The first Valis game is getting a crowd-funded remake (/remaster/port??)!! The fact that this is announced right before Nintendo‘s E3 presentation today has me a bit excited… Insert Credit is the reason I even know what Valis is, and why I’m so pumped, so I'm curious what you guys here think of this!
(Thread title taken from one of my favorite comments I've ever seen on any forum thread. Just a beautiful sentence.)[upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/rQh00MA.png]
@Funbil I screamed a little bit when I saw this headline. I’d stumbled onto Valis while clicking random games I had in OpenEmu but never paid much attention to it until the Insert Credit Show.
I’m looking forward to what comes of the 35th anniversary and the crowdfunding campaign.
I remember…
Someone once said…
The alphabet of games was:
Valis (maybe it was actually Vay)
W
Xena Warrior Princess
Ys
Zelda
Or something like that. Like the joke was they all wanted to sound like Zelda, so they chose letters late in the alphabet.
Posting here in case anyone remembers.
I probably first discovered Valis when reading every single Hardcore Gaming 101 article in middle school.
I‘ve played the Genesis versions of 1 and 3. I really struggle with the snow levels in 3. Still like em both quite a bit. I’ve been meaning to check out the PCE versions on the meester, but maybe I'll just wait for this remaster.
I recently tried Super Valis 4 when it came out on the Switch. Couldn't get into it though. Think I prefer the slower, more one on one, pace of 1 and 3. Being able to see the boss's health ticking up throughout the level stresses me out.
Sealed copy of Valis Standard Definition! Only sealed game I have heh.
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I have a Valis related question that I feel like someone here might be able to answer: Is there any connection between Valis (the game series) and VALIS (the Phillip K Dick novel)?
@AlecS I believe the only connection was liking the title of the book…?
@exodus Fair enough, I figured there was a good chance it was something like that,.
Ran into a nice collection of Valis games on ruliweb.
https://bbs.ruliweb.com/hobby/board/300431/read/30556239
I tried playing Super Valis on the Switch SNES collection…and… I didn‘t like it very much. Mechanically at least. It dripped some style, I’ll admit that. Is this the sort of thing I needed to have played in 1994 or I'll never get it? Or maybe Super Valis is a bad ambassador for the series?
@fridgeboy SNES Valis IV actually has a lot changed and removed from it! I recommend playing the Valis Collection (this is a free download on archive.org so nobody has an excuse not to!), which is a PC port of each game‘s PC Engine version running natively, no emulation. The only Valis game I’d call “not particularly good” is the second one, I think the other 3 rule.
The Valis revival project has been fully funded! Update on some details, for those who haven't been keeping up:
In a bit of good Valis related news, there's a Renovations compilation cart headed for the Evercade in 2022
https://twitter.com/evercaderetro/status/1415249734432854020
Obviously the Genesis versions aren't the optimal versions of the games, but its nice to see them out there again. Valis III for Genesis was my introduction to the series, so I have a soft spot for it.
Wow, Ruliweb is still going, eh? I used to go there all the time back in the early days.
SNES Valis IV is a decent intro to the series I'd say, though it's not the absolute pinnacle. The PCE Valis games are the best examples, and Super Valis IV is basically a remix of PCE Valis IV in a way I find really interesting. But if you don't like Super Valis IV there's a high probability you won't like the rest of the series, because it isn't "good" in the traditional sense. You've got to be ready for a stilted experience with cool music and obtuse powerups and a weird but vital slide move (super valis iv exchanges that for a running jump).
In terms of ranking I'd put all the PC games at the top (probably 3 is best), followed by Super Valis IV, followed by all the genesis games, with SD valis at the bottom. I haven't played the MSX original, so I can't really rank that one.
The always excellent channel Higemaru who I plug here from time to time had a nice video playthrough on the PC-88 versions of Valis and Valis II, notable for their level/experience gauge system.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjtON2wuR7I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMkVUIYhL0w
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I just acquired [this game book adaptation](https://www.twitter.com/fujimya/status/833664688395137024) of the first _The Legend of Zelda_ game and its interpretation of Princess Zelda is now probably my favorite version of Princess Zelda. Very valissish, too!
Valis Collection on the Switch is up for pre-order today!
https://twitter.com/valis_game/status/1450341114020573184?s=20
It‘s been up for pre-order for a couple months now, they’re just rattling off the retailer-exclusive pre-order bonus items again.
Happy release day for the Valis Collection!!
https://twitter.com/valis_game/status/1468739341841498112?s=20
@Funbil Would love to get your thoughts on the port if you're willing to share here. Been on the fence for a while about if this is the game that actually gets me to check the series out or not.
Hopefully you're enjoying it!
@Unbeknownst2U Well, it‘s certainly Valis! Only the PC Engine versions though, which is fine because they’re certainly the most playable (compared to something like Cotton Reboot, which has both the remaster and the original X68000 version - they‘re different enough to warrant playing both, but IMO the old PC Valis games are simply obsolete compared to their PC Engine remakes). Nothing at all of Valis IV though; my assumptions is that there may have been some trouble with the SNES version already being on Switch Online, despite the fact they almost certainly would have used the PC Engine version for the collection. It’s a shame, because I think the PCE Valis IV is at least the second best (alternatively, tied for first) Valis game, with the first game being in that top spot. All this to say: for a “Valis Collection,” it‘s missing any version of Valis IV, which is definitely a loss, as well as any older versions of the three included, which I don’t see as a problem but someone else might.
That said, for the games that are included, there‘s a lot of love I didn’t expect! Even on the box you can tell this is more of a historical preservation effort than a cash grab of just tossing some old games on a Switch cartridge. For all three of the games is their full, high-res scanned manuals, a sound test mode to hear every track in the game, a menu to watch every cutscene, and some quality of life features like save states and a rewind functionality. Which is really nice!! Valis games are a lot like Castlevania (or perhaps the other way around…), where they feel really tough the first couple times, but after learning enemy patterns and level layouts it feels great to breeze through. The rewind and save states makes this a much more streamlined effort, since you can just focus on individual parts giving you any particular trouble. I think all retro games benefit from this to varying effect, but it's especially nice for Valis.
This would be a straight recommendation from me if not for exactly one thing: Valis Complete, a previous port job done in 2006, is perfectly available online as abandonware. This is all four PCE Valis games running natively on PC, no emulation, including scans of all their manuals as with the Switch port. The question then becomes how much you‘re willing to pay for convenience; there are no save states or rewind features here, and mapping a controller is annoying because in my experience it doesn’t seem to accept d-pads (Valis with an analogue stick is gross!!). Personally, I know I enjoy the first three Valis games enough to warrant paying for a solid, convenient, easily accessible way to play them, but I‘ll always recommend Valis Complete to someone just trying them out for the first time. The Valis Collection on the Switch is a great way to play, but if you don’t need to pay, why bother!