Almost a month later and I'm finally back for the review of my latest title! I should've had this up sooner since I got it last month, but..as usual...I've been busy with gaming. Anyway, onto the review then!
Graphics: 9/10
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The canvas style used for Valkyria Chronicles (or "Senjou no Valkyrie" in Japan) certainly makes this game stand out above the rest. The graphics are highly detailed with all of the characters, backgrounds, guns, items, you name it. It all just simply looks brilliant and will leave you mesmerized after taking a first glance at this masterpiece.
The only reason I will not give this a 10 out of 10 is because there are actually some cutscenes where you can see the leaves on trees glitching through each other. There are also some clipping issues as well every now and then when a soldier wields a gun. These are very minor issues though and do not happen often at all, however..it is not perfect, so I will leave this at a 9.
Story: 8/10
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The story definitely is interesting, but..I've seen this before. You are a small country which is neutral in the war, but you also harbor a rather valuable resource that the much larger country tries to take by force. If they do though, then your own people will be put at risk of death, so you take up arms as a militia and fight against the military superpower as the underdogs and try to defend your homeland.
Now, despite seeing this story quite a few times, it still intrigues me because of the way it is portrayed in this game. I'm not too terribly fond of war games because most of time, I find that I am playing the same game, just with different characters. However..with Valkyria Chronicles, I didn't feel that way.
They added so much stuff to the story in general as well as the gameplay (which I'll get to in a moment) that it felt like something fresh, something new. I believe it also does a wonderful job of depicting war for what it really is. You will see civilians die, soldiers die, and countless of lives lost, then begin wondering what is it all for and question why we do such a thing to begin with.
The story is fantastic in this way and it really pulls you in with the atmosphere. I found myself crying, laughing, and in a fit of rage from time to time, haha. It definitely does a wonderful job at capturing your emotions, so I give it an 8.
Characters: 10/10
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This is definitely one of the best features about the game, hands down. When you first begin the game, you only have three or so characters and you don't have much freedom. However, after a few battles, that is when you get to the meat of the game.
Recruitment! You are allowed to recruit up to 20 characters from a roster and I just love this about the game. It really lets the player decide who they want on their team.
Now, don't get too excited. There are still circumstances where you must carry the main out on the field or two/three party members without being able to remove them from the battle, but those are story related and it will make sense when you have to. However, most of the time, you are able to send out 9 to 10 recruits to your liking.
Even if you must keep some story related characters on the field, 80% of the unit will consist of the people you decide goes out to fight, so don't worry. There are a total of 50+ recruits throughout the game and for all of your Skies of Arcadia fans out there, you'll be glad to know that SEGA has thrown in Vyse and Aika as recruits as well. Now, allow me to explain the different class types for these characters.
Scout - This type of unit is able to move at a great distance and carries a rifle, grenades, and healing item. You generally just want to rush your scouts out to check the surroundings for ambushes and enemies that may be waiting ahead. However, these units cannot take much damage as they are just used primarily for recon, so don't expect them to live through a barrage of bullets. Although, they can counter after being attacked if they are still alive (only if the enemy is within range).
Shocktrooper - This unit is the one you want on your front lines. They have great offense and defense, plus carry a machine gun along with grenades. They also have a healing item as well, but this comes standard for every unit. The Shocktrooper can't run too terribly far, but this is to accomodate for their excellent offense and defense, so be sure to keep these guys on your front line to take the hits and exchange blows with another unit. This unit can also counterattack after being shot at if the enemy is within firing range.
Lancer - This unit is specifically designed to take out tanks with something known as an "Anti-Tank" lance. It looks like a lance, but launches like a missle, basically. These units also have really great defense against bullets, grenades, and mortars, but can't go very far. They are your best bet for taking out those nasty tanks (since all the other units can do is throw grenades and damage the treads of the tank, really). One of the downsides to this unit is, it cannot counterattack after being shot at, so be sure to place them accordingly or you may find your Lancer down after a headshot.
Engineer - This unit is basically the mule of the group. Any character the Engineer runs past will have their grenades replenished (it takes one turn to replenish them normally) and they also carry large healing items as opposed to the normally issued small versions for the other units. This unit is also vital to keeping your tank's HP in check (in ANY mission..if your main tank is destroyed, it's game over), so they carry something known as a "repair tool" and can repair some lost HP on your tank's main body and treads as well as repair busted sandbags, and barricades. This unit can move at a pretty far distance like the Scout, but I believe the Scout can move just a little further. The Engineer can also counterattack with the rifle after being attacked, given the enemy is within range, however..much like the Scouts, they don't have very good defense or offense, so don't expect too much.
Sniper - The Sniper is self-explanatory, but..I'll fill in the blanks anyway. The Sniper is equipped with a rifle and healing items. Unfortunately though, a Sniper's movement is the lowest out of all the classes. This unit and the Lancer are the only two that have a limited supply of ammo for their weapon. So, you must wait until the next turn to have your ammo replenished or you can just run an Engineer by them and that will work as well. The only other thing I can really say about the Sniper is you can view through the scope to aim and use R3 to zoom in or out which is kind of cool.
Tank Commander - This isn't really a unit you get to recruit, but it is one you will have throughout the whole game. The only thing I can really say about this unit is, you have an unlimited supply of anti-tank rounds, a limited supply of mortars, and unlimited ammo for your machine gun. The tank can't move too terribly far, but that's to make up for its great offense. You can run over your allies and enemies, but unfortunately..this doesn't do any damage. Unlike other units though, this one gets two HP bars. One known as, "BHP" or "Body Health Points" and another known as, "THP" or "Tread Health Points". If your BHP reaches 0, then it's game over for our main. However, if your THP reaches 0, then that means you aren't allowed to move anymore until you have your treads fixed (there's no sort of special proceedure for this, just bring an Engineer to the tank and use the repair tool).
Now that we know about the different units, let's go over something known as "Potential" that characters have. A potential is something that every character has. It's a very interesting aspect to the game, I believe.
For example, one character may have a potential known as, "Pollen Allergy". That means, if you make them go through grassy areas, this potential will kick in and their defense will decrease (or maybe it's their evasion, I don't remember exactly). There is also something called, "Man hater", so if that character is anywhere near a male character, then their accuracy and power will decrease (I also don't recall if those are the exact stats that drop, but you get my point :P).
There are also good potentials as well, so be sure to take a look at the recruits' potentials as well when deciding whether or not you want him or her in your unit. Characters will also obtain new potentials over time. It definitely leaves open a lot of freedom and multiple possibilities for your lineup and I would say it is one of the best aspects of the game.
Gameplay: 9/10
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It was a bit of an experiment, but I honestly think it worked. This game is something known as an "Active Simulation Role Playing Game". It has the elements of your standard S-RPG, but when running around and whatnot, everything takes place in realtime, hence the term "Active".
In Valkyria Chronicles, everyone has something known as an AP Gauge for your character's "Action Points" spent during the player's turn. There are also something known as, "Command Points" or "CP" for short, which determines how often you get to move during your turn. Let's say you want to move a Scout to check out the surroundings, but find yourself stuck in crossfire after using up all of your AP.
Well, after using up all of your AP on that character, you know it would be bad to leave him or her there since they would probably die on the enemy's turn, so you would select the Scout unit again and move him or her quickly to safety. You can make a character move as many times as you'd like as long as you have CP. All footsoldiers take 1 CP to move and the tank takes 2 CP.
Everytime you want to move a unit though, their AP will decrease, so if you wish to move him or her again, instead of having a 100% AP bar, it would be 75% or so instead. There had to be some sort of drawback for allowing us to move the same character more than once, so there you have it. If you choose not to move and just perform an action instead, that will still count as using AP, so if you wish to actually move that unit on your next turn, then keep that in mind.
When you are moving your units, always keep an eye on your CP. I mean always. Your CP is determined by leadership, so if you put more story characters on the field, you will get more CP than just putting out some recruits. After you have spent all your CP, the Player Phase will end and it will go into Enemy Phase.
You get to watch where your opponent moves their units and whatnot until they use up all their CP as well. You can also choose to end your phase without using any CP if you'd like. As for the gameplay mechanics themselves..I liked them overall, but sometimes, I did find myself getting frustrated anyway.
Since actions take place in realtime, you may find yourself wanting to move your scout to a particular spot on the field, but have a couple of guys firing at you on the way there, then your Scout's HP drops to 0 before reaching their destination. Well, whenever a unit's HP reaches 0, they reach something known as "Critical Condition", so you must bring an allied unit (excluding the tank) to the downed unit if you wish to save them before they die. A medic will arrive and escort the unit off the field and back into something known as "Reserves" which I'll explain in a second.
You have three turns to rescue the unit. If you don't reach them by that point, they will die. Although..I have actually had a unit die in shorter than three turns for whatever reason, but I think specific conditions have to be met for such a thing to happen, so just remember 99% of the time, it will be a max of three turns.
Now, to talk about reserves. You always have a Main Base camp where your wounded units will be taken to by the medic and put into reserves in case you want to call them back out after they have recovered. It takes 1 CP to bring someone out of reserves, so keep that in mind.
You can also take the enemy's camps as well if you wish to bring your reserves out at a different location on the field. The enemy will usually have a couple of bases to request for reinforcements at, then a main base (which you have to capture 99% of the time to win the battle). In order to capture a base, you must first eliminate all soldiers around the base first. Once you do that, you can push X (action button) next to the enemy's flag and something known as "occupy" will pop up, so you can now change their flag to your own and take the base.
Once you do that, any reinforcements requested by the enemy will be cancelled. Fortunately though, this game allows you to save during a battle in case you make a mistake, so be sure to keep that in mind when planning your next move. I will also briefly cover something which will be learned about later when you play the game more.
You are able to learn something known as, "Orders" which can be given out only by the Tank Commander and they are really simple to understand. You will learn Orders over time such as, "Attack Boost", "Defense Boost", "All Units Defend", etc. and if you wish to use this on one unit, it will cost 1CP, if you wish to use an All Units order, it usually takes 2 or 3 (I can't remember off-hand).
I won't go too much into those though. I just wanted to mention them because I thought they were pretty cool. Now onto the exp and gold system!
The exp is laid out pretty simple in this game. The faster you complete a mission and the higher the grade is, the more exp and gold you will receive. The ranks go from D, C, B, to A (there might be a F rank, but I don't know. I've never got that before, lol).
Any time you get exp in the game, you can return back to something known as the, "Training Grounds" and decide on how much exp you wish to distribute between each unit. So, any time a Scout levels up, every Scout levels up. Any time a Shocktrooper levels up, every Shocktrooper levels up. So forth and so on.
Don't worry though. They won't be Scouts and Shocktroopers forever. I won't tell you when it happens, but after a while, they change class types and get extra weapons :)
As for your money..you visit something known as the, "R&D Factory" and can buy new Rifles, Machine Guns, Anti-Tank Lances, Sniper Rifles, Grenades, uniforms with better defense and anti-blast suits for better defense as well (uniform = every unit except Lancer and suit = Lancer). Later on in the game, you can make cusomizations to your weaponry (you can add special effects to your rifles, add firepower, accuracy) and stuff like that. It doesn't let you actually customize it yourself, but you just choose what kind of adjustment you would like to buy.
Here you can also make adjustments to your tank. You can buy customizations for it (there's a grid which allows you to put what you want on it, but it doesn't change anything cosmetic-wise) as well as extra plating, better treads, so forth and so on.
Sound: 9/10
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Definitely some of the best music I've heard in a while for a video game. It feels like you're listening to the same songs throughout the whole game, which is why I gave this a 9 instead of a 10, but those songs are so good and played at just the right times, you really won't mind too much, if at all. The sound effects in general were done really well, so I don't have any complaints there.
You can tell when you get a headshot since it makes a different sound effect as opposed to a body shot. You can also select between Japanese and English voices, which was a wonderful feature for them to add. When I played the demo for this game, I was sold on the gameplay, but the English voices made my ears bleed, lol.
With a cast as large as this, it was nice to know I could just choose to have everything in the original language with English subtitles.
Replay Value: 8/10
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I really don't find too much of a reason to play through the game again, except for the New Game+ feature. There are some things you can only get by playing through it more than once, but Valkyria Chronicles allows you to go through any scene you've already been through or any battle you have already finished, so aside from playing through it again for the small extras, there's not much of a reason for me to do such a thing.
Now that is not to say you wouldn't enjoy it a second time through, but I guess it's just up to the player, really. We are supposed to be getting some DLC for Valkyria Chronicles in January which adds a new skirmish, so that will be nice. Japan has two skirmishes available for download (at a small price) along with a new difficulty known as, "Hard EX", so that will definitely add to the replay value once we get those, I think.
All-in-all though, I believe this game does have tons of replay value potential though, simply because of the roster. You can go through the game with so many different combinations of units and characters, and set personal challenges for yourself.
Overall Score: 9/10
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I really just can't express enough about this game in this review. I loved everything about it. I remember watching the trailer back in '07 and saying to myself, "I definitely want to play that".
After making my purchase, it exceeded my expectations and quickly soared to being up on my top 3 favorite titles for the Playstation 3 which are out at the moment. I would highly suggest buying this if you are a RPG fan, you like anime, or you just love strategy games which have a huge roster, giving you tons of flexibility with how you wish to play the game. I can honestly say, this game has really shown me that SEGA can in fact make fantastic games when they pour their heart into it.
You can really just see how much effort they put into making this title. Everything is just top-notch. If you won't be amazed by the graphics, it will be the music. If it isn't the music, it will be the characters. If not the characters, it will be the gameplay.
For me, it was all of the above. It is definitely worth every penny and it should last you anywhere between 30-40 hours on your first playthrough. So, if you haven't already considered buying it, maybe you should put this on your list of things to get for Christmas!
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