Valkyrie no Boken: Toki no Kagi Densetsu
Encyclopedia
is a video game software developed and published by Namco
. It was released only in Japan
for the Nintendo Famicom
on August 1, 1986, and for the Wii
's Virtual Console
on March 20, 2007.
The key of time that rested in the center of the face of the clock tower had long since been used to seal away the ancient evil that lies within. Until one day, the clock tower mysteriously stopped working. In an effort to rewind the clock, a villager takes it upon himself to do just that. Fumbling with the key, the villager drops the key of time, foolishly. In a frantic manner, the villager picks up the key and tries to reset it back into place before a catastrophe befalls Marvel Land. But then, it was too late for the villager to accomplish the task. The ancient evil of legend. Zouna, the Dark Wizard who manipulates time itself was unleashed upon the world once more. And to prevent anyone else from sealing him away once again, Zouna takes the key of time for himself.
Finally freed after many years, Zouna wastes no time in wreaking havoc and chaos over Marvel Land. Zouna unleashes his manifested darkness over the land, and lays waste to the countryside. Feeling confident in his reign, Zouna constructs his castle in which to preside over Marvel Land from. The peaceful inhabitants of Marvel Land cried out in terror as Zouna's manifested darkness came after them one by one. Zouna's darkness corrupted the hearts of anyone it came across, and possessed them against their wills. Once thriving towns and villages fell into ruination. Family members were parted from their loved ones. Only a few scattered towns remained standing; forming a last bastion in resistance to Zouna's dark invasion. A futile effort. Even Krino Sandra (known as Whirlo in Europe) would come to meet his heroic demise, subdued by Zouna's power. Marvel Land is in dire need of a savior.
The desperate call has been answered by the heavens. Valkyrie, a fledgling shield maiden descends to Marvel Land from heaven. Her first adventure, she wields a simple shield and a mace of light. Vowing to save Marvel Land from the darkness that has consumed it. Then her adventure begins.
, but features a real time combat system similar to The Legend of Zelda. Player controls the Valkyrie in her quest to defeat Zouna and restore peace to Marvel Land. Initially, the Valkyrie starts the game off rather weak, armed with nothing but a short sword. She will appear with brown hair and no helmet. Over time, player will help her fight monsters, collect gold, and find stronger equipment that will raise her offensive and defensive powers. Eventually, when she finds a helmet and cloak, she will appear as you see her on the covers of the game's box and cartridge. With all of the citizens of Marvel Land scared, or under Zouna's control, the Valkyrie will receive no help from anyone in the form of hints or advice. Player and the Valkyrie are completely on their own when it comes to discovering all that Marvel Land has to offer. Player will need to use your wits to devise a plan that will help you defeat Zouna once and for all, and many of the tasks that lay before the Valkyrie are not obvious. Some can only be surmised by exploration and experimentation.
Every time the Valkyrie defeats a monster, she earns experience points towards the next level, and usually a small amount of money. Money is scarce in Marvel Land, but the truth is, player rarely need it to buy any equipment. All of the items in the game can be obtained for free, if the player knows where to look. In addition to equipping various weapons and armor, the Valkyrie gains access to seven different spells. When she learns each one is dependent on her intellect, which increases with each new level of experience. The first and most valuable of these spells is probably the healing spell.
Having no text throughout the entire game, the game is fully playable by non-Japanese speakers; however, in 2001, the translation group SGST released a patch that converts the title screen into English (which provides a very phonetic translation of the word Valkyrie as Valecule) and the player select screen; however, as a result of changing the title, the translation corrupts the ending, which, ironically, is already presented in English.
To fix all the issues with the SGST translation, the translation group DvD Translations released a corrected translation on February 23, 2009.
. During the same year, a tentative MSX2
game titled was announced, and while the demo was collected on DiskStation Compilation No. 4, the production of the game was canceled.
In 1992, Namco released a prequel to Valkyrie no Bōken for the Super NES
entitled Xandra no Daibōken: Valkyrie to no Deai
featuring the Valkyrie's green amphibian-looking friend, Krino Sandra (Whirlo). The prequel was released in Europe as Whirlo. Valkyrie no Bōken was resurrected for the PlayStation
in 1998 on Namco Anthology 2
, which featured an upgraded (and more linear) version of the game side by side with an emulated version of the Famicom original.
In 2007, Namco released a true upgrade of the original game with enhanced graphics (featuring blond hair on the Valkyrie) for Japanese cell phones that support the i-Apli system.
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
. It was released only in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
for the Nintendo Famicom
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
on August 1, 1986, and for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
on March 20, 2007.
Plot
Once upon a time, in the world of Marvel Land, people and nature lived together in a peaceful and harmonic coexistence. All the animals were docile. Humans, Sandras, Quarkmen, Tattas, and other races mingled with one another and worked to make Marvel Land into an increasingly beautiful place to live. A large clock tower resembling a stone grandfather clock stood watch over the countryside of Marvel Land. Long ago, an ancient evil had been sealed within the clock tower. The people needn't fret, however. For those days had long since passed, or so they had thought.The key of time that rested in the center of the face of the clock tower had long since been used to seal away the ancient evil that lies within. Until one day, the clock tower mysteriously stopped working. In an effort to rewind the clock, a villager takes it upon himself to do just that. Fumbling with the key, the villager drops the key of time, foolishly. In a frantic manner, the villager picks up the key and tries to reset it back into place before a catastrophe befalls Marvel Land. But then, it was too late for the villager to accomplish the task. The ancient evil of legend. Zouna, the Dark Wizard who manipulates time itself was unleashed upon the world once more. And to prevent anyone else from sealing him away once again, Zouna takes the key of time for himself.
Finally freed after many years, Zouna wastes no time in wreaking havoc and chaos over Marvel Land. Zouna unleashes his manifested darkness over the land, and lays waste to the countryside. Feeling confident in his reign, Zouna constructs his castle in which to preside over Marvel Land from. The peaceful inhabitants of Marvel Land cried out in terror as Zouna's manifested darkness came after them one by one. Zouna's darkness corrupted the hearts of anyone it came across, and possessed them against their wills. Once thriving towns and villages fell into ruination. Family members were parted from their loved ones. Only a few scattered towns remained standing; forming a last bastion in resistance to Zouna's dark invasion. A futile effort. Even Krino Sandra (known as Whirlo in Europe) would come to meet his heroic demise, subdued by Zouna's power. Marvel Land is in dire need of a savior.
The desperate call has been answered by the heavens. Valkyrie, a fledgling shield maiden descends to Marvel Land from heaven. Her first adventure, she wields a simple shield and a mace of light. Vowing to save Marvel Land from the darkness that has consumed it. Then her adventure begins.
Gameplay
Valkyrie no Bōken presents a scrolling overworld like Dragon WarriorDragon Warrior
Dragon Warrior, known as in Japan, is the first role-playing video game in the Dragon Quest media franchise. It was developed by Chunsoft for the Nintendo Entertainment System and published by Enix in Japan in 1986...
, but features a real time combat system similar to The Legend of Zelda. Player controls the Valkyrie in her quest to defeat Zouna and restore peace to Marvel Land. Initially, the Valkyrie starts the game off rather weak, armed with nothing but a short sword. She will appear with brown hair and no helmet. Over time, player will help her fight monsters, collect gold, and find stronger equipment that will raise her offensive and defensive powers. Eventually, when she finds a helmet and cloak, she will appear as you see her on the covers of the game's box and cartridge. With all of the citizens of Marvel Land scared, or under Zouna's control, the Valkyrie will receive no help from anyone in the form of hints or advice. Player and the Valkyrie are completely on their own when it comes to discovering all that Marvel Land has to offer. Player will need to use your wits to devise a plan that will help you defeat Zouna once and for all, and many of the tasks that lay before the Valkyrie are not obvious. Some can only be surmised by exploration and experimentation.
Every time the Valkyrie defeats a monster, she earns experience points towards the next level, and usually a small amount of money. Money is scarce in Marvel Land, but the truth is, player rarely need it to buy any equipment. All of the items in the game can be obtained for free, if the player knows where to look. In addition to equipping various weapons and armor, the Valkyrie gains access to seven different spells. When she learns each one is dependent on her intellect, which increases with each new level of experience. The first and most valuable of these spells is probably the healing spell.
Having no text throughout the entire game, the game is fully playable by non-Japanese speakers; however, in 2001, the translation group SGST released a patch that converts the title screen into English (which provides a very phonetic translation of the word Valkyrie as Valecule) and the player select screen; however, as a result of changing the title, the translation corrupts the ending, which, ironically, is already presented in English.
To fix all the issues with the SGST translation, the translation group DvD Translations released a corrected translation on February 23, 2009.
Sequels
Valkyrie no Bōken was followed up with , an arcade game released in 1989 which featured two player simultaneous play, with a console conversion released for the PC-EngineTurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
. During the same year, a tentative MSX2
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
game titled was announced, and while the demo was collected on DiskStation Compilation No. 4, the production of the game was canceled.
In 1992, Namco released a prequel to Valkyrie no Bōken for the Super NES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
entitled Xandra no Daibōken: Valkyrie to no Deai
Xandra no Daiboken: Valkyrie to no Deai
is an action-adventure platform game released by Namco on July 23, 1992 in Japan for the Super Famicom video game system, and in Europe and Australia as Whirlo later during the same year...
featuring the Valkyrie's green amphibian-looking friend, Krino Sandra (Whirlo). The prequel was released in Europe as Whirlo. Valkyrie no Bōken was resurrected for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
in 1998 on Namco Anthology 2
Namco Anthology
Namco Anthology is a two disc series of game compilations for PlayStation that have only been released in Japan in 1998. They are similar to the Namco Museum series except that the Anthology collections include games that have been developed on consoles originally...
, which featured an upgraded (and more linear) version of the game side by side with an emulated version of the Famicom original.
In 2007, Namco released a true upgrade of the original game with enhanced graphics (featuring blond hair on the Valkyrie) for Japanese cell phones that support the i-Apli system.
Related releases
Valkyrie makes numerous appearances in the Tales series of games, as well as other Namco titles:- She appears in Tales of PhantasiaTales of Phantasiais a Super Nintendo game in the RPG genre published by Namco and released in Japan in 1995, selling 212,000 copies. It is the first mothership title in the Tales RPG series and was later remade/re-released on the PlayStation, Game Boy Advance and PlayStation Portable...
as part of a storyline (although it's not known if she is the same character or just someone who looks like her) and a statue item featuring her can be found in the PSX and GBA versions of the game. - An item which summons her in battle to attack all enemies can be found in the PSX version of Tales of DestinyTales of Destinyis a video game in the RPG genre published for the PlayStation console by Namco on December 23, 1997 in Japan, selling 1,139,000 copies. Tales of Destiny's characteristic genre name is...
. - She can be confronted in a 1-vs-1 battle with the main hero at the end of Glimmer Spire, an optional dungeon in Tales of EterniaTales of Eterniais a Japanese PlayStation action role-playing video game released by Namco on November 30, 2000, selling 873,000 copies and later ported to the PlayStation Portable on March 3, 2005, selling 398,000 copies. Tales of Eternia's characteristic genre name is...
: this dungeon also features her music theme. - In Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3is a spin-off from the Tales RPG series made by Namco. The game was released exclusively in Japan for the Game Boy Advance on January 6, 2005. Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3's characteristic genre name is .-Story:...
, the player is at one point told to choose between a fire dungeon and an ice one: choosing the fire dungeon has the player fight Valkyrie at the end of it. By either stealing it from her, finding it from a chest in the ice stage or buying it from the store once the game is cleared, the player can obtain the GungnirGungnirIn Norse mythology, Gungnir is the spear of the god Odin.-Poetic Edda:In the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá, the Æsir-Vanir War is described as officially starting when Odin throws a spear over the heads of an assembly of Vanir gods. Whether or not this was specifically Gungnir is, however, unstated...
item that can be made into a Valkyrie costume that unlocks her as a playable character: her list of moves is based on her appearance in Tales of EterniaTales of Eterniais a Japanese PlayStation action role-playing video game released by Namco on November 30, 2000, selling 873,000 copies and later ported to the PlayStation Portable on March 3, 2005, selling 398,000 copies. Tales of Eternia's characteristic genre name is...
. - She can be summoned as a support character in Tales of HeartsTales of Heartsis the eleventh mothership title in the Tales series exclusively for the Nintendo DS, which was released on December 18, 2008 in Japan. Tales of Hearts characteristic genre name is...
. - In Tales of the AbyssTales of the Abyssis a console role-playing game developed by Namco Tales Studio and published by Namco in Japan and Namco Bandai Games in North America. Tales of the Abyss's characteristic genre name is The Meaning Of Birth RPG . It is the eighth mothership title in the Tales series, and was released for the...
, her helmet is available as a visible equip for Anise's Tokunaga doll. - There is a Valkyrie costume for the character Estelle as Downloadable Content in the PS3 version of Tales of VesperiaTales of Vesperiais the tenth main title in the Tales series. It was developed by Namco Tales Studio and published by Namco Bandai Games for the Xbox 360. The title was announced on December 22, 2007 at Jump Festa, and was released on August 7, 2008 in Asia, and on August 26, 2008 in North America...
. - In Marvel LandMarvel Landis a platform arcade game released by Namco in 1989.-Gameplay:In Marvel Land you play as Prince Paco , who is on a quest to save Princess Luxy from the evil Mole King . The gameplay was in the platformer style so popular at the time...
, Valkyrie shows up momentarily in it. - The Soul Calibur IISoul Calibur IIis a fighting game developed and published by Namco and the third installment in the Soul series. Soul Calibur is the name of the holy sword, created to battle the evil sword Soul Edge, which the games' storylines revolve around...
character Cassandra Alexandra has a third costume based on Valkyrie (the same possibility applies to the character Lizardman). Additionally, Cassandra receives Valkyrie's sword and shield set (named after its original owner) for her strongest weapon, which also returns in Soul Calibur III (also available for Sword & Shield users) and Soul Calibur IV. - In Soul Calibur IIISoul Calibur IIIis a fighting game produced by Namco and is the sequel to Soulcalibur II and is the fourth overall installment in the Soul series of fighting games...
, parts of Valkyrie's equipment and items (namely the winged helmet, armor and dress) are available for Create-a-Soul where she can be "recreated". - Valkyrie makes a star appearance in the strategy game, Namco Super WarsNamco Super WarsNamco Super Wars is a tactical role-playing game developed by Namco and published by Bandai for the Wonderswan Color. It is a crossover game, featuring characters from several classic Namco titles.-Gameplay:...
for the WonderswanWonderSwanwas a line of handheld game consoles produced in Japan by Bandai between 1999 and 2003. It was developed by the late Gunpei Yokoi's company Koto and Bandai...
. - Valkyrie, her sidekick (Krino Sandra/Whirlo) and one of the NPCs in the original game (Sabine) are playable characters in Namco x CapcomNamco x Capcomis an action RPG/tactical RPG hybrid game for the PlayStation 2 console, developed by Monolith Soft and featuring characters from games produced by companies Namco and Capcom.- Storyline :...
. Zouna and Black Valkyrie are also enemies in the game. In addition another character, Zule, also appears in the game as a shopkeeper before you recruit Sylphie from Forgotten WorldsForgotten WorldsForgotten Worlds, originally titled in Japan, is a side-scrolling shoot-'em-up game by Capcom originally released as a coin-operated video game in...
. - Valkyrie shows up momentarily in the arcade title Mach Breakers.
- References to her series appeared in Mr. DrillerMr. Drilleris a series of video games developed by Namco. Mr. Driller puts the player in the role of a driller moving down through screens of blocks, having to keep his air supply from running out while avoiding being squashed by falling blocks...
. - A statue of Valkyrie can be seen in the ending of the Namco Anthology version of Tower of BabelTower of Babel (video game)is a video game developed and published by Namco on August 18, 1986 only in Japan. It is a platformer/puzzle hybrid that was first released for the Family Computer. Later, Nintendo adapted the title for play in the arcade as part of their Nintendo Vs. Series, calling it Vs. Tower of Babel. An...
. - Valkyrie is a playable character in Druaga Online: The Story of Aon.
- The "Taiko March" song in the Taiko no TatsujinTaiko no Tatsujinis a series of rhythm games created by Namco. The series has seen releases for the arcade, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii, iOS, Advanced Pico Beena, and mobile phones....
series features a rock version of the first level of Valkyrie no Densetsu. The recent Taiko no Tatsujin DSTaiko no Tatsujin DSis a rhythm video game developed and published by Namco for the Nintendo DS handheld game console in 2007, and it was released only in Japan. Like other Taiko games, the player plays the notes of a chosen song's drum part as they are displayed on the screen...
s "Namcot Medley" also features part of the overworld theme of Valkyrie no Bōken, and also includes the Valkyrie jumping up and down in her 8-bit form (although she is in one of her alternate outfits), along with other Namco characters, if the player is playing the song well. - In the upcoming Bandai Namco game Keroro RPG, there is a character named Mimikuri who bears a striking resemblance to Valkyrie. She has the same face and hairstyle, and wears a dress with similar patterns to her classic outfit (green clothing at the top, with white skirt and red tip), as well as a red winged hat. She also carries a doll of Krino Sandra, Valkyrie's friend and sidekick. This reference can be easily explained by the fact that the game is produced by the same team responsible for the Tales series. http://www.gpara.com/article/pop_show.php?c_id=17513&c_num=4&c_num2=2 Valkyrie herself also makes an appearance as a support character.