A masterpiece with a wonderful story and addicting gameplay, it will keep you entertained.
Story 9/10
The story is pretty interesting, you follow Biology Student Welkin Gunther who is the son of a famous general, Isara Gunther a Darcsen who was adopted by Welkin's father and takes care of his tank the Edelweiss, and Alicia Melchiott who have been sucked into a war against the Empire as their nation Gallia is attacked due to the rich Ragnite minerals within the earth of their very nation. They join the militia and fight back the Empire, during the course of the game you can recruit many different soldiers to help you fight. The characters will forge bonds, find romance, and learn to trust one another as they protect their country.
Characters 9/10
I really liked the characters even though some of them have no direct connection to the story at all. Characters like Welkin, Isara, Rosie, Largo, and Alicia are important characters and have a direct link to the main story. Each character you have/recruit will have a class, specialty, and personality which affects how they fight.
Classes/Specialties/Personalities/ and Orders 10/10
This is a really special part of the game because with out this component the game would lose charm. There are several classes a character will be: The scout is your fast moving intelligence gatherer and spotter, your shock troopers are your front line fighters with machine guns, Lancers are the anti tank units that take lots of hits and hold fearsome lances aka rockets, engineers can remove mines and resupply soldiers, and snipers are marksmen that can pick off targets one by one. Specialties are special abilities the affect your unit during the game like Alicia's undodgable shot and Rosie's Strong Will. Personalities affect your character during battle and on the field itself, some characters have allergies to the terrain, while others hate certain races like Darcsen, some fight better or worse against particular units, panic during certain parts of the battle, these are big factors when it comes to selecting soldiers and choosing who fights and who dies. Orders are gained over time while you train. You gain bonuses during battle at a cost of Command Points when you use it. It will boost stats like evasion and attacks.
Gameplay 10/10
Gameplay is addicting in Valkyria Chronicles because it is its own game, but it does draw from others as well. You navigate the story through the book mode as you view story cinematics or choose battles to fight in. You can visit the HQ to recruit soldiers, train classes, upgrade equipment, and remember those who died in battle. When you feel like fighting you progress the story or start skirmish mode which is a small battle for EXP and Money. During battles you will have special objectives which most of the time is to capture a certain point. You choose from a full squad of nine people to take with you to a battle and this becomes a key to victory or defeat. When battle begins you get to choose from your squad members, human characters take one point while your tank the Edelweiss takes two to use during battle. The Command points decrease each time you make an action. You can use characters multiple times during the phase, but each movement/turn will lower energy. When you are out of points it will switch to the enemy phase where they make their move against you. When your soldier loses HP they will go unconscious and will need a soldier to go near them to call for a medic to evacuate them. If their time runs out, that soldier permanently dies.
Graphics and sound 10/10
I am not a graphics nut like other people and I enjoy the anime feel to the game. What I did like it also feels like a comic book/manga when your soldier shoots, hits medal, or causes an explosion the game will show words like Kaboom and ratatatatata. Sound is also a really good addition to the game.
Dislike -1
The one thing I really disliked about Valkyria Chronicles was the bloody ranking system. At the end of the battle you will be scored based on the amount of turns it took for you to complete the mission. A is the highest and I believe D is the lowest. It wouldn't bother me if the amount of money you earn and the exp you gain weren't affect by the end result. I can look past this however due to skirmish mode.
Valkyria chronicles really is a masterpiece on its own and it was a really enjoyable experience. It is an innovative title and is a must have if you are a JRPG gamer who is looking for a game with good story and colorful characters, but also really fun and addictive gameplay and combat experiences a 9.5/10