. You would not draw a comic with two characters talking in the same panel and not put tails on the word bubbles to delineate between who is saying what, it would be considered bad form, and yet it's something that happened in games a lot during this era and which sometimes still happens (Sonic Frontiers.) Docking half a star for it. Maybe I'm overly critical of this sort of thing, but hey, I'm crazy and I like dialog to actually be readable.
Though many of Valis' problems are still present, they are at least smoothed over, made more tolerable. The ability to swap between different characters similar to Castlevania III also adds a good gameplay hook to differentiate this game from its predecessors, but I also feel it could've been used to greater effect, and mostly exists as a valuable means to play as anybody other than Yuko. But, hey, at least if Super Valis IV follows tradition and makes small improvements over this game, it'll at least be ok. Now that's something worth looking forward to, a perfectly fine Valis game.
An ugly and horribly slow 2D platformer that I would not recommend to anyone. Honestly nothing really good about this one.
Angel_Arle Valis reviews
Part 1: Valis II for PC Engine CD
Bonus: Valis III for Mega Drive
Part 3: Valis IV for PC Engine CD
Part 4: SD Valis for Mega Drive
Part 5: Mugen Senshi Valis: The Legend of a Fantasm Soldier for PC Engine CD
Part 6: Super Valis: Akaki Tsuki no Otome for Super Famicom
Final Part: Mugen Senshi Valis for Famicom
So it’s been a while since the 2nd game’s review. Sorry about that everyone if you were actually waiting for this. Now I had played this one also in 2022 and honestly I thought it was good but was not as good as others say it is. Like some people would say it was like 9/10 good and I didn’t really see it at the time. I’ll also be reviewing the Mega Drive port for a few paragraphs near the end so that might be exciting.
Valis III tries to redo the game engine while keeping it the same gameplay as the last game, a lot has changed. Well you can still attack and jump but you may notice the attack is different now. Yuko only has one attack similar to that one I used a lot in Valis II but it’s the only one she has in the game. You also now have a bar that determines your power and can be upgraded (along with the weapon itself) with the help of a specific item. The bar works a lot like Legendary Axe if you have ever played that game, just let it go all the way up for the most power. Yuko can also now slide which is vital because it can do some damage to enemies, help with platforming, give you a small bit of more speed, gives i-frames during the animation and can get you into short spaces you normally can’t go under. Though for some reason it’s mapped to down + RUN (that’s basically the start button). You do get used to it at least. Yuko can even now use magic of the Fire, Ice, and Light variety. You do up + attack for this and you’ll have to keep in mind your magic points when using it but don’t worry it’s always easy to get refills throughout levels. Oh also Yuko can do a higher jump by holding up which is neat but it’s a little finicky at times.
Now that may sound like an awesome upgrade from the sequel but it gets even better. Yuko now has two other characters joining her. You get Cham after beating level 2 and she uses a whip that is basically at full power all the time but lacks range. Thankfully the hitbox is skewed more into your favor. Her magic is also her weakest aspect as it’s not very impressive but it can still work well at times. Once you get to the end of stage 4 you’ll unlock Yuko’s sister Valna. Valna is the one with weaker normal attacks but has the best magic of the bunch. She’s also got the best range in terms of her attack as she shoots three projectiles with one going above her. You’ll press the RUN button to swap between them, the order goes Yuko > Cham > Valna and then loops back. Be warned you can’t swap during bosses and some moments will have you forced to be a character like Yuko having to always fight two of the bosses.
This game also has more of that story but tbh I know I might lose everyone’s interest in this review saying this but I forgot what the story was. I guess that’s what happens when the last time you watched these cutscenes is what felt like a year ago. I actually skipped them in my playthrough this time because I thought I’d remember and I didn’t. I do remember them looking nice and I like how they give you a recap of the previous 2 games if you weren’t aware of what happened in them. Since this game has multiple characters, there are different dialogue exchanges depending who you chose meaning bosses have different exchanges. Unfortunately they still haven’t made them skippable with a button which can be a bit annoying on multiple playthroughs. I will say I like seeing more of the story progression happening in the levels themselves as now NPCs show up in them. They also got rid of that awful green border meaning the cutscenes look better which is a blessing. Though if I have one nitpick. How does Yuko fly at the beginning of Stage 1 and why does she never do it again?
The level design is sadly the one thing that keeps it from being great. Now while it is pretty fun to play through, there can be some rough patches. There’s one part in stage 5 that has you freezing enemies that can be a pain in the ass and you basically need Valna to complete it or get really lucky. The 2nd to last stage also has some obnoxious enemy placement making hard areas almost infuriating, you will die a bunch on this stage because of it. Now with that said, when it’s not being flawed, it’s being really fun. I love the engagement I get with this game at times. It just hits a flow that Valis II never really gave. There’s also a few ways to tackle any level which I really like and it makes replayability all the more better for it. There can be some challenging stuff at times especially when something like lightning can take half your health, it’s insane. It’s just god if only that 2nd half was a little better. It would be great but I can’t lie and say it is. I also want to point out that in stage 3 you ride this boat and you can actually fall off once the dialogue for the boss starts but instead of killing you, it will be actually unable to kill you and you have to wait for a time out. I even had one time I died but the dialogue kept going and then the stage played in silence. For the record, this isn’t a negative towards the game but I’m just shocked it was left in.
Bosses are actually pretty decent here having way more of a challenge here then in the last game. It helps that you also have to try now due to the game now making you redo the whole fight if you die. They can seem a little tough especially the 2nd to last one but it’s good to experiment if you can but again just make sure you choose who you want before going in unless you’re forced into that character. I do wish the final boss was harder, it basically becomes a battle of hoping you can dodge his dumb screen flash move and just living with barely any health. Thankfully none of them are frustrating which is a relief.
Graphically Valis III really is an improvement from before but still nothing mindblowing. I will say the game excels in environments at times. I really love the environment in stage 6 which can look moody and scary especially with all the dead stuff. A lot of the sprites feel pretty much like the previous game to me but are improved in spots and still have that iconic not giving the face any features whatsoever! The bosses are nice and big and the enemies still have their various themes and stuff going for them. Like I said earlier, the cutscenes were also improved a lot thanks to the removal of that awful border and just better sprite work and animation in general. The music is also pretty good too, with some like the 1st stage and 8th stage having my favorite songs in the game. They aren’t all winners because I really don’t like this song just because the bass synth sounds atrocious to me. Still it is mostly good and the voice acting sounds nice too from what I remember of it that is.
Replaying this game was a surprise for me because I like it more than I used to and now It’ll make my 2022 rankings age poorly which is unfortunate. But hey I like that I enjoyed it more. This is a really fun action game with some rough moments but I just think it’s an enjoyable romp that isn’t even like just from ironic or guilty pleasure feels. I didn’t hate Valis II but I could admit it was sort of bad especially in today’s viewpoint. I do think Valis III can stand on its two legs and is one of the more enjoyable games on the console. There’s a reason this game is well praised by PC Engine fans and personally it has me excited to try out Valis IV as while it has a new cast of characters, it still features the multiple characters style of game. Just don’t play that Mega Drive port, it sucks. I’d say it’s worth at least trying the PC Engine version if you haven’t yet. Just don’t buy it on Switch just please don’t because it's like $15, that's stupid. Oh wait here’s one more thing before I go! Did you know the sign at the end of Stage 1 changes a lot. In the original it says NEC, on the Mega Drive it says RENO, and on the Switch it says EDIA. Weird it just keeps changing, must be a copyright thing. Hope you enjoyed reading this and thank you for reading if you did, bye bye for now!
Part 1: Valis II for PC Engine CD
Bonus: Valis III for Mega Drive
Part 3: Valis IV for PC Engine CD
Part 4: SD Valis for Mega Drive
Part 5: Mugen Senshi Valis: The Legend of a Fantasm Soldier for PC Engine CD
Part 6: Super Valis: Akaki Tsuki no Otome for Super Famicom
Final Part: Mugen Senshi Valis for Famicom
So it’s been a while since the 2nd game’s review. Sorry about that everyone if you were actually waiting for this. Now I had played this one also in 2022 and honestly I thought it was good but was not as good as others say it is. Like some people would say it was like 9/10 good and I didn’t really see it at the time. I’ll also be reviewing the Mega Drive port for a few paragraphs near the end so that might be exciting.
Valis III tries to redo the game engine while keeping it the same gameplay as the last game, a lot has changed. Well you can still attack and jump but you may notice the attack is different now. Yuko only has one attack similar to that one I used a lot in Valis II but it’s the only one she has in the game. You also now have a bar that determines your power and can be upgraded (along with the weapon itself) with the help of a specific item. The bar works a lot like Legendary Axe if you have ever played that game, just let it go all the way up for the most power. Yuko can also now slide which is vital because it can do some damage to enemies, help with platforming, give you a small bit of more speed, gives i-frames during the animation and can get you into short spaces you normally can’t go under. Though for some reason it’s mapped to down + RUN (that’s basically the start button). You do get used to it at least. Yuko can even now use magic of the Fire, Ice, and Light variety. You do up + attack for this and you’ll have to keep in mind your magic points when using it but don’t worry it’s always easy to get refills throughout levels. Oh also Yuko can do a higher jump by holding up which is neat but it’s a little finicky at times.
Now that may sound like an awesome upgrade from the sequel but it gets even better. Yuko now has two other characters joining her. You get Cham after beating level 2 and she uses a whip that is basically at full power all the time but lacks range. Thankfully the hitbox is skewed more into your favor. Her magic is also her weakest aspect as it’s not very impressive but it can still work well at times. Once you get to the end of stage 4 you’ll unlock Yuko’s sister Valna. Valna is the one with weaker normal attacks but has the best magic of the bunch. She’s also got the best range in terms of her attack as she shoots three projectiles with one going above her. You’ll press the RUN button to swap between them, the order goes Yuko > Cham > Valna and then loops back. Be warned you can’t swap during bosses and some moments will have you forced to be a character like Yuko having to always fight two of the bosses.
This game also has more of that story but tbh I know I might lose everyone’s interest in this review saying this but I forgot what the story was. I guess that’s what happens when the last time you watched these cutscenes is what felt like a year ago. I actually skipped them in my playthrough this time because I thought I’d remember and I didn’t. I do remember them looking nice and I like how they give you a recap of the previous 2 games if you weren’t aware of what happened in them. Since this game has multiple characters, there are different dialogue exchanges depending who you chose meaning bosses have different exchanges. Unfortunately they still haven’t made them skippable with a button which can be a bit annoying on multiple playthroughs. I will say I like seeing more of the story progression happening in the levels themselves as now NPCs show up in them. They also got rid of that awful green border meaning the cutscenes look better which is a blessing. Though if I have one nitpick. How does Yuko fly at the beginning of Stage 1 and why does she never do it again?
The level design is sadly the one thing that keeps it from being great. Now while it is pretty fun to play through, there can be some rough patches. There’s one part in stage 5 that has you freezing enemies that can be a pain in the ass and you basically need Valna to complete it or get really lucky. The 2nd to last stage also has some obnoxious enemy placement making hard areas almost infuriating, you will die a bunch on this stage because of it. Now with that said, when it’s not being flawed, it’s being really fun. I love the engagement I get with this game at times. It just hits a flow that Valis II never really gave. There’s also a few ways to tackle any level which I really like and it makes replayability all the more better for it. There can be some challenging stuff at times especially when something like lightning can take half your health, it’s insane. It’s just god if only that 2nd half was a little better. It would be great but I can’t lie and say it is. I also want to point out that in stage 3 you ride this boat and you can actually fall off once the dialogue for the boss starts but instead of killing you, it will be actually unable to kill you and you have to wait for a time out. I even had one time I died but the dialogue kept going and then the stage played in silence. For the record, this isn’t a negative towards the game but I’m just shocked it was left in.
Bosses are actually pretty decent here having way more of a challenge here then in the last game. It helps that you also have to try now due to the game now making you redo the whole fight if you die. They can seem a little tough especially the 2nd to last one but it’s good to experiment if you can but again just make sure you choose who you want before going in unless you’re forced into that character. I do wish the final boss was harder, it basically becomes a battle of hoping you can dodge his dumb screen flash move and just living with barely any health. Thankfully none of them are frustrating which is a relief.
Graphically Valis III really is an improvement from before but still nothing mindblowing. I will say the game excels in environments at times. I really love the environment in stage 6 which can look moody and scary especially with all the dead stuff. A lot of the sprites feel pretty much like the previous game to me but are improved in spots and still have that iconic not giving the face any features whatsoever! The bosses are nice and big and the enemies still have their various themes and stuff going for them. Like I said earlier, the cutscenes were also improved a lot thanks to the removal of that awful border and just better sprite work and animation in general. The music is also pretty good too, with some like the 1st stage and 8th stage having my favorite songs in the game. They aren’t all winners because I really don’t like this song just because the bass synth sounds atrocious to me. Still it is mostly good and the voice acting sounds nice too from what I remember of it that is.
Replaying this game was a surprise for me because I like it more than I used to and now It’ll make my 2022 rankings age poorly which is unfortunate. But hey I like that I enjoyed it more. This is a really fun action game with some rough moments but I just think it’s an enjoyable romp that isn’t even like just from ironic or guilty pleasure feels. I didn’t hate Valis II but I could admit it was sort of bad especially in today’s viewpoint. I do think Valis III can stand on its two legs and is one of the more enjoyable games on the console. There’s a reason this game is well praised by PC Engine fans and personally it has me excited to try out Valis IV as while it has a new cast of characters, it still features the multiple characters style of game. Just don’t play that Mega Drive port, it sucks. I’d say it’s worth at least trying the PC Engine version if you haven’t yet. Just don’t buy it on Switch just please don’t because it's like $15, that's stupid. Oh wait here’s one more thing before I go! Did you know the sign at the end of Stage 1 changes a lot. In the original it says NEC, on the Mega Drive it says RENO, and on the Switch it says EDIA. Weird it just keeps changing, must be a copyright thing. Hope you enjoyed reading this and thank you for reading if you did, bye bye for now!