Angel_Arle Valis reviews
Part 1: Valis II for PC Engine CD
Part 2: Valis III 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
Valis is one of those series that I’ll never admit it had greatness because it never did, at best it had one game that was very good which was the third game on PC Engine CD. Valis is one of those series though that still did have good entries. I’m not sure why some of them resonate with me a lot but they just do. It first started oddly enough with the first Mega Drive game that I’ve beaten countless times. I remember always wanting to play those games on the PC Engine CD but was too stupid to figure out the emulator. Though there was one game I played back then based off the first game that held such a dark aura, one that was haunting me for years. Mugen Senshi Valis for the Famicom.
Ever since I played it many years ago, I was shocked with how hard and annoying it all was. It had a confusing first level and I just couldn’t do it no matter the attempts. There’s no direction with it and it took till reading a guide to figure it all out. It was such a bad first level that I would sometimes send the ROM of the game to mutuals and ask them if they could beat that first level without a guide. None of them could do it, in hindsight I feel kind of an ass for even doing that but it didn’t really harm them so I guess it’s not a bad thing. The only things I really knew about the game was just my experience, the ending screen, and this promotional video. Honestly when I did this series of reviews I almost thought about doing this first but I was afraid. Not anymore, I sat down to play it and it was something.
Hearing the title screen music felt like a weird memory as it’s the song I’ve heard in every version of Valis I. It’s kind of weird to think how the music in these later versions doesn't really change much when making the jump to other consoles. Since this was still somewhat early for the Famicom, the story is pretty small in this title though that’s fine. Ahh playing this game again reminds me of the struggles I had playing through it. You’re given no guidance on what to do and they decided to make the levels more maze-like. You have no map either until you can find it and areas can lead through multiple directions. If that wasn’t bad enough, Yuko can barely take any abuse in this game. She has 10 hit points but almost everything does 2 so in 5 hits your lights are out. You do at least have infinite continues and you keep your map. There is stuff like bombs and boomerangs you can find for extra firepower but you have so little use of these that I really didn’t use them. Once you know the way to get through the level it should be a breeze.
Though that would imply you do know what you should be doing because while you are given some help from NPCs starting with the 2nd stage, the game doesn’t always help you. How do you beat stage 1 you might ask? You need to defeat 3 bosses. Two of them however present a problem because you’ll get to these bosses and probably wail on them for a bit and wonder why they aren’t dying. I know people who thought they were missing something and just moved on, which is the incorrect thing to do because you do need to defeat them, they just take so much abuse that it’s shocking when they do die. They are at least easy to kill so it’s a pretty easy breeze. Though what won’t be easy is the enemies. Enemies are weird as there aren’t many types of them but the way they place them in levels is weird. They just kind of place them randomly and they either come out of the sky or the left or right of the screen which can lead to annoyance when trying to go to the next area and they just keep spawning in the way. Some also move in weird patterns and Yuko has some weird slippery feel to her movement making it hard to immediately stop. Again it wouldn’t be so bad if you didn’t die in 5 hits.
Once you get through the stage you’ll find yourself at the boss and he isn’t too bad but again, you might be at a low amount of HP and you can’t make too many mistakes so once you do that and then…uhh the stage doesn’t end. This was the moment I realized this playthrough was going to suck for me. I actually didn’t remember this at all from my old attempt at it but you can’t leave the level but I only had one more hit till death so I tried to explore and I’m dead. Back to doing everything again! Well no worry I can do it easily this time but still nothing. I gave in and used a guide and you won’t believe what the answer was. The exit is bugged so you have to leave the room and go back to the exit and then you can leave the level. How was this not tested? Like this isn’t just a minor bug and yes I know it’s easy to deal with once you know but I didn’t and I was left confused. Though that wasn’t even the worst the game had to throw at me.
Stage 2 is one of the worst levels I’ve not only played in a Valis game but one of the worst levels in any game I’ve played. This sucks because you get the armor, you get the sword, and you even have one of the best Valis songs “The Wilderness” playing. Folks, the game at this point goes from bad to horribly bad. First off, the stage is freaking massive. LOOK AT THIS! CAN YOU EVEN UNDERSTAND THAT? It’s not only one of the biggest ones in the game but it’s a pain in the ass to navigate. Did I forget to mention you also need to find the map first? Yeah good luck with that. This is so ridiculous, can I remind you people that you die in 5 hits? You also need to look for items like a cape to stand the desert heat and the boss himself. For some reason the boss is really hard to find and it drove me insane. It felt like it took over an hour just for me to find the thing and I just couldn’t figure out what to do, not even a guide helped me. It wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t hide areas from the map, have you going through many other directions like up and down, and worst of all have areas that just lead you in the same room just to screw with you. You can also find other items here like a cat where I thought I was giving it to an NPC but no matter what I did, he never took the damn thing. You can also find a hammer to talk to statues but most of the time they just say numbers and honestly just don’t bother with it. You can also find a pot that can restore some health whenever you wanna use it.
Thankfully the boss isn’t too hard and then you’re off to stage 3 which is easy to get to from here and I got to say after that trash fire of a level, it’s nice to say that for the rest of the game, it isn’t the worst? It’s weird because it still can be frustrating at times as now there are bottomless pits that are instant game over. There’s now more ways for you to survive now and there’s even a waterfall here to heal which feels like a blessing. But there is just one thing you’ll find out that feels like a shot to the head. When you die, pressing continue will take you back to the beginning of Stage 2. The game only has 3 checkpoints for continues which are the beginning of the game, the beginning of Stage 2, and a bit into the final stage. You still at least get to keep permanent non consumable items but you have to make a long trek to get progress done and that’s only if you don’t get hit while trying to get back. Well at least stage 3 gives us something very valuable which is the shield which halves the damage you take...but uhh we need to talk…
I’ve been lying to you people till now, I committed the act that I should never do when making these reviews. Using hacks to improve the experience. I won’t lie, the idea of having to find the map in each level sounded like a miserable time for me so I put on the Valis++ patch that gives you a map for each stage whether you got the map piece or not. This hack also gives you that half defense but this is where I did something even worse. You see, I had the oldest version of the hack where some bugs weren’t fixed like a part that can freeze the game. So what’s the problem? Well remember that shield? The oldest version had a bug where grabbing it makes you almost invincible. 90% of the time you will not take damage from anything and I basically cheated cause of that. Though oddly there were occasional times it wasn’t like this for some reason. I felt guilty and was debating about restarting the game but I was too far in and had to press on, so I’m very sorry if this disappoints you, you have every right to be disappointed in me.
Next is stage 4 which isn’t too bad but hang on, what’s with The Wilderness song still playing? It’s been playing for the past 3 stages up to this point. I know Reiko should show up eventually but I was always wondering why she wasn’t anywhere in the story outside of one NPC saying they saw a girl that looked like Yuko come by. Well in this stage you’ll finally fight her and yeah the fight is very lame because she just shoots at you and it's one of those where the devs got lazy and just made it RNG when she does the attack meaning there’s no pattern. At least there was an attempt to keep that heartfelt moment because it wouldn’t be Valis I without it. With the stage done along with getting a lamp, you can finally head into the caves that you could find in stage 2. You know that’s one thing I do like about this game, there are multiple entrances and exits to levels which I feel helps a bit with getting in and out of a level. Sadly though this positive is limited as it’s only the case with stages 4 and 5. Stage 5 also has multiple floors meaning you have to collect more than one map just to even use it for the whole stage, it’s obnoxious. At least you get the Valis sword (though be careful as there’s a bug where you could actually not get it after obtaining it meaning you have to recollect it so good job developers.) Huh? Why can’t I select it? Is this also a bug? No, you need to go back to stage 3, go to a specific area and stand near the cliff and then you can equip it, why padding at this point? Who knows.
Stage 6 will finally open up once you have 4 of the phantasm jewelry and honestly it’s very anticlimactic with its use of very samey looking areas and the spam of boss enemies ready to ram you over for a chance of some warrior blood. You even have to go to the third floor just to open a gate but when I got to him I saw he would not allow permission and I’m like NOOO!! What the hell could I have missed this time? Well turns out I missed nothing, the game just expects you to talk to him like 6 times and then he gives in and allows you. Maybe the NPC guarding the gate gives you the hint but this is still so stupid. Well you get to Rogles and he’s oddly pretty easy for a final boss, I’d argue that one from Stage 3 was harder than this but good god he takes a lot of hits. With him down, congratulations! The game is ov-wait I forgot about Valia being kidnapped. Yes in this one, she was kidnapped and is an actual opponent. She wants to possess Yuko for her own benefit but after a few hits she retreats and it’s off to the final screen of the game.
Now this is it, the moment you get to choose your ending. You have three choices, the bad ending, the good ending, and the best ending. You will be asked a yes or no question. Choose yes and you get the good ending where life gets to continue a new one but Yuko is sadly not brought back to her world leaving for a happy end for everyone except Yuko but could be argued that at least not everything is lost. Selecting no will have you fight a harder Valia fight though it’s still piss easy. Losing the fight will have her try to possess Yuko but fails thus leading the world doomed, you will have to restart from the checkpoint in stage 6 if you let this happen. The best ending has you saving everything and Yuko gets to live back home safe and sound forever…pfft yeah right we know she has more adventures afterwards. I should warn you that getting the good or best ending removes your continue feature so leave a save state if you’re using an emulator for the yes or no question. Though I’m sure most probably won’t even care about the ending, not like the story did much to begin with.
Mugen Senshi Valis leaves me in a situation where I felt relieved it was finally over, I felt like I could move on from life knowing this awful game was done with for. Now it’s not the worst Famicom game, not even close especially when you had Famicom games like a lot of the TOSE Bandai crappy Anime games, The horrible RPG Hoshi o Miru, all the awful Micronics developed games, and I still would rather play this over the english fan translation of Wagyan Land, I’m still not over that awful experience. Hell this isn’t even the worst Valis game but it is still a game I would never recommend to anyone, even with the hack’s help to make it easier. At least the music is still those great tunes from Valis I but to say I wasn’t suffering would be a lie. Though with all I have said, I finally reached the end of this game and I can finally say.
Never again
Well everyone, that was every game I wanted to do for Valis but first let me go over everything I didn’t really talk about during these reviews.
I actually never went over Yuko’s first adventure on Japanese computers. I almost did due to the MSX version being on Switch but it’s $15 and I’m too much a cheap bitch to pay for it. Though if you do want to see more about the PC88 version, I’d highly recommend watching this video done by Basement Brothers, it’s an excellent video and does a better job then I ever would reviewing her very first adventure. I will say though I love those cutscenes, 80s art styles sure are awesome!
Valis II like I mentioned before had computer versions as well but sadly I couldn’t get them to work for emulation so sadly you’ll just have to survive never getting that review. I should warn anyone reading this that they do contain scenes of Yuko almost naked in those ports so be aware of that if you decide to look into those versions.
Yuko actually made quite a few cameos. Her and Reiko can be found in Arcush: Kagerou no Jidai o Koe te being in charge of a burger shop called DOS Burger. Yuko can also be seen in the Telenet title Exile: Toki no Hazama e for the PC Engine CD though you might not see her in your playthrough as she’s a bit hidden. She was even in…Super Albatross? Wait, was I really just not aware of this cameo when I reviewed that game? Well I couldn’t figure out how to see her but it does apparently exist.
I never did review Valis I for the Mega Drive in this series but I still do have an old review it on backloggd. You can read it here if you want to read my crappy review on it. I honestly don’t know why I didn’t redo it to add it to the series but this isn’t going to change. If you don’t want to read it and want the TLDR then I think it’s good despite it being slow and I have a very unhealthy bias towards that port.
I mentioned it in my SD Valis review briefly but Yuko made an appearance in Naritore The Sugoroku '92 for the PC Engine CD. It’s one of those board games you’d see quite a lot in that era thanks to stuff like Momotaro Dentetsu being popular. It actually features many Telenet characters and Yuko is one of the playable characters, I can’t say if the game is any good though because I can’t really enjoy it when I don’t know Japanese unfortunately but it’s still nice to see Yuko there.
In 1993, there was a Valis game called Valis Visual Shuu for the PC Engine CD. Though it’s just a compilation of all the cutscenes of Valis II-IV. Since Valis I wasn’t out at the time, the cutscenes are not on the disc. EDIT: This is actually wrong, Mugen Senshi Valis was 1992. IDK why it's actually not on there. If you love the stories but don’t wanna play the games, then this is the CD for you!
There was a mobile phone game in 2005 for Valis I and it certainly looked like a game from that time. Honestly Idk if it’s even been preserved because all that stuff seems like a pain to get working. I salute all hard working phone game preservers!
2006 would be the release of the infamous Valis X, a 5 part VN hentai game. It’s been hated by pretty much everyone and was the only series that developers Eants could make from Telenet’s lineup. Supposedly a planned hentai game starring Anett from El Viento was considered. If you for some reason are very curious to see the porn stuff, then Mobygames has images for each game but it’s nothing really interesting and the awful artstyle doesn’t help either. It’s best to be left forgotten.
D4 Enterprises would make a PC collection in 2011 that contained Valis I-IV for PC Engine CD, Super Valis, and SD Valis along with some extra bonus stuff that might be worth it for the fans. I can’t say if the emulation is good because I never really saw the collection in action sadly.
After many years of Sunsoft doing nothing with the IP, a company named Edia would crowdfund a collection for the Valis series to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the franchise. The collection would be Switch exclusive and contained Valis I-III for PC Engine CD. Yes you read that right, it lacks Valis IV. It’s also a pretty lousy collection that doesn’t really feel like a celebration of the series. It doesn’t even have the US versions of II and III. A Limited Run Games physical release was also made and then Playasia buyers were told that the subtitles will no longer be in the Japanese release they were selling because I really needed another reason to hate LRG as a company. Also you can’t just use the Valis III US cover WHEN THERE’S NO US VERSION?! Idiots. Oh yeah did I mention the collection is $40?
In 2022, another collection by Edia was made that was also crowdfunded containing Valis IV for PC Engine CD, Valis I MD, and SD Valis. Valis I for MSX was also added though it was just one of the goals they reached so it may have never been added if it wasn’t for that. This one is $45 and honestly I just didn’t want it. Sorry folks but like I could be using my $45 on so much else that it’s disgusting they even did this. It also feels like they gave less of a damn releasing it here in the US as it was basically shadow dropped here. Both collection’s games can also be bought separately for $15 each.
In 2023 they announced a 3rd collection for the series. It will contain Valis I for the PC-98 and Famicom, Valis II for the MSX2, Valis III for the Mega Drive, and Super Valis: Akaki Tsuki no Otome for the Super Famicom. It also contains that ad for the Famicom I linked earlier in the review. Seriously if they were gonna add all these games why not just do it in one collection? Also according to the Nintendo Eshop it's 8,580 yen which sounds like way too much money ngl. Seriously I swear they don't want me reviewing these...
Finally it’s all over, that’s everything I have to say. If you read this far, thank you. Apologies if these reviews weren’t that good but I’m glad to have done them all. Well at least the ones I wanted to do. I’ve grown even more appreciation for the series after finishing all of this and maybe just one day there will be a new game…nah that’s actually never happening but a girl can dream. Thank you Yuko and the rest of the cast for the fun adventures! Bye bye!
Part 1: Valis II for PC Engine CD
Part 2: Valis III 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
Valis is one of those series that I’ll never admit it had greatness because it never did, at best it had one game that was very good which was the third game on PC Engine CD. Valis is one of those series though that still did have good entries. I’m not sure why some of them resonate with me a lot but they just do. It first started oddly enough with the first Mega Drive game that I’ve beaten countless times. I remember always wanting to play those games on the PC Engine CD but was too stupid to figure out the emulator. Though there was one game I played back then based off the first game that held such a dark aura, one that was haunting me for years. Mugen Senshi Valis for the Famicom.
Ever since I played it many years ago, I was shocked with how hard and annoying it all was. It had a confusing first level and I just couldn’t do it no matter the attempts. There’s no direction with it and it took till reading a guide to figure it all out. It was such a bad first level that I would sometimes send the ROM of the game to mutuals and ask them if they could beat that first level without a guide. None of them could do it, in hindsight I feel kind of an ass for even doing that but it didn’t really harm them so I guess it’s not a bad thing. The only things I really knew about the game was just my experience, the ending screen, and this promotional video. Honestly when I did this series of reviews I almost thought about doing this first but I was afraid. Not anymore, I sat down to play it and it was something.
Hearing the title screen music felt like a weird memory as it’s the song I’ve heard in every version of Valis I. It’s kind of weird to think how the music in these later versions doesn't really change much when making the jump to other consoles. Since this was still somewhat early for the Famicom, the story is pretty small in this title though that’s fine. Ahh playing this game again reminds me of the struggles I had playing through it. You’re given no guidance on what to do and they decided to make the levels more maze-like. You have no map either until you can find it and areas can lead through multiple directions. If that wasn’t bad enough, Yuko can barely take any abuse in this game. She has 10 hit points but almost everything does 2 so in 5 hits your lights are out. You do at least have infinite continues and you keep your map. There is stuff like bombs and boomerangs you can find for extra firepower but you have so little use of these that I really didn’t use them. Once you know the way to get through the level it should be a breeze.
Though that would imply you do know what you should be doing because while you are given some help from NPCs starting with the 2nd stage, the game doesn’t always help you. How do you beat stage 1 you might ask? You need to defeat 3 bosses. Two of them however present a problem because you’ll get to these bosses and probably wail on them for a bit and wonder why they aren’t dying. I know people who thought they were missing something and just moved on, which is the incorrect thing to do because you do need to defeat them, they just take so much abuse that it’s shocking when they do die. They are at least easy to kill so it’s a pretty easy breeze. Though what won’t be easy is the enemies. Enemies are weird as there aren’t many types of them but the way they place them in levels is weird. They just kind of place them randomly and they either come out of the sky or the left or right of the screen which can lead to annoyance when trying to go to the next area and they just keep spawning in the way. Some also move in weird patterns and Yuko has some weird slippery feel to her movement making it hard to immediately stop. Again it wouldn’t be so bad if you didn’t die in 5 hits.
Once you get through the stage you’ll find yourself at the boss and he isn’t too bad but again, you might be at a low amount of HP and you can’t make too many mistakes so once you do that and then…uhh the stage doesn’t end. This was the moment I realized this playthrough was going to suck for me. I actually didn’t remember this at all from my old attempt at it but you can’t leave the level but I only had one more hit till death so I tried to explore and I’m dead. Back to doing everything again! Well no worry I can do it easily this time but still nothing. I gave in and used a guide and you won’t believe what the answer was. The exit is bugged so you have to leave the room and go back to the exit and then you can leave the level. How was this not tested? Like this isn’t just a minor bug and yes I know it’s easy to deal with once you know but I didn’t and I was left confused. Though that wasn’t even the worst the game had to throw at me.
Stage 2 is one of the worst levels I’ve not only played in a Valis game but one of the worst levels in any game I’ve played. This sucks because you get the armor, you get the sword, and you even have one of the best Valis songs “The Wilderness” playing. Folks, the game at this point goes from bad to horribly bad. First off, the stage is freaking massive. LOOK AT THIS! CAN YOU EVEN UNDERSTAND THAT? It’s not only one of the biggest ones in the game but it’s a pain in the ass to navigate. Did I forget to mention you also need to find the map first? Yeah good luck with that. This is so ridiculous, can I remind you people that you die in 5 hits? You also need to look for items like a cape to stand the desert heat and the boss himself. For some reason the boss is really hard to find and it drove me insane. It felt like it took over an hour just for me to find the thing and I just couldn’t figure out what to do, not even a guide helped me. It wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t hide areas from the map, have you going through many other directions like up and down, and worst of all have areas that just lead you in the same room just to screw with you. You can also find other items here like a cat where I thought I was giving it to an NPC but no matter what I did, he never took the damn thing. You can also find a hammer to talk to statues but most of the time they just say numbers and honestly just don’t bother with it. You can also find a pot that can restore some health whenever you wanna use it.
Thankfully the boss isn’t too hard and then you’re off to stage 3 which is easy to get to from here and I got to say after that trash fire of a level, it’s nice to say that for the rest of the game, it isn’t the worst? It’s weird because it still can be frustrating at times as now there are bottomless pits that are instant game over. There’s now more ways for you to survive now and there’s even a waterfall here to heal which feels like a blessing. But there is just one thing you’ll find out that feels like a shot to the head. When you die, pressing continue will take you back to the beginning of Stage 2. The game only has 3 checkpoints for continues which are the beginning of the game, the beginning of Stage 2, and a bit into the final stage. You still at least get to keep permanent non consumable items but you have to make a long trek to get progress done and that’s only if you don’t get hit while trying to get back. Well at least stage 3 gives us something very valuable which is the shield which halves the damage you take...but uhh we need to talk…
I’ve been lying to you people till now, I committed the act that I should never do when making these reviews. Using hacks to improve the experience. I won’t lie, the idea of having to find the map in each level sounded like a miserable time for me so I put on the Valis++ patch that gives you a map for each stage whether you got the map piece or not. This hack also gives you that half defense but this is where I did something even worse. You see, I had the oldest version of the hack where some bugs weren’t fixed like a part that can freeze the game. So what’s the problem? Well remember that shield? The oldest version had a bug where grabbing it makes you almost invincible. 90% of the time you will not take damage from anything and I basically cheated cause of that. Though oddly there were occasional times it wasn’t like this for some reason. I felt guilty and was debating about restarting the game but I was too far in and had to press on, so I’m very sorry if this disappoints you, you have every right to be disappointed in me.
Next is stage 4 which isn’t too bad but hang on, what’s with The Wilderness song still playing? It’s been playing for the past 3 stages up to this point. I know Reiko should show up eventually but I was always wondering why she wasn’t anywhere in the story outside of one NPC saying they saw a girl that looked like Yuko come by. Well in this stage you’ll finally fight her and yeah the fight is very lame because she just shoots at you and it's one of those where the devs got lazy and just made it RNG when she does the attack meaning there’s no pattern. At least there was an attempt to keep that heartfelt moment because it wouldn’t be Valis I without it. With the stage done along with getting a lamp, you can finally head into the caves that you could find in stage 2. You know that’s one thing I do like about this game, there are multiple entrances and exits to levels which I feel helps a bit with getting in and out of a level. Sadly though this positive is limited as it’s only the case with stages 4 and 5. Stage 5 also has multiple floors meaning you have to collect more than one map just to even use it for the whole stage, it’s obnoxious. At least you get the Valis sword (though be careful as there’s a bug where you could actually not get it after obtaining it meaning you have to recollect it so good job developers.) Huh? Why can’t I select it? Is this also a bug? No, you need to go back to stage 3, go to a specific area and stand near the cliff and then you can equip it, why padding at this point? Who knows.
Stage 6 will finally open up once you have 4 of the phantasm jewelry and honestly it’s very anticlimactic with its use of very samey looking areas and the spam of boss enemies ready to ram you over for a chance of some warrior blood. You even have to go to the third floor just to open a gate but when I got to him I saw he would not allow permission and I’m like NOOO!! What the hell could I have missed this time? Well turns out I missed nothing, the game just expects you to talk to him like 6 times and then he gives in and allows you. Maybe the NPC guarding the gate gives you the hint but this is still so stupid. Well you get to Rogles and he’s oddly pretty easy for a final boss, I’d argue that one from Stage 3 was harder than this but good god he takes a lot of hits. With him down, congratulations! The game is ov-wait I forgot about Valia being kidnapped. Yes in this one, she was kidnapped and is an actual opponent. She wants to possess Yuko for her own benefit but after a few hits she retreats and it’s off to the final screen of the game.
Now this is it, the moment you get to choose your ending. You have three choices, the bad ending, the good ending, and the best ending. You will be asked a yes or no question. Choose yes and you get the good ending where life gets to continue a new one but Yuko is sadly not brought back to her world leaving for a happy end for everyone except Yuko but could be argued that at least not everything is lost. Selecting no will have you fight a harder Valia fight though it’s still piss easy. Losing the fight will have her try to possess Yuko but fails thus leading the world doomed, you will have to restart from the checkpoint in stage 6 if you let this happen. The best ending has you saving everything and Yuko gets to live back home safe and sound forever…pfft yeah right we know she has more adventures afterwards. I should warn you that getting the good or best ending removes your continue feature so leave a save state if you’re using an emulator for the yes or no question. Though I’m sure most probably won’t even care about the ending, not like the story did much to begin with.
Mugen Senshi Valis leaves me in a situation where I felt relieved it was finally over, I felt like I could move on from life knowing this awful game was done with for. Now it’s not the worst Famicom game, not even close especially when you had Famicom games like a lot of the TOSE Bandai crappy Anime games, The horrible RPG Hoshi o Miru, all the awful Micronics developed games, and I still would rather play this over the english fan translation of Wagyan Land, I’m still not over that awful experience. Hell this isn’t even the worst Valis game but it is still a game I would never recommend to anyone, even with the hack’s help to make it easier. At least the music is still those great tunes from Valis I but to say I wasn’t suffering would be a lie. Though with all I have said, I finally reached the end of this game and I can finally say.
Never again
Well everyone, that was every game I wanted to do for Valis but first let me go over everything I didn’t really talk about during these reviews.
I actually never went over Yuko’s first adventure on Japanese computers. I almost did due to the MSX version being on Switch but it’s $15 and I’m too much a cheap bitch to pay for it. Though if you do want to see more about the PC88 version, I’d highly recommend watching this video done by Basement Brothers, it’s an excellent video and does a better job then I ever would reviewing her very first adventure. I will say though I love those cutscenes, 80s art styles sure are awesome!
Valis II like I mentioned before had computer versions as well but sadly I couldn’t get them to work for emulation so sadly you’ll just have to survive never getting that review. I should warn anyone reading this that they do contain scenes of Yuko almost naked in those ports so be aware of that if you decide to look into those versions.
Yuko actually made quite a few cameos. Her and Reiko can be found in Arcush: Kagerou no Jidai o Koe te being in charge of a burger shop called DOS Burger. Yuko can also be seen in the Telenet title Exile: Toki no Hazama e for the PC Engine CD though you might not see her in your playthrough as she’s a bit hidden. She was even in…Super Albatross? Wait, was I really just not aware of this cameo when I reviewed that game? Well I couldn’t figure out how to see her but it does apparently exist.
I never did review Valis I for the Mega Drive in this series but I still do have an old review it on backloggd. You can read it here if you want to read my crappy review on it. I honestly don’t know why I didn’t redo it to add it to the series but this isn’t going to change. If you don’t want to read it and want the TLDR then I think it’s good despite it being slow and I have a very unhealthy bias towards that port.
I mentioned it in my SD Valis review briefly but Yuko made an appearance in Naritore The Sugoroku '92 for the PC Engine CD. It’s one of those board games you’d see quite a lot in that era thanks to stuff like Momotaro Dentetsu being popular. It actually features many Telenet characters and Yuko is one of the playable characters, I can’t say if the game is any good though because I can’t really enjoy it when I don’t know Japanese unfortunately but it’s still nice to see Yuko there.
In 1993, there was a Valis game called Valis Visual Shuu for the PC Engine CD. Though it’s just a compilation of all the cutscenes of Valis II-IV. Since Valis I wasn’t out at the time, the cutscenes are not on the disc. EDIT: This is actually wrong, Mugen Senshi Valis was 1992. IDK why it's actually not on there. If you love the stories but don’t wanna play the games, then this is the CD for you!
There was a mobile phone game in 2005 for Valis I and it certainly looked like a game from that time. Honestly Idk if it’s even been preserved because all that stuff seems like a pain to get working. I salute all hard working phone game preservers!
2006 would be the release of the infamous Valis X, a 5 part VN hentai game. It’s been hated by pretty much everyone and was the only series that developers Eants could make from Telenet’s lineup. Supposedly a planned hentai game starring Anett from El Viento was considered. If you for some reason are very curious to see the porn stuff, then Mobygames has images for each game but it’s nothing really interesting and the awful artstyle doesn’t help either. It’s best to be left forgotten.
D4 Enterprises would make a PC collection in 2011 that contained Valis I-IV for PC Engine CD, Super Valis, and SD Valis along with some extra bonus stuff that might be worth it for the fans. I can’t say if the emulation is good because I never really saw the collection in action sadly.
After many years of Sunsoft doing nothing with the IP, a company named Edia would crowdfund a collection for the Valis series to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the franchise. The collection would be Switch exclusive and contained Valis I-III for PC Engine CD. Yes you read that right, it lacks Valis IV. It’s also a pretty lousy collection that doesn’t really feel like a celebration of the series. It doesn’t even have the US versions of II and III. A Limited Run Games physical release was also made and then Playasia buyers were told that the subtitles will no longer be in the Japanese release they were selling because I really needed another reason to hate LRG as a company. Also you can’t just use the Valis III US cover WHEN THERE’S NO US VERSION?! Idiots. Oh yeah did I mention the collection is $40?
In 2022, another collection by Edia was made that was also crowdfunded containing Valis IV for PC Engine CD, Valis I MD, and SD Valis. Valis I for MSX was also added though it was just one of the goals they reached so it may have never been added if it wasn’t for that. This one is $45 and honestly I just didn’t want it. Sorry folks but like I could be using my $45 on so much else that it’s disgusting they even did this. It also feels like they gave less of a damn releasing it here in the US as it was basically shadow dropped here. Both collection’s games can also be bought separately for $15 each.
In 2023 they announced a 3rd collection for the series. It will contain Valis I for the PC-98 and Famicom, Valis II for the MSX2, Valis III for the Mega Drive, and Super Valis: Akaki Tsuki no Otome for the Super Famicom. It also contains that ad for the Famicom I linked earlier in the review. Seriously if they were gonna add all these games why not just do it in one collection? Also according to the Nintendo Eshop it's 8,580 yen which sounds like way too much money ngl. Seriously I swear they don't want me reviewing these...
Finally it’s all over, that’s everything I have to say. If you read this far, thank you. Apologies if these reviews weren’t that good but I’m glad to have done them all. Well at least the ones I wanted to do. I’ve grown even more appreciation for the series after finishing all of this and maybe just one day there will be a new game…nah that’s actually never happening but a girl can dream. Thank you Yuko and the rest of the cast for the fun adventures! Bye bye!
Angel_Arle
4 months ago