A fun and fresh take on strategy role-playing, although it's not without its bumps and flaws.
Looking back on my experience with the Valkyria Chronicles, I am reluctant to say that I had much fun with the game, compared to say, Super Mario Bros. But I do appreciate Valkyria Chronicles' attempt to stand out in its unusual strategy-melded-with-RPG gameplay.
For those who are completely oblivious to World History 101 (particularly ignorant to the events of WWII) and Japanese RPGs, Valkyria Chronicles' story might be a fascinating and motivating aspect to the game. However, to the rest of us who are familiar with Valkyria's references, the story is perhaps the weakest part to the game. There are the few plot twists here but there are so few and so far between that none seem to resonate with whatever the "epic" message Valkyria tries to convey throughout.
I'm a little hesitant to completely bash on the characters. Yes, in typical JRPG format, the characters are as dense as a helium balloon. We have the wide-eyed but ingenious protagonist (check), the evil-yet-charismatic villain (check), and your oatmeal bland secondary characters (check). However, it is the unsung tertiary background characters that tug on your interest and make you emotionally invest in the outcome of the war far more than you would have without them.
Character descriptions (all main, secondary, tertiary, and offhanded characters) are frequently updated and accessible as part of the main menu. These descriptions add the spice to understanding Welkin's (the hero's) Squad 7.
You become far more invested in your ragtag group of soldiers by learning each character's past and ambitions. When a character "dies" in your squad, you actually feel a pang of loss and regret because you "knew" them. These tertiary characters become more than pawns in your strategic warfare; they become breathing individuals that you become responsible for. However, the character descriptions (all in written format) do feel unfinished and actual screen time with these minor characters are left unsatisfied.
The gameplay in this game is a roller coaster. The beginning part of the gameplay is very slow and unfulfilling. Your low-leveled characters start out ridiculously unreliable and most your battle-strategies consist of crossing fingers and hoping for the best. Elaborately speaking, most of your units will miss their targets and you will be majorly irked.
However the gameplay picks up towards the end of the game when your soldiers finally realize which end of the gun is proper to shoot at. Without worrying whether your snipers will finally hit their target without wasting ammo, you are finally granted control over your battle strategy. This control is granted late in the game, where the game actually shines the brightest.
The gameplay battle strategy is immensely entertaining in this game (towards the end, as mentioned). Although there will be some frustratingly hard campaigns, you progressively learn how to effectively employ your units to unleash hell's fury upon your enemies. Using your characters' individual skill set and your immediate environment to your advantage, battles become surprisingly engaging.
Customizing your tank and squad is fun, while hounding for a better grade in your battle performance becomes addicting. The leveling system of your characters are capped, which does not really bother me in any way, but for those of you who wish further growth might be a little disappointed.
The anime art style in Valkyria is very pretty and unique. The book format menu/story system is interesting. And like I said before, character descriptions on your battle squad brings an unexpected level of intimacy with your soldiers and with the story.
I am rather fond of Valkyria regardless of the harsh criticisms of this review. Valkyria has kept me occupied for most of the summer and has satisfied both my strategy and JRPG crave, in a way totally new and fresh from the usual titles of the same genre.
For those looking for a change in the same JRPG formula and those who have the patience to plow through some slow parts at the beginning, I urge you to grab this title. Valkyria grants some hard-earned hours of fun and memorable characters.