I finished Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria today. It was really good (and pretty challenging).
The graphics, particularly the background art, were fantastic. It looks well beyond what I expected the Playstation 2 could do. Music was great as well, it always felt fitting, and there was greater variety than in VP1. (Definitely some bangers on the soundtrack, good battle themes).
The gameplay, the battle system, was deep and complex. It succeeds at translating VP1 from a line to a plane, essentially, adding obstacles and height variation to battlefields. It was difficult to learn and satisfying to play.
Story was fun, the fact that the game had a traditional linear narrative (unlike VP1) made it much easier to relate to, to become invested, to keep playing. I enjoyed the resolution of it, love that we end by beating up Lezard.
Valkyrie Profile 2 has been on my backlog for a long time (a decade or so). I tried to play it once years ago and bounced off it. Now, finally, I'm relieved to have completed it. I'd like to play it again someday; I'm sure there's a lot of stuff - animations, skills, weapons, and at least one dungeon - that I haven't seen.