(latest on top)
- EU date for the DLC packs announced! All 3 packs will be available on the 16th of April for 3.99€ each.
- Valkyria Chronicles made #11 total in the GAF GOTY 2008 voting,
thus easily claiming the title of top rated JRPG and top rated strategy game - New game+ details
- First impressions:
- speedpop
- El-Suave
- Volcynika
- Baha
- RpgN
- Tempy - DLC confirmed to be coming to NA and Europe early next year!
- Game is being sold in NA! Finally we can all embrace the glory that is Valkyria Chronicles together!
- Staff list (incomplete)
- Screenshots and description of the presentation
- First "I have the retail game!" post with photo
- Release Dates: 2008-10-31 EU, 2008-11-04 US
- Genre: SRPG
- Platform: PS3
- Publisher/Developer: SEGA
- Official Website
- Wikipedia
- Demo available on PSN (worldwide)
- Game length: 25-40 hours on the first playthrough.
- Made by a team composed of many former Skies of Arcadia developers.
- Music composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto.
- CANVAS graphics engine: Non-photorealistic stroke-based rendering offers a unique graphical style.
- Novel gameplay, combining elements from RPGs, TBS, RTS and third person shooters.
- Fantasy setting inspired by 1930s Europe.
- Dual audio option (choose between English and Japanese voice acting).
- Optional 4GB HDD installation, though "the disk load times were fine as they were" (nofi).
- "Valkyria Chronicles is an amazing experience. It’s rare, these days, that a game can make such a huge departure from its genre’s roots and yet keep the best things about it. It revolutionizes strategy RPGs in such a way that it can be appealing to fans of the subgenre, newcomers, and perhaps even sworn-off non-fans of it."(RPGLand, 10/10)
- "Unlike many tactical games, Valkyria Chronicles requires tactics. Gloriously, however, it does not confine the player to figuring out a single pattern or strategy per mission."
- "The characters are excellently developed, likeable, well-acted and well-scripted. While scattered elements of these will be labeled as cliche, the plot is executed well, the story is very enjoyable, the cast is quite likeable, and all of the above feel extra fresh because of the unique setting and scenario."
- "Another thing Valkyria has going on for it is challenge. Even in the first playthrough when “Normal” is the highest difficulty available for a given battle, this is a legitimately difficult game."
- - "The best thing about Valkyria is the way the game gets better the more you play it. As you progress through your first play through, unlocking improved weapons, character classes, command options, and skirmishes, you'll really start to bond with your squad as the solid story sucks you in."
- "Valkyria offers some of the most fun and rewarding game mechanics I have experienced in recent memory. It's an addictive game thanks to its depth and variety."
- "Though the story takes a purposefully narrow focus on Welkin's platoon and the relationships between its members, it never gets too melodramatic or clichéd. There is a lot of heart and humor, and the optional stories and side quests add to the depth of each character."
- - "Valkyria Chronicles is a truly magnificent outing for Sega. It dares to be different, it scoffs at genre conventions and finds its own path, and in doing so succeeds brilliantly as both a deep strategy experience and a wonderfully story-driven RPG."
- "Yet patient players will be rewarded: the story is quite charming and deftly told despite needing to support a hefty cast of characters each with their own journeys to take. Better, the art direction is exquisite, with its watercolour and pencil techniques conveying a pastoral romance to proceedings that contrasts poignantly with the machinery of war."
- "What's truly gratifying about each battle is that it feels like you emerge victorious because you made some smart decisions and adapted your strategy to the situation. Battlefields start small and confined in the early chapters, but soon open up into expansive fields brimming with tactical opportunity via an assortment of criss-crossing paths, back alleys, sniper towers and various war-torn debris."
- - "But, honestly, this is so innovative and so polished a game that if you pass it up, the real moron is you." (1UP, A-)
- "Like most of you, I wear my socks firmly ensconced within a pair of sneakers, which are themselves strapped tightly to my feet with strong, cordlike shoelaces. Imagine my disappointment in my footwear-securing preparations, then, when Valkyria Chronicles knocked those same socks clean off my feet. This is, without question, the best tactics game on the PS3 -- and it's one of the best games on PS3, period."
- - "Valkyria Chronicles is a excellent game, the way that the story and action fuse together is very impressive, as is the overall presentation. It looks fantastic, plays well and tells a wonderful story of one countries fight for survival against the odds. This is one game I would highly recommend for any PS3 owner looking for something different." (Wonderwallweb, 8.9)
- "Valkyria Chronicles is a sleeper hit, and a must for any strategy nut."
- - "There are some things you never knew you wanted in a strategy game. The third-person view does wonders to get you invested in every decision, and it’s great to have a worthwhile story. The gorgeous presentation and versatile combat make Valkyria Chronicles one of the best surprises of the year. It may not have been on your radar before, but you definitely shouldn’t let it pass you by." (Game Informer, 8.5 and 8.75)
- "It doesn’t have sprites or grid-based combat, but Valkyria Chronicles is pure strategic bliss. Sometimes it looks like a third-person shooter. At other moments, it appears to be about tank combat. You interact with and control your units in unconventional ways, but these mechanics are all just skins overlaying a classic and familiar strategy framework that puts players in the trenches like no other entry in the genre."
- - "Having seen the game in action some time ago, we expected something visually stunning, but we were impressed by the strength of the game's storyline and gameplay. It's easily one of the best looking games we've played this year, but thankfully there's plenty of strategic depth and engrossing gameplay to back it up." (GameSpy, 4.5/5)
- "While many role-playing games feature paper-thin characters that are barely worth listening to, these scenes are as enjoyable as the gameplay thanks to the charming characters."
- - "Valkyria Chronicles is truly a genre defining, revolutionary new take on the RPG genre. Even viewed as a strategy RPG, it’s excitingly and stunningly fresh, and manages to stand out from the crowd not only by being different but by having an interesting story and beautiful graphics. It might be different, and it might not follow the strict RPG rules to the letter – but give it a try. You might well find the change is long overdue." (RPGSite, 94/100)
In conclusion, if you don't buy this game you have only yourself to blame.
