Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of The Plume - Gameplay

Gameplay

Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume's gameplay is presented mainly from an isometric view, similarly to Final Fantasy Tactics. The player's two-dimensional character sprites move about on a three-dimensional map akin to those of a tactical role-playing game. Characters can attack enemies individually or can actively support each other via the Mutual Assist system. When an enemy is in range of up to four characters, an exclamation mark will appear, indicating that the character is ready to attack. Up to four characters are mapped to the A, B, X, and Y buttons, which are used to attack. Each successful attack fills up the Attack Gauge; when it reaches 100, characters can perform powerful attacks called Soul Crushes.

The position of characters around enemies during combat can be exploited in a feature called the Active Formation system. Aligning characters in certain formations can increase the rate of item drops or speed at which the Attack Gauge increases. Active Formations include the Flank Raid with two characters on opposite sides of an enemy, Axis Raid with two characters in front of and behind an enemy, Trinity Fork where characters surround the enemy on 3 sides, and Grand Cross where characters surround an enemy on all four sides. Another new factor in battle involves the Destiny Plume. By invoking the power of the plume, the player can chose to temporarily grant an ally improved statistics and abilities but once the battle ends, the Destiny Plume overwhelms that character's physical form and they die permanently. Using the plume affects the outcome of the plot, leading to different branches of the story or even game over, should the player overuse the plume.

Another aspect to combat is the accumulation of Sin. Sin is gained by inflicting damage against an enemy whose HP has already been depleted. Most of the battles in the storyline have a predetermined amount of Sin the player must harvest to appease Hel. If the appropriate amount of Sin is accumulated by the end of battle, the player will be rewarded with items and equipment but if the amount is not reached, the player will face a set of extremely difficult and powerful enemies.