At its heart Valkyria Chronicles is a turn based strategy RPG, but it almost redefines the genre by allowing full unit movement from a third person perspective; which gives the game an action-adventure twist to it. You can control your character in real time, place him where ever you want to then aim where ever you want and then finish your move by hiding the unit safely. This real time movement complements its overall turn based battle structure really well. You select the unit from your tactical overhead map and then jump right into the action. The gameplay is fairly challenging and really fun to play, and has plenty of depth for the strategists.
The entire game takes place inside a book called "On the Gallian Front", The story is a real hoot, it takes unpredictable twists and turns. It's told through 'Metal Gear style talking heads' and great looking cut-scenes. The graphics are made very unique by an excellent art style. In motion it looks like a watercolor painting come to life. Thought the technical graphics aren't very cutting edge. The music is very good, each of your 50 odd squad members are fully voiced, which is pretty impressive. Some of the characters are really memorable and you will always be recruiting your favorites. And the game also boasts high replay value.
Of course, this game isn't perfect, for starters the technical graphics could be improved significantly. More voice samples could be included for each of your squad member or at least for the important ones. But my biggest concern with the game is that the enemy A.I. could have been sharper. This change alone could have made this game a very strong contender for GOTY. Anyways, this game is still awesome and comes with a high recommendation to fans of the strategy genre.
Story: 9
Graphics: 8
Sound: 8
Gameplay: 9
Value: 9
More than the sum of its part.
Verdict: 9/10