Yuko Aso is a girl that just can’t catch a break. Since 1986, she has been the star of Fantasm Soldier Valis, an action game series from TELENET Japan that made a trickle in Japan, being one of the very first game to feature a prominent female protagonist during an era where muscle men ruled the arcades and home consoles, and also pushing forward the idea of cinematic storytelling in games by making use of animated story sections striving to be on par with TV animation. Over time, Valis was successful enough to be released across all home systems during the early 90s, and even have a few releases in the Western market. Sadly, it is today largely forgotten despite being a relatively quality franchise.
Valis still lives on in retro hearts, and its cult status still gives it opportunities in Japan to see a few releases in game and merchandise form. After a short stint as a hentai series officially sanctioned by TELENET Japan, the license is now in the hands of SUNSOFT, and with the acquisition came attempts to relaunch it’s name in more family friendly ways. One of these attempts is the recent Wave Master release, Valis: PC Sound Orchestra.
Read the review after the jump. (more…)
