Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume Guide

New in stores today is the Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume Official Strategy Guide. The guide contains exhaustive data and strategies for Square-Enix‘s Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume for the Nintendo DS handheld game system. Anyone who wants to delve deeper into this complex and fun turn-based strategy RPG would be remiss in not purchasing the guide.

Covenant is set in a fantasy world of the Norse mythology style. Besieged by political strife, the kingdoms of Midgard engage in frequent warfare. The valkyrie descends on the battlefield and chooses fallen heroes to become her “einherjar” in Valhalla. Young Wylfred loses his father Thyodor in battle. Blaming the valkyrie for his family’s ensuing misfortune, he sets out to become a mercenary and reap vengeance upon her. One day on the battlefield, Wylfred is struck down by a fallen enemy’s final blow. The goddess Hel offers him the power to defeat the valkyrie if he will but claim souls for Niflheim. To this end, she bestows upon him The Destiny Plume, a feather of the valkyrie which allows him to sacrifice allies for great power on the battlefield. Wylfred’s use of this item permanently alters his fate, and the fate of all Midgard, forever.

Unlike other turn-based strategy games, Covenant features the “assist” battle system. The player controls only four characters per battle. But when a character attacks an enemy, all allies in range get to assist in the attack. By positioning characters closely around an enemy, the player can engage “siege formations” that improve abilities and increase the chances of gaining items. Also, during an attack the player controls the battle flow by pressing buttons on the DS to make each character strike. By striking quickly without missing (requiring some timing of the button-presses) successively, the player can trigger a “Soul Crush.” During the Soul Crush, specially equipped characters can launch their special attacks. Special attacks are two-stage onslaughts with multiple hits and awesome animations. This is the key to defeating powerful enemies in the game.

During certain battles, Hel requires Wylfred to score a predetermined amount of “Sin.” Continuing to strike an enemy after their HP is depleted scores sin. Hel rewards the player with special items and equipment for scoring more than the required amount. But failure to score the required Sin draws Hel’s wrath, causing certain enemies in the next battle to be replaced by ghostly “Realmstalkers:” high-level doppelgangers of the playable characters that can easily wipe out the party.

Wylfred can use The Destiny Plume to gain advantage. The Destiny Plume increases one character’s parameters for the rest of the battle, enabling them to kill with a single hit and score the max Sin with a second hit. However, that character dies afterward, and cannot be revived for the remainder of the game. The story events and battles occurring change after use of The Destiny Plume. Covenant features three routes and three main endings. There is also another “battle ending” if the Plume is used too many times.

The Official Strategy Guide, authored by myself and published by Bradygames, features complete walkthroughs, tips on scoring higher Sin, maps, and suggested movement routes for every battle. Every battle you may possibly encounter is documented with maps and strategies. The maps feature the locations of hidden items, and applicable battles have lists of items won per ranking by scoring Sin. The complete reference chapter features every item and equipment piece from the game and also a complete bestiary featuring every enemy encountered, with their weaknesses revealed. The guide includes a complete training chapter covering control and understanding of the game and a full character roster. Furthermore, the book offers information regarding “Seraphic Gate,” a bonus game featuring 190 additional battles. All Seraphic Gate battles are documented with maps depicting enemy locations and hidden items.

Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume is an engrossing and challenging turn-based strategy RPG with hundreds of hours of game play. Don’t play for 20 hours just to find yourself lost, confused, or unable to continue. Get the guide today at Bradygames.com!

Tags: Nintendo DS, strategy guide, Valkyrie Profile, walkthrough