Valis II

Mugen Senshi Valis II
Valis 2 MSX2/SharpX68/PC88/PC98 full box art
Developer(s):	Shin-Nihon Laser Soft Bandai (Mobile Phone version only)
Publisher(s):	RiOT- Telenet Japan (MSX,Sharp X68000,PC88/PC98) Shin-Nihon Laser Soft- Telenet japan (PC-Engine CD) NEC (Turbografx-CD) Sunsoft and Hudson(PSN)
Platform(s)-Release date(s):	MSX2 - 1988 Sharp X68000, PC88/98- 1989 PC-Engine CD/ Turbografx-CD - 1990 PC (Valis Complete)- 2006, 2011 Vodafone - 2007 Play Station Network (PCE) - 2011
Genre(s):	Action/Platform

Mugen senshi Valis II (夢幻戦士ヴァリスⅡ, Mugen Senshi Varisu ni), Also known as Valis II, is the second main game from the Valis series. The game tells the events that happen after the first Valis game, revealing more reasons about why Yuuko was choosen to fight for the three worlds.

Story

MSX2, PC-88/98 and Sharp X68000 versions

Some time after the death of Rogles and Yuuko returned to her home in the human world, she starts to have dreams where her dead friend, Reiko, talks her about the Dream world being endangered once more, she then has a nightmare with some kind of monster who traps her in his hands. She then awakes and decides to finally go to Vanity to know what is happening just to find that her city is being attacked by the remains of Rogles's army that searches for her. After defeating their commander, Zaluga, he tells Yuuko that they were there seeking revenge for the death of their master and to take the Valis sword so they could use it and the phantasm jewels to defeat the new menace on Dream world, known as the cruel king Megas, who appeared in Yuuko's dreams. Encouraged by Valia, Yuuko goes to the dream world facing many obstacles as Megas starts a scheme to capture Valia with his most powerful weapon, the Vecanta Canon. Valia wants to help Yuuko as she starts to get more and more damaged, but her servants warns her about the danger of being captured by Megas if she appears outside Vanity castle. Megas then sends Haizen to take the last phantasm jewel from the last of Rogles's generals, Gaias, who dies after fighting Yuuko making it easier for Haizen to steal his Phantasm jewelry just before he could give it to the Valis warrior. Megas tries to intimidate Yuuko in the moment as she goes to chase Haizen for the Phantasm jewel, but after killing him, she finds out that the jewel is already on Megas's power. Yuuko falls totally weakened and Valia goes to help her. Megas approaches about the situation and uses the jewel to activate his Vecanta canon to capture Valia. She resists but Megas uses his canon to maximum power making his own castle to explode killing many of his servants, but he finally succeded on kidnapping Valia. Yuuko, now healed by Valia, goes to Megas's hideout to rescue her only to find Megas about to kill Valia. Terrorified, Yuuko takes of her armor and leaves her sword following Megas's tasks to free Valia, but he finally kills the queen of Vanity and tries to kill Yuuko also. Yuuko shouts desperately as someone cuts Megas's hand and rescues her and the now dead Valia. This person reveals itself as Reiko whose spirit materialized in the Dream world. As Yuuko cryes over Valia's corpse, Reiko cheers up her to end with Megas once for all. Yuuko then uses the Phantasm jewelry to transform her Valis armor on the Hyper armor and goes after Megas. After fighting him and defeating him, Megas stays perplex as he can't believe being defeated by a young woman, Yuuko tells him that she has the power of love and true friends by her side, thing that Megas doesn't has. Furious, Megas states that while there are humans in the Real world, there will be hate and dark emotions, and he can return someday. He explodes afterwards. After this, Valia's spirit appears to congratulate Yuuko and then Valna appears with Valia's servants to introduce herself to Yuuko, also feeling prideful for having a brave sister. Later, Reiko decides to part ways not before having Yuuko's gratitude for her help and support as a friend. In the end, Yuuko returns to the city and watches the night in the panoramic view of the city.

PC-Engine CD/Turbografx-CD version

Some time after the death of Rogles and Yuuko returned to her home in the human world, Vanity is tormented once again by a war between the new candidate to the dark world throne, Megas, Rogles's younger brother; and the resistance formed by the survivor soldiers from Rogles's army. For that reason, Reiko (already dead) appears as an illusion to tell Yuuko to go to the mentioned world and then to inform her about Megas. As result of the war, the human world becomes endangered as Yuuko fights against Rogles generals who want the power of the Valis sword to end with Megas's menace. After beating them, Yuuko goes to Valia's castle only to fight Megas's Army and a dead Valia who was apparently killed by Megas himself. In the mid of the dramatic situation, after this, the servants of the castle tell Yuuko that she is one of Valia's daughters and that her younger sister, Valna, lived in the castle with Valia while Yuuko was send to the human world. Seeing the gravity of the situation, they give Yuuko a new sword and armor: the Leethus sword and the Leethus armor. She goes to Megas's domains fighting more of his generals to finally infiltrate in his technologic tower base and reaches the emperor.

After his defeat, Megas tells Yuuko that he, contrary to Rogles's resistance, wanted to destroy the Valis sword because he was afraid that its power would make him fall like it did with his brother Rogles. He starts to relate the story of how he became the dark emperor is. He was going to inherit the darkworld throne long ago from the hands of his father, Kaiza. But Rogles got jealous and made a scheme to kill Megas so he could became the darkworld's next king. Megas survived but had to repleace many of his body parts with machinery. Later he discovered that the one behind that conspiracy wasn't Rogles but Kaiza himself who, when discovered by Megas, banished him to a dimensional abyss from where he remained a long time growing a hatreness for his brother and his father. That's why he wanted to finish Rogles army's remains and dominate Vecanti.

After Megas dies in her hands, Yuuko goes to Vecanti once again to be sure that her sister is safe and then returns to the human world once again, not before knowing that Valna is decided to fight by her side from there on.

Gameplay

While this game had many differences, the gameplay has great changes from the first version (MSX2, PC88/98 and SX68) to the second (PCE-CD/TGCD).

MSX2, Sharp X68000 and PC88/98 versions

The MSX, Sharp X68000 and PC88/98 versions' gameplay varies in the sense that Yuuko is now terribly fast, making it hard to control when enemies come to you, But has many improvements in turn. In the pause menu you can change Yuuko's suit to many others unlocked along the game. It also has a spell MP energy bar system like its predecessor.

Suits/Armor

Armor	Max HP	Damage	Jewel points
Pajamas	0	-00%	0
Sailor	10	-00%	75
Blazer	12	-00%	75
Valis Suit	15	-00%	75
Offense	45	-00%	75
Defense	45	-50%	75
Reiko type	30	-00%	75
Hyper suit	72	-50%	75

Spell list

• Diff: Paralizes enemies in screen for some seconds, some enemies can still fire shots when frozen.MP cost: 5 points
• Protect: Makes 2 energy balls to rotate around Yuuko hitting the enemies. MP cost: 10 points.
• Integral: Makes Yuuko invulnerable for a short time.MP cost: 15 points.
• Crash: Destroys any enemies on screen. MP cost: 20 points.

Other items

• Jump item: It helps Yuuko to fly in some parts of the game.
• Recover item: It only appears before you fight every boss. It helps Yuuko by recovering her HP.
• Red jewel: Recovers 5 MP points from Yuuko's counter.
• Blue jewel: Recovers 10 MP points from Yuuko's counter.

PCE-CD and TGCD version

The PCE-CD/TGCD version's gameplay lacked from the suites but was reguled in speed. Some levels were changed too. Here, the spells are obtained as items and have a limited number of uses. This version also haves a score system. The score can be increased by collecting score crystals. For every 10000 points you collect, you can get an extra life. Items are obtainted directly in stages or by destroying enemies.

Spell list

• Sand clock: Paralizes enemies in screen for some seconds.Number of uses: 3
  
• Protect: Makes 2 energy balls to rotate around Yuuko hitting the enemies. Number of uses: 3
• Integral: Makes Yuuko invulnerable for a short time.Number of uses: 3
• Thunder: Destroys any enemies on screen. Number of uses: 3

Other items

• Score crystals: score increases by collecting them.
• Red heart: recovers 1/4 of Yuuko's HP bar.
• Blue heart: recovers 1/2 of Yuuko's HP bar.
• Yuuko's face: It gives the player one extra life.

Valis attack system

Both versions have in common the valis attack power-up system.

Power-ups

• Normal shot: the normal standard shot that Yuuko has as default weapon. The more powerups from it you collect, the more times you can fire shots in a round.
• Wave shot: fires a sonic wave shot. The shot becomes wider with every powerup you collect. It can also block enemy projectiles (though not those fired by bosses)
• Double shot: fires two shots, one forward and one in diagonal-up forward. For every powerup you collect, you can fire one more time the pair of shots in a round.
• Homing shot: fires a projectile that hits the nearest enemy on the screen. For every powerup you collect, you can fire one more shot in a round.

Versions

The MSX2, Sharp-X68000 and PC88/98 version were launched in 1989 only in Japan.

The new version was launched for the PC-Engine-CD/ Turbografx-CD in 1990.

Unlike its predecessor and its succesor, It wasn't adapted for the Sega mega drive/ Genesis. For this platform, instead, Telenet Japan created a parody of this game named Valis SD/ The Syd of Valis with the same characters but with a Super Deformed parody style and music.

The PCE-CD/TGCD version was included in the Valis Complete and Valis Complete Plus compillations in 2006 and 2011 and re-launched on March 16th of that same year for Play Station Network.

The game was remade by Bandai for mobile phone in 2007 being the second one for this platform, it also includes a wide variety of suits for Yuuko as it did in the first game remake for the mobile phones.

Differences

• In the MSX2, Sharp X68000 and PC88/98 versions the story has some differences with the PCE-CD/TGCD in the events.
• Some characters from Megas's army are different in both versions.
• level structure and enemies are changed also.
• The PCE-CD/TGCD version lacks from the suit variety that Yuuko had in the MSX and PC88/98 versions.
• The items in the MSX2, Sharp X68000 and PC88/98 versions are more limited than the PCE-CD/TGCD version ones.
• In the the PCE-CD/TGCD version, Yuuko starts with the normal shot as the default weapon.
• The MSX and PCE-CD/TGCD versions have voice support.
• When loosing In the MSX2, Sharp X68000 and PC88/98 versions, the player has to start from the beggining of the level. In the PCE-CD/TGCD version, the player can have more than one life and can start from the last checkpoint it passed.
• In the MSX, Sharp X68000 and PC88/98 versions, the spells are obtained by defeating bosses, In the PCE-CD/TGCD version, they are obtained by collecting them as items and have limited uses.
• The MSX, Sharp X68000 and PC88/98 versions shows material for mature audiences featuring gore and nudity all in a dark enviroment. 
• The character design is different between the old (MSX2, Sharp X68000 and PC88/98) versions and the new one (PCE-CD/TGCD).

Reception

Valis II Home computer versions (MSX2,SX68, PC-88/98) had a good reception in Japan (the only place those versions were released) but the console version (PCE-CD/TGCD) didn't have the same luck in Japan and the rest of the world mainly because the low quality in the game graphics and the hard gameplay for a PCE-CD/TGCD game. Those may have been the reasons for why it wasn't adapted to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.

Gallery

MSX and PC88/98 version box's front

MSX and PC88/98 version box's back

SX68 version box cover

SX68 Version box back

Valis II OST (X68) cover

Valis II OST (X68) back

PC-Engine CD version box's front

PC-Engine CD version box's back

CD image from the PC-Engine CD version

Turbografx-CD version box's front

TGCD version box back

MSX version screenshot

Selection Pause menu from the MSX version

PC-88/98 version gameplay screenshot

PC88/98 version menu screenshot

SX68 version gameplay screenshot

SX68 version menu screenshot

PCE-CD/TGCD version screenshot

MSX, PC-88/98 and SX68 version's title screen

PCECD version title screen

TGCD version title screen

SX68 version screenshot

PCECD/TGCD version screenshot

Trivia

• This is the first game of the series to have a version with voice support (Sharp X68000).
• Unlike its predecessor and successor, this game wasn't adapted to the Sega Mega Drive/ Genesis.
• Sprites in the PCE-CD/TGCD version of this game have the less quantity of animation frames than any other game in the series.
• By using an input code on the pause menu in the PCE-CD/TGCD version, the player can select any weapon and/or spell it wants.
• This is the shortest game from the main series, having only six stages.
• This game marks the first appearance of the Valis armor's ultimate form.
• Many scenes from this game were used on Yuuko's flashback in Valis IV.
• This is the first game from the series to feature a description from the bosses's status before you fight them, this wasn't repeated until the Super Famicom/SNES version of Valis IV.
• This is the first game where the Leethus sword appears (although its name isn't mentioned), but there isn't explanation about why Valia's servants gave Yuuko the sword and it's also unknown how Glames obtains it in Valis III.

External links

• Valis II (MSX) on gamefaqs
• Valis II (TGCD) on gamefaqs
• Valis II (TGCD) on The Brothers Duomazov's page
• Valis II on mobygames