Syd of Valis

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SDValis MDTitleScreen.png

ValisSD MD JP TitleScreen.png

Syd of Valis
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Laser Soft (Japan), Renovation Products (US)
Nintendo Switch
Edia
Developer:
Sound driver: SMPS Z80
Genre: Action[2][3]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP
¥6,8006,800 T-49103
Sega Mega Drive
US
$49.9949.99[5] 49126
Project Egg
JP
¥880880 TEL2003
Nintendo Switch
JP
Nintendo Switch
US
Nintendo Switch
KR

Syd of Valis, known in Japan as SD Valis (SDヴァリス), is a Sega Mega Drive action game. A super-deformed remake of Telenet Japan's 1989 game Valis II, it was first released in Japan in February 1992[3]. When localized for its American release two months later[4], its title was erroneously interpreted as Syd of Valis, presumably read verbally by a member of the localization staff unfamiliar with Japanese culture.

Story

Yuko

After defeating Rogles (in Valis), Yuko takes the train home and goes about her regular life, still carrying the Valis sword around. One afternoon while eating pudding, Yuko is contacted by the deceased Reiko, who insists that Yuko return to Queen Valia immediately.

In the opening cutscene, the evil Megas appears before Yuko while she is eating an ice cream cone and challenges her to come to Vecanti to defeat him. Yuko transforms her ice cream into the Valis sword, and the adventure begins.

Gameplay

Syd of Valis, Pause Menu.png

Pause menu

The game is an action platformer similar to the other Valis titles. Yuko is moved with Left and Right and ducks with Down. She jumps with C; if not swinging the sword, she double-jumps with C again while in the air. The physics are much floatier than in the other games. Yuko attacks by shooting projectiles with the Valis sword with B, which can be aimed with the D-Pad while swinging the sword (including swinging straight up while standing or straight down while in the air). The button can be held for continuous fire. Yuko also has screen-clearing bombs that can be used with A, which are limited but can be replenished by finding items.

The game has multiple selectable weapons and armor suits that can be switched by pausing the game with  START . Additional weapons and armor are acquired from certain boss fights. Each weapon has a base attack power (A. Power) which is modified by the armor being used; each armor has a defense level (D. Power) and a speed statistic. Yuko's normal speed is 10; it can be raised to 15 (Yellow Armor or Super Armor) or 20 (Speed Suit) at the expense of control, especially when jumping, which can be a detriment in platforming-intensive areas. Each weapon can be powered up to Level 3 over the course of the game, which increases the size and damage of each shot.

Yuko's health is indicated by a health bar at the bottom of the screen. She loses a life if she runs out of health. Falling down a bottomless pit typically costs health rather than losing a life. Yuko's health can be replenished by finding items; defeating bosses also fully restores her health bar. Yuko gains additional health points after defeating certain bosses. The player is awarded an extra life every 5,000 points earned. The game ends if the player runs out of lives; there are no continues.

Weapons

Syd of Valis, Weapons.png
Normal Beam
A simple ball-shaped projectile is fired straight forward.
Syd of Valis, Weapons.png
Wide Beam
Shoots an arrow-shaped blade that does slightly more damage than the Normal Beam.
Syd of Valis, Weapons.png
Homing Beam
A star-shaped projectile seeks out near by enemies and damages them. It can sometimes become confused and circle enemies infinitely.
Syd of Valis, Weapons.png
3-Way Beam
Fires a projectile like the Normal Beam but in three directions (forward, up at 45 degrees, and down at 45 degrees).

Suits

Syd of Valis, Suits.png
Normal Suit
D. Pow:
10
A. Pow:
10
Speed:
10
A school uniform. It is the only armor Yuko has at the beginning of the game.
Syd of Valis, Suits.png
China Dress
D. Pow:
15
A. Pow:
8
Speed:
10
A pink cheongsam. It provides slightly higher defense but very slightly lower attack power.
Syd of Valis, Suits.png
Yellow Armor
D. Pow:
20
A. Pow:
10
Speed:
15
Yuko's signature yellow armor. It provides higher defense and speed.
Syd of Valis, Suits.png
Guard Suit
D. Pow:
10
A. Pow:
20
Speed:
10
A white suit of armor that improves Yuko's defense substantially at the cost of attack power.
Syd of Valis, Suits.png
Speed Suit
D. Pow:
20
A. Pow:
10
Speed:
20
Blue bikini armor that provides the highest movement speed in the game. Oddly, the Speed Suit shows a D. Power of 20, the second highest of all armor, but seems to provide less defense than the Yellow Armor's 15 D. Power.
Syd of Valis, Suits.png
Super Armor
D. Pow:
25
A. Pow:
20
Speed:
15
Magical armor with the highest attack and defense in the game plus a speed boost.

Items

Syd of Valis, Items.png
Small Recovery
Partially restores the health bar.
Syd of Valis, Items.png
Large Recovery
Fully restores the health bar.
Syd of Valis, Items.png
Invincible Shield
Temporarily makes Yuko invincible.
Syd of Valis, Items.png
Bomb
Gives the player another bomb.
Syd of Valis, Items.png
Point
Gives the player 300 bonus points.
Syd of Valis, Items.png
1 Up
Gives the player an extra life.

Stages

Syd of Valis, Stage 1-1.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 1-1 Boss.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 1-2.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 1-2 Boss.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 1-3 Boss.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 1-1.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 1-1 Boss.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 1-2.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 1-2 Boss.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 1-3 Boss.png

Reality

Syd of Valis, Stage 2-1 Boss 1.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 2-1.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 2-1 Boss 2.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 2-2.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 2-3 Boss.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 2-1 Boss 1.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 2-1.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 2-1 Boss 2.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 2-2.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 2-3 Boss.png

Dream World

Syd of Valis, Stage 3-1.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 3-1 Boss.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 3-2.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 3-2 Boss.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 3-3 Boss.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 3-1.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 3-1 Boss.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 3-2.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 3-2 Boss.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 3-3 Boss.png

Castle Vanity

Syd of Valis, Stage 4-1.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 4-1 Boss.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 4-2.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 4-3.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 4-3 Boss 1.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 4-3 Boss 2.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 4-1.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 4-1 Boss.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 4-2.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 4-3.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 4-3 Boss 1.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 4-3 Boss 2.png

Megas' Territory

Syd of Valis, Stage 5-1.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 5-2.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 5-2 Boss.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 5-3 Boss 1.png

Syd of Valis, Stage 5-3 Boss 2.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 5-1.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 5-2.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 5-2 Boss.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 5-3 Boss 1.png

  • Syd of Valis, Stage 5-3 Boss 2.png

Castle Megas

History

A European release was planned by Ubisoft[10] but it did not materialise.

Legacy

Syd of Valis would be the last Valis title released on a Sega system; Telenet Japan ceased all Sega development in 1993, and later released Valis IV exclusively on the PC Engine and Super Famicom.

The game was re-released as part of Valis Collection by Retro-Bit in 2022. It was also re-released as part of Mugen Senshi Valis Collection II for the Nintendo Switch by Edia on the same year. Once again, it was released for Nintendo Switch again on stand-alone format in December 2022 on Japan and April 2023 in Americas and South Korea. Both re-releases on the system keeps the Sega logo at the startup.

Versions

Renovation Products brought the game to the US as Syd of Valis. While the box and instruction manual call the lead character Yuko, the game changes her name to Syd. The title screen is changed from SD Valis to Valis Syd, presumably a localization error. The US cover is taken from Sugoroku '92 Nari Tore Nariagari Trendy, a board game for the CD-ROM² by Laser Soft. It features a number of characters who not only do not appear in the game but are not related to the Valis universe at all with the exception of Yuko front and center. The other characters are from various Telenet properties, including Guy Kazama from Last Alert, Yu and Rim from the Cosmic Fantasy series, and Tetsuya from Super Albatross. Additionally, the "Game Over" screen and the credits are untranslated. The re-releases of the game on Nintendo Switch features new in-fly English translations in the Japanese ROM.

Localised names

Also known as
Language Localised Name English Translation
English (US) Syd of Valis Syd of Valis
Japanese SDヴァリス SD Valis

Production credits

  • Cast: あそう ゆうこ, きりしま れいこ, ヴァリア, ヴァルナ, ザルーガ, ギラン, ガイアス, ハイゼン, げんむこうてい メガス
  • デザイン: かばやま だいきち
  • プログラム: いまがわ とよひろ, わたなべ ぼのぼの
  • グラフィック: あらい ともゆき, やいづ はんこ, かわさき かける, こうち こういち, しまだ ようこ
  • ミュージック: ふじさわ みちお
  • テストプレイ: わらこー, いなば あーん, YOU
  • アート・ディレクター: かばやま だいきち
  • ディレクター: SHIGEO TAKEI, ISC CO.,LTD
  • プロデューサー: MASAMI HANARI, LASER SOFT
  • エグゼクティブ・プロデューサー: YUUJI FUKUSHIMA
TELENET JAPAN
Source:
In-game credits
Syd of Valis MD credits.pdf
[11]


Magazine articles

Main article: Syd of Valis/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: Syd of Valis/Promotional material.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
40
[12]
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
50
[13]
Consoles + (FR)
36
[14]
Console XS (UK) NTSC-J
65
[15]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
45
[16]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
80
[5]
Games-X (UK)
40
[17]
Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J
40
[18]
Joypad (FR) NTSC-J
63
[19]
Joystick (FR) NTSC-J
56
[20]
Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J
65
[21]
MegaTech (UK) NTSC-J
47
[22]
Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-J
65
[23]
Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-J
47
[24]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
40
[25]
Video Games (DE)
79
[26]
Sega Mega Drive
54
Based on
16 reviews

Syd of Valis

Mega Drive, JP
SDValis MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
SydofValis MD JP CartTop.jpg
SDValis MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Sdvalis md jp manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, US
SDValis MD US Box.jpg
Cover
SDValis md us cart.jpg
Cart
Syd of Valis MD US Manual.pdf
Manual

Technical information

Main article: Syd of Valis/Technical information.

References

Necretro-round.svg
NEC Retro has more information related to Valis II
  1. http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/I.S.C.
  2. File:SDValis MD JP Box.jpg
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software_l.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-02 23:21)
  4. 4.0 4.1 Sega Visions, "May/June 1992" (US; 1992-xx-xx), page 58
  5. 5.0 5.1 GamePro, "August 1992" (US; 1992-xx-xx), page 42
  6. https://www.amusement-center.com/project/egg/game/?product_id=266
  7. https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/syd-of-valis-switch/
  8. https://store-jp.nintendo.com/list/software/70010000056748.html
  9. https://store.nintendo.co.kr/70010000057754
  10. Sega Force, "January 1992" (UK; 1991-12-12), page 10
  11. File:Syd of Valis MD credits.pdf
  12. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 233
  13. Beep! MegaDrive, "March 1992" (JP; 1992-02-08), page 37
  14. Consoles +, "Avril 1992" (FR; 1992-0x-xx), page 80
  15. Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 133
  16. Famitsu, "1992-03-06" (JP; 1992-02-21), page 37
  17. Games-X, "27th February-4th March 1992" (UK; 1992-02-27), page 26
  18. Hippon Super, "March 1992" (JP; 1992-02-04), page 83
  19. Joypad, "Avril 1992" (FR; 1992-03-1x), page 78
  20. Joystick, "Avril 1992" (FR; 1992-0x-xx), page 120
  21. Mega Drive Fan, "May 1992" (JP; 1992-04-xx), page 115
  22. MegaTech, "April 1992" (UK; 1992-03-20), page 24
  23. Sega Pro, "April 1992" (UK; 1992-03-19), page 38
  24. Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 67
  25. Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87
  26. Video Games, "6/92" (DE; 1992-05-29), page 46


Syd of Valis

SDValis MDTitleScreen.png

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Valis games for Sega systems
Valis III (1991) | Valis: The Fantasm Soldier (1991) | Syd of Valis (1992)