Review: Valkyria Chronicles Remastered
If you haven’t tried the original PS3 cult classic Valkyria Chronicles, Sega has issued orders for it’s return for the PS4. Valkyria Chronicles Remastered is a blend of tactical RPG and a third person shooter (And tons of anime tropes) that creates a different take on the tactical games. Instead of a tradition grid base design, the player can control individual units to position, attack and defend in third person views while the battlefield reacts to their actions. This places high tension on each calculated step because success or failure follows every moment.
Taking place in an alternate world of 1935, in a fictional continent called Europa, the lands are in war over the powerful mineral called Ragnite. The Empire of the East Europan Imperial Alliance has declare a full scale invasion against the Atlantic Federation to take over their supply of Ragnite and this war causes Welkin Gunther to flee from his home town with his sister and town watch captain Alicia Melchiott with his father’s tank, the Edelweiss. Welkin and his group join the Federation to free his country of Gallia and fight back the Empire. Welkin begins his military career as a newly promoted Lieutenant of Squad 7, a militia force of new recruits and veteran officers that quickly gain Welkin’s respect and command. As Welkins and Squad 7 engage in more missions, their strength increase but the Empire forces also unleash more destructive powers upon the Federation that
Valkyria Chronicles features a battle system that allows the player a certain number of actions per turn, called Action Points. AP allows the player to decide what actions units should perform such as advancing, attacking or reinforcing a position. Enemies will be performing similar actions on their turns to assault or flank the player’s units. Each action requires foresight to estimate situations and figure out the best strategies to take on the enemy. The Player has 5 classes of soldiers to bring to the battlefields, each with their own strengths and weakness that depending on how well the player can utilize, will quickly determine if battles will be easy or difficult. The player will also have a tank unit, the Edelweiss, that can be customized to fit the right situation. Battles will be certain conditions to be require the player to survive waves of enemies, eliminate certain units on the battlefield or rescue important assets.
Valkyria Chronicles looks and feels like an anime, with its rough sketched visuals and it’s very active cut scenes. The game is broken into chapters, with each containing missions and story selections to interact. Extra background information and gallery selections are unlocked after completing each chapter. Valkyria Chronicles Remastered features all of the original content, with added content that was originally DLC packs such as Hard EX Mode, two side stories (Edy’s Mission: Enter the Edy Detachment & Selvaria’s Mission: Behind Her Blue Flame) and challenge missions that have extra conditions. 
I was able to pick up and play for hours to learn more about the world of VC and it’s characters that fight. The first few missions ease first time players with basic controls and tactics, but later missions are challenging that require precise actions and certain utilization before battle begin. Organizing my troops to be a certain level, having the proper skills unlocked and building up the tank with the right parts all help determine the difficulty of each mission.Mindless decisions and run and gun tactics do not grant victories in this game, as one wrong action could cause a domino effect on the battlefield that can make you lose it all. Each defeat feels personal and every victory in the game is feels greatly earned.
If you are a fan of anime and tactical RPGs, this is a perfect game to experience. You can easily enjoy the quirky characters and enhanced visuals that still finds a gaming place in 2016.
