Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria, the sequel to developer Tri-Ace's cult PlayStation classic of the same name, has all the makings of a grand role-playing experience; a beautiful Medieval world of Western mythology in need of saving from the gods themselves, a wondrous score, a large cast of characters and, to top it all off, an innovative battle system that mixes real-time action with turn-based strategy. Appearances can be very misleading though, as the actual end result for Silmeria is nothing short of disappointing. Instead of capitalizing on the above list of ideas, Tri-Ace and publisher Square Enix transformed potential into poppycock, as a damaged combat system and apathetic localization prove overwhelming, leaving this reviewer demoralized in its wake.

Silmeria is based around a timid princess and a forceful fallen valkyrie who share the same body attempting to stop the humans from challenging the gods of Norse mythology for controlling the power of the world. The entire plot as a concept is quite striking and unique, and with the power of the Square Enix label on the box, there should be little concern for storytelling - right? Well, unless cookie-cutter characters and cliché plot devices drowning in a lukewarm localization sauce is your idea of a good thing then the answer is unapologetically negative.

Much like Tri-Ace's Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, the script for Silmeria lacks energy, power and creative word choices. Regardless of the situation, be it an intense face-off or a tearful reunion, each sequence moves forward with the strength and intensity of an exhausted child. Lines are never anything above basic English conversation, with the only truly interesting bits of dialogue coming in the form of the characters talking about the game's made up elements. These elements do not include the characters themselves though, as where Star Ocean had intriguing characters that never had anything of interest to say, Silmeria has hollow characters that never have anything of interest to say.

The main character, Princess Alicia, is shy and weak-willed, seemingly always in a constant loop of redundant apologizing. She meets up with a sarcastic, self-involved elven archer, who joins her in the hope of receiving a cash reward, only to stick around for the adventure because he has secretly has a heart of gold. They later cross paths and join up with a Barbarian-esque former solider from Alicia's kingdom, who - after swearing undying allegiance to Alicia - lets his sword do the talking for him. I could go on and on, but as anyone who has been playing RPGs or watching anime for a while probably knows, nearly every single character in Silmeria has been ripped straight from the character handbook that those two media types share. The most unique trait any of these characters has is that Alicia shares her body with the valkyrie Silmeria - and even she can't keep out of the bromide waters. It's like reading a book written by a child who was asked to make up their own characters, but instead just renamed their favorite characters from shows and games they liked, then slightly changed their outfits.

This ho-hum mentality continues over to the voice acting, which reeks of detachment and awkwardness. Not one of the actors sounds convincing as their character, with many sounding uncomfortable, subsequently coming off as fake and inexperienced. I would like to think that saving the world wasn't such a bore, but what do I know? I'm just a lowly game reviewer.

Since this is a Square Enix RPG, there is a constant barrage of story sequences and cut scenes to take advantage of all that I outlined above. This led me down a road of slumber, as I found myself falling asleep within a hour of playing time during every session, no matter how I felt when I started and what time of day it was! The yawns would always creep in, forcing me to turn the game off just to keep myself from going to bed at three in the afternoon. That might sound like an overexaggeratation or joke, but the sad fact is that it's the true - there is literally that little substance to be found in Silmeria's story.

If you are betting that the gameplay can save your attention span from the story then you may want to read on before holding your breath. Though the game is completely made up of 3D graphics - breathtaking ones I might add - all of the exploration (including towns) is handled with a side-scrolling camera, giving the game a modern take on the 2D genre. Battles are not brought up randomly and neither are they fought on the exploration map; shadowy figures representing a group of monsters roam the maps and need to be touched to enter a battle stage, where the real monsters are. While you cannot attack the shadowy figures directly, you can turn them into crystals by firing a 'Photon' at them, then either use them as a platform or fire another photon to swap places with them. Photons are the main component of many of the puzzles, constantly making you use your brain to figure out how to progress through dungeons.

The other main puzzle type involves the seal stones found throughout the game's dungeons. Each of these seal stones are found atop a dais, which imbues anyone within the dungeon with a positive or negative status effect, such as doubling the experience received from battles or lowering attack power. If the player or an enemy possesses a seal stone, their party is given exclusive rein over the status effect. While some of the status effects are harmless, stockpiling the more valuable seal stones by placing them in the right receptacle before leaving a dungeon can prove to be the difference between life and death later in the game.

With its innovative gameplay mechanics and side-scrolling mindset, exploration through Silmeria is quite fun, especially in the dungeons set up to exploit both the crystal-freezing and orb-placing puzzle varieties. Now if only some of that upbeat praise could be brought over to the actual battle system. As I covered above, only by touching one of the shadowy figures walking around in a dungeon can you enter a battle stage, where the actual monsters await you. Once inside, your party as a whole and each of the enemies are placed in random spots around the fairly spacious areas. No actions take place until you move, as Silmeria uses a quasi-real-time battle system. This allows you to move a few steps, see how the enemies react and then make alterations to your battle plan if see the need.

As you move around, you will notice that both your party and the enemies each have their own vision meters that extend out of their bodies. Only when an enemy comes into another's vision meter can they be attacked. Once you engage an enemy, the camera changes to show each side lined up and facing each other, much like a fighting game. Each party member you control has one of the four shape buttons over their head and pressing the corresponding button causes them to attack. Some could argue that Silmeria's combat is nothing short of a science, as knowing just when to enact your next button press is key to maximizing damage, but most gamers will find that it boils down to monotonous button mashing, as once you figure out a button combo that works for you, there is no need to mix it up.

There are a few ideas implemented in Silmeria to attempt to broaden combat beyond button mashing and add depth - but very few of them work. While anyone and everyone in your party can attack at these points, each attack drains Attack Points; run low on AP and your turn ends until you can raise your AP back up by getting attacked or running around. This is to keep you just attacking without thought, but unless you are of amazing strength, this leaves you open to unnecessary damage, as very rarely can you avoid being a sitting duck while trying to run around recovering AP, if indeed you even get to move after attacking at all.

Running isn't the only movement your party can perform while in battle; you can also dash, as well as split your party into any combination of four, or move and dash as groups. In theory, both of these should prove valuable in combat, as dashing allows you to swoop in and get the jump on your enemies, while breaking up into groups allows pincer and distraction attacks. However, the quasi-real-time movement causes problems even when you are just trying to aim your party in the right direction to dash, while breaking into groups is also stifled, as the groups not under your direct control just stand around and stare into space while time moves around them, leading more often than not to their demise.

Depending on the weapons and attacks equipped, as well as your party's position around the enemy and their position during an attack, you can damage certain parts of their body or armor; breaking off pieces can not only expose enemy weak points, but they can also can be claimed after battle as items. This is one of the keys to unlocking rare items and proves to be a creative means of making that happen.

I have been going on for quite a few paragraphs describing the battle system - but I am yet to cover it all. However, the elements that I've left out really don't matter, as the core system is far too flawed to allow the main components to work in harmony, let alone the minor parts. There is a ton of depth to be explored here, if you have the patience to put up with the unfair lord of time, but many a gamer will - justifiably so - find the flaws too devastating to the fun factor for them to even give Silmeria even a second glance.

Square Enix proved with Final Fantasy XII that the PlayStation 2 is more than capable of producing amazing graphics, and Silmeria does nothing to alter that fact. The highly detailed characters models are just breathtaking, sporting some of the most realistic clothing I have ever seen in a game. Vibrant and varied environments bring each locale to life with stunning detail, making you want to interact with them in ways that the 2D camera angle doesn't allow. Special effects are also in abundance, with phenomenal lighting and shadowing, and it looks great every time an item is broken into pieces during battle, each element of the visuals further fleshing out Silmeria's world. If you have an HDTV then you can exploit these graphics even further, as you can not only select to play in widescreen, but you can also access progressive scan by holding down Triangle and X when booting up the game! It is only the chilled hand of slowdown, which touches far too many battles, and the completely unrealistic movements of speaking characters, which hold this game back from reaching the heights of the Final Fantasy series.

Motoi Sakuraba's score proves to be epic, with the orchestra providing all the right inflections at the appropriate times. I only wish it was less, well, typical. This is by the numbers, above average RPG music that hits all the expected songs. You name the scene and the type of music that is supposed to be in it, and Silmeria complies. None of it is bad; it is just a little too predictable. The sound effects are large and in-charge, echoing with intensity throughout your living room. The clashing of weapons against armor is just awesome, especially during the break point, where the shattering sound never grows stale. The voice acting though, as mentioned, is uninspired at best, leaving much to be desired.

There is a wealth of gameplay to be found in Silmeria - if you can keep yourself awake. A lengthy quest is further complimented by multiple difficulty levels and collecting items to use for the creation of better ones, while raising and releasing side characters can keep you occupied from the main quest multiple times throughout the game. Unfortunately, the gameplay also relies heavily on level raising, forcing you to grind during each and every dungeon if you have plans to progress with a minimal amount of dying, and even then you will still probably fall to the hands of demons far more often than you would like. Very few games can factor level grinding into their lasting appeal - and this isn't one of them. Just finishing the main game is a task and should take around fifty hours; seeing everything could keep you away from the outside world for quite a long time.

The best way to sum up my feelings about Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria is this: if I could just put Silmeria back in its packaging and forget I even opened it, I would be a very happy man. But I was caught in a moment a weakness, as the game was just so inviting and tantalizing during those moments prior to ownership; the stellar reviews and publisher track record proved convincing. And I paid the price for that mistake, as I am now left with a $50 sleeping aid, parading around as a high class RPG.

Reviewed by Tony Peters for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).