Valkyria Chronicles Remastered Review (PS4)

Valkyria Chronicles Remastered, the original of which released on PS3 back in 2008, provides a chance for those who missed the beauty back then to experience it now in its best form.
 
You might remember Valkyria Chronicles as one of the best looking games on the PS3, as well as one of the most unique, that sadly didn’t sell well enough to justify the sequels being on PS3 – instead they were on PSP – with the third game not coming West at all. With the first games port doing well on Steam, it was obvious that a PS4 port was coming and, thankfully, it doesn’t disappoint. If you haven’t played this game before then you should definitely be aiming to rectify that with the PS4 version which comes complete with all DLC. It holds up incredibly well and provides a solid story and likeable characters along with deep, challenging gameplay that has you feeling great when you overcome a tough mission.
 
Valkyria Chronicles follows the second Europan war which is sparked when the precious resource Ragnite becomes low, and Ragnite is used in creating medicine, weapons and more. The two biggest forces are the Imperial Alliance in the East and the Atlantic Federation in the West, both of who are at odds trying to claim Ragnite. Gallia is a neutral area that is rich in Ragnite and the Imperial Alliance decides to attack a small town there called Bruhl, where main character Welkin lives, who is the son of Bruhl’s hero Belgen Gunther, and is forced to fight for his life almost as soon as he arrives home. Now that the war has truly begun, Welkin, his adopted sister Isara and fellow co-fighter Alicia find themselves drafted into Squad 7 where they carry out missions to protect their home. It’s touching, tense and exciting, and it really packs a punch. Valkyria Chronicles tells a wonderful story that deserves to be experienced.
 
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Valkyria Chronicles is an SRPG that tries to be accessible without losing its challenge – units can’t be brought back if they die in battle, but levelling them up is easy and you’re given full control over what happens in battle. You have a finite amount of moves you can take per turn, with a tank using two moves instead of one, as you move your units forward to defeat the enemy and occupy their base. You can only move a unit so far during their turn so it’s vital that you move them to an area where they can use cover once they’ve finished, otherwise they’ll be open to attack and it doesn’t take a lot to take them down. Certain units, such as Alisa, give your squad an extra turn in battle if they’re on the field, but if they’re removed or defeated then you’ll find yourself with less turns – it’s worth using these units where possible to maximise the length of your turn. There are several classes the suit your needs e.g. a Lancer will be best to destroy a tank, whilst Scouts will be used to run ahead and defeat unarmoured enemies. It gets incredibly hard quickly and you’ll come to hate enemy tanks with a passion – an unrivalled passion. Those tanks deserve to be on any ‘Top 10 Enemies in Gaming’ list.
 
The battles are engrossing and never become stale, but even the simple act of levelling up and improving your weapons and armour proves to be fun. It’s as easy as choosing what to upgrade with money and using experience points, but it’s satisfying and classes level up together which is nice, so you don’t need to upgrade each unit individually – each unit is viable at any stage of the game, whether or not you’ve used them before. You can take on skirmishes to earn more experience if you need it, and it’s advised considering how difficult the missions become.
 
I’m sure you’ve seen Valkyria Chronicles before and found yourself thinking, ‘wow, what a beautiful game!’, and that’s because it is. It’s like a watercolour painting in motion and could be described as one of the most eye-catching games on any platform. Valkyria Chronicles’ art style is unique and seeing it in motion is a lovely experience that never grows tiring, making the lengthy cutscenes a pleasure as the writing and art are so good. There are comic-inspired sound effect bubbles that pop up when you’re walking, shooting, or taking almost any other type of action, which fits into what is evidently anime-inspired (Valkyria Chronicles’ clearly has Japanese roots, although I think it’s a game that can be enjoyed by almost anyone) and thankfully they don’t feel out of place but only add more charm to the game.
 
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Valkyria Chronicle boasts a brilliant English dub along with an equally impressive soundtrack. There are more than a few recognisable names here with the likes of Laura Bailey, Patrick Seitz, Kari Wahlgren and Robin Atkin Downes lending thei voices to the game, along with Dave Wittenberg and several others. Expect an orchestral score here (guitars and the like wouldn’t be quite fitting for the time period!) and it’s memorable, perfectly matching the feel and tone of the game. Composer Hitoshi Sakimoto likely had a hard time blending the many tones of Valkyria Chronicles together but he’s done it flawlessly, and I can only praise him for the fantastic music he’s composed.
 
Valkyria Chronicles Remastered is a game you should definitely make time for as it’s a rewarding experience with engrossing storytelling and characters, a unique art style that is simply outstanding and audio that stands up there with the best of them. If you missed it originally on PS3 then you don’t want to miss out on it again, not when it’s available with all the DLC and what not. A huge thanks to SEGA for porting this game and I hope that we see more Valkyria Chronicles in the near future.

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