Valkyrie Profile: Lennethis part of an amazing series of very diverse games spanning multiple genres. Most of the other games in the series are actually prequels to Lenneth, but there are still tons of plot points hinted at in their seminal work that are called back to in later-released games.
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We’ve done some investigation-boarding, drawing various threads to different characters and events, and assembled a list of some of the coolest references across timelines and reboots. Not only that, but there are even games outside of the franchise that have, over the years, tipped their hat to this legendary JRPG, and some of the cases here might surprise you!
10Mithra’s Identity Is Finally Revealed In Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria
One of thebest Artifacts you’ll find in Valkyrie Profile: Lennethis an item called Holy Water of Mithra, which is a consumable item that can essentially one-shot-kill any undead boss. But nothing is really known about the Holy Water of Mithra—there isn’t any in-game lore explaining who Mithra is or why their water is “holy”.
In Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria, however, a character named Mithra can be recruited to your party. Mithra is a powerful sorcerer who happens to use a spell called Tidal Wave as his Soul Crush ability, belying his affinity for water.
9Seraphic Gate & Nibelung Valesti Have Been Included As Expanded Content In Valkyrie Elysium
The Seraphic Gate is an extremely difficult bonus dungeon that appears in Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth.Valkyrie Elysium, which launched in late 2022, is a series reboot that contains echoes of Valkyrie Profile games but is a very different game in a different genre.
That said, in a free update released a few months after the game’s debut, the Seraphic Gate was added to Elysium as a gauntlet of sorts. Not only that, but at the end of this gauntlet, you’ll unlock a powerful version of Nibelung Valesti—Lenneth’s signature attack in Valkyrie Profile.
8Silmeria Can Be Seen Frozen In Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth
One of the most eventful quests in Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth involves venturing into Brahms’ Castle. In the background of Brahms’ throne room, you’ll see a figure that looks very much like Lenneth frozen in the background.
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This figure is actually Silmeria—the lead character from the titular prequel to Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. The tragic tale of Silmeria and her doomed relationship with Brahms is one of the focal points of Silmeria, and catching a glimpse of Silmeria’s fate here becomes especially powerful once you’ve played both games.
7You Can Get The Old Crew Back Together In Valkyrie Anatomia
Valkyrie Anatomia was a mobile game that expanded on the Valkyrie Profile universe and was the first release in the series in over a decade. In the game, you play as a reincarnation of Lenneth who gathers a host of new Einherjar, including many guest characters from other video game properties likeFinal Fantasy,Nier, and evenFullmetal Alchemist.
But, if you find certain artifacts in Valkyrie Anatomia by completing particular quests and facing off with specific enemies, you’re able to summon old Einherjar from Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth to your side. After nearly 20 years, it was great to see old faces like Arngrim and Lezard again.
6Lenneth’s Memory-Wipe Is Explained In Valkyrie Profile: Covenant Of The Plume
Lenneth starts life in Valkyrie Profile as a young girl named Platina in a small, impoverished village in the mountains. Later on, she is awakened as a Valkyrie by Freya and called back to her duty to gather great warriors for Asgard. However, how Lenneth came to be Platina, with no memory of her being a goddess, is one of the larger mysteries of the game.
In Covenant of the Plume, this is finally explained. In one of the endings of the game, the main character, Wylfred, confronts Lenneth and defeats her. However, before Lenneth can be completely destroyed, Freya comes down to Midgard and claims her soul so that she might be reborn in another vessel someday, but without her memories intact.
5Genevieve References Hrist In Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth
Genevieve is one of the toughest enemies in Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, and she attains this power on account of being one the most ancient entities in Midgard. Testament to this is a reference she makes when she encounters Lenneth in the Celestial Castle.
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The undead being specifically calls out Lenneth’s armor, stating that the “color has changed”. This line seems cryptic if you only play Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, but those gamers who’ve played Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria know that this is a call back to Genevieve’s encounter withHrist—a “dark valkyrie”meant to hunt down the rogue Silmeria for siding with the humans and forsaking her godly heritage.
4An Iconic Scene Is Recreated In Exist Archive
Developed by a lot of the members of the former Valkyrie Profile development team, Exist Archive, released in 2015, was touted as a ‘spiritual successor’ to Valkyrie Profile. The game has a very similar combat system and world layout, although narratively and aesthetically, it represents a huge departure.
One eerily reminiscent sequence, however, involves the lead heroine, Mayura, waking up in a field of flowers with no memory of her previous life. Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth players will immediately recognize this scene from the game’s prologue, as well as Platina’s backstory.
3Lenneth Makes A Cameo In Radiata Stories
Radiata Stories is a JRPG released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2. It was developed by Tri-Ace—the same studio that created Valkyrie Profile under the Enix brand before it was merged with Square. The most advertised feature of the game was the mind-boggling cast of 175 recruitable characters (eat your heart out,Suikoden!) who all had unique personalities and combat abilities.
One such character is a familiar face from Tri-Ace’s previous property, as Lenneth (known in this game simply as “Valkyrie”) can be encountered and recruited in the Corridor of Distortion. Both the dungeon and the fight represent some of the biggest challenges in the game, so you’ll have well-earned this reward.
2Freya Shows Up As A Superboss In Star Ocean: Till The End of Time
Star Oceanand Valkyrie Profile have always been Tri-Ace’s biggest JRPG properties. Both games share a little bit of their DNA, with the franchises each showcasing their own takes on active, flashy combat and amazing soundtracks by Motoi Sakuraba. The similarities end there, however, as the series’ respective settings of Norse mythology and far-future science fiction couldn’t be more dissimilar.
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That doesn’t stop the games from occasionally breaking into each other’s universes, however. The endgame of Star Ocean 3 opens up a marathon of extremely intimidating dungeons and dangerous bosses—and none quite compare with Freya, who can take out your entire party with her familiar but deadly Ether Strike.
1A Very Subtle Nod To Valkyrie Profile Is Hidden In Tales of Arise
Believe it or not, Tri-Ace and the Namco Tales Studio used to share a lot more thanMotoi Sakuraba soundtracks: in the late 80s and early 90s, they were the same studio! The original entity was called Wolf Team, and in 1995, their last game under that handle was Tales of Phantasia—the very first Tales game—released for the Super Famicom. Initially, the studio shopped the Tales concept around to Enix as a potential publisher, but Namco ended up rolling the project under their logo, causing the studio to split, with half joining Enix and forming Tri-Ace, and the other half becoming what is now known as Namco Tales Studio.
While the two studios have been separate and distinct for decades now, there are still occasional nods across the divide. In 2021’sTales of Arise, the player’s party will square off against a character named Ganabelt Valkyris. Aside from the uncanny last name, Ganabelt at one point says, “…engrave this edict on your souls.”, which is, of course, a line Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth players will have heard dozens—if not hundreds—of times throughout the game, as Lenneth says it every time she uses her Soul Crush attack: Nibelung Valesti.
