Valhalla Knights has a long but not terribly illustrious history as a franchise. What we know from the series of releases on PSP and other platforms in past years is that there is a following for the game, enough to prompt its creators to keep iterating. The eyes of the beholder are where beauty lies, we know, but it all depends on who's beholdin'... What we saw when we booted up Valhalla Knights 2: Battle Stance was a variation on the type of realistic RPG that seems to be remade each year on this platform, either under the Monster Hunter flag or something similar. We can understand the appeal of watching classic D&D-style characters in action, complete with realistic changes in armor and accessories as you equip them. On the other hand, the monsters are incredibly uninspiring - battling things like bees and bunnys, even to level up, should be off limits for any game trying to avoid comedy.

The in-game cinematics are decent, but few and far between. Instead, we're subjected to long sequences of storytelling using the game's engine, and the story is barely worth telling. The dungeons and areas you'll explore are pretty lifeless. Well designed, in the sense that there is plenty of game world out there for you, but very much forgettable. All the external facade of Valhalla Knights 2: Battle Stance is like this; it doesn't make a big impression and you'll never think about it again once you set the game down. It's a curiosity that with such deep customization of the characters, and obvious attention to detail on things like the class/job system, you'll still not feel very invested in your party. Core gamers will find a way to be connected, even if it kills them, but we'd prefer not to have to work so hard to see the upside of a game.

RPG gaming now means a lot of things, so let's be clear: Valhalla Knights 2: Battle Stance is a highly derivative play on the classic D&D tabletop RPG, nothing at all like the newer hybrid role-playing games. The premise for the story is similar to many where a blight has spread across the land, this time because feathers from the wings of a goddess were scattered after a battle. Where a feather fell, a monster rose, and there's been 1,000 years spent Humpty-Dumptying that have failed to appease the goddess. There's mystery afoot, and you'll set out with an intrepid band of adventures to resolve it. That's the idea at least, but you'll need to spend many hours grinding to even be able to afford one ally, much less a party. The gist of Valhalla Knights 2: Battle Stance is that it provides for download a souped-up version of the original Valhalla Knights 2, much like Valhalla Knights 2 provided a souped-up version of Valhalla Knights. The differences in the gameplay are significant, so fans of Valhalla Knights 2 should know that Valhalla Knights 2: Battle Stance isn't a just a ploy to get them to download something. Beyond the new items and characters you'll find in the game, Valhalla Knights 2: Battle Stance also features unique quests and challenges that were added for this version. We're obviously cool to the idea of continuing the franchise without a major overhaul, but we can see how fans of Valhalla Knights 2 will find Battle Stance well worth playing.

The flow of the game is a combination of open-world exploration and drop-in battles that pit you against one or more enemies in real time. The real-time battle has been done better, and you'll find yourself running around in circles most time, until you level up enough to be a threat. The enemies don't hold back, and you'll also become very familiar with the innkeeper, who heals you after you are defeated in battle. He also robs you of most of your gold, so try to keep some stashed for a special occasion. The pacing of Valhalla Knights 2: Battle Stance is dictated by the missions you take on, and whether you are attracted to solo or multiplayer action. We liked having local multiplayer parties, but the lack of any option for true online play is a major bummer. Again, there must be a group of dedicated players that also enjoy getting together to play, but we would have been much happier with the option to run even a single quest using characters from across the 'Web. The job/class system is deep enough, but moves at a snail's pace. You can choose a race at the outset, which will largely dictate what job you select, unless you choose the jack-of-all-trades human. But who plays as human, anyway? There's no fun in that! The typical bias toward melee or magic attacks is seen in the strengths of each unique race, and you can add points to each attribute as you level up. Battling and collecting items is the primary method for building your character and party, and you'll have plenty of opportunities to rack up new quests and explore the world of Valhalla Knights 2: Battle Stance. If only there were something pushing you forward, some genuine sense of adventure and discovery.

Speaking of discovery, get ready to discover new levels of frustration as you work through the tedious first few hours of leveling up your character. It isn't that the game is poorly designed, but just that it lacks a sense of pacing. You have to fight a series of pointless and increasingly difficult battles to even accomplish the first quest. Your character will level up, earn credits for buying new equipment, and gain new skills. It sounds ordinary - and it is, for the most part - but you'll find that Valhalla Knights 2: Battle Stance seems to throw more repetition into the mix than most games. Fighting the same enemies over and over again almost always gets old, but the payoff of exploring new areas is usually there. One welcome addition to this remixed version of Valhalla Knights 2 is the warp/save crystal. These are scattered around the dungeon and help you get back to town or other areas quickly. They don't even cost you money, which is the best part! A seasoned RPG player will use these to sample new levels, and power up his character with skirmishes and special items, before retreating to the comfort of a town. This technique, while dependable, isn't acceptable to those of us that have seen better learning curves. Great RPGs tend to have smooth progressions in difficulty that allow a story to play out while new challenges are introduced, making you feel like the master of your own destiny. Valhalla Knights 2: Battle Stance makes you feel like a chump more than it makes you feel mighty, and that sense of being beaten down by tedium as much as the individual monsters is what ultimately kills the appeal.

The exploration portion of Valhalla Knights 2: Battle Stance is done nicely, with simple controls that center your view and move your character through the game's world. You can see monsters as they approach, both in a set-in radar display and in front of you. The radar is a nice feature, because it shows you enemies around corners, and also shows which way the enemies are looking. Sneaking by is an option, but only as long as you aren't noticed. Once an enemy chases you down, it's show time. You'll drop down to a battle arena, where you can be scored on initiative, if you approached an enemy from the back or sides. The battles manage to be both hectic and uninteresting. You'll need to figure out each opponent's attack, and then avoid that attack. Each monster has a distinctive style of attack that you'll learn to read, giving you a moment to pummel the monster into submission. The attack system depends on reflexes and good judgment, but the item/magic system just seems to depend on raw luck. Fighting in a group gives you more options, but controlling solo characters just feels like you're on a suicide mission. Half the time you strike an enemy, the enemy also strikes you. There are healing items and healing magic, but the items especially are few and far between. Aside from the occasional windfall, finding money lying around is rare in the dungeons. You'll appreciate the items you can score along the way, but there's still the problem of analyzing them before you can equip or sell.

The details were attended to, but the bigger picture of what makes a fun game is critically absent in Valhalla Knights 2: Battle Stance. No question this is a treat for fans of the previous installment, and if you recently bought a PSP Go, this is the only way to get your Valhalla Knights 2 fix. We try and try to see the appeal, but we can think of several other RPG experiences that we'd rather play than this one. The "Tales" series, Brave Story, and even the Monster Hunter series takes a more interesting and unique approach to the genre than Valhalla Knights 2: Battle Stance. The pacing is about the only overtly terrible thing here; everything else just simmers along at a mediocre setting, with occasional bouts of bad-to-worse. Here's hoping that the Valhalla Knights franchise either dies after this release, or comes back like a phoenix from the ashes as something truly amazing.