In the early 90s anime wasn’t a big thing outside of Japan. Considering that most developers were from this region it’s interesting to note the spill-over, and it was a pretty foreign thing back then. Most developers on the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo were from Japan, and it was pretty unavoidable that this art style would rear its face from time to time, and no matter how much they tried to hide it (which is most apparent in the changed boxarts) it has for the most part always been a big thing. Valis is a side scrolling action game that uses this anime style, and North America was actually given a localization of this title on the Sega Genesis. It featured anime sequences for the story, and the main character is a Japanese school girl. A hard concept for gamers outside of Japan to accept I’m sure, but that’s probably why Valis wasn’t heavily advertised. I recently spent some time with this release, and I must say that it’s better off left forgotten.
The story here centers around a young woman named Yuki. Her world is turned upside down when one day she is the chosen one to wield the magical Valis sword, and it’s up to her to save a fantastical world from a dark wizard named Rogles. It’s a pretty basic set up, but what offsets this is the cinematics. The story is told entirely through anime sequences that feature a surprising amount of animation for a Genesis title. There’s something going on about a fellow classmate, but honestly I couldn’t be bothered enough to care. Valis is a side scrolling platform/action game. You start on the left side of the stage and work your way to the right. Pretty basic, right? What sets this one apart is that you use the Valis sword as your primary means of attack. When you begin your range is only as far as the weapon can strike, but you find power-ups which increase its range. These are encased within crystals that you must first strike, and they give you the ability to shoot projectiles from the blade. Generally these simply shoot forward, but there are a few different types. Awaiting at the end of each stage is a boss fight, and these are generally well done.
It’s a pretty standard side scrolling affair, but the basic mechanics really hold Valis back. You have a basic health meter as well as one measuring your MP as well. As you finish each level you’re given new magical spells that generally fill the screen, and it’s a pretty decent feature. Recovering both of these is as simple as picking up items left behind after striking gems with your weapon. The fact that your character uses a sword, and has access to four different projectile types (switched by picking up specific items) that can be powered up three times apiece is really cool. It made this feel like more of an action game. Unfortunately the problems rear their heads very quickly. Yuko runs at only one speed, and that is very slowly. She comes equipped with a slide that’s faster and can prove useful in dodging foes, but you’re also left vulnerable during the animation. This snails pace action also makes it difficult to land jumps during the more intricate platforming sections because there’s a definite lack of momentum. To make matters worse the hit detection is terrible, and I was quickly frustrated at missed jumps that absolutely should have landed.
What absolutely ruins the experience is the awkward level design. The developers obviously phoned it in from start to finish because there’s not even one particular area that I had fun in. The opening stage set within a city is simply one of the most boring levels I’ve ever seen in a side scrolling game. There aren’t any interesting hazards, and you’re simply running, stopping to take out an enemy or two, and then continuing. The other stages feature too much platforming that simply isn’t conducive to the awkward hit detection. The developers even tried to make some areas maze-like, but this is one of the game’s biggest fails. There are often multiple paths with some leading to dead ends, and increasing elevation can be tricky due to hazards on the ground and missed jumps. The whole thing is just sloppily made, and makes Valis a true chore to play. It’s not that the enemies are difficult or anything, rather, it’s tough to tell which jumps you can and can’t make. Even the platforms you should obviously be able to reach can be tricky which is frustrating.
Valis is not a pretty game. The colors are often drab thanks to the system’s limited palette, and everything is very blocky and pixelated. Many of the enemy designs are so weird and rudimentary I couldn’t even tell what they’re supposed to be. The rest are just extremely generic. To make matters worse the monsters animations are very choppy. This is one of the worst cases I’ve ever seen on the Genesis, and we all know the system is powerful enough to remedy this. The only impressive thing about this game visually is the parallax backgrounds. In some areas there’s at least three different zones that animate differently, and it’s actually a pretty decent effect. The anime sequences are also really well done, but they’re so slow that you’ll tire of them quickly. The soundtrack is decent in some areas, but terrible in others. The opening theme is memorable, and the music that plays during the cinematics is decent too. Unfortunately most of the level themes suffer from the infamous head ache inducing ‘screech’ effect the Genesis is known for.
There’s no way around it; Valis is sub-par. I can see how some gamers would seek this one out for its anime style graphics, but the story is so painfully mediocre that it hurts. By the time you realize that you’ll already have played through several awful stages, and realized that the mechanics are horrendous. This is one of the platformers that’s best left forgotten because the good does not cancel out the bad.
