“…well worth picking up with some of your Christmas pocket money this year!”
Valkyria Chronicles is a strategy role playing game based in a fictitious, manga-drawn land reminiscent of 1930’s Europe during the Second World War. Two warring powers, the Federation and Empire, clash on the battlefield of one small and previously peaceful nation on the continent, where the Empire have discovered a wealth of valuable natural resources. Our protagonist, Welkin, has just returned to the nation to meet his sister when the Empire launches its attack. The son of the nation’s famed General however, Welkin has a number of surprises up his sleeve to fight back against these foes with. As the story unfolds however, we realise there are surprises to be discovered on both sides… Developed and published by big-dogs Sega, Valkyria Chronicles for the PC is a re-visitation of one of their great titles, and includes all previously released DLC in this now complete package. Is it a good game though? I wanted to find out…
The basic premise of the way the game works is that you follow the story of the way in a book. This involves a number of interactive scenes, cutscenes and skirmishes. You do spend quite a lot of Valkyria Chronicles watching the story unfold rather than playing it, however this allows for a much richer storyline to be created than if every moment had to be adapted as gameplay. Valkyria Chronicles relies heavily on storyline as a selling point, and this is not a bad thing. For a strategy title, it has a lot to offer in this arena, particularly by comparison to other, similar games on the market. When you do enter a skirmish, the story doesn’t stop either, and the gameplay standard does meet it at its high-quality mark.
Skirmish gameplay is quite simple. You select your units in the battle one by one on a map. When you select a unit to become active, you zoom in to that unit on the battle and control them such as you would in your average role-playing game; with movement, cover, and combat being put into your hands. You can move and fight as long as you have the energy to do this, and then you move on to the next unit and the next until your squad members have all taken a turn. Then, your opponent does the same, and the turn comes to an end. Repeat until the battle is over, and that’s that in simple terms. There is of course more to it that this though. For example, if you move within an enemy’s line of sight during your move, then they can attack you until the line of sight is broken. If you take cover, you are less prone to being hit by attacks, and of course being a role playing title as well, each unit you have has different weapons at their disposal, some of which can be customised to create the perfect team. Oh, and sometimes you get to play with big tanks too, and what’s not awesome about that?!
The game looks great in all of its manga-y glory, with everything having a carefully drawn style to it, even when you are running around the battlefield. There is a semi-realistic and semi-cartoony mix at play which really works for Valkyria Chonicles, allowing it to create a serious and emotive storyline whilst reminding you that it is just a game at the end of the day. It is very nicely put together indeed, and is highly aesthetically pleasing. Atmosphere, action, emotion, intricacy and more are put across just in the art of the game, and the audio and storyline of the game join together with this to make an all-round immersive and enjoyable experience.
What can you say is negative about the game? Very little. Even if you are not a fan of “the whole manga thing”, and I am not so trust me on this, you can get a lot of pleasure out of playing Valkyria Chronicles, and come to appreciate the style along the way. It plays well and maintains an interesting storyline throughout. It successfully mashes up the genres of strategy and role-play, incorporating customisation and tactics, unique characters and careful planning, looking good and getting from A to B. It is easy to forget that the two genres are separate at times when you are playing this game; the complimentary combination which has been created is seamless! The only thing you could really say is wrong with the game is this; if you are a fan purely of strategy or a fan purely of role-playing games, then Valkyria Chronicles is probably not going to work for you. You need to be able to appreciate numerous different genres to get the best out of this game, and if you can do that you will more than likely love it. If not, then perhaps demo it or leave it alone…
Valkyria Chonicles is the master of bringing together the normally seperate dimensions of the gaming world. It combines strategy and role-playing into a seamlessly enjoyable hybrid. It creates a fantastic storyline and maintains strong gameplay alongside it, showing little sacrifice on either side of this coin. It even opens up the usually closed-off arena of manga-style titles to an audience who can appreciate it whether this is usually their thing or not. In all, Valkyria Chronicles is a great choice for the all-round gamer, and well worth picking up with some of your Christmas pocket money this year!
The Good:
- A game which brings together so many different sides of gaming and successfully merges them into something both playable and enjoyable.
- Crosses strategy and role-play into a healthy hybrid as if they were never separate in the first place.
- Achieves the ever difficult balance of strong gameplay and a good story.
- A beautiful art style which expresses both emotion and the fact that it is part of a game, plus one which is welcoming to gamers who would usually shy away from manga-based titles.
The Bad:
- Fans purely of strategy or purely of role-playing titles may not adapt to the crossover as well as those who enjoy both in their gaming libraries.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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