History VideoGame / VALIS

[[quoteright:283:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/valis_8340.jpg]]

''Mugen Senshi Valis'' (aka ''Valis: The Fantasm Soldier'' or simply ''Valis''), a series of anime-style {{platform game}}s by Creator/TelenetJapan:

* ''Mugen Senshi Valis''
** Platform/PC88, {{Platform/MSX}}, Platform/PC98, X1, [=FM77AV=] versions developed by Wolf Team (1986–87) [[note]]The MSX version, while released around the same time as the PC-88 version, was heavily stripped down to fit on a cartridge[[/note]]
** Famicom version (1987) -- Though published by Tokuma Shoten, this was Telenet Japan's first attempt at console game development; the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFGtjBY8hf8 promotional video]] made by Creator/{{Sunrise}} for this version was the closest thing ever produced to a Valis anime.
** Platform/MegaDrive version developed by Riot (1990), released in the U.S. by Renovation Products
** Platform/PCEngine Super CD-ROM[[superscript:2]] version developed by Riot (1992)
* ''Valis II''
** Platform/PCEngine CD-ROM[[superscript:2]] System version developed by Laser Soft (1989) and released in the U.S. by NEC (1989)
** Platform/PC88, {{Platform/MSX2}}, Platform/PC98, Platform/SharpX68000 versions titled ''Mugen Senshi Valis II'' developed by Renovation Game (1989) [[note]]Believed to have started development earlier than the above version, but released slightly later[[/note]]
** Platform/MegaDrive version titled ''SD Valis'' developed by ISC [[note]]though published in Japan under the Laser Soft label[[/note]] (1992) and released in the U.S. by Renovation Products as ''Syd of Valis'' -- Features SuperDeformed graphics.
* ''Valis III''
** Platform/PCEngine CD-ROM[[superscript:2]] System version developed by Laser Soft (1990) and released in the U.S. by NEC
** Platform/MegaDrive version developed by Renovation Game (1990) and released in the U.S. by Renovation Products
* ''Valis IV''
** Platform/PCEngine Super CD-ROM[[superscript:2]] version developed by Laser Soft (1991)
** Platform/SuperFamicom version titled ''Super Valis: Akaki Tsuki no Otome'' developed by Laser Soft (1992) and released in the U.S. by Creator/{{Atlus}} as ''Super Valis IV''. Rereleased for the Platform/NintendoSwitch SNES Online service in 2020.

In the first game, we are introduced to the main character, Yuko Ahso. She was an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent, who had just gotten into a fight with her best friend, Reiko one day, when the armies of the DarkWorld invaded Earth and the [[DreamLand Dreamland]], the three of which are [[AlternateUniverse parallel to each other]]. Upon discovering this, she was given the Valis sword by Valia, Queen of Dreamland, and told of her heroic destiny. As TheChosenOne, Yuko must save Dreamland and Earth from the forces of evil. Reiko, unfortunately, has [[LoveMakesYouEvil fallen in love with Rogles, who is head of the DarkWorld army]], and so she also opposes Yuko in her quest.

Stretched out over four games, the series traces Yuko's adventures and tribulations, gradually [[CharacterDevelopment gaining some depth]] but ultimately unable to escape the criticism for existing merely for the purpose of showing [[http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/valis/ "hot anime chicks in bikinis and schoolgirl outfits destroying things."]]

''A word of caution before you get into this series'': As Telenet went out of business (the entire Telenet catalog is now owned by Sunsoft), they licensed the rights to this series to another company that has turned it into a hentai production called "Valis X". Beware of this if you don't want to get into NotSafeForWork content.

[[SimilarlyNamedWorks Not to be confused with the semi-autobiographical novel by]] Creator/PhilipKDick, [[{{Literature/VALIS}} which you can find here]].


Later on, on December 2020, a [[https://www.valis-game.com/ new website commemorating the game's 35th anniversary was created]] In celebration of this anniversary, [[https://finalweapon.net/2021/06/15/side-scrolling-action-games-valis-i-ii-and-iii-are-coming-to-switch/ a special edition containing Valis I-III will be rereleased for]] Platform/NintendoSwitch.

Now has a [[Characters/{{Valis}} character page (under construction).]]
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!!''Valis'' provides examples of:

* AdaptationPersonalityChange:
** In the non-canon Famicom version of ''Valis'', Valia is depicted as a ManipulativeBastard who [[spoiler:orchestrated Rogles' attack so she could [[GrandTheftMe steal Yuko's body]], as her own is failing]].
** Megas, the main villain of ''Valis II'', is depicted in the Japanese PC versions as a BadBoss with plenty of KickTheDog moments, such as [[spoiler:taking Yuko's mother hostage and killing her anyway when Yuko complied to his demands]]. In the PC Engine version however, he is depicted as a TragicVillain trying to avenge his betrayal by his own father and brother, and [[spoiler:[[GracefulLoser gracefully accepts defeat]] at the hands of Yuko before dying]].
* AlasPoorVillain: Every game except ''Valis IV'' has one of these. Yuko mourns Reiko after killing her in the 1st game, and the [[BigBad Big Bads]] of ''II'' and ''III'' each using their dying words to explain their sympathetic motives to Yuko after she defeats them. All the bad guys in ''IV'' are [[CardCarryingVillain Card Carrying Villains]], and are sliced and diced with impunity.
* AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield: The final battles in ''Valis II'' and ''III'' both take place [[{{Recycled IN SPACE}} IN SPACE]] for no apparent reason.
* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: [[http://www.kidfenris.com/valis3cover.html Both versions]] of ''Valis III''. Also, though not as bad, [[https://cgcposters.com/products/cgc-huge-poster-super-valis-iv-box-art-nintendo-super-nes-snes-sne111 The fourth game]], compared to [[http://image4.play-asia.com/640/68/pa.112030.1.jpg this]].
* AncestralWeapon: The Valis sword and its counterpart, Leethus, which belongs to Glames, King of the Dark World.
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Happens to Yuko Ahso at the end of the third game. She becomes the goddess of the realm of Vecanti.
* AwesomeButImpractical: Giga Thunder. As impressive as a [[SmartBomb screen nuke]] it is, the first game had completely consume your MP, which considering how rare it is, is not a good thing. Later games made it more lenient in terms of MP consumption.
* BadBoss: Megas in ''Mugen Senshi Valis II''.
* TheBaroness: Medius in ''Valis IV'' is a loyal follower of Galgear and acts stoic yet also seductive.
* BastardUnderstudy: Voldes, the Lord of Thunder in the first ''Valis''. He is patiently waiting for Rogles to fall so he can take his place as the new King of the Dark World.
* BenevolentBoss: While Rogles acts cruelly to his enemies, he does seem to be good with his servants compared to most other {{Big Bad}}s.
* BossWarningSiren: In ''Valis II'': "WARNING !! A STRONG WARRIOR ([[AdjectiveNounFred Adjective Noun Fred]]) IS COMING HERE !"
* BreastPlate: So... how exactly does a golden brassiere and miniskirt protect against ''anything,'' exactly? [[spoiler: Although her upgraded armor in the third game looks much more threatening.]]
* CanonDiscontinuity: ''Valis III'' and ''IV'' make it clear that Megas is remembered as the TragicVillain he was in the original PC Engine ''Valis II'' rather than the monster he was in ''Mugen Senshi Valis II''.
* ChangingOfTheGuard: Yuko passes the Valis sword to new heroine Lena at the start of the fourth game.
* TheChosenOne: Yuko (and later Lena) are the ones who can save the world by wielding the Valis Sword.
* CompanyCameo: In the PC Engine version of ''III'', the first boss fight takes place against the backdrop of a neon sign bearing the logo for NEC, that platform's publisher. The Switch rerelease changes the sign to instead be for Edia Smart Media Company, the publishers of the collection. The Genesis version's sign just reads "Reno", which is likely short for Renovation, Telenet Japan's North American subsidiary.
* CompilationRerelease: ''Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection'' groups the first three games in their PC Engine form. A second compilation was announced shortly after which collects the PC Engine version of ''Valis IV'', the Mega Drive and MSX versions of the first game and ''Syd of Valis''. The third compilation added the PC-88 and Famicom version of ''Valis'', the MSX version of ''Valis II'', the Mega Drive ''Valis III'', and ''Super Valis IV''.
* DarkWorld: The actual name of one of the lower realms in the Valis cosmos, along with Dreamland and the real world.
* DeadlyUpgrade: According to Nazetti in the third game, [[spoiler: the price for releasing the Valis blade to its full power.]] It sucks that this also ends up being [[CosmeticAward entirely cosmetic]], albeit awesome.
* DenialOfDiagonalAttack: In the Genesis version, most of the sword powerups shoot horizontally. The exception is the one that produces homing arrows, and some powerups upgraded to level 3.
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: The ending theme of the first game is sung by Creator/SumiShimamoto, Yuko's voice.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first Valis game was a lot less linear with maze-like stage design, there is no magic system similar to the ''{{Franchise/Castlevania}}'' games, no slide maneuver, a larger emphasis on ([[BlindIdiotTranslation broken]]) English, and a bizarre experience system quickly dropped in the later games and ports.
* EvilCounterpart: Reiko becomes the Dark Valis Soldier to Yuko's Valis Soldier. [[spoiler: Although after her defeat she does a HeelFaceTurn and appears in the later games Obi Wan Kenobi-style to advise or encourage Yuko]]
* EvilIsVisceral: Emperor Megas has lots of twisted bundles of huge biomechanical arteries underneath his armor and face.
* {{Expy}}: Yuko greatly resembles Fandora from the 1985 OVA series ''Anime/DreamDimensionHunterFandora'', as well as Yohko from ''Anime/LedaTheFantasticAdventureOfYohko'' from the same year.
* {{Fanservice}}
** Using {{Stripperiffic}} armor galore!
** And don't forget the slide maneuver, which (in the [=TurboGrafx-CD=] version) exposes the heroine's underwear.
* FunSize: ''Syd of Valis'', which uses SuperDeformed sprites, and a LighterAndSofter look.
* GracefulLoser: Emperor Megas in the canon versions of ''Valis II'' is not at all bitter with Yuko after she defeats him, and congratulates her before [[AlasPoorVillain explaining his sympathetic motives]] and wishing her success before dying in her arms, unlike the even more cruel version of him in the possibly non-canon version of ''Mugen Senshi Valis II''.
* GratuitousFrench: ''Super Valis IV'' bizarrely makes "M'aider Maiden" an epithet for Lena.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Valna and Yuko's mother, Valia]] in the Japanese PC versions of ''Valis II''.
* HotterAndSexier: Obviously ''Valis X'', being the unusual hentai spinoff it is. The [[https://www.comic-valkyrie.com/valis/ 2007 manga adaptation]] published on Comic Valkyrie also has much more nudity [[DarkerAndEdgier and graphic violence]] than the source game.
* InconsistentDub: So is it Cham or Char? Valis, or Varis? ''Syd of Valis'' renames Yuko to Syd in game, but the box and manual disagree.
* JumpPhysics: In the Genesis version of ''Valis'', Yuko can slide across a gap that she'd otherwise fall down.
* KickTheDog: Megas in '' Mugen Senshi Valis II''. He's said to have killed his entire family, "[[MenAreTheExpendableGender including the women and children]]", his own underlings, and even the monsters who unsealed him - and that's just how he treats his ''allies''.
* MacguffinTitle: Valis is not the name of the main character, but an AncestralWeapon that is passed down to [[TheChosenOne chosen warriors]], and magically grants its wielder a magical ChainmailBikini to boot.
* MagicalGirlWarrior: Yuko and Lena.
* MagicSkirt: Most versions of most of the games have this.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Exclusively in the Famicom version of ''Mugen Senshi Valis'', the plot extends from the fall of Rogles to reveal that [[spoiler:Valia, of all people, instigated the entire conflict just to find a powerful new body since she sensed her time was coming. However, she backs down quietly after losing a duel to Yuko. The canonicity of this event is questionable, although this ''may'' have inspired her canonical death of apparent natural causes in ''Valis II'']].
* MirrorBoss: Reiko. [[invoked]]ThatOneBoss due to her spell, which hits the entire screen and takes off 48% of your life bar's capacity in damage.
* MultipleEndings: Three in the Famicom version of ''Mugen Senshi Valis'' due to its slight expansion, with none of them quite matching the original version's ending.
* NamedWeapons: The Valis sword, of course, as well as its EvilCounterpart, Leethus.
* NintendoHard:
** The third game after [[spoiler: Yuko's deadly upgrade]], arguably. Especially the SlippySlideyIceWorld, which requires you, at one point, to jump on a moving platform (still slippery), quickly duck to avoid the suddenly low ceiling, and then use a well timed slide maneuver to get over a BottomlessPit. And then you have to fight the boss.
** Also, the fourth game (which is fairly rare).
* RivalTurnedEvil: Reiko, who is turned into a DarkActionGirl by Rogles, before her own HeelFaceTurn.
* RobeAndWizardHat: Valna, the one who fights using a magic spell, wears a robe (though not a hat).
* SailorFuku: Yuko wears a sailor fuku for the first few stages before getting her ChainmailBikini. The blue skirt matches the color of her hair. It returns in ''Mugen Senshi Valis II'' as one of her selectable outfits.
* SavingTheWorld: Of course the plot of the three games; subverted in the third game in that, by saving your world from the invading armies of the DarkWorld, [[spoiler: you doom the inhabitants of the DarkWorld, which is slowly being swallowed into the void]].
* ScarpiaUltimatum: The ShamefulStrip example below is also one of these; in ''Mugen Senshi Valis II'', Megas takes [[spoiler:Valia]] hostage, ordering Yuko to lay down her sword... and then to remove her suit. The best part: after she complies, [[spoiler:[[KickTheDog Megas kills Valia anyway]].]]
* ShamefulStrip: In ''Mugen Senshi Valis II'', Cruel King Megas demands Yuko to strip down. She complies.
* TheStarscream: Venon, the Lord of Fire in the first ''Valis''.
* SuperDeformed: ''SD Valis'' (or ''Syd of Valis''), which retells the story of ''Valis II'' in a Cliff's Notes manner.
* SwordBeam: The powerups give your sword a ranged attack. The actual effect varies, including both a spread shot, to a more classic crescent.
* ThisCannotBe!: Megas' final speech in ''Mugen Senshi Valis II'', rather than his counterparts' more AlasPoorVillain demise in some other versions. Also doubles as AsLongAsThereIsEvil, although the threat seems to have been exaggerated (and [[RetCon non-canon]]).
* WakeUpCallBoss: Gyeda, the Lord of Earth, who is the first boss you come across in the first game, can be considered this in the Genesis version if you don't know what you're doing. It's mostly because of his earthquake attack that he uses most of the freaking time.
* WombLevel: The final level in ''Valis IV''. The BigBad even attacks by shooting giant fetuses at you.
** The final level in ''Valis II'' resembles an alien hive from ''Film/{{Aliens}}''. Also, Act 4 takes place in an organic-looking cave.
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* CompilationRerelease: ''Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection'' groups the first three games in their PC Engine form. A second compilation was announced shortly after which collects the PC Engine version of ''Valis IV'', the Mega Drive and MSX versions of the first game and ''Syd of Valis''. The third compilation added the PC-88 and Famicom version of ''Valis'', the MSX version of ''Valis III'', the Mega Drive ''Valis III'', and ''Super Valis IV''.

* CompilationRerelease: ''Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection'' groups the first three games in their PC Engine form. A second compilation was announced shortly after which collects the PC Engine version of ''Valis IV'', the Mega Drive version of the first game and ''Syd of Valis''.

** UsefulNotes/PC88, {{UsefulNotes/MSX}}, UsefulNotes/PC98, X1, [=FM77AV=] versions developed by Wolf Team (1986–87) [[note]]The MSX version, while released around the same time as the PC-88 version, was heavily stripped down to fit on a cartridge[[/note]]

** UsefulNotes/MegaDrive version developed by Riot (1990), released in the U.S. by Renovation Products
** UsefulNotes/PCEngine Super CD-ROM[[superscript:2]] version developed by Riot (1992)

** UsefulNotes/PCEngine CD-ROM[[superscript:2]] System version developed by Laser Soft (1989) and released in the U.S. by NEC (1989)
** UsefulNotes/PC88, {{UsefulNotes/MSX2}}, UsefulNotes/PC98, UsefulNotes/SharpX68000 versions titled ''Mugen Senshi Valis II'' developed by Renovation Game (1989) [[note]]Believed to have started development earlier than the above version, but released slightly later[[/note]]
** UsefulNotes/MegaDrive version titled ''SD Valis'' developed by ISC [[note]]though published in Japan under the Laser Soft label[[/note]] (1992) and released in the U.S. by Renovation Products as ''Syd of Valis'' -- Features SuperDeformed graphics.

** UsefulNotes/PCEngine CD-ROM[[superscript:2]] System version developed by Laser Soft (1990) and released in the U.S. by NEC
** UsefulNotes/MegaDrive version developed by Renovation Game (1990) and released in the U.S. by Renovation Products

** UsefulNotes/PCEngine Super CD-ROM[[superscript:2]] version developed by Laser Soft (1991)
** UsefulNotes/SuperFamicom version titled ''Super Valis: Akaki Tsuki no Otome'' developed by Laser Soft (1992) and released in the U.S. by Creator/{{Atlus}} as ''Super Valis IV''. Rereleased for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch SNES Online service in 2020.

Later on, on December 2020, a [[https://www.valis-game.com/ new website commemorating the game's 35th anniversary was created]] In celebration of this anniversary, [[https://finalweapon.net/2021/06/15/side-scrolling-action-games-valis-i-ii-and-iii-are-coming-to-switch/ a special edition containing Valis I-III will be rereleased for]] UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch.