Valis Visual Collection was a very interesting idea from Telenet, and it's basically a reunion of almost every single anime sequence from Valis series, in a single CD. This anthology was released only a few months before the release of Valis I for the PC-ENGINE, which means that the animated sequences gathered in this collection are only related to Valis II, III and IV. This is kinda weird, because Telenet could have postponed this anthology release a little, in order to release a complete package, including the animes from Valis I. But this is just one among several unexplained mysteries from the gaming realm. Let's Review!
Warning for the novices: this CD is not a game! There are no stages, you can't control Yuko, there are no enemies at all. This CD only has the anime sequences from Valis games, and is not a collection of the Valis games themselves. There's an option screen where you can choose which Valis you would like to watch scenes from: II, III or IV. You can also choose among six chapters for each game, just like in a DVD, or you can watch everything in a row, from the beginning till the end.
Between the anime scenes, there is always a little explanatory narration telling what is happening "behind the scenes". After all, the rest of the story would have been told while you are playing with Yuko throughout the stages. As we don´t have no stages at all in this collection, those narratives help the onlooker to become aware of what's actually going on.
The negative aspects are the absence of cinemas from Valis I, and the fact that everything is dubbed in Japanese... but I have to agree that the Japanese dubbing is always better than the English. Highly recommended to fans of the Valis series or even to those who are addicted on anime. Just sit down on a sofa, get your popcorn and enjoy the beautiful scenes of the most beloved heroine from the gaming world. Go and buy this collection of a game. Females rule!
