Valkyria Chroncles 4: It's like 1, but 4

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Valkyria Chroncles 4: It's like 1, but 4

What other dead Sega franchise should be brought back?
	Skies of Arcadia
	Samba de Amigo
	NiGHTS
	Sakura Wars - wait, they actually are making a new one of those?

[Edit Poll (moderators only)]

View Results

Endorph: Jul 22, 2009

Buy it Here if you're a PC overlord.

After a decade of ports of VC1, crappy PSP games, and whatever the hell the mobile game was, there's finally a proper sequel to Valkyria Chronicles 1. And it's good! In the sense that it's mostly more Valkyria Chronicles 1! But Valkyria Chronicles 1 was very good, so VC4 is very good. It's out today for PC, Switch, PS4, and, miraculously, Xbox One.

Is this like those crappy PSP games?

Let's pretend those never happened. Well, 3 was okay, but it was still super hamstrung by being portable.

Do I need to have played 1?

It takes place at the same time as Valkyria Chronicles 1, but on a different front of the war. There's a couple of references to the events of VC1, and one character from VC1 makes an appearance or two, but it's almost entirely its own thing.

What is a Valkyria Chronicles?

quote:

Valkyria Chronicles is a tactical role-playing game in which the player uses a unique turn-based battle system called BLiTZ (Battle of Live Tactical Zones).[8] During their turn the player views an overhead map in Command Mode, but zooms in to control each individual unit on the battlefield in Action Mode.[9] Movement and other actions are handled in real time during Action Mode, though limited in movement by an action point (AP) gauge that varies for each type of character.[9] During Target Mode, the player is in direct control of characters' aim while the action freezes, allowing for head shots and other maneuvers. Taking command of individual units during the player's phase costs Command Points, which can be used dynamically to grant movement to many different units or the same unit consecutively with diminishing AP reserve, depending on what the player wants to accomplish.[9] By using their troops the player must fulfill various conditions depending on the mission in order to achieve victory, most often the capture of a major enemy encampment. Upon completing missions, the player is awarded money and experience with which to upgrade their materiel and character classes, respectively, and the game's story is advanced. Missions can be failed if the player's forces are wholly incapacitated or killed, the squad's main battle tank is destroyed, or the player's main base camp is captured by the enemy.

Could you quote Wikipedia some more?

quote:

Each character in the game fulfills a specific role � for instance, Alicia is a mid-range rifle-toting scout, while Welkin is a tank commander. Other roles include Shocktroopers (assault infantry), "Lancers" specializing in anti-tank warfare, snipers, and engineers.[9] These various units form a rock-paper-scissors dynamic of strength and weakness. The foot soldiers (Scout, Shocktrooper, and Sniper) are effective against slower anti-tank units, anti-tank units can quickly destroy tanks with a well-aimed shot,[9] and tanks are generally devastating against infantry, whose anti-personnel weapons are unable to inflict any significant frontal damage. While each character within a class is basically similar in terms of weaponry and statistics, each individual has a distinguishing set of Potentials: special abilities or stat modifiers triggered by various psychological or environmental factors in battle.

Is this game anime?

What has actually changed from VC1?

The introduction of a new class, Grenadiers, who use mortars to support your army from the rear, similar to an AOE sniper. They're useful for clearing out bases, rooftops, and watchtowers. Certain things, such as some of the mechanics surrounding tanks, have also been tweaked.

Can I still scoutrush?

Kind of? The map turn limits are a bit more generous in terms of getting A ranks, and map objectives are more varied and dynamic, sometimes in ways that will punish you for just blindly sending scouts forward. Stuff like ambushes, sudden twists in the battlefield, certain areas getting cut off from the rest of the battlefield by a bridge being blown up or something, stuff like that. However, scouts are still the best class, they just aren't quite as gamebreaking as they used to be.

Does this use the EXP system from VC2?

Nope! It doesn't take place in a school, either. VC4 is something of a soft reset, mostly ignoring mechanics and ideas introduced in 2 and 3. There's none of the weird side classes like Trumpeteer, maps are large and sprawling instead of a series of small skirmishes, EXP is on a per-class basis, you don't need to grind medals, etc. Basically, if you liked VC1 and disliked VC2, you'll like this game.

How's the plot?

It has the same tone problems that VC1 had, in the sense that anime grabass shenanigans exists alongside gritty war drama, but overall I liked a lot of the characters and thought some of the war drama landed. It's similar to VC1 in terms of the strengths and weaknesses of its plot, so if you played VC1 use that as a barometer, though I liked VC4's cast more. Except Raz. gently caress Raz.

How's the performance on Switch?

I didn't play it on Switch but I've looked at videos and stuff and everyone says it runs smooth even undocked. If anyone's got any impressions to the contrary, post 'em, but until then it seems like it was ported excellently. Can't speak to the performance on PC, either, though I haven't heard any complaints.

What's the best anime?

Shion no Ou.

Endorph fucked around with this message at 11:38 on Sep 26, 2018