A week after their original teaser, Square Enix announced they will bring the excellent Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth to smartphones, though only in Japan for now. The original teaser video, which featured the titular Lenneth questioning her role in the world, set off considerable speculation. Some wondered if we might see another remaster, either of the 1999 original release or the 2006 PSP release. From the video posted below, it would seem as though Square Enix opted to port the PSP release. Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth will be playable on both iPhone and Android devices, and looks to be optimized for older (iPhone 5s/Android OS 4.4) phones. There's no release date currently for Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, though the official website suggests a release later this year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osKxqmM0kJA
The video above does suggest a straight port of the PSP version, with updated voices and UI, though keeping the original graphics. As the original Valkyrie Profile mapped four different party members to four different face buttons, it'll be interesting to see how Square Enix translates these controls to touchscreens. The PSP version also suffered from extensive load times and an inconsistent framerate, problems that will hopefully be fixed by this re-release.
Of course, it's hard to tell what kind of quality the Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth mobile port will be. Will it be another instance of the astoundingly terrible Final Fantasy VI? Or will it be a case of The World Ends With You: Solo Remix, where the port improved audio quality and included the full soundtrack. Without a release date, it's too hard to tell at this time.
This re-release is also the latest in a string of games released by Square Enix. Of course, not all of these releases were met with success. Take Chrono Trigger, for example. Though initial reports had it pegged as a shoddy mobile port, the reality was far worse. As a result, it's currently pegged with a 39% rating on Steam. Still, Square Enix has shown that they are listening, with future updates promised. While butchering one of the greatest RPGs of all time is indefensible, the outcry is working, at the very least. We'll see just what sort of port we get in Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth when it releases for Japanese smartphones later this year.
