It’s been eight years; you could be forgiven for skipping Valkyria Chronicles on its first time out. I certainly did, as the fall of 2008 left me consumed by Mirror’s Edge, LittleBigPlanet, and the time-devouring monster of Persona 4. Either by infatuation with a flourishing generation of consoles, or a simple disinterest in a story-heavy alternate history World War II anime-influenced turn-based strategy game that’s also an action hybrid role-playing game, Valkyria Chronicles came—and went—and only drew the attention of a privileged few.
It seemed like everyone who touched Valkyria Chronicles was smitten with its charm. Despite pleas for engagement, and ironically a word of caution against Valkyria Chronicles’ localized PSP sequel, few took notice until Valkyria Chronicles Remastered made its way to Windows platforms at the end of 2014. Now, digitally, and for a smart $30 price-tag at as a physical retail product, Valkyria Chronicles makes its way to the PlayStation 4.
From the opening cut-scene, it’s hard to imagine where all the time went. Thanks to a watercolor by-way-of cel shading style and a deliberately muted color pallet, Valkyria Chronicles looks natural in 2016’s visual landscape. It’s not going to compete with the Uncharted or similarly budgeted games, but Valkyria Chronicles unique delivery scales better than its Unreal Engine 3 contemporaries.
If style opens the door, context may keep you in the room a bit longer. Fortunately, Valkyria Chronicles delivers a tale that can last half of its forty-plus hour runtime. A rough analog to the actual second World War, the continent of Europa is locked in a struggle between two opposing forces. On one literal side is the Atlantic Federation in the west, leaving the Imperial Alliance in the east. The neutral city of Gallia, home to the rare mineral Ragnite, is invaded by the increasingly aggressive Imperial Alliance. This sets Valkyria Chronicles’ objective protagonist, the young Welkin Gunther, into action.
The story Valkyria Chronicles aches to tell is as much about imperial invasion and the debris of war as it is the interpersonal relationships between Welkin and his crew. Forming Squad 7, Welkin is closest with his #2, the plucky Alicia Melchiott, and his adopted sister, Isara. Other prominent members of Squad 7 include Rosie, who serves is a racist foil against Isara, as well as two very special characters borrowed from Sega’s other beloved RPG, Skies of Arcadia.
For me, however, Valkyria Chronicles was primarily a story about Jane. As the chapters go by the player is granted a greater degree of control, including the ability to recruit squad members and deploy them in the battlefield. Death, if unaddressed for three rounds, is permanent in Valkyria Chronicles, adding a sense of weight to everyone under your command. Jane, however, was one of my first choices and she performed marvelously in her duties as an offense-minded Shocktrooper. While Jane couldn’t function well on actual roads, which is tied to a mechanic we’ll get to shortly, her ability to smoke Lancers, relentless hate for Imperials, and staunch defense in the face of opposing fire made her a valuable member of my squad. No one was like Jane. I needed Jane in my squad.
What’s interesting about Valkyria Chronicles is that virtually every one of its fifty-plus characters carries enough definition to stand out in a squad. While they’re obviously divided by five classes, they’re also defined through unique talents, called potentials, that can act as modifiers or buffs. Jane’s avoidance of roads, for example, is a caveat until it’s balanced by her fearless will in the face of enemy fire. Furthermore, each and every member of the squad has their own unique dialogue, voice actor, and optional story segments. Valkyria Chronicles doesn’t go as deep down the rabbit hole as something like Persona 4, but it’s well above the emotionless drones that typically populate turn-based strategy games.
Accompanying a turn-based strategy game with a complimenting plot line is a challenge Valkyria Chronicles solves by framing its narrative inside an annotated scrapbook. On the Gallian Front, which is even narrated by an in-game historian, covers the entire saga from the eyes of Squad 7. Most entries depict a small cut-scene with the major players, while others, some of them optional, and cover ground with other members of the squad. Racism, the subtle horror of war, sympathetic background of both sides, and generations of seething conflict are resolved inside Valkyria Chronicles’ spiraling narrative.
Other entries of On the Gallian Front depict major battles. This is where Valkyria Chronicles’ turn-based foundation takes over. Battles are depicted on top down map showcasing positions of both enemy and player units. Win and fail conditions are established before you’re essentially set free to perform as you see fit. Command points dictate how often you can control, move, and fire weapons of any one of your units. Upon spending a command point, you can move your unit in real time from a third-person point of view. A unit is permitted to fire only once, but can move around until his or her actions points are extinguished.
Valkyria Chronicles’ operation as a de-facto third-person shooter is bold declaration of accessibility. Units don’t feel like pawns under your bidding, but rather tangible soldiers whose prowess is dependent on your actions. Contextually sensitive pieces of the environment, be it ducking in tall grass or taking cover behind a solid wall, factor in the ability to shoot an opposing force. You’re even free to aim the reticule, taking the risk of a headshot over the higher-percentage of a body shot. Other factors like height advantages, the number of enemies in a given area, and the proximity of life-wrecking tanks also merit immediate consideration.
While Valkyria Chronicles’ perspective grants a sense of freedom and agency, it’s not without its flaws. Too often I would burn action points by trying to round a corner that couldn’t be cross, or waffle along the side of a barrier my character refused to hop over. Point of view is simple on the over-world map, but it only serves as an abstract of the proper battlefield. Furthermore, it’s not exactly reflective of sensible tactics, as point-blank shooting a guy in the face or pausing just out of line-of-sight isn’t consistent with reality. These sacrifices are acceptable for what Valkyria Chronicles attempts to do, but should be taken into consideration all the same.
A further sense of comradery is granted by the autonomous actions of your squad. During an enemies’ turn, if you’re fired upon and within a reasonable proximity, a member of your squad will return fire. Likewise, with certain characters, being physically close to others raises their ability. Personally I found tremendous viability in making a sacrifice play by grabbing the attention of a soldier with my Scout and then unloading on him with my Shocktrooper, but a myriad of other strategies are always ready and available.
Five different classes are available for each battle. Scouts have the highest number of action points and are especially useful for capturing bases. Lancers are tank busters, or whatever else you want to apply a significant amount of weaponry toward. Shocktroopers are balanced soldiers, and by far the most universally applicable class. Engineers can positively and negatively affect the battlefield. Snipers have the greatest risk and reward, offering high powered offense at the cost of a single (hit or miss) shot. Welkin is also in command of your only tank, which is balanced out by consuming two command points.
Almost all of Squad 7’s assets can be upgraded. Entire classes can be upgraded en-masse, meaning you won’t have to coach up a new recruit if you happen to lose an old one. This comes at the cost of personal character development—backstories for members of your team are unlocked as you use them, and these also open or shift their potentials—but do a good enough job at keeping everyone on task. Similarly, class’ individual weapons and every aspect of your tank can be refined and customized to fit a situation.
Difficulty is a matter of subjectivity. On one hand you can repeat skirmishes, remixed battles on familiar maps, infinitely, and kind of grind your way toward higher experience and money. You can also save your game after literally every turn, ensuring your ability to turn back and reset the clock if anything goes south (Jane must never die). Performance is measured exclusively in the amount of command points burned, rewarding pure efficiency over tenacity and improvisation. It’s more fun to play like everything’s on fire, but the game seems to demand routine and perfection when dolling out rewards. It’s a touch choice, especially when later chapters deliver extremely long contests. In a sense the ‘cheap’ save system is a saving grace, allowing you to erase unfortunate mistakes and save perfect runs for future plays.
Valkyria Chronicles most endearing trick is how it takes a myriad of dispirit themes and mechanics and ties them all together in a cohesive, let alone enjoyable, game. Virtually every action produces a tangible consequence in some other action, be it on the battlefield or your personal investment in your squad. Sometimes the cut-scenes are long winded, and they can fall prey to regrettable anime-inspired tropes, but their intent—a lighthearted and simultaneously deathly serious dramatization of small-scale global conflict, all under the guise of active but turn-based role playing—deserves commendation. Valkyria Chronicles comes together because of how well it compliments personal investment. It’s a tired but apt adage, you get what you put in, and Valkyria Chronicles is skilled application of that concept.
It’s almost as if people have been screaming about this Valkyria Chronicles game for years.
