So, we are out of the trenches of bad #Valis games
It's only up from here, right?

#SegaGenesis Valis 3 is the best offering on the platform and has new features and gimmicks.
Firstly, we have multiple playable characters who are unlocked through the journey and can be swapped to on the fly, like Castlevania 3. One of them also has a whip!

Magic is done with elemental rod "sub weapons" and each character has different variations on each element.
There is a new power mechanic, where you need to wait between attacks to ensure you are attacking at full power

But, this is where the series starts getting harder. The token ice based stages feature some of nefarious platforming moments.

it is also an appropriate time to talk about the sliding mechanic. Sliding off an edge continue your horizontal momentum into the slide ends, so some gaps you need to slide over than attempting a jump.

I still recommend Valis 1 as an entry point, but if you like that, definitely check this one out!

Oh my. I wasn't expecting the non-japanese box art for #Valis 3 to drop the ball so hard. The Genesis library has some fantastic box art but I hate to be like this, but I just find this unappealing and the more i look at it the more questions come to mind. That hairline, oof.

I imagine this what her facial expression was on the Turbografx Valis 2 box art. It shows a lack of confidence in our heroine and I'm just a little sad about that.
Once again, the looming figure is, to the best of my knowledge, a depiction of the first stage boss. All whilst Yuko's sister and a sagely old man look on, judgementally.

I suppose the only saving grace is the Valis sword cleaving through the metals links of that ball and chain

Perhaps, for the time, the Japanese cover could be seen as generic, showing our three playable characters in action ready poses, with a burst behind them. But dammit, it's a nice effective shot. I swear, between box arts the Valis sword is only getting longer...

#SegaGenesis

Syd of Valis is 100% vision and probably about 40% execution.
It also makes the #SegaGenesis trilogy an absolute mess.

A retelling of the plot of #Valis 2 but with a cutesy chibi filter is not a terrible idea.
Where the game drops the ball is in the control. Jumps are incredibly floaty and everything is coated in a weird slippery physic usually reserved for ice levels.

Some bosses and mini-bosses feel like a damage race with questionable hit detection. In fact, the easiest boss in the PC Engine Valis 2 is the single hardest thing in Syd of Valis, and the real kicker. No continues. Lives, sure, but no continues.

The game gives me vibes of Wonderboy in Monster World. Just, if you packaged it as a standard action game and not an RPG.

There could have been something cool here, if the powering up of weapons or the outfits you didn't feel like an after thought.

Sadly, there feels like there is no good way to experience Valis 2. I really should check out the MSX version.

Syd of #Valis is a weird game for many reasons.

Firstly, let's talk box art.
The western box art actually uses a Japanese box art, just... Not the Japanese box art for Valis SD.
It uses the box art for The Sugoroku 92 Nariagari Trendy. A party game featuring a collaborative cast from other Telenet Japan games, such as Cosmic Fantasy and Super Albatross. Besides Yuko, none of the other characters appear in Syd of Valis. It's awfully misleading!

The naming is also a choice, though calling it Super Deformed Valis would probably be just as odd.

As for the Japanese Valis SD, it is bright, colourful and shows most of the in-game characters in their super deformed cutesy look. It definitely gives the vibe of quirky off-shoot from the main series.

I mean, the challenge for the western box would be how would you portray this game? The game itself comes across cutesy, and the previous high fantasy stylings wouldn't apply here.

Boxart aside, the game is at least good, right?

#SegaGenesis

What I will say is, if you want to play the #Valis games. The first game on Genesis is not a bad place to start.

The first stage boss is seemingly quite unfair, in that you will totally understand what you need to do, but for some reason it doesn't quite work out and you end up eating more damage than you expect.

In fact, half the game's bosses are a bit unfair and prove more frustrating than fun to fight, as those bosses don't exhibit a pattern you can learn and exploit.
The irony of it all, most stages are straight forward and the bosses prove a challenge, except the final stage where the final boss is laughable easy, but he has a hell of a stage building up to him.

The game offers infinite continues, so it is a matter of perseverance to beat this one, but it is totally manageable.

But, something I will say about Valis for Genesis, it is at best a mid-tier Valis games. That means two things. They get better than this, they also sadly... Get worse.

#SegaGenesis #RetroGames