User Review : Valkyria Chronicles

Valkyria Chronicles' Offerings of a Unique Style + Great Combat Make This a Must-Have.

There are certain times where war is just thrown into the daily grinder of high-octane moments and shooting. When it comes to Valkyria Chronicles, war is literally painted with a fine brush showing the many true colors of it. While VC offers a more unique take on war and storytelling, it also bodes a strong, revwarding combat system.

The year is EC 1935 in the vast settlement known as Europa. The tyranical force, The Empire, will stop at nothing to take over the entire continent and clashes with The Federation in an all-out war. Stuck literally in the middle of the war is the small country of Gallia, a nuetral country, that's being invaded by the Empire at the start of the game. The main character you follow is Welkin Gunther, a simple man who gets caught up in the action once chaos ensues.

The overall story and storytelling are well-made with the main problem being quite intertwined with World War II. Some may feel this could make the story too copied, but to most they'll enjoy its new ideas and feel like it's its own world. The storytelling is told through a book mode which has its own chapters that either have cutscenes, picture-esque dialouge scenes, or the playable skirmishes. What's certainly so great about the story aspects is the way it's given throughout the game. When the bullets stop flying, you begin to see the effects of what war does to so many aspects of a person's life such as: the economy + business, racism, families, the ecosystem, etc. These stories help make VC argueably the best told WWII story without even being one, although it would've been nice to see more 'true grit' involved as well.

VC's gameplay is founded on the BLiTZ system. Each side has 20 turns to complete each objective and within those turns come CP's, or Command Points. Whenever you use a CP, you command one person in your squad to go to a selected area within their range and either use this for attacking or defending (depending on the situation). Most of the things you find are standard to strategy game or RPG's but it's able to combine them with a good turn-based setup.

Your team is made up of your expected members: scouts, snipers, lancers (anti-tank), engineers (tank healers), shocktroopers, tank(s), and medics (you aren't playable though). Each member have his prime uses with advantages and disadvantages such as: distance they can travel per CP, items, health, etc. These help offer a cohesive balance as to how you should start each skirmish and how you should attack each objective. Although the map layout may fall under linearity, there's plenty of options as to how you can reach each goal once you start diving into the early-middle chapters. With the execption of the inconsistent enemy AI, VC's battle system is entertaining and fresh (also thx to it's well-drawn stylus)

Valkyria Chronicles is really a great all-around SRPG that has meticulous presentation values in all aspects, a satisfying combat system, and a great mixture of strategy to make this feel like a wholesome game from start to finish. While VC does have its flaws, they're small in comparison to the great experience you'll have with this game.

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coolbeans' 2008 Game of the Year Award