Valkyria Chronicles

[NeoCracker]

This game is made of pure win.

The biggest problems are voice acting, which overall is actually pretty good, just nothing special, and so far the story is pretty basic, but still somewhat entertaining.

The game play, however, is amazing. Its a stratagy RPG, however when you take control of a unit, you move around the field as you would in a game like Call of Duty, you can climb up laters, take cover fire, and such things.

However, if you run into firing range of enemy troops such as Tanks, shocktroops, and scouts, you are going to be peppered with bullets even on your turn. (Same if an enemy runs into your firing range.) However its only against a character in active mode, where you are actually moving around with that character and selecting a target.

I won't get more into details though, as I'll drag on for a while. :p

The Graphics are also beautiful.

Its the game that made me decide I wanted a PS3, and damn is it worth it. This may actually be one of my favorite games ever. :p

[Dreddz]

I want this game SOOOOOOO bad. The demo was great. I'm out in central London tomorrow so should be around enough places that sell it. Hopefully Ill get it then.

As for the graphics. They are great artistically but you need to see them on a HDTV. I watched my friend play the demo on his SDTV and it looked like a PS2 game. Seriously. Good thing I don't settle with any SD crap anymore :cool:

[Roto13]

I still haven't gotten around to playing the demo. :P It's a nice looking game, and I may or may not be interested in buying it, depending on how the demo is. xP I know there are a lot of other games I'm more interested in getting soon, though. Stupid fall. :P

[ljkkjlcm9]

My friend and I enjoyed the demo on his PS3. He's probably getting this game, but I'm more excited for Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World coming out!

The gameplay was certainly something refreshing, but I've played somewhat similar games in the past that were absolute fail. This game is certainly much better than those.

THE JACKEL

[NeoCracker]

What other games have played like Valkeria? Seems extremely unique to me. :p

Also, one of the soldiers you get in the beginning is Vyse. XD

Yes, Vyse from Arcadia. He's a Shocktrooper. Has the clear eye patch and everything. XD

[ljkkjlcm9]

uhm, Future Tactics: The Uprising.... YouTube - Future Tactics (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TORRcsWJgPc&feature=related)
it was good gameplay, including being able to destroy ANYTHING, even having hidden items under rocks or houses., but everything else sucked making it just unenjoyable.
Valkeria Chronicles is similar gameplay, and then some like with enemies attacking while you move, but also with so much more in the other areas.

THE JACKAL

[Bolivar]

yeah i'm reallly trying to get this game, everything about it, from the new take on SRPG's, having Hitoshi sakimoto compose the score, the beautiful visuals that really remind me of DQVIII, not to mention if it sells, Shining Force IV might become more of a possibility.

[Roto13]

I finally played the demo. Not bad, but as awesome as Largo is, I don't think I'd want to play through the whole game.

[NeoCracker]

I FUCKING HATE STEALTH BASED MISSIONS!

[JKTrix]

I just did one involving Largo and Vegetables last night. It wasn't *that* bad, though there was a lot of cover.

[NeoCracker]

The one after Botamys is a LOT more annoying. You only have 2 people, one of which moves at less then half speed. :(

[Dreddz]

I managed to buy the game today and sat myself through to the third chapter. So far I've just been in tutorials but I'm expecting the game to pick up very soon.

So far the story is setting itself up nicely but it still manages to make me cringe far too often (did you just call me a beetle!?). And why must everybody be called a really stupid name? Why can't there be someone called Jack? Its weird to think that somebody called Jack would be original for these type of games.

I absolutely love the graphics in this game. The cutscenes never fail to make my jaw drop, shame those couldn't be in-game graphics.

The gameplay feel really good and is a lot more strategic than I originally thought. I don't know what these stealth missions are like yet but I really enjoyed hiding in tall grass while playing so I don't think the stealth missions will bother me too much.

[NeoCracker]

Being able to hide in grass and sneak around like that is very fun. But that's nothing like the stealth missions.

You are basically given one path to walk down, and 2 or 3 guys. In the first one you have to do story wise, those two units are scouts. Nothing else. Just two scouts. One with crappy mobility.

The objective is to follow this one path and make it to the other side.

[JKTrix]

There are also Mortars being fired after every round. They don't know where you are at first, but if you get spotted by a spotlight they will start landing closer to your position.

I didn't think it was that bad, rather an interesting twist on the gameplay. Only had to restart it once because there was a Shocktrooper in there who was tougher than I anticipated, and he killed Alicia during the initial counter-attack. Got him the 2nd time around, though this was the battle where I discovered that you can save in the middle of the battle and re-load without consequence.

I last played it on the mission following that, though I quit when I used all of my CP on Vyse attacking a Named Sniper who dodged every single time.

Lovin this game in Japanese, since I know most of the actors from other anime. A few of them are perfectly cast, as if the role was created for them. The enemy Commander Maximillian, for example, is voiced almost exactly the same as the anime character 'Zero' or Lelouche from Code Geass... who was also a commander of sorts and prince of an empire. Though I am noticing several differences between the Japanese dialogue and the text on the screen, most of it isn't that important. Just subtle differences. For example, Ellet's 'Writings on the Wall' newspaper does not yet have a name in the Japanese version, at least as far as I've played. She just calls it 'My Newspaper'. I have my theories as to why this is.

Stealth edit: I love my snipers
http://i35.:bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou::bou:/24yxqox.jpg

[Dreddz]

Snipers almost feel too overpowered. I've leveled mine up to Level 8 and I have no problems doing headshot's which most of the time is a one-hit kill. I just got through the mission in the desert and I had my snipers stand back and literally wreck absolutely everyone on the field and had the rest of my team doing nothing but occupy posts.

Scouts seem pretty useless to be honest. Sure they can run far but you never go beyond where the rest of your team mates are because your pretty much dead meat otherwise. Maybe I haven't delved deep enough into the game to find enough purpose for them yet. It seems like having one engineer, one lancer, a few Shock Troopers and two snipers gets you through almost anything.

Oh and now I've gotten past the tutorial stuff the game just got ten times more awesome. This is probably one of my favourite games this gen (best RPG without question) and one of the best SRPG's I've ever played. No doubt this is this years sleeper hit.

[JKTrix]

I was flicking through my R&D menu a few days ago, thinking I had fully upgraded all my weapons and stuff (except Grenades, that still had 2 '???' spaces left) when I accidentally pressed the Down button. And there were MORE upgrades that branched in different directions. Definitely tripled my 'this is awesome' ranking. I love how every weapon has a story too, it's not just different stats for different weapons.

I agree, snipers in optimal situations are pretty hax. As you can see by Catherine above, she has a weapon where it's pretty much impossible to miss, because the 'hit circle' is so teeny. You do come across some areas where long-range visibility isn't very good (stuff like trees and w/e blocking the way), and snipers have like the lowest Action Points of everyone so they can't move very much, so it balances out a little. I've also come across one particular 'named enemy' that had the uncanny ability to dodge pretty much anything I threw at him. Still, they're a great class when nothing is blocking them.

Don't know if you've unlocked 'Orders' yet, but some of them are really useful. 'Retreat' has probably been my most-used one so far, partly because of the snipers :P I just leave them out somewhere, then when I Occupy someone's camp (with a lone Scout) I get people to retreat then re-summon them at the just-captured camp. Only uses 2 CP to do all of that, where it would likely take more than that for the sniper to either run there themselves or run back to the first base to 'retreat' then get re-summoned. Sniper Support and Mortar Support are great too.

[Nifleheim7]

This game is amazing.Gameplay,graphics,story and characters are all top notch.This game alone made my PS3 worth its money.

I loved the stealth mission with Largo although it was a bit too easy.I'm currently stuck in chapter 7,because i probably need to level up my lancers.Selvaria raped my units.:(

[Dreddz]

I literally just cleared Chapter 7. I think I spent my whole day just trying to get past the fight with the huge tank. The part with Selvaria is actually quite easy seeing as the AI isn't too smart. Gather all the lancers to the bottom half of the map and hide behind all the ruins. Selvaria only goes so far before she stays put. As long as you don't get in her line of fire your cool.

I actually lost my first team member in that fight which was one of the snipers. Its pretty deep watching the screen fade to white as you watch them die. I'm pretty sure that triggered the old man in the cemetery to give me a new Order though (it coincidentally was one linked to snipers).

I think fights are a tad too long in this game. Spending an hour on one fight to then die and head back right to the start is pretty disheartening.

[Vivisteiner]

^You can save during fights, according to a review I read. I'm waiting for the European release though.

[Nifleheim7]

I literally just cleared Chapter 7. I think I spent my whole day just trying to get past the fight with the huge tank. The part with Selvaria is actually quite easy seeing as the AI isn't too smart. Gather all the lancers to the bottom half of the map and hide behind all the ruins. Selvaria only goes so far before she stays put. As long as you don't get in her line of fire your cool.

I thought that if you destroy the tank radiators quickly you can end the battle before Selvaria arrives...At least thats what i was intending to do.



I actually lost my first team member in that fight which was one of the snipers. Its pretty deep watching the screen fade to white as you watch them die. I'm pretty sure that triggered the old man in the cemetery to give me a new Order though (it coincidentally was one linked to snipers).
Yeah i agree.I lost Freesia when Selvaria arrived but i restarted the game.Yeah i'm cheap.:p
Also what's going on with orders?Once the guy in the cemetery offered me the retreat order but i didn't have enough exp to "buy" it.When after some battles returned to him it was no longer available...Does this mean that i lost this order forever?


I think fights are a tad too long in this game. Spending an hour on one fight to then die and head back right to the start is pretty disheartening.

I agree again but i think there is an option to save in the middle of the battle,i'm not sure though...:confused:

Edit:Vivisteiner beat me.

[Dreddz]

I thought that if you destroy the tank radiators quickly you can end the battle before Selvaria arrives...At least thats what i was intending to do.
Don't think so. After one is down they message you saying that she is coming and after the second is down a cutscene plays showing her arriving. You have to take down the last radiator while she is there.



Also what's going on with orders?Once the guy in the cemetery offered me the retreat order but i didn't have enough exp to "buy" it.When after some battles returned to him it was no longer available...Does this mean that i lost this order forever?
Not sure. I was wise enough to buy it :p


I agree again but i think there is an option to save in the middle of the battle,i'm not sure though...:confused:

Edit:Vivisteiner beat me.

Don't think so. There hasn't been a save option in the menu during any of the battles I've been in. Neocracker said you have a chance to save in the middle of a later battle so I think they only allow you to save mid-battle if they know the battle is going to take long. Although I don't see how battles lasting up to an hour don't have save points in the middle. I mean how long are the ones with save points, 2 hours!?

[Vivisteiner]

^According to 1UP, you can save midbattle.


You can even save midbattle anytime you want -- really a must for any strategy game, but implemented by so few.
Valkyria Chronicles Hands-On Preview (http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3170878)

More evidence:

Orders can affect the entire party or individual soldiers. You can also call for reinforcements, check victory conditions, study enemy troop movement, and enter the system menu, which allows you to save in the middle of battles.
RPGFan Reviews - Valkyria Chronicles (http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/Valkyria_Chronicles/index.html)

[NeoCracker]

Wasn't me who said that, I didn't know until this thread. :p

And the only battle that took as long as the Super heavy Tank was the Super heavy tank. I don't think the other battles were more the half that length at most. :p

Though for that particular fight, the lenght was very appealing, considering the epic nature of that battle.

Though I too lost my first man there. Vyse. rest in piece. ;_;

[JKTrix]

Command mode/overhead Map>Press Triangle for menu>System>Save. I don't think they ever explicitly tell you that you can do it, but I discovered it in the next battle after the Big Tank. I mentioned it a little earlier in this thread. So I'm assuming it's been there from the beginning.


The big tank battle, most of my people were knocked out. I didn't let any of them 'die' though. Largo is the only one from the start who didn't die. At one point, I actually only had The Tank and Largo alive. However, by that time I had already destroyed all the radiators. I made Welkin flee to the other side of the map, Largo hid behind one of the ruins, and I just summoned a squad of 4 Lancers and 1 engineer at the last base. Stocked up on CP, waited for the big tank to get close... then pummeled it in one turn.

See, I had enough CP for each lancer to take 3 turns to shoot their lancer 3 times (that's 12 CP), then use 1 CP to move my engineer near all of them.... which replenished their ammo. Then I still had about 5 CP left after that, to plunge 5 more lancer shots into the tank. Most memorable battle so far for me.

As for the retreat order, I too missed it the first time because I had spent all my XP on training. You can get it again later. Just keep checking the guy after each chapter.

[Dreddz]

I feel like such a fool now. I just assumed that System was just where you tweaked game controls etc. I'm still apprehensive about saving too often as Ill assume it'll make the game easier. Plus going through a whole battle at once is more satisfying than booting it up from a save just before it ends.

I also finally went through the stealth mission and thought it was dull all the way through. At least the battle afterward's was more fun.

[Slothy]

Good news: I finally tracked down a copy of this game yesterday. It was the last one at the EB I found it at, after trying three stores before them, not to mention looking several times in the last few weeks.

Bad News: It's a Christmas present for me so I don't get to touch it until the 25th, and then I still have to wait until the 29th to get back home to my PS3 and play it. The wait is killing me.

[Madame Adequate]

This game is the main reason I want a PS3. Guess it'll have to wait though. :(

[Pete for President]

I just played the demo after reading all those positive posts and it did wake my interest. I might pick this up when it gets a little cheaper.

[Nifleheim7]

Good news: I finally tracked down a copy of this game yesterday. It was the last one at the EB I found it at, after trying three stores before them, not to mention looking several times in the last few weeks.


Good news indeed...It means the game is selling quite well.:)

[Slothy]

Good news: I finally tracked down a copy of this game yesterday. It was the last one at the EB I found it at, after trying three stores before them, not to mention looking several times in the last few weeks.


Good news indeed...It means the game is selling quite well.:)

Actually, I think it more likely that none of the stores around here brought in large quantities. Seems to be the way things go with awesome games that just seemingly come out of nowhere. Plus the stores here aren't as good about getting in some of the lesser known titles as the EB back home. Yet another reason I need to move back someday.

[Pete for President]

I'm getting more and more tempted as I read stuff about this game. There's just too many games worth checking out this fall =(

[Dreddz]

Ok so I thought I'd resurrect this thread after I had beaten the game to see if anyone else had. Took me around 24 hours hour to finish the game with all the side missions done also.

There's nothing much else I need to say about this game that I haven't already said. This is without a doubt one of the best games this year and the best RPG this generation. The game seemed to get better as you go which a lot of RPG's (and games of all genres for that matter) don't seem to get right anymore.

I do have one one small thing I'd like to rant about though. And that's the story. I generally thought the story was better than most in the genre but it seemed that logic and the message the game was trying to give kept clashing. The only character in the game that had any logic whatsoever was Faldio and the game gave him no credit at all. He knew that Alicia's powers were the only way to beat the empire but Welkin stupidly thought that will power and team work was the only way to win the war. If I'm not mistaken it was Faldio triggering Alicia's powers that saved Squad 7 when they clashed Selvaria. And it was Alicia's powers who blew the hole in the Marmota's side which allowed Squad 7 to board the ship and destroy the Valkyrur lance. None of that could have been done if it wasn't for Faldio. And what does Faldio get for his wise choices? A punch in the face from Welkin and imprisonment. And it doesn't stop there. Faldio was the one who shut down the Marmota's power preventing Maximillion from killing everyone and I presume all of Gallia. Then he sacrificed himself and killed Maximillion. So ultimately he saved Gallia and not Squad 7. And then he is abruptly cut off from the story with no real closure to his character. Israra got all the attention once she had died and she barely did anything!

Well anyway I'm done ranting. The game could have done a lot more worse things than botch a small part of the story so I'm not too pissed. Ill finish this long ass post by repeating what I've said a million times. Great, great game. No-one should pass this up.

[Slothy]

Finally got to play it today (got it a bit before Christmas from my fiancee as I've been away for 6 weeks and have to be away again this coming week. She took some pity on me), and it's even better than the demo made me think it would be so far. Easily one of the best strategy RPG's I've played in years and one of my favourite games this year. I wish this weren't the sort of game that a lot of people will pass up, though I know that'll likely be the case.

[Dreddz]

Yeah the game has done pretty badly (http://www.giantbomb.com/news/retail-woe-unto-valkyria-chronicles/678/) according to the NPD. I wouldn't say 33,000 is that bad to be honest if you look at the other SRPG numbers. There has been a number of SRPG's released on the 360 which didn't even make it over 5,000 so Sega shouldn't feel too bad.

It does beg the question. why on earth release the game now, in the midst of the Christmas chaos. Despite the fact that Valkyria Chronicles is better than half the million sellers out there its only uber-geeks like us who appreciate it. Definitely isn't a good sign for us wanting more RPG's for the system.

[Slothy]

Hell, I'd say this is a bad sign for the genre that a great game like this goes unnoticed, even over Christmas. I suppose it doesn't help that Sega haven't been the greatest of developers in recent years with a few exceptions, or that I haven't seen much of a marketing push for the game. It definitely should have been released at a different time of the year as the Holiday season has been known to hurt amazing and better known games than this (I'm looking at you Beyond Good and Evil). I'm still surprised that the hardcore RPG faithful can't pull out more sales than that though. Maybe if it had been released on the PS2 it'd be different. I can't look at the link you posted now so I don't know if the sales includes sales in Japan. I'd be interested in seeing if they're any better.

[Bolivar]

I'm the last to bring up sales, but this is horrifying. That a game that looks and sounds so good, not to mention getting the reviews that its getting, and the praise that its gameplay gets? Damn.

Well, I'm part of the problem, I'm waiting till Christmas to get it, I'm playing way too many games now anywho. I'm sure I'll love, but I guess so much for showing the world that Sega Strategy RPGs can do well on the market. I'm guessing Shining Force IV won't be coming out anytime soon.

[Dreddz]

I can't look at the link you posted now so I don't know if the sales includes sales in Japan. I'd be interested in seeing if they're any better.

If I recall it sold over 150,000 in Japan which is ok. Although considering how good Valkyria Chronicles is, its still disappointing. If you add Japan, US and Europe it should have sold well over 200,000 which is enough for it to be a worthwhile investment for Sega. But if they are aware at how good the game actually was, they are probably as disappointed as us.


I'm guessing Shining Force IV won't be coming out anytime soon.
Well even if it was I wouldn't get your hopes up. Camelot (who made the good Shining Force games) have left Sega. I don't think Sega can pull off another Shining Force unfortunately.

Although what concerns me the most is that Sega's WOW division (who made Valkyria Chronicles and who's back catalog goes all the way back to Phantasy Star) are going to be under-utilized. They are rarely given opportunities to make RPG's but when they do they are always stellar. Problem is that Sega are only interested in profit and will work harder on more profitable projects (such as movie tie-in's *sigh*)

[Vivisteiner]

I'm guilty. I'm getting it this Christmas though, so I hope to make ammends.

[Nifleheim7]

I finished the game a couple days ago...
So far this is my favourite game of this generation.Seriously if you like RPGs you have to at least try this game!
Its a shame that games like these sell like **** and a mediocre FPS easily sells three times as much.

Oh,and something that i wanted to ask:Is Vyse's character inspired from Skies of Arcadia?I haven't played S.O.A. but the character on the cover looks a lot like him.He was one of my favourite shocktroopers.:D
Has anyone played Sakura Taisen?Is it any good?

Btw,here's a very interesting interview from the director and producer of the game:
Gamasutra - Emotions And War: The Valkyria Chronicles Interview (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3859/emotions_and_war_the_valkyria_.php)

[Mirage]

I want this game for christmas, but I doubt anyone will even find it.

[JKTrix]

Oh,and something that i wanted to ask:Is Vyse's character inspired from Skies of Arcadia?I haven't played S.O.A. but the character on the cover looks a lot like him.He was one of my favourite shocktroopers.:D
Has anyone played Sakura Taisen?Is it any good?


Vyse, as well as Aika and the Medic are all characters from Skies of Arcadia. Sakura Wars hasn't come out in English, so I doubt anyone here has played it. Although Sakura Wars 5 is apparently being brought over by NIS for the PS2, so I guess we'll get a chance to try it. It's a pretty popular franchise in Japan.

[Krelian]

Sakura Wars 5 as US release? That'd be awesome. I hope you're right.

I have played Sakura Wars 1 and 3 btw. As far as I can tell they're good games. I used translation guides to play them since I can't read Japanese ( :( ). After a while I gave up, though. There's just too much text and the guide was confusing. Also, having to look at a piece of paper all the time makes playing games less fun. Who would have thought...