Valkyria Chronicles

[Spark Of Spirit]

So, I never played the first game of this series, I only watched some videos and was blown away by the unique ideas the series had. Sega and RPGs are a wonderful combination.

Now that I've played the sequel (which I loved despite the rather boring and predictable story) and am definitely picking up the follow up, I will be looking into acquiring the original game since I now have a PS3.

Does anyone have an opinion on this rather new series?

[Rosalinas Spare Wand]

I kept my eyes on the first one ever since it had a small blurb in an issue of Game Informer. I figured it was going to be a Battalion Wars clone with some Fire Emblem elements since that is what the screenshots hinted at. I didn't really expect it to be as popular as it became.

While I prefer the first game to its sequel, it has some some very obvious flaws that prevent it from being the best SRPG of this generation. Notably the story and cutscenes are ridiculously cheesy. The voice acting is great but the 3D models movements in action do not seem natural and never seem to flow well with the dialogue. Also, the game is far too easy even on the hardest setting. I had to intentionally avoid spamming Scouts to get a challenge out of the game. Still, that does give you an interesting option of how to proceed in a map. Win quickly and you get an S-rank and bonus weapons and money. Take your time and you can rack up victories, experience, and upgrades.

Just like Fire Emblem, the characters you recruit are very crucial to your strategy. There's far less unique classes but each one brings their own abilities to the battlefield. I personally never left behind Jane or Marina because the former makes a great front line unit that shines in impossible situations and the latter has some killer accuracy. Not to mention guests Vyse and Aika who are just as awesome in action here.

3rd game is looking way better than both entries so far. Since the squad is supposed to be significantly smaller than the other games, it'll probably be as challenging as I had hoped it would be from the start. The specials kind of alleviate the small squad though, and I was able to clear both maps in the demo just using Reila and Imca's special commands, but the second one has an additional goal that makes clearing the map far harder than it is. I hope they implement more of those within the game.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yeah, I noticed in the second game that Scouts seem to be the most valuable class with surprising range and accuracy. I used mostly scouts, and a shock trooper or two and their upgraded forms to get me through most battles. Though it might just be me, but the armored soldier class seems to almost break the game. They're ridiculously strong against even tanks and are pretty much your only option for beating bosses relatively fast.

But yeah, VC3 looks like a real step up from the second game, and I can't wait to see how it shapes up. There's a real masterpiece of a game in this formula, so I hope we get to see it.

[Rosalinas Spare Wand]

Armored Techs? I never used them but I have heard they were ridiculously strong and could clear entire maps by themselves like Scouts used to. There's only one in my VC3 demo and I rarely use him since he's slow and has abysmal AP. It's pretty fun to whack people and make them fly though.

Also, Kurt's special ability is sorely disappointing. All it does is allow you to bring some allies with you towards wherever you are going. They don't get any defense boosts though so running through a crowd of enemies will just net you more casualties. It's useful for moving others without wasting AP I suppose.

[Spark Of Spirit]

That ability would have definitely helped me in 2, since I always seem to have people in empty spaces after I clear an area and need them in another.

When it comes to strategy RPGs that aren't like Final Fantasy Tactics or Vandal Hearts, I suck. I literally take too long to plan moves by building a solid line and pushing through slowly. When I play fast, everything falls apart for me. I'm just terrible at planning things on the fly with a large group.

In the VC games (well, 2) I'm thankfully not punished too much for taking it slow, but having to do everything fast (like finish in 10 turns is always tough for me because I'm too fucking methodical) doesn't seem to hurt me as much in this series as long as I can use AP to erase a costly mistake before it's too late. I suppose that could be considered too easy, but for me it seems to work out just fine.

The only thing that pissed me off were the bosses, but it looks like they changed that up in 3 and they look way better. I really hated how bosses would dodge anything short of sniper fire in 2 and if hit it would still do like no damage. That's when I discovered that surrounding the boss with armored techs just breaks the whole point of them.

And yeah, if you have armored techs in 2, they can pretty much destroy anything you come across. Their low movement range doesn't hurt them because of the smaller maps. You could basically cover half the map in one turn with one of them, and if you upgrade the class, you can kill two enemies standing beside each other in one turn. It got too easy, though, so I basically kept them only for the harder story and boss battles.

[Foggle]

I like the VC games, but I'm not too big on SRPGs, so I'm not sure I could list them as personal favorites of mine. They're excellent despite the horrendous stories and dialogue, though.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I started the first one and got up to the first chapter. Yeah, it's just like the sequel. The light differences in controls are throwing me off a bit, though.

I'm liking the look of 3 a lot, however. It definitely looks like it can top the first 2, and I hope it does.

[Spark Of Spirit]

The rumor is that Sega Of America is done with the PSP.

So looks like we won't be getting VC3, that 7th Dragon sequel (we never even got the original) or the complete version of Phantasy Star Portable 2 (I called this) will be coming our way.

This is what I was worried about when the NGP was originally announced. America moves on, Japan keeps making RPGs for the PSP and we miss out.

Sigh.

[Rosalinas Spare Wand]

http://www.siliconera.com/2011/07/07/what-if-bonus-mission-lets-you-raid-citadel-ghirlandaio-in-valkyria-chronicles-3/

Why do they rub salt in my wounds mama?

[Spark Of Spirit]

 

[Rosalinas Spare Wand]

Bump for more butthurt.

Sega's releasing an expanded version of 3 with new missions, some of which were originally DLC promos. Lower price tag too.

I'm really really tempted to import this one, especially since the window for 3's localization has all but closed.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Unfortunately, them skipping 3 pretty much puts me off from the series for good.

I just can't commit to a series that I can't get invested in.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Giant bump, but for a good reason!

The original game is getting a PS4 re-release and remaster and a fourth game has been announced!

Now to hope for an NA release and a translation/re-release of 3.

[Foggle]

Wonderful news! I hope the fourth game being on PS4 means we'll finally see a return of those glorious watercolor graphics...

[Rosalinas Spare Wand]

Azure Revolution is about as far away from Valkyria Chronicles as you could get. I'm glad the series still has some life in it, but it's so disappointing this is the direction it's going in for now.

Really hope the 2nd and 3rd game get remasters, even if it's just Vita ports they're better than nothing.