In 2012, a web comic adaptation of The Legend of Valkyrie game series began as part of Bandai Namco Entertainment's ShiftyLook project. Legend of the Valkyrie follows the adventures (and misadventures) of the heroine Valkyrie, her lizard partner Sandra, and the other characters she meets along the way. It was initially written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray with art drawn by Fernando Heinz Furukawa, but was later written and drawn by Charlie Davis following a massive Art Shift. While the site carrying the comic has went under, a fan managed to save it and it is available to download here
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This web comic provides examples of:
- Adaptational Personality Change: Most of the returning characters display similar personalities to the original games, but Valkyrie receives a notable shift, going from a serious-minded Lady of War to a somewhat silly Genki Girl and Big Eater, but still a competent warrior. The Art Shift leads to further tweaks for most of the cast, as part of its generally Denser and Wackier tone.
- Aerith and Bob: Sabine and her dad, Andy.
- Art Shift: A massive one occurred when drawing and writing duties were given to Charlie Davis starting in the comic "Time for a Change". It's lampshaded by the characters immediately as it happens, with Valkyrie and Sandra noting that "everything looks so... kawaii!"
- Big Bad: Lozan, a red oni-like creature, for the first arc; Zouna, a shadowy time god, for the second.
- Big Eater: Valkyrie is easily distracted by even the mere mention of food.
- Blush Sticker: Sabine had these in the art shift until after the team had defeated Zouna.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Krino has a crush on Valkyrie that he just can't admit, mostly due to being a Sandra and his fear that Valkyrie won't accept that. When he eventually confesses, the two end up splitting apart for some time to work out their feelings, and eventually reconcile.
- Cut Short: Most of the comic is an adaptation of Valkyrie no Bōken. After the Big Bad is defeated, though, the comic began a new storyline adapting The Legend of Valkyrie, which involves a seed that when planted could grant any wish. It gets stolen by an apparently shadow version of Valkyrie, and the two engage in battle. But Namco soon gave the word they were canceling ShiftyLook and all its comics, so the story was hastily concluded without any payoff.
- Decomposite Character:
- Valkyrie's partner Kurino Sandra is split into two separate characters named Sandra (a Sandra who is female and actually human) and Krino (a human prince who ends up captured and possessed by Zouna, but is actually a Sandra).
- Zul, the games' shady salesman, is split into Zoul—a ghostly salesman who worked for Lozan before his death—and Slick—an Honest John's Dealership character who more closely resembles the original Zul.
- Denser and Wackier: Once the Art Shift occurs, the comic goes from an Animesque action fantasy to a Thick-Line Animation-esque fantastic comedy.
- Dub Name Change: From the games: "Marvel Land" is changed to "Wunderland" (either to avoid association with Marvel Comics or the Namco game of the same name), "Zul" to "Slick" (because a new character is named "Zoul", taking his name), and "Black Valkyrie" to "Shadow Valkyrie". Additionally, many of the names that weren't changed had their spelling slightly altered, such as Krino from Kurino and Quarkman from Koakuman.
- Evil Counterpart: Valkyrie seems to have one in Shadow Valkyrie, equivalent to the games' Black Valkyrie.
- Forced Transformation: Sandra is cursed to resemble a lizard-like Sandra. Krino is, too, or so everyone thinks. He's actually a Sandra cursed to resemble a human, because the King thought that nobody would accept a Sandra prince.
- Genki Girl: Valkyrie is hyperactive, loves food, and commonly uses Internet slang and Japanese phrases in her speech.
- Gratuitous Japanese: Valkyrie has a habit of saying certain exclamations in Japanese, like "nani?" or "yamete!", even though she otherwise speaks in English. This is a quirk specific to her, as other characters point out her unusual manner of speech when talking to her.
- Hartman Hips: Sabine the Quarkman warrior has these. In the original artstyle, anyway, since it's heavily downplayed in the later one.
- Living Shadow: Shadow Valkyrie is portrayed as such, being trapped in the form of Valkyrie's shadow when exposed to direct light.
- Only Sane Man: Sabine often questions the Cloudcuckoolander logic of Valkyrie and everyone around her.
- Pragmatic Adaptation: The comic primarily adapts Valkyrie no Bōken, but also incorporates elements from The Legend of Valkyrie and adds its own original details. The first arc in particular has Lozan, an original villain who happens to resemble the games' Kamuz, and Zoul, an original salesman who happens to fill a similar role to the games' Zul; Kamuz and Zul are both characters who primarily appear in The Legend of Valkyrie.
- Shout-Out: A few.
- The comic that has Sandra turning back into a human is titled "Human After All". note
- In "The Story So Far, Part 2", Val mentions that if she had a scouter, it would say that her hunger level is over 9,000!
- Another comic that has Valkyrie and Sandra about to venture to save Krino from Zouna is titled "There and Attack Again". note
- Significant Name Overlap: Sandra, a human warrior, is cursed to resemble... a Sandra. She points this out after she's turned back into a human, to the disbelief of the rest of her party.
- Tradesnark™: Lozan's "Legion of Undead Zombie Warriorz™", which is always written in a distinct font.
