Valkyria Chronicles

5 Responses to “ Valkyria Chronicles ”

1. Cloud "..."
   02/28/2010 at 1:30 am

   Over the years, my interest in RPG’s had started to wane to the point where I ignored some of them simply due to the time investment. While they’re great games and all, they take so long to finish and with a busy gaming schedule this year, it’s hard to sink another 40 hours into one game when you could’ve beat 3 others and had a raucously good time on their multiplayers. However with Valkyria Chronicles, not only did it look stunning but it had a unique way of fighting and seemed to have that certain “something” where you probably don’t really know what you’re getting into but you want it anyway. But we warned, this isn’t an RPG to be taken lightly but like a lot of things, the more you put into it then the sweeter the rewards.

   Story: It’s a period meant to feel like Europe in the 1930 though with a couple changes. Europe’s divided in 2, The Federation and the Eastern European Imperial Alliance or just simply Empire, the latter of whom tries to do anything and everything to get what they want. What they want is ragnite, a valuable and incredibly useful resource and where it’s abundant is the small country in the middle, Gallia, who has ties to neither side. But when the Empire invades and with a strange, powerful race thought only to exist in legend for a weapon, it’s up to Welkin Gunther, Alicia Melchiott and several others to bring down the powerful Empire.

   Graphics: The team behind this game worked on the highly-praised Skies of Arcadia for the Dreamcast and while the art style and character designs are similar, Valkyria is really in a class of its own. Using Sega’s Canvas engine, they decide to create a different approach to the visuals and while Okami was made to resemble a painting, Valkyria looks more like a drawing that’s being animated at lightning speed and it’s gorgeous. Kind of reminds me of the cutscenes for the Final Fantasy Tactics port for the PSP only more colorful. The 3D fighting visuals are also welcome and the “boom” and “ratta” visuals showing up when you explode something or fire your weapon has a great charm to it. It’s not going for realism so don’t compare it to tech-heavy games but what it lacks in realistic lighting and photo-realistic characters, it makes up for in style and art.

   Sound/Music: Ditto for the music which was done by Hitoshi Sakimoto who did the Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story and Odin Sphere soundtracks though he’s probably best known (positively or negatively depending on how you see it) as the composer for Final Fantasy XII. The soundtrack here is pleasing and there’s some good themes but it doesn’t really have any tracks that can stand outside the game but when it’s on in the game, it’s welcome. Using an option to change the language to Japanese or English and either or, the voice acting is quite well-done though some roles are either overacted or lacking in emotion but I didn’t mind either tracks.

   Gameplay: One can make a case that Valkyria’s combat is a 3D version of a chess match, with soldiers and tanks replacing the rooks and queens but essentially here’s how it works: a map reveals your position of your characters as well as known enemy positions. You then select who you want to control (which uses up CP, a certain amount of “moves” you can make your characters do with tanks taking up 2 of them), game switches to a 3D view and you can run where you want to go which drains an AP gauge and if you run out, you stop permanently till the next turn. Found in the stages are places that could make good cover such as sandbags. When you’ve found your spot, you can press R1 which brings up your targeting where you can aim where you want to shoot, throw your grenade or to use a first aid on members with low health and after your turn it’s best to crouch and end your turn right away to minimize enemies firing back (which is unfair because they counterattack your attack in addition to when your attack is over so they’re really getting 2 shots at you so it’s best to end your turn quickly).

   Here’s where it gets fun: you basically have 5 classes from standard scouts with decent weaponry to long-range snipers (Marina is my preferred one due to her cute and deadly bad***ness), shocktroopers with assault rifles, lancers who are perfect for nailing tanks and engineers who can either replenish your ammo, fix/build places for cover or provide tank maintenance though they’re more susceptible to damage. Knowing who to use and where to use them is key. Should a character lose all their health, they’re knocked out but here’s the kicker: they’ll be gone forever unless you get a member of your team over, a cutscene will show a medic rushing in and that member is taking off the field, still able to be used later but gone for the rest of the battle. While you get many reserves anyway, it’s probably best to keep your entire team alive.

   Speaking of your team, you get 20 people to use in a battle unless stated otherwise in the battle so that can make levelling up tedious right? Wrong. Using the headquarter tab (the whole narrative is played out like a book with pictures on the page being your cutscenes/battles), you can level up your characters in an amusing drill instructor way but should you say level up your snipers, every single one of your snipers levels up as well and not just whoever you use the most. Your equipment can be upgraded for better accuracy, health and whatnot and your tank can be fitted with spare treads should the enemy blast yours off leaving you immobile or strengtening the range of your fire. But don’t think this game is immune to grinding as it’s best to click the Skirmishes tab and take on the battles which can be fought as many times as you want and it’s not just recommended, it’s almost necessary since enemies after a certain amount of time will positively own your *** so why not fight fire with fire and make your guys just as tough.

   I know this fall and winter has been a particularly crowded season, especially those who own all 3 consoles and the 2 handhelds (like me) but I implore you not to miss Valkyria Chronicles. It doesn’t have the advertising of Gears of War 2 or the recognition of the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII but this game is well worth tracking down.
   Rating: 5 / 5
2. T. Hawthorne
   02/28/2010 at 2:54 am

   First off the graphics are superb. They are not just traditional cell-shaded graphics. If you capture any given frame of the rendered graphics it looks like a pencil drawing that has been colored with vibrant watercolors. Simply beautiful.

   Each battle, or operation as it is called in game, begins with the assignment of units to the battlefield. Once these are placed the player phase begins. You select which unit to move from a top-down battlefield map. Upon selection the map fades to the actual battlefield and the camera zooms down to a 3rd person view of the unit. You are then free to run around (as long as action points are available) and position the unit for its attack per turn. Rinse and repeat(not always that simple) until victory is yours.

   The combination of graphics, unique and solid strategic gameplay, when mixed with the solid story the game tells make for a highly satisfactory and worthwhile gaming experience…if you like strategy games. Definitely a welcome addition to the PS3′s thin library of these type of titles.
   Rating: 5 / 5
3. Kevin J
   02/28/2010 at 5:02 am

   The presentation is great. The story is told from a book, and each event and battles are told through this medium. It’s very fluid and it works like a history book, ensuring continuity.

   And yes, the game is stunning to look at. The graphic engine is like sketches with pastel watercolors. It’s very unique and the animations are beautiful.

   The game lets you choose between Japanese and English tracks. Personally, I use Japanese track with English subs.

   The game plays like a tactical RPG. The battle mechanism is a hybrid of real time and turn-based. It sounds strange, but it works remarkably well. I was once a skeptic, but Sega did something special here.

   When battles are won, players receive experience points and money. These can be used at headquarters to level up and upgrade weapons and such. You may have up to 20 soldiers under your wing, and new ones are added throughout the game.

   In addition to regular campaign, there also are skirmishes as side quests.

   It’s very refreshing to see an original IP with great gameplay and it looks beautiful to boot. A demo of this game is available at Playstation Network, so give it a try.
   Rating: 5 / 5
4. R. Cataulin "SanDiegoJihen"
   02/28/2010 at 6:26 am

   Back in the old days of the genre, the battlefield was a mixture of a lego diorama and a chessboard. But no more! Finally, a SRPG that throws away grid-like maps. Your soldiers are free to roam the fields in any direction like an action game but are limited to how far they can travel based on a stamina bar.

   Different classes of soldiers specialize in certain skills and compliment other classes. Before a battle, you choose who’s in and who’ll be benchwarming. In confrontations, you have to manually aim the crosshairs of your rifle for body shots or head shots. A cover system allows allies and enemies the ability to use various waist-high objects as cover, or just hide behind a wall. :p Depending on stats, your soldier will automatically duck for cover when shot at. Stats also determine how accurate their aiming is.

   Your roster of characters can attack in unison when grouped together in a small squad, but thats if they have an affinity for each other. Yup, characters have…character. I found myself getting attached to minor subcharaters who have no effect on the plot in my army based on their individual personalities. Yeah, I’m weird.

   What shocked me is that SEGA brought this innovation to the genre. The creators really did an excellent job with Valkyria Chronicles. Along with the Yakuza series, this game is among my top SEGA favorites. Buy this game to support their efforts and hope for a sequel!
   Rating: 5 / 5
5. Lisa Shea "LisaShea.com"
   02/28/2010 at 6:33 am

   “Valkyria Chronicles” is a fairly unorthodox game – it’s got the art and general handling of “Final Fantasy Tactics” combined with the military tactics of “Full Spectrum Warrior”. Possessing the feeling of an RPG despite taking place during WW2 (or a fantasy representation of it, more accurately), Valkyria Chronicles represents an exciting new game that should be liked by both strategy-RPG fans and the more hardcore military crowd.

   The game takes place in “Europa” – a fantastic version of Europe, where the two dominant countries are the Federation (to the West) and the Empire (to the East). Caught between these is Gallia, a small independent nation rich with Ragnite, the world’s fictional power source. The player takes the role of Lieutenant Gunther, the leader of a 20-person unit of militiamen raised to repel an invasion by the Empire.

   To that end, the player must manage their squad of soldiers and drive back the enemy. From a pool of 50 soldiers (though most have to be unlocked by progressing in the game) the player selects 20 to serve as the active squad. Soldiers can come in one of five types. Scouts are light and fast, but are lightly armored and don’t do much damage. Shock Troopers are more heavily armored and armed with machine guns, but are slower than scouts. Lancers are anti-tank troops armed with heavy rocket-tipped lances; they are the most heavily armored, but are only useful when dealing with enemy vehicles. Engineers are armed and armored like scouts, but trade the movement speed of that class for the ability to pass ammo out to comrades, disarm mines, and repair friendly tanks. Finally, Snipers have long-range capabilities and can take out an enemy in one hit if they’re lucky, but have slow movement and low defense.

   Besides their classes, each of the 50 unique characters has their own set of traits that affect their stats in battle. Character traits can reflect everything from upbringing (characters are more at home in their home turf) to sexual preference (some characters prefer to be around lots of women or lots of men) to more individualized personal effects (like a character who gets a huge attack bonus for charging headlong into the enemy’s guns, or a character who gets a bonus just by being around tanks). In addition to these traits, characters also have bonds with certain other characters, and will do better when around those characters. Finally, there are certain stats (accuracy, damage, movement) that differ from character to character – but the stats themselves aren’t recorded, so the player has to find out for themselves which characters have which statistics.

   The characters’ personalities are revealed through combat – use a character a lot and a newspaper reporter will conduct an interview (off-camera) that puts more information in their biography. This also adds new traits to their character, as well as background information. In addition, each character has unique voice acting, and they will often call out to characters that they have bonds with. All the characters are really fleshed out by their traits and biographies, and it becomes fairly easy to find at least a few favorites that you’re likely to use over and over.

   The gameplay itself is a sort of hybrid between turn-based strategy RPGs and tactical squad games like Full Spectrum Warrior. During a mission, the player usually has 9 soldiers (selected by the player) plus a command tank. At the beginning of every turn, the player has a certain number of command points; these are used to take actions with characters. While using a command point, a character can move a set distance (based on their class) and take one action – either attacking or healing themselves/a nearby ally. Complicating this is Intercepting Attacks: if a character runs into the line of sight of an enemy unit, that unit will fire at him as he moves past. The same is true for the enemy, of course, so it’s advisable to set up a position where you will be well defended and where you can counterattack enemies easily as they enter the area. Due to the cone-like nature of weapons fire, using cover is advisable and helpful.

   Besides infantry combat, the other main part of warfare in Valkyria is tanks. Your side only has one tank, which is upgradable throughout the game. The enemy, on the other hand, tends to have a few more at their disposal, necessitating the use of anti-tank Lancers. Tanks, when hit from the front, may take a while to destroy, but if a character can sneak around the back of the tank and hit its exposed radiator, the tank can be taken down easily. Tanks are very powerful (being equipped with an armor piercing cannon, an explosive mortar, and a coaxial machine gun) but cost 2 command points to take a turn, rather than just 1.

   Leveling up and advancement is handled fairly simply, compared to a lot of similar strategy-RPGs. At the end of a battle, the player receives gold and experience based on their performance. Gold is used to develop new weapons and armor for your characters. A certain amount of gold is spent to upgrade a specific category (rifles, for example), and all soldiers who use rifles are armed with the upgraded rifle. These weapons are standard issue once developed, and the only customization comes when the development paths split into certain specializations (higher accuracy, higher damage, etc). In this case, you can choose for individual soldiers which weapon they should have. Leveling up works similarly – you invest experience in a class, and once you’ve spent enough that class levels up. This means that EVERYONE who is a member of that class levels up, regardless of whether or not they’re currently in your squad, which means that there’s no trouble with one unit getting way ahead of the others in experience terms.

   I only had a few problems with gameplay. One is that speed is emphasized heavily – not just as a nice bonus, in most cases, but as the major source of experience and money. Completing a mission quickly is worth far more than any points you might get for doing things during the mission, which on the one hand works for players who are willing to take risks and rush in, but discourages players who are more cautious and defensive. Another issue with gameplay is that the levels tend to focus more on particular objectives or gimmicks rather than straight-up warfare; almost every level has your squad being split up, or some other condition that makes it harder than simply using regular tactics. Both of these things make the game less fun, and even in Skirmish mode (missions that can be played an infinite number of times to get more money and experience) they pervade the atmosphere of the game.

   The graphics are incredible – not just in quality, but in style, as well. The game uses a unique colored-pencil style of in-game coloration, so everything has a very artistic feel to it. Some effects – like a tank’s movement or an explosion – are represented by sound effects (like “vrrm” or “kaboom”) popping up on-screen, which also serves to give it an “illustrated” appearance. The character designs are well-done, while still having a realistic aspect to them and a sort of group appearance emphasized by their standard-issue uniforms. The game in-action is really neat to watch, and the new approach to graphics is appreciated.

   The sound is decent enough – the English voice acting is well-done, and as mentioned each character has a unique voice and a wide variety of prompts and lines. The music is good, but ultimately forgettable; it serves its purpose as background noise, but isn’t particularly enjoyable on its own.

   As a whole, Valkyria Chronicles is an amazing game that tends to get caught up too much in story and gimmicks. The engine is solid and fun, and the game in basic terms is great. However, the way it’s used – the reliance on objectives and unusual gameplay situations – reduces the enjoyment of the system. In addition, the lack of multiplayer is a major annoyance. All-in-all, Valkyria Chronicles is a great game that also feels like a waste, in terms of what is done with the gameplay.

   8/10.
   Rating: 4 / 5