Valkyria Chronicles 4 | Xbox One | Review

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Sega spawned many a classic during their Dreamcast-era days, but have struggled to stay as relevant in the ensuing years. The original Valkyria Chronicles appealed because of its gorgeous looks and Dreamcastian demeanour, but we never quite got round to it, so came to this latest edition with some excitement. Let’s cast nostalgia aside though, and answer one of life’s truly great questions: is it any good?

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​by Rob
​Holt

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​@acousticmagic

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Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, Switch, PC
Players: 1

For those new to the series, Valkyria Chronicles 4 follows the same strategy-come-third-person-action combo platter of its elderly brethren, which Sega refers to as its BLiTZ system. Those familiar with games like Fire Emblem, any of Koei-Tecmo’s Warriors series, XCOM et al will find a great deal of familiar ground here, but Valkyria Chronicles 4 excels in creating a well-balanced mash-up: the command based tactics sections matter just as much as your choices in the third-person brawls.
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Valk 4 (that’s right, I’m lazy) is set during the same fictional wartime period as Valk 1 - the second Europa war - but this time follows the trials and tribulations of the ingeniously named “Squad-E”, a faction of the Federation fighting back against the evil Imperial Army. Squad-E are lead by perhaps gaming’s most charismatic cardboard cut-out of an emo, Lieutenant Claude Wallace (get used to his huffs, puffs, never-on-the-ears headphones and difficult hair in the cutscenes...)

Claude is merely the tip of the fun when it comes to the hilariously stereotypical characters, though. Hold onto your hats: there’s Raz, the sweary-womanising-reckless-drinking-smoking bad-boy; Riley, the inappropriately-dressed-for-war-who’s-a-woman-and-don’t-need-no-boy/man; Miles, the quiet, dorky tank driver; and Aladdin, the self-confessed handsome bastard that has quite the resemblance to Billy Corgan. In any other game we'd struggle to be engaged by these characters, but here it all comes together and somehow adds to the overall experience (the haircuts alone are a joy to ogle).

Getting your tactics right and correctly reading the terrain will ultimately decide whether you prosper or fall. ​

So, the characters are amusing, but how does the dang thing actually play? To boil it down to its essence, each slobberknocker in Valk 4 sees you moving between a top-down map screen from which you issue commands (position/deploy units, request reinforcements, etc.) and the gloriously animated violence of the third-person running and gunning. We’ve played quite a few similar attempts at this mix, but none come close to the perfect blend achieved here. 

The sheer variety of choices on offer is astounding, really shaping how you tackle a particular situation or foe. Do you load up on the bazooka-wielding Lancers to take out tanks? Should you employ many-a-sniper to sneak around and take out the enemy crumb by crumb? Perhaps the protective nature of Shocktroopers is more to your taste? Whichever way you decide to go, you’re bound to have fun, learn from your mistakes, and ultimately realise the potential of classes that originally seemed one dimensional (man, the engineers and grenadiers come in handy).

​Vehicular combat also features prominently in Valk 4, with regular use of Claude’s tank, The Hafen, at your disposal, alongside the incredibly handy APC, which allows you to transport soldiers across the battlefield. Whether it be vehicles or infantry, getting your tactics right and correctly reading the terrain will ultimately decide whether you prosper or fall.

Much like the original Valk, version 4 boasts the same command points and action points gameplay system. Command points show you how many actions you can make per turn, whereas action points are relative to each individual unit (later on you can buddy-up groups to your sergeants for extra fun). You can only move/shoot freely until that unit’s meter runs dry, with certain units capable of moving faster/farther, adding extra tactical depth. Using your CP and AP wisely is vital to dominating the blasted Imperial Army.

​Valk 4 also offers up a buffet of extras, including levelling up character classes, weapon creation, tank/APC improvements, and, best of all, squad building, which functions exactly as you’d imagine while opening up extra cutscenes and fights. All of the above add to the rich expanse of customisation available to the player, really helping to suck you into the story and gameplay on the whole.

Gawping at Valk 4 is simply sublime, too, amigos. The gorgeous watercolour style evokes a lost storybook feel, adding emotional depth to the characters and the horrors of war. It’s not just the perfectly animated and drawn characters and sets, but the tea-stained map and comic book bright text of moving foes in the command segments, all working in unison to add that extra layer of visual polish and personality.  

We’re not finished with the positives yet, as you can also add the game’s audio into the mix (WHAT. A. PUN). Sweeping, swooping strings and stupendous orchestration follow Squad-E’s ups and downs perfectly, whilst the voice acting is charmingly corny.

As much as we’ve enjoyed Valk 4, we’d be fool not to point out a couple of its flaws. The many, many, MANY cutscenes can leave you feeling foie-gras’d (you bet your rectum that’s a verb), as it often feels like you’re never going to get into an actual battle. It doesn’t help that voiceovers move too slowly to keep up with the subtitles, seeing us jam the A button on the reg in order to speed through another scene of Claude feeling emo about his weakling past (Scaredy Claude is his nickname, in spite of being in charge). There’s also no getting away from the fact that a Japanese-centric third-person strategy RPG is just an insy bit niche…

​Despite those minor negatives, we came away thoroughly entertained by Valkyria Chronicles 4. Its tactics and combat are fun; the characters and story sway between cliche, humourous and melancholy; and the audio-visual presentation is outstanding. We’ve been blessed with some cracking games already this year, but personally, this goes straight to number one for little-old-me. A Dreamcastian delight: thanks Sega.

Pros

• Gorgeous art style
• Deep, varied & entertaining combat
• Fun story, full of amusing stereotypes
• Fantastic soundtrack
• Twee voice acting is often hilarious
• This is post-Dreamcast Sega at their best
• Plenty of content & challenge

Cons

• Pace will be too slow for some
• Endless cutscenes can grate

9/10