Valkyrie Profile is a legendary RPG series that broke new ground and brought genuine innovation to the genre. The creators of the series, Tri-Ace have since teamed with Spike Chunsoft and the result? A spiritual successor in the form of Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky, a game that truly earns the title of successor. Rarely has there been an attempt to replicate the success of an earlier franchise, that has succeeded so well.
Exist Archive is played in a side scrolling 2D plane, much like the earlier Valkyrie Profile series, along with metroidvania elements as well. The world is one of the most beautifully detailed video game worlds this generation, with artwork and visuals that truly must be seen to be believed. The music is also excellent, especially by JRPG standards, and I recommend listening to it fully as best as you can. In addition, both Japanese and English voice acting is included, which is great for fans of Japanese voice acting.
The combat system in the game is truly awesome, and all battles can be enjoyed. You use four members in combat and each are mapped to one of the face buttons of the Dualshock 4. The combat itself requires some thought, since you need to vary between attacking and guarding, especially when you need to save points called Action Points. Action Points are needed to attack and therefore the battles end up as a game of chess. You need to know when to attack and when to save your characters based on your enemies. I like this system and it made each battle fun.
All in all, I think that if there is any downside to Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky on PS4, is that it feels like it is missing something. It definitely has what made Valkyrie Profile great, but doesn’t use that to its full potential. My hope is that the game gets a sequel that allows it to truly live up to its heritage.
I would still recommend Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky and suggest checking it out.
Disclaimer: We were provided with a review copy of the game.