There hasn’t been a new Valis game since 2006, but we might actually see something soon. Edia launched a 35th-anniversary Valis “revival project” website for the series.
Telenet Japan originally released Valis: The Fantasm Soldier in December 1986 for the PC-99 and MSX. Players follow a high school girl named Yuko Asou, who was summoned by Queen Valia during a desperate time of need. As the bikini armor-clad Valia Warrior, Yuko must take the mystical sword “Valis” and face the demon lord Rogles to save the realms. To do so, she’ll need to defeat the demon lord Rogles and his four subordinates to obtain the five pieces of Fantasm Jewelry to restore balance to the world.
Valis is a traditional, stage-based action game as far as gameplay goes. However, what made Valis stand out from other action games at the time was its use of animated scenes and cut-ins. Combined with a serious and profound story, Valis won over the hearts of many fans in Japan. Yuko even had her own fan club during a time when people actually had to send in their mail.
Valis might sound like a Japan-only series, but it wasn’t. Its first four titles found their way to North America between the late 1980s and the early 1990s. Other than a few spin-off titles, the only one that remained Japan-only was Valia X, the adult-rated final main entry. Super Valis IV was the last main entry title to release in North America for the Super Nintendo, and it will appear as part of the Nintendo Switch Online game collection starting on December 18, 2020.
The Valis revival project website doesn’t include any new information yet, but we can expect to see it update soon. Edia is the company behind the project. The company is known for the Idol Wars series and the car navigation app MAPLUS+.
