PixlBit

I'll admit. Valhalla Knights is an interesting case of a game series being brought to Nintend despite having no previous iterations on a Nintendo system. The first two installments were for the PSP. So what exactly is so bad about this action rpg? Well we'll get into that in today's review! Grab your popcorn and start munching...we're getting groovy!

Valhalla Knights is not a series I'm familiar with, so I can't say if the PSP games were bad or not. I do know that the general plot of this game is pretty simple. It's a fairly basic plot of the world being under attack by monsters, and you'll try to bring together all the different races (humans, elves, dwarves and halflings) to join forces  with you to combat the increasing threat.

It's actually a bit more interesting as the game is split into two parts. In the first part, you play as I mentioned above. In the second part, you play as that hero's descendant a generation later, when that final conflict has arrived. The choice of who you marry in part 1 affects your character selection options in part 2 -- and you can have access to different races, too, if you chose a non-human wife for yourself. It's by far the most interesting thing the game has going for it as well as the customization in the character creator. This along with a pretty simple leveling system which let's you freely attribute points in whatever skills you want gives plenty to play around with...but now we come to the big problem.

Let this screenshot show you exactly what you'll be facing against. Now I know design is all perspective, but monster hunter is hands down so much better than this game. It's unfair to put it up against Monster Hunter, but if you're going to take on action rpg monster battling...that's what you get compared to.

These issues begin from the very first moments in Eldar Saga, as you'll immediately find that you can't see anything. Everything is muddy, dirty browns, grey, black, it's just doesn't look presentable. You can sometimes tell what's happening, but you should at least be able to see what you're actually doing. Menu management especially needed work as the entire configuration of the control scheme can be a mess to navigate. It would be difficult even for players who played the first two previous titles to figure out, let alone a new comer.

 In this dreary town...we call home

And while you're dealing with the pretty bland environments, you'll also deal with a camera. You see you'll fight the camera at every single moment in this game. Out in fields, around the towns, and also frequently in battle. You see there's no natural AI controlling its position, so you've got to continuously adjust it yourself. This makes fighting a lot more stressful than it should and causes cheaper deaths in environments you can't see in because of say fog or something you confused for a rock.

 a broken weapon will only add to your misery.

Speaking of fighting. Bad cameras and graphics aren't alone in stressing you out. Basic combat is butchered thanks to poor targeting and stiff attack animations. You'll strike at an enemy, miss it completely, and then be stuck before you can turn yourself around and try to wildly slash at the enemy again. Meanwhile, the monster you're fighting is beating you up from behind. And before you know it...you're dead.

 When not getting beaten by monster gaze around at the vast abandonment of brown textures!

Ranged combat is just as bad. If you think fighting from afar will even the odds, just wait until you constantly miss your target. You can't lock on, no indicators, and even crouching to fire can prohibit you from shooting. It's a mess how the it's all configured. Because of the control scheme being the way it is...you'll do things you aren't supposed to becasue they are assigned to the same button! Fierce attacks also bring up the menu, super attacks also access healing items which you'll inadvertently use up, there are so many options and submenus...you'll still be on the tutorial of what you're trying to do after a few hours. It shouldn't be this complicated and broken!

In conclusion, what could have made for a fun action rpg, gets bogged down in an unplayable, ugly mess of a game. Save for simple rpg leveling and somewhat okay create a character customization it offers absolutely nothing. Play Monster Hunter instead...you'll thank me later.

Score: Enter Valhalla at your own risk/10

Well, what's up next on the agenda?