It’s hard to figure out where to even begin talking about Valkyria Chronicles; there’s so much to say. Sega’s brilliant take on turn-based tactics is one of my favorite games of the genre, but beyond that I think it’s a very important game. It’s important because the story touches on some of the darkest moments in human history – moments no other game has dared to touch – and does so in an intelligent and sensitive manner. It’s important because of the innovative ways in which it manages to systemize its characterization and themes. It’s important because it marks the last time that Sega put in the care and effort needed to make something unequivocally excellent.
Fans of Japanese games have been let down time and again by PC releases, and when Sega announced that Valkyria Chronicles would be coming to steam we had every reason to expect a buggy, slapdash port. And that would have been a real shame, because with its sketchy watercolor aesthetic the PS3 version is one of the most enduringly beautiful games of the last generation. Fortunately, not only does the PC version of run at 60 frames per second in high definition with nary a hiccup, it also makes several significant enhancements to the original game’s effects. Even better, it condenses the PS3 version’s excruciating loading times to a fraction of a second.
Valkyria Chronicles has a very dense narrative, but to sum it up it’s a steampunk fantasy take on World War II set on the fictional continent of Europa. Europa is embroiled in a conflict between two superpowers – the Atlantic Federation and the Imperial Alliance – over a miraculous mineral fuel called Ragnite. The small, neutral principality of Gallia is invaded by the Empire for their rich deposits of this precious resource. The Empire is also running a campaign of extermination against the Darcsens, a race of pale-skinned, dark-haired people who have become scapegoats for the bulk of Europa’s ills. They kill them indiscriminately and even – here we get to the part of the war that no other game talks about – toss them into concentration camps and work them to death. It’s a little ridiculous that an anime fantasy game is the only AAA title in history with something to say about the Holocaust, but to this game’s immense credit it speaks with the care and respect such a sensitive topic deserves. Furthermore, it covers all of its subject matter with that same care.
If Valkyria Chronicles can be said to have a single overarching theme, it’s that we are all human. The characters under your command, who together comprise Squad 7 of the Gallian Militia’s Third Regiment, are among the best-realized and most likeable characters in gaming history. Squad leader Welkin Gunther is a little socially awkward and obsessed with nature – a trait that sometimes gives him ingenious philosophical and strategic insights. Alicia Melchiott, his second-in-command, is steadfast, caring, and strong-willed. The way that her relationship with Welkin blossoms into romance over the course of the story is positively heartwarming.
But the game doesn’t let us forget that there are people on every side of the conflict. Early scenes in the game which depict the Empire rolling through Welkin’s idyllic home town are framed almost as propaganda, but as the story unfurls we see more and more humanity in the enemy forces, and more evil outside the Empire. When the Federation gets involved in the conflict it causes no end of trouble, and some of the more officious ranking officers in Gallia’s own military pose as much of a threat as the enemy generals.
Instead of seeing this conflict as it happens, we view it through the eyes of historian Irene Koller in her book “On the Gallian Front,” which covers the war from Squad 7’s perspective. Interestingly, Irene’s writing is a little biased, and the game leaves you to wonder how reliable a narrator she really is. Not only is this book a solid framing device for the game’s narrative, it also serves as its interface.
A good interface and good story wouldn’t matter if the game itself was not good, and Valkyria Chronicles is great. On a surface level the game has a lot in common with XCOM. You take command of a military unit comprised of different classes – scouts, engineers, shocktroopers, snipers, lancers, and one tank – and take responsibility for their training as well as their mission performance. On the battlefield success is all about making strategic use of cover and positioning soldiers for the best shot or an effective ambush.
In Valkyria Chronicles soldiers are always on “overwatch,” so they’ll automatically fire on any enemy that enters their range outside their own turn. If you’re smart you can set up ambushes on the enemy’s turn, taking soldiers down before they have a chance to attack and costing the computer an action in the process. Of course if you’re careless the same thing can happen to you. This dynamic makes each of your turns feel almost like an action game.
Anyone who’s played XCOM knows how aggravating it can be to open fire on an alien with a 95% hit chance only to miss entirely. Valkyria Chronicles handles accuracy by putting a circle around your crosshairs representing margin of error, and on top of being more intuitive this creates a wider potential range for success and failure. Instead of assigning a binary hit/miss condition to an entire burst of gunfire, Valkyria calculates each shot individually, so even if you don’t hit enough times to take an enemy down you’ll probably take a chunk out of their health.
Painstaking effort has gone into crafting every aspect of Valkyria Chronicles’ world. This comes across in obvious ways, like the pages upon pages of lore in the glossary that flesh out the setting’s ecology, cultures, and economy, but it also deeply informs the mission design. Every single level is full of little details that help to sell the reality of the world. This isn’t all that surprising considering that the same team created Skies of Arcadia but it’s appreciated nonetheless.
Acting and sound design are just as great as the music. More strict fans of JRPGs will be happy to know that the game includes both English and Japanese voices, but this is one of the few games where the option doesn’t feel needed. The performances for every member of the cast – including all 49 unique, non plot-essential members of Squad 7 – are of the same caliber as you’d expect from the core cast of an Atlus game. Sound effects always make it clear what’s going on and where it’s happening, even if you can’t see it.
The art style in Valkyria Chronicles isn’t just beautiful, it’s enduring. Valkyria Chronicles has aged remarkably well, and in a world where computer graphics advance every other month that’s quite an accomplishment. Another big contributing factor is the game’s animations, which are smooth and very well-crafted, conveying personality through subtle body-language and facial expressions while giving every object and character a correct sense of weight and presence in the world.
In its music, writing, art and acting ,Valkyria Chronicles is brimming with the emotional potency to bring a man to tears. It would make an excellent movie if that were all it had going for it, but the story is told in a way that could only work in a video game, and built on a rock-solid framework of deep and challenging tactical gameplay. Valkyria Chronicles is a timeless classic, and this exceptional PC port only manages to improve upon it.
MINIMUM Requirements of Valkyria Chronicles:
OS: Windows Vista/Windows 7
Processor: Intel Core2 Duo @ 2.0GHz (or equivalent)
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 240 (or equivalent)
Storage: 25 GB available space
RECOMMENDED Requirements of Valkyria Chronicles:
OS: Windows 7
Processor: Intel Core2 Duo @ 2.8GHz (or equivalent)
Memory: 3 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 (or equivalent)
Storage: 25 GB available space
EmoticonEmoticon