Valkyria Chronicles Catch-All

Hello,

I am coming up on the end of my first play-through on Valkyria Chronicles. I am really enjoying the game, but wanted to ask about how I should be using the skirmishes to level up my squad and purchase upgrades and equipment. I have pretty much bought everything as it becomes available and have my squad at about level 20. I think I am running the skirmishes too often, and it is making the missions a little easy, but I also want to see if there are any new cool power-ups or abilities or equipment available for my team.

What is your advice?

Cheers,
Mark

I ran the skirmishes once, some twice, but that was it. I didn't come close to buying everything as some of it was pointless (to me) and that's what a New Game+ is for.

If it's too easy, beat the game and play again on hard.

Just picked up this game through Goozex. Will have to actually read through the thread once I get some play time in and have a chance.

$23 at Amazon today. And tagging this thread to decide if I want to add it to the pile.

yes you do.

It was a gorgeous game that was a lot of fun. I will be honest and say it got a bit long, and I youtubed the last couple missions just to see the cut scenes and how it ended.

I bought it cheap at Amazon and I don't even own the PS3 we're using. Get it.

I'm going to put this nugget here as I think more people will see it: Valkyria Chronicles 3 officially not coming to the west.

Damn. Don't matter much because I don't have a PSP, but still. In fact, why can't I download PSP games and play them on my PS3? Seems like a smart move, but alas.

I had somehow managed to forget that these games exist. When I finally break down and get a PS3 and/or PSP, I'll be getting one or both. Too bad I won't be able to get the third, but I'm not entirely surprised. It's a "JRPG" and those are pretty broadly distained in the West right now.

That's a drag. I love those games.

Geez... perhaps if they released the second one on a platform that more than 3 people own, it would have sold better. And this is coming from one of those 3 people.

Haven't gotten around to playing the first one. Haven't even broken the plastic on it.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

I had somehow managed to forget that these games exist. When I finally break down and get a PS3 and/or PSP, I'll be getting one or both. Too bad I won't be able to get the third, but I'm not entirely surprised. It's a "JRPG" and those are pretty broadly distained in the West right now.

Play the first, for sure. The second has better gameplay (well, slightly deeper), but the story is too teen-centric. The first game is one of my favorites of this generation and perhaps of all time. It's such a cool mix of tbs and 3rd person shooter along with that beautiful art style. SRPG, not really a typical JRPG.

I really hated that pig though...

Maybe the most...romantic game ever, in the broadest sense of that word?

One of the few wargames that manages not to glorify war. Not saying I don't love those games too or I find anything wrong with them, just that Valkyria Chronicles was pretty unique.

Redwing wrote:

I really hated that pig though...

Shhh, that's the dirty anime trope secret. Don't scare peeps away.

Am I the only one who thinks the story in this game could make a pretty awesome movie?

Warriorpoet897 wrote:

Am I the only one who thinks the story in this game could make a pretty awesome movie?

This is a giant fail of Sega. I'm kind of shocked that this isn't a bigger series with cross-Anime properties and things like that.

DSGamer wrote:

This is a giant fail of Sega. I'm kind of shocked that this isn't a bigger series with cross-Anime properties and things like that.

Sega did roll out a cross-media production for Valkyria Chronicles in Japan, roughly coinciding with the North American release of the game. All in all, I think they ended up with two or three different mangas, an anime series and (per Wikipedia) a pair of "Drama CDs."

The hitch, of course, is that none of that stuff came to our shores, as far as I'm aware. And, as disappointing as that may be, I'm not sure it's ultimately a big surprise, considering that the PS3 game didn't have a heartbeat at all in retail until they cut the listing price months after its release.

OzymandiasAV wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

This is a giant fail of Sega. I'm kind of shocked that this isn't a bigger series with cross-Anime properties and things like that.

Sega did roll out a cross-media production for Valkyria Chronicles in Japan, roughly coinciding with the North American release of the game. All in all, I think they ended up with two or three different mangas, an anime series and (per Wikipedia) a pair of "Drama CDs."

The hitch, of course, is that none of that stuff came to our shores, as far as I'm aware. And, as disappointing as that may be, I'm not sure it's ultimately a big surprise, considering that gamers are morons.

That's my take.

Even though I happily own a PSP I never played the second Valkyria Chronicles. The first game is easily one of my favorite titles of this console generation, even though it does get a bit broken when you're near the end of the game.

I know that companies try and make as much money as possible, but it really sucks that they saw the need to put this fantastic franchise completely in the realm of handheld users. As many others have asked. Why can't they also make it available on PSN so that we can still play in on our TVs?

Consoles have plenty of opportunity to allow handheld titles to be played on a larger screen. The resolution would be a major factor for sure, but with a couple of high res textures and some up scaling most players wouldn't care too much as long as it is playable.

garion333 wrote:

It's such a cool mix of tbs and 3rd person shooter along with that beautiful art style. SRPG, not really a typical JRPG.

Doesn't Resonance of Fate use a similar combat system?

ClockworkHouse wrote:
garion333 wrote:

It's such a cool mix of tbs and 3rd person shooter along with that beautiful art style. SRPG, not really a typical JRPG.

Doesn't Resonance of Fate use a similar combat system?

Yes, that would be an apt comparison.

garion333 wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
garion333 wrote:

It's such a cool mix of tbs and 3rd person shooter along with that beautiful art style. SRPG, not really a typical JRPG.

Doesn't Resonance of Fate use a similar combat system?

Yes, that would be an apt comparison.

I really need to get me a PSP. When does the Vita release, again?

Gimpy_Butzke wrote:

Even though I happily own a PSP I never played the second Valkyria Chronicles. The first game is easily one of my favorite titles of this console generation, even though it does get a bit broken when you're near the end of the game.

I know that companies try and make as much money as possible, but it really sucks that they saw the need to put this fantastic franchise completely in the realm of handheld users. As many others have asked. Why can't they also make it available on PSN so that we can still play in on our TVs?

Consoles have plenty of opportunity to allow handheld titles to be played on a larger screen. The resolution would be a major factor for sure, but with a couple of high res textures and some up scaling most players wouldn't care too much as long as it is playable.

So why haven't you gotten VCII if you have a PSP? That seems strange to me. Yes, I definitely would've preferred to have it on the PS3, but it came down to cost. The first game didn't sell well enough, so the investment made into the second one was less and therefore was put on the PSP. That didn't sell well enough outside of Japan to warrant Sega putting money into localization for the third game. Sega gave the series a chance, but people over here just didn't buy it. I don't blame them for putting it on a handheld, frankly I thank them for it. VCII isn't as good as the original, but I'm happy we got a second one.

As far as putting handhelds on the console, well, Sony is doing it with God of War. But those sold well on the PSP. I don't expect many companies to want to sink more money into a failed franchise than they already have. It's a shame, but it's just business.

garion333 wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
garion333 wrote:

It's such a cool mix of tbs and 3rd person shooter along with that beautiful art style. SRPG, not really a typical JRPG.

Doesn't Resonance of Fate use a similar combat system?

Yes, that would be an apt comparison.

Yeah, you could describe VC's combat as Resonance of Face without Hero Actions, except that VC makes you stop and aim each attack by hand like a sniper shot. If you played Future Tactics on the last generation of consoles (PS2, Xbox, GC), then you'll see a stunning number of similarities to VC's combat.

In my opinion, though, that's not the real draw to Valkyria Chronicles. (And I still stand by what I said about this game in this thread way back when; if anything, I think I like its mechanics and, in particular, its mission design even less in retrospect.)

The real thing that sets Valkyria apart from more bog-standard tactical games like Fire Emblem is its eye-popping presentation, which still stands out, even today, as some of the best art work and sound design in this console generation. I've posted about this on Twitter before, but the intro and title theme could very well be Hitoshi Sakimoto's finest hour: a slow, contemplative symphonic opening that builds and eventually soars alongside the action on-screen, followed by a bombastic march, martial and unwavering.

When the game comes together, as it does in that opening and the first few missions of the game, it's incredibly exhilarating. Every time I watch its intro, I wish that Valkyria Chronicles (and its regrettable PSP sequel) could have held up like that for the whole game.

Hope y'all can help me.

I bought Valkyria Chronicles last week and fell in love with the art direction and the gameplay...until I hit a hard wall in Chapter 11 during the Normandy-inspired battle. Has anyone else experienced something similar?

I took the first three enemy bases without much trouble and only have one left (two tanks, two scouts, three troopers). On the last 10 attempts, every single one of my selected characters receives a "down" effect, sometimes cannot throw an available grenade, and either barely scratches the enemy (even with the super-awesome orders applied) or misses the enemy entirely (more common).

On the last attempt, I nearly spiked the controller. Is this known behavior or has my game messed up? I really would like to finish it.

That's really a shame. 3 looked like it was going to be fantastic.

Maybe if they didn't release 2 on a platform nobody owned and didn't have a pants-on-head {ableist slur} plotline it would have done better.

MyLadyGrey wrote:

Hope y'all can help me.

It's been a long time, but it sounds like you may need to level up your dudes.