One big complaint about this generation of video games is that we have not really seen anything different as far as Japanese RPGs go – games are relying on the same cliché stories and using classic mechanics as a crutch. Thankfully, Sega’s Overworks division isn’t one to rest on its laurels, as Valkyria Chronicles shows. It’s not just in the game’s gorgeous sketch-like visuals either; in Valkyria Chronicles, Sega has combined elements of traditional RPGs, strategy RPGs and third person shooters with beautiful graphics and innovative presentation, making for a truly unique and engrossing gameplay experience.

Valkyria Chronicles takes place in the small nation of Gallia in 1930. For many years, the East European Imperial Alliance and the Atlantic Federation have been at war, but Gallia has remained neutral, supplying both countries with ragnite, a precious mineral resource. Looking to claim exclusive use of the ragnite supply, the East European Imperial Alliance invades Gallia. Players control Welkin Gunther, an animal sociology major and sketch artist who is drawn into the conflict by Gallia’s universal conscription policy. The son of a hero from the First European War, Gunther is placed in charge of Squad 7, a unit comprised of several family and friends.


The story of Squad 7 and their role in the Gallian Defensive is presented through the observations of Irene Koller in her book “On the Gallian Front”, which is a rather pleasing narrative device. Each chapter in the game is presented as a two page spread in the book, with each cutscene and mission scenario accessible with the greatest of ease, along with a great deal of background information, and detailed entries on every unit in the game. Valkyria Chronicles is focused on telling a powerful story, and although it takes a little while to get going, once the story hits its stride it becomes difficult to put down, much like any good book. Some obvious parallels can be drawn between the war in Valkyria Chronicles’ story and various real wars both past in present, but it’s handled in a way that isn’t too preachy or heavy handed.

Sega’s proprietary CANVAS graphics engine drives Valkyria Chronicles’ visuals, providing the necessary framework to make the game look like a living watercolour painting. Some extra touches along the edges of each character model almost give the game a hand-drawn look while adding an extra layer of detail, and the soft colour palette gives everything a nice natural look. The game looks nice in stills, but seeing it in motion is a thing of beauty. Normally the prospect of watching large numbers of cutscenes in an RPG makes me retch, but Valkyria Chronicles’ well developed story, beautiful graphics and sensible dialogue make it a treat. The game’s script is great, and the choice between English and Japanese dialogue is always welcome. Popular composer Hitoshi Sakimoto’s soundtrack is a little understated, but assists the story in conveying a variety of emotions.


Valkyria Chronicles isn’t just a pretty face though; with those beautiful visuals and clever plot comes a mighty fine strategic role playing experience. Strategy RPGs tend to cater to a niche group of fans, but the variations made to the formula in Valkyria Chronicles do much to broaden the game’s appeal. Valkyria Chronicles still follows the standard objective focused, turn-based structure of your typical strategy RPG, but removes restrictions such as grid based movement and “one movement per unit per turn”, and lets you save at almost any time during the battle.

For each turn you have, you’ll be given a number of command points (CP), which allow you to move a selected unit. Once the desired unit is selected, the screen will zoom in on him and you’ll be able to move him around freely so long as your action meter allows. It handles much like a typical third person shooter here, except that you only have one opportunity to line up the shot you wish to take, or whatever other action your selected troop is capable of. Once the action is set, the command point is used up and you move onto the next one. Of course since you’re not restricted to having to only moving every unit once per turn, you can simply use another CP to move that unit again if need be (though their movement meter will be reduced, and you’ll need to keep an eye on their ammo).


There are all sorts of other interesting touches in the game; when you’ve set a troop up to fire upon the enemy, he will continue to do so through other turns. So while Valkyria Chronicles is effectively a turn based game, the battlefield is still active while you’re making your decisions. That means you need to take care of your soldiers – get them behind cover. Losing a soldier is permanent, but it’s not the end of the world since classes of soldiers are upgraded, rather than individuals. That doesn’t mean the lives of your troops aren’t important; each soldier has its own unique appearance and specific traits which have an effect on the battlefield.

Valkyria Chronicles’ individual missions are fantastic and will really put your strategic thinking to the test as it throws a variety of challenges in your way. Players need to carefully consider which troop classes to take into a battle in order to get the job done, but troops can be pulled from the battlefield and replaced at any point, which is handy for injured soldiers and units with a limited purpose. The game does its best to throw down challenges in your way; you’ll have to be wary of everything in the environment – look out for mines, snipers, sandstorms and other obstacles. There are moments when the game can cheapen out a bit by relying heavily on scripting, by waiting a certain number of turns before introducing reinforcements or purposely wasting turns because their goal is to defend, not attack. While the computer opponent is generally fairly competent, they can occasionally make some boneheaded moves like charging your infantry with a scout.


Regardless of the odd AI blunder, Valkyria Chronicles can still be very challenging, and players will derive a real sense of gratification when they win a tough battle. The standard campaign mode is pretty lengthy in of itself, but you can choose to replay any mission at any time; obtaining a higher rank will earn greater amounts of experience points for your squad. If you’re looking for something a little different, you can take your squad over to the Skirmish mode, which takes the campaign maps, but adds different sets of mission objectives to them. The events of Skirmish mode carry back over to the campaign, so any experience you get can be used to boost the squad, but any soldiers that die will be gone for good.

Valkyria Chronicles is one of those games that remind us that there’s still a little magic left at Sega. RPG fans are always going to have high expectations for games from the Overworks team given their impressive track record (Phantasy Star and Skies of Arcadia), and Valkyria Chronicles’ mix of beautiful graphics, innovative presentation and brilliant gameplay should easily please even the most jaded RPG gamer.