Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth for PSP Reviews by Gamers

Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth is the best portable game I have ever played. Its heart-wrenching love story became addictive, like a tragic but good romance novel. Okay, not that good, but oh well. The battle system is crazy fun, and the game has good replay value(mult. endings, mult. difficulty modes) and tons of characters to give your group its own personal feel. The only downside is the long unskippable cutscenes and slight lack of save points. Buy this game if you love slightly traditional japanese RPG's and don't mind a slight learning curve.

I'll admit, I don't "get" this game. But it's not because I don't like RPG's, it's because I want to PLAY a game, not watch one.

About three hours ago, I got home from work and Lenneth was waiting in my mailbox. I dropped my coat, grabbed my PSP, and hit the couch. I fully expected a lengthy cinematic introduction and I fully intended to watch it and get all geeked about the game. So I did...

And then when it was over, there was some more. And then when you think that's over, you sit through more boringness.

Without exaggeration (feel free to call me out on this if someone thinks I'm crazy), you sit through about 30 solid minutes of nothing but story before you get to control a character. Unfortunately you have to hit X after each sentence to continue through the dialog, exacerbating the agony. When you've reached the first "action" point in the game, you're not controlling much of anything. You leave your house and can wander around a painfully two-dimensional town, only to find that you have to go back to your house. When you do, more dialog continues...

In the hour I spent "playing" the game, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth provided me with maybe five minutes of action. And by action of course, I mean turn-based fighting where again, you're not actually controlling much of anything. At no point during that time did I have to make a choice. I wasn't presented with any forks in the road, there were no treasure chests, no options whatsoever are presented.

Given the relatively high ratings this game has garnered from critics, I have to believe that the action unfolds at some point. But if you're using Gamefly for a quick fix on a fun time, forget about it.