Although it is always said to be a mobile game Tianzun, Square Enix is full of firepower in the field of stand-alone games in the second half of this year, and there are new games to be released every month. Classics, including “Royal Knights”, “FF7CC”, and the new work “VALKYRIE ELYSIUM” of the “Goddess of War” series to be introduced this time.
4Gamers got the demo version this time, played the content of Chapter 1, and also interviewed the producer Takahiro Kondo with other Asian media, asking him to talk about the new work of this reboot.
Before the interview starts, let’s talk about the impressions of this demo version. Aside from the Valkyrie modeling that many people have opinions on, this time “VALKYRIE ELYSIUM” is considered to be a top-notch work, although in terms of cost, it is obvious that Square Enix The restart of this series is still a bit conservative, but the development team did put resources on the edge, and the entire combat system was considered smooth.
As many players know, although “Goddess of War” was an RPG in the past, this time the system has been changed to an action RPG. The game inherits a similar post-apocalyptic world view to the previous works. During the battle, there are switching weapons and summoning heroic spirits to continue to assist us for a period of time. A system such as attacking and magic “Holy Combat Skills” with various attributes.
The game adopts the form of a fixed area map with chapter levels, and there are some collection elements in the map, in addition to a large number of destructible objects such as wooden boxes, the basic process is to follow the instructions of the main line until the last boss of the chapter is defeated, There will be an evaluation score at the end of the battle.
In the game, you can receive some side quests. These side quests will allow players to return to these chapter maps to solve the side quests after the main quest is over. The following will be the visit of this time. Some problems involve the system of the demo version, so interested players can also download the demo version to try it out.
About the reboot of the Goddess of War series
Q: What was the opportunity for Square Enix to restart the Valkyrie project?
A: There are two reasons. The first is that the mobile game version was launched and got a good response. The second is that the company also has the idea of revitalizing the old IP, which led to the birth of this game.
Q: The last home console game in the “Valkyrie” series was 14 years ago. How many of the production team participated in this new game?
A: At present, only the composer Sakuraba is the previous team, and another external developer who has participated in the 2nd generation and DS “Goddess of War: The Sinner” is involved.
Q: Why is this title Valkyrie Elysium instead of Valkyrie Profile? The plot of the story doesn’t seem to have much connection with the previous series. Is this to take care of new players?
A: Because the Profile has come to an end, this time it is to expand the possibility of the series development and choose a different time and space.
Q: Is there any connection between the new work and the previous two works? Is there a possibility that the characters from the previous work will appear?
A: It doesn’t matter in the story, and the characters from the previous work will not appear.
Q: The new work did not continue the RPG type of the previous works, but turned into an action RPG. What is the reason for this?
A: This work is a sequel to the 14-year-old. Considering the current market situation, we have also done relevant market research before deciding to change it to an action RPG.
design concept
Q: This game focuses on fast-paced, high-speed combat. In terms of enemy design, how can you ensure that it will bring certain difficulties to the players without disrupting the rhythm of the battle too much?
A: Mainly in the face of multiple enemies, we can also match heroic spirits for multiple-to-plural battles. In addition, the attribute restraint of the previous work is also available in this work. In addition, when summoning heroic spirits, the attributes of the heroic spirit will also be added to the Valkyrie. body.
Q: What is the expected goal of the production team in this restart of the work? Also what is the most difficult part?
A: The biggest goal of this work is to return to the origin, and I hope to inherit the elements of the past into the system of this action. The hardest part is going from 2D to 3D. If you put it in the present in the past, the game content will become very small, so how to expand will be the biggest problem.
Q: Did you get any inspiration from mobile games?
A: This work has not been influenced by mobile games. We designed the plot first, and then designed the corresponding levels according to the story.
Trial version, official version related issues
Q: This time, the difficulty cannot be changed after the difficulty is selected at the beginning of the game. Does it mean that this game is also the same as the “Valkyrie Profile” series of works, and there will be different processes and different events in different difficulties?
A: There will be no difference in the plot if you choose all difficulties. Since it was an RPG before, I am afraid that old players are not familiar with it. This time, it also provides various difficulties for players to choose.
Q: May I ask you to see the configuration of up to 2 Heroic Spirits and dual weapons in the same field in DEMO. In fact, there are several weapons that can be used in the official version of the battle. Is it allowed to switch weapons in a combo? How many Heroic Spirits can be summoned at the same time in battle?
A: There are general swords, rapiers, and guns in the demo version. In fact, the official version will have more weapons to choose from than the trial version. It is true that weapons can be switched in a combo, and up to 2 Heroic Spirits can be summoned on the field at the same time.
Q: In the trial version, it feels that the story of the heroic spirit is weaker than that of the previous series. Does it mean that the story of this work will focus on VALKYRIE?
A: The plot after the trial version will describe the story of the Heroic Spirit in depth.
Q: Comparing the two trailers from different periods, the face of Valkyrie seems to have changed. Will it be revised in the future?
A: Actually, we didn’t change the module. The first two promotional videos only adjusted the light source and filter.
Q: This work has a combo scale design, but in addition to clearing points in the level, does MAX combo have the effect of casting stunts?
A: This is a bit similar to the previous game, you can use holy combat skills by accumulating combos, so the higher the number of combos, the more holy combat skills you can use. In addition, as long as you summon heroic spirits, you can accumulate them faster, so this game is to fight with heroic spirits and sacred combat skills.
Q: In the design of “Heroic Spirit” in this work, is it a way for players to explore levels, or is it a fixed addition to the main line? Will it affect the generation of multiple endings?
A: The main purpose of this work is to return to the original point. As long as the main line is followed, all heroic spirits will join, but this work does have multiple endings that are affected by other elements.
Q: There are a lot of spirit flowers in the trial version. Apart from the related achievements collected, are there any other effects?
A: The conjuring flower has nothing to do with the side quests. Although it won’t affect too much content, it does affect a certain part. It can’t reveal too much. We will recommend players to look for it. At the same time, these flowers will also have a front and back. related plot.
Q: In addition to using appearances, weapons and attributes, what are the differences between heroic spirits? Can they also nurture elevating abilities?
A: The Heroic Spirit itself can also be strengthened, such as the summoning time is longer, etc., and there are some enhancements that are matched with the Valkyrie, such as the Heroic Spirit can be automatically summoned at the end of the combo, or the Heroic Spirit can be automatically summoned at the end of the defense.
Q: Why are there a large number of destructible objects in the game, and the upper limit of enhancement stones is quite small?
A: The enhancement stone is due to the special restrictions of the trial version, and the large number of destroyed objects is to show the world view that humans have largely disappeared after Ragnarok.
Q: Will there be any difference between the PC, PS4, and PS5 versions?
A: The content is the same, but the texture, resolution, and FPS are slightly different.
Finally, the producer said: “This time it is a home machine work that has been in violation of 14 years. This time it also retains the desolate feeling of the Valkyrie series. I hope everyone can enjoy this work.”
“VALKYRIE ELYSIUM” is expected to be released on PS5 and PS4 on September 29, and the PC (Steam) version is scheduled to be released on November 12. The game supports traditional/simplified subtitles.