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Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria
Developer	tri-Ace, Inc.
Publisher	Square Enix Co., Ltd.
Picture format	480p (EDTV) 480i (SDTV)
Released	JP 2006-06-22 NA 2006-09-26 PAL 2007-09-07
Genre	Role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player (1-2 player battles)
Ratings	CERO: A (All Ages) ESRB: T(Teen) PEGI: 16+ OFLC (AU): M
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Input methods	DualShock 2

Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria is a sequel to the original Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth video game. It was released for the PlayStation 2 by its developer tri-Ace and publisher Square Enix Co., Ltd. on June 22, 2006 in Japan, September 26, 2006 in North America, and September 7, 2007 in Europe and other PAL regions.

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 Combat 1.2 Equipment 2 Setting 2.1 Seraphic Gate 3 Story 3.1 Characters 3.2 Einherjar 3.3 Plot 4 Voice Credits 4.1 Japanese Version 4.2 English Version 5 Reception 5.1 Awards 6 External links

As opposed to the Easy, Normal and Hard options presented in Valkyrie Profile, there is only one mode available to play. However, the game gets harder with each subsequent play through. Chapters exist, but periods are not used, and the player is under no time constraints as in the original game.

Dungeon exploration is done in a manner similar to Valkyrie Profile. Alicia is the only visible character and exploration is done in a side scrolling platforming manner. Enemies are visible and by attacking them Alicia can engage them in combat with a guaranteed advantage. Alicia can also engage an enemy in battle by coming into contact with them, however in this circumstance there is a chance that the enemy will have an advantage over the player. Alicia also has the ability to fire beams of light called photons. Photons have the ability to temporarily freeze enemies (and some objects), rendering them harmless until they break out. If a frozen enemy (or object) is hit once again by a photon, Alicia will switch places with it. This feature is required to solve a number of the game's puzzles.

Sealstones (called 封印石 or "Fuuin-seki" in the Japanese version) are special items hidden atop daises within dungeons. Any sealstone that is on a dais will affect enemies within that dais' radius of influence. If more sealstones are placed upon daises then the range of older daises can expand. If Alicia carries a sealstone on her person it affects the whole party, and similarly if an enemy possesses one it will affect that enemy party without affecting any others. If placed in a shell, the sealstone's effect is negated completely. There are many sealstones with many different effects, such as doubling experience points gained or cutting defense in half. They may also be "restored" at a cost of Magic Crystals at a spring or dais. When a sealstone is "restored," it may be equipped from any spring in any dungeon, rather than being restored to its starting location once the player leaves the dungeon.

Battles consist of a three-dimensional battle terrain and includes elements not seen in the original game, such as the ability to pincer and attack enemies from behind. Time does not flow while the player is not moving, giving them time to plan out where he or she will move next and examine the displayed areas the enemy units may attack. The party may now conduct a Leader Assault, in which destroying the enemy leader will cause the others to retreat, ending the battle quickly. Battles incorporate the use of Attack Points (AP), which are needed to act in battle. Points are consumed as you attack, and are replenished when you kill an enemy, are attacked by an enemy, or move around allowing time to pass freely. Characters have up to three attacks assigned for use in battle from a longer list of possible attacks. Charge Time is absent, allowing characters to use their Soul Crush (the equivalent of Valkyrie Profile's Purify Weird Soul) every turn so long as they charge their heat gauge up to 100 each time. New to the game is the concept of breaking enemy parts. Different attacks can affect different parts of enemies, such as the head, torso, arms, or legs; the part hit can affect the amount of damage afflicted on the enemy. Once part of an enemy has taken sufficient damage, it can break off. When an enemy part breaks off, there is a chance that the player will enter break mode, in which the characters have unlimited AP for a short amount of time. Monster parts can be equippable accessories or raw materials that can be sold to shops and used to craft weapons, armor, or other items.

There are no Divine Items in Valkyrie Profile 2; Alicia buys equipment from shops using the game's currency, OTH. The more a player buys items from a specific shop, the more valued he gets. A valued costumer unlocks special items, which require monster parts to make.

The same weapon types as Valkyrie Profile are present: Light Sword, Heavy Sword, Bow, and Staff. Characters will only be able to equip their specified type of weapon and only certain weapons will allow them to perform their Soul Crush.

Most equipment comes with runes, and by equipping different combinations of runes, characters can learn certain skills during combat. Every piece of equipment with a rune has a color link (Red, Blue, or Green); multiple pieces of equipment of the same color equipped simultaneously in the proper configuration can enhance each equipped piece's effects.

Valkyrie Profile 2 takes place mostly in Midgard, several hundred years before Valkyrie Profile. Midgard is similar geographically between the two games, consisting of a large continent surrounded by several smaller islands, though some places present in the first game are absent in the second (such as the southwestern island where Hai-Lan will be located) due to its taking place hundreds of years earlier. The large continent is where the majority of humans live. The port city of Solde is located on the northern coast. The village of Coriander, kingdom of Villnore, and town of Kalsted are located across Kythena Plains to the west. The militaristic kingdom of Crell Monferaigne is to the southeast, separated by Sukavia Gorge from Solde to the north and by the Sahma Desert from Villnore and Kalsted to the west. The rest of the continent is covered by various mountains and forests. Dipan, the most powerful and advanced of the human kingdoms, both magically and technologically, lies on an island north-east of Solde, reachable only by ship or through the Royal Underground Path. The Forest of Spirits, home of the elves as well as the caverns that lead to Bifrost, the bridge to Asgard, lies on a large island to the south-east of Crell Monferaigne. The Palace of the Venerated Dragon, final resting place of the Dragon Orb, lies on an island to the east of Crell Monferaigne, accessible only through the Dragonscrypt caverns east of Crell Monferaigne. During the course of the game, characters also visit Asgard, consisting of Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life, and the Hall of Valhalla, home of the Gods. Finally, the final part of the game brings Alicia and her companions to the Twisted World of Lezard Valeth, separate from Asgard, Midgard, and Yggdrasil, in which Lezard has created his own World Tree, hoping to become a god himself.

Like Valkyrie Profile before it, Valkyrie Profile 2 contains an optional bonus dungeon called the Seraphic Gate. It is only available by saving in the game's last save point. It has a single save point in the first room and contains five distinct sections, each with its own optional boss who must be defeated to access the next section. One of the biggest incentives for venturing into the Seraphic Gate is access to all the characters who previously left during the course of the game (Leone, Dylan, Lezard, Hrist, Lenneth, and Silmeria) as well as Freya and Valkyrie. Unlike the first Valkyrie Profile, in which the Seraphic Gate was separate, this time the Seraphic Gate is fully included within the main game and all items and characters obtained there can be used in the main game. The dungeon also features the best equipment in the game as well as Gabriel Celeste and Ethereal Queen (who appear similarly in most Tri-Ace RPGs) as incredibly strong optional bosses. Dirna Hamilton (from Star Ocean 3) is both the first and final boss. She must be defeated to enter the Seraphic Gate initially and again in a much stronger form at the end. Each time she is defeated, Dirna resets the Seraphic Gate so the player can play through it again and a chest with an oracle appears somewhere in the dungeon. Once the first nine oracles are obtained, the tenth time Dirna is defeated a chest with the 'Angel Slayer', the most powerful weapon in the game, appears at the end of the dungeon. Like in the first game, the Angel Slayer's damage can vary greatly from turn to turn. However, all characters can equip it, even archers and magicians who normally cannot use swords.

As the initial game was the story of Lenneth, Valkyrie Profile 2 is the story of Silmeria and her host, Alicia. During the first game, Silmeria, the youngest and kindest of the three Valkyries, was in the possession of Brahms, lord of the undead, who was at war with Odin. Her soul was crystallized in his throne room, deep inside his immaterial palace for a then unknown reason.

The game takes place chronologically before but sequentially after the first Valkyrie Profile, as Lenneth is present in her post-Valkyrie Profile, post-Ragnarok form as Lord of Creation and not just as a Valkyrie. During the course of the game, it is revealed that after Ragnarok, Lezard Valeth traveled into the past and changed history, prompting Lenneth to return to Alicia's time and fix the time line.

Hundreds of years before the events of Valkyrie Profile, Silmeria was a faithful servant of Odin, dutifully gathering souls of fallen heroes for her master. Odin sought to possess the Dragon Orb, but it's removal would cause Midgard's deterioration so he planned to capture Brahms and use his powerful soul to supplant the Dragon Orb, allowing him to possess the Orb's power without destroying the human world. Silmeria disapproved of Odin's plan and when Odin injured Brahms in a fight, Silmeria rebelled, allowing Brahms to escape and hide within Dylan, one of Silmeria's einherjar. Recognizing the danger Silmeria posed, Odin invoked the Sovereign's Rite, the spell to transmigrate her soul and summon the next Valkyrie in her place. Her soul was meant to remain dormant within Alicia, princess of Dipan, but the spell was not completed, and Silmeria found herself sharing control over Alicia's body.

Because of her dual personality, many thought the young princess mad. Her father, King Barbarossa, eventually imprisoned her in a castle near Crell Monferaigne, announcing instead that she had died. Years later, as the game begins, Alicia/Silmeria learns that Dipan has defied the gods and is in imminent danger. Odin sends Hrist, Silmeria's oldest sister and current Valkyrie, to bring her back to Valhalla but Silmeria refuses and escapes the castle, heading for Dipan.

Main article: List of Valkyrie Profile characters#Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria Characters

There are 11 non-releasable main characters in Valkyrie Profile 2: Alicia, Rufus, Dylan/Brahms, Lezard, Arngrim, Leone/Hrist, Lenneth, Silmeria, Freya, and Valkyrie. However, most of them join and leave the party, sometimes permanently, at different points throughout the game, while Freya is only playable once she is beaten in the optional Seraphic Gate. Finishing the Seraphic Gate gives the player access to all 11 characters for the rest of the game.

Alicia is princess of Dipan, the main protagonist of Valkyrie Profile 2, and mortal host for Silmeria's soul. Alicia, having heard Silmeria's voice her entire life and learned much of what Silmeria knows, unusual for a Valkyrie's mortal host. Silmeria can take over Alicia's body when necessary but she usually leaves Alicia in control and tells her what to do instead. Other characters can sometimes detect the change between Alicia and Silmeria by their voices and mannerisms (Alicia is more timid, Silmeria is more assertive).

Hrist is the current Valkyrie during the time period of Valkyrie Profile 2. She is fiercely loyal to Odin's commands, which include the punishment of Dipan for defying Odin. This puts her in conflict with Alicia who, despite being exiled, does not wish to see her home destroyed. When Lezard Valeth reveals his own devious plans, Hrist joins Alicia and Brahms to save Silmeria and stop the destruction of Midgard and of their world.

Lezard Valeth is a necromancer from the future, later revealed to be the main antagonist of the game. Lezard conducted research on elves, creating homunculi into which souls could be transplanted, believing they could be used to attain godhood. During the events of Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, he helped transmigrate Lenneth into a half-elf homunculus, allowing her to grow in power equal to that of the gods. More than anything, Lezard wished to possess Lenneth for himself, but Lenneth foiled his plans when he baited her to his laboratory and she refused to cooperate and defeated him. However, because of his previous assistance, Lenneth allowed him to live when she became Lord of Creation after the events of Ragnarok.

When Silmeria is present, Alicia can materialize her einherjar, and many of the playable characters are from Silmeria's previous time as acting Valkyrie in Midgard. Alicia must touch an artifact associated with an einherjar in order to have Silmeria rematerialize them. Unlike the first game, einherjar have no scenes about their past or motives. They are simply recruited and have no major influence on the story. Only special characters, einherjar or not, are shown on-screen in story scenes. However, placing certain combinations of einherjar in the party will result in conversations between them during random battles, such as having Celes and Phyress (sisters) in the same group. The einherjar found in dungeons are random; there are up to 3 different characters of the same class found in an artifact. Because of this, although there are 40 different einherjar in the game, only 20 can be recruited per game. Once einherjar reach a certain level, the player may release them, returning them to the world of the living. Depending on the einherjar's attributes and equipment, they may leave different rewards for the player. This is an alternate method for thinning out the party, as was done in Valkyrie Profile by transferring einherjar to Valhalla.

Chapter 1: Defiers of the Gods

The game begins in the port of Solde. Learning that the ferry is out of service, Alicia/Silmeria plans to enter Dipan through the secret Royal Underground Path. Seeing Rufus, a half-elf archer wearing a special ring, Alicia/Silmeria hires him to accompany them to Dipan, although Rufus has his own reasons for helping. As they journey through the underground ruins to Dipan, Alicia finds an old necklace and Silmeria materializes Dylan, the most powerful of her former einherjar.

Chapter 2: Darkness in Dipan

Alicia/Silmeria, Rufus, and Dylan sneak into the palace, finding demonic research and a mysterious machine before being discovered by the Three Mages of Dipan. They are almost captured but Lezard Valeth, the mages' new apprentice, helps them escape. Lezard informs them that King Barbarossa and The Three Mages have delved into forbidden research, including the Sovereign's Rite, demonic transformation, and time travel, and plan to use the Dragon Orb to create a new world, free of the gods' interference. Odin cannot allow this and is planning to destroy Dipan. Alicia/Silmeria, Rufus, and Dylan decide that getting the Dragon Orb themselves is the only way to stop Odin and save Dipan.

Chapter 3: Ulterior Motives

Alicia/Silmeria, Rufus, Dylan, and Lezard head to the Serdberg Mountain Ruins, the Dragon Orb's last known location. Searching the ruins, they find Leone and Arngrim, two mercenaries who agree to help in exchange for any treasure they find. Silmeria recognizes that Leone is Hrist in disguise, but fearing a confrontation, does not expose her to the others. Discovering the Dragon Orb gone from the ruins, Silmeria uses her powers to follow its magical trail throughout Midgard. While searching Audoula Temple On The Lake, Rufus' ring is knocked off, causing him to go into convulsions before it is replaced. Rufus reveals his motives for helping Silmeria: as the only other half-elf, Odin keeps him around in case of injury (the Ring of Mylinn he wears keeps him from aging) and should Odin ever transfer into Rufus' body, Rufus would cease to exist. Silmeria's rebellion provides an opportunity to escape his fate. The group eventually finds the Dragon Orb's final resting place in the Palace of the Venerated Dragon. There, Hrist finally reveals herself, escaping with Arngrim and the Dragon Orb.

Chapter 4: Wrath of the Gods

Hrist returns with the Dragon Orb to Valhalla and Odin orders Dipan's destruction. Alicia/Silmeria, Rufus, Dylan, and Lezard return to Dipan but are too late to prevent Hrist from destroying the city and executing the king. They confront Hrist and as Alicia/Silmeria and Hrist duel, the Three Mages cast the Sovereign's Rite, transmigrating Silmeria's and Hrist's souls from their bodies. Brahms reveals himself from within Dylan's body and stops them, at which point Freya appears and tries to apprehend him. This is where the timelines of Valkyrie Profile and Valkyrie Profile 2 diverge:

In the original timeline, Silmeria's soul, separated from Alicia's body, blocks Freya's spell, becoming crystallized herself. Brahms escaped with Silmeria's soul, explaining why she was in his castle in Valkyrie Profile.

In the altered timeline, Lezard, unknown to the others, casts his own spell and captures Silmeria's soul. Without Silmeria's intervention, Freya crystallizes Brahms and returns with him and Hrist to Valhalla, though she cannot explain the strange distortion (from Lezard's spell) during the encounter nor why Silmeria vanished.

Chapter 5: The Invisible Hand

Alicia awakens to find Silmeria absent, Brahms and Lezard gone. She and Rufus decide to confront Odin and retrieve the Dragon Orb themselves. They journey through the Forest of Spirits, cross into Asgard, and climb to the top of Yggdrasil, where they confront Odin and Freya. The battle with Odin goes badly and Rufus is killed. Lezard reappears, and offers to aid Alicia in defeating Odin, but it is revealed that he only does this to obtain Odin's soul. Using Silmeria's captured soul, he casts a spell causing Odin to transmigrate, which also displaces Rufus' soul, before teleporting away with Odin's body and soul. Freya, unable to do anything, retreats. Alicia is able to use the Ring of Mylinn to rematerialize Rufus' soul and restore him to his body.

Alicia and Rufus descend from Yggdrasil and head to Valhalla, where they meet Arngrim, who asks to accompany them in penance for his past actions. The three of them find the Dragon Orb and the crystallized Brahms, along with Hrist and Freya. Hrist wants their help rescuing Silmeria, but Freya refuses to negotiate with humans and attacks them. Fed up with the gods trying to kill her einherjar, Hrist stops Freya by using the Dragon Orb, transporting Alicia, Rufus, Arngrim, Brahms, and Hrist into Lezard Valeth's twisted world.

Chapter 6: The Twisted World Tree

Finding themselves on Lezard's twisted world tree, Brahms and Hrist agree to a truce when Lenneth arrives, having come from her future to stop Lezard who, using the machine in Dipan (a time machine), traveled back in time and changed history. Ascending the tree, they rescue Silmeria, whom Alicia rematerializes into Valkyrie form. Their reunion is short-lived, though, when Lezard reveals that his target all along has been Lenneth. Having absorbed Odin's soul and power, Lezard casts the Sovereign's Rite, transmigrating the three Valkyries, and takes Lenneth's soul. Without bodies, the Valkyries will fade away so Alicia rematerializes Hrist's and Silmeria's souls into crystals until they can free Lenneth. Following Lezard into his fortress atop the tree, they fight Lezard and shatter Lenneth's crystal prison. The three Valkyries combine their souls, using Alicia's body to form a single more powerful Valkyrie. The Valkyrie defeats Lezard, but he stabs her before he dies, causing Alicia's body and soul to dissipate. Rufus and Arngrim return to Midgard with the Dragon Orb but Brahms decides to stay and die as Lezard's world crumbles; it is the only place where he is mortal.

The three Valkyries' souls are shown separating again, their fates unknown, though a new future awaits Lenneth. Years later, Rufus is traveling through Coriander Village when he sees a young girl resembling Alicia, suggesting that her soul has been reincarnated.

As of May 20, 2007, the reviews at Game Rankings have averaged 85%.[1] The reviews have been largely positive, giving praise to the visuals and battle system yet a general consensus acknowledges a steep learning curve.

• Received IGN's award for "Best Game No One Played" in 2006 [2].
• Achieved SCEI's Ultimate Hits status in March of 2007 [3].

• Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria official European site
• Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria official North American site

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Games	Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth · Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria
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