Valkyria Chronicles - Gen. Discussion & Info

Image comes from Official Site, linked below

Information​

STORY

In 1930s Europa, tensions rise to an all-time high between the continent’s two distinct military powers – the Empire and the Federation. In the struggle for ultimate supremacy, the Second Europa War (E.W.II) erupts, and Gallia, the small independent nation situated between the two super powers, now faces attack.

The Empire's Imperial Army is first to strike Gallia, forcing the young lieutenant Welkin Gunther to pull back his small platoon. As the invading forces charge toward the capital city, Welkin discovers that not only are they outmatched in scale and weaponry, but the enemy army also has Valkyria, an unusually powerful race, in their ranks. As the war rages, the capital city is about to fall to the enemy, but Welkin’s unique battle strategies bring hope to his homeland…

There may be a chance for Gallia after all. This is Welkin’s story.


Political State of Europa (1930’s EC)

IMPERIAL ALLIANCE
A conglomerate of nations united under the rule of an emperor. These nations retain customs and practices from medieval times, and its people are known to harbor conservative views including a strong hatred towards the Darcesen race.

ATLANTIC FEDERATION
Nations that seek republican form of alliance to preserve mutual security. The Federation is ahead of the Empire in terms of national power, yet it often takes more time to consolidate their treaties due to its political infrastructure.

THE PRINCIPALITY OF GALLIA
A small nation geographically surrounded by the Empire and the Federation. The nation is a constitutional monarchy, characterized by policies of armed neutrality and universal conscription. All citizens 15 years old and above are eligible to be drafted into service in times of war.


CANVAS Graphics Engine

The "CANVAS" graphics engine, created exclusively for the PLAYSTATION®3, brings a never-before-seen style to life.

Breath life into stunningly unique visuals similar to hand-drawn illustrations, and immerse yourself in real-time battles in environments resembling a watercolor painting in motion.

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Official Site

Images

Reviews
1UP = A-
Eurogamer = 8 / 10
IGN = 9.0 / 10
OPM U.S. = 4.5 / 5​

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LONDON AND SAN FRANCISCO (February 25, 2007) – SEGA® of America, Inc. and SEGA® Europe Ltd. today announced that Valkyria Chronicles™ a fresh new take on the traditional role-playing genre, is coming exclusively to the PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system. Soon to be released as Valkyria of the Battlefield: Gallian Chronicles in Japan, where it has already gathered the interest of legions of gamers, Valkyria Chronicles combines strategy elements of tactical role-playing games with real-time action sequences. All of this is played out in an innovative and beautiful visual style.

Valkyria Chronicles is set in a fictitious continent reminiscent of 1930s Europe - divided in two and ruled by the Empire and the Federation. The Empire has set its sights on invading a small neutral country called Gallia, which is situated in the middle of the two great empires. The game follows a hero named Welkin and his fellow soldiers of the Federation’s 7th Platoon as they engage in a series of epic battles.

Built upon the new “CANVAS” engine, developed internally by SEGA Game Studios Japan, Valkyria Chronicles’ stunning 3D graphics resemble a watercolor painting in motion, taking full advantage of the processing capabilities of the PLAYSTATION® 3. The power of the PLAYSTATION® 3 also allows the development team to exploit the full potential of this new engine, giving players many different stunning environments to explore. A new type of tactical battle mechanic has been specifically designed for Valkyria Chronicles. Known as “BLiTZ,” this gives players freedom to strategically move around the environment and attack enemies using real-time controls, something never before seen in the tactical role-playing game genre. The new “CANVAS” engine technology, the “BLiTZ” battle concept and an epic storyline offers players hours of exciting gameplay.

“Valkyria Chronicles has been enthusiastically requested by European fans” said Gary Knight, European Marketing Director SEGA Europe ltd. “The unique graphics and compelling gameplay are just two reasons why we’re delighted to bring it to them.”

Valkyria Chronicles will be available for the PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system in Autumn 2008. For more information, screenshots and assets from the game, please visit http://www.sega-press.com/.

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Valkyria Chronicles Import Impressions
The best RPG from SEGA in a decade?

Australia, May 6, 2008 - It's been a while since we played a truly brilliant RPG from SEGA. Thinking about it, the last one was probably Skies of Arcadia on the Dreamcast back in 2001. Part of the problem in recent years has been SEGA's lack of focus, with a handful of mediocre Shining Force spin-offs and dilution of Phantasy Star Online doing little to remind us of the Big S that was responsible for publishing such awesome RPGs as Shining Force III and Panzer Dragoon Saga. From what we've played of the Japanese version so far, Valkyria Chronicles could be right up there among SEGA's finest.

Valkyria is set during the 1930s, in a parallel-reality Europe where EWII (that's European War II – apparently there was no World War in Valkyria Chronicles' version of the 20th century) is kicking off. There are two major forces involved in the conflict: the Atlantic Federation, which seems to be made up of the countries we'd refer to as Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland and the UK; and the East European Imperial Alliance, which looks like it represents Germany, Russia and the Baltic States. In the middle of this huge clash, more or less where Holland is in the real world, is a tiny kingdom of windmills and rolling hills called Gallia. And it's as part of the Gallian defences that you play in Valkyria Chronicles.

Glad to see you're not tanking your responsibilities lightly.

Aside from the twisted history and geography of everything, the first thing you'll notice is how distinctive Valkyria Chronicles looks. This is thanks to a piece of programming tech dubbed the Canvas Engine. We have our suspicions that this is just a slightly modified version of cel shading, but the results speak for themselves – Valkyria looks like a watercolour videogame, if such a thing is possible (and obviously it is), and in motion the brushstroke effects are quite remarkable. Probably the last game to really grab our attention like this was Okami, so you can count on Valkyria Chronicles to impress your art-fancying side.

It's not just the watercolour overlay that's impressive, either. The game moves at 60fps throughout, running at a native 720p resolution. It's generally sharp and solid. There are a few glitches here and there, but overall Valkyria is one of the most eye-pleasing RPGs we've seen in years. So, how does it play? Again choosing to move away from accurate history, Valkyria Chronicles drops the menu-based battle systems of old RPGs and even manages to find a new way of presenting its story – in the form of a book.

Sexy girls and sexy guns.

When you begin the game, you'll literally be on the first page. Outside of storytelling movies and battle sequences, the game's main window is displayed as an open book, with each page broken down into four or five frames like a comic. Starting from the top of the first page and working down, new 'episodes' appear inside previously blank frames, which when clicked on lead to cutscenes that move the story along. There are also playable frames, though, and it's in these battle scenes (which appear at a ratio of about one battle section for every four narrative 'episodes') that you get to do your thing.

Appropriately enough, considering the game takes place in the middle of EWII, battles are mostly fought between units of soldiers. No monsters or orcs here, you'll be happy/disgruntled (delete as applicable) to know. Many of the early battles take place in the towns of Gallia, which are being overrun by forces from the East European Imperial Alliance, and it's your job to defend Gallia's towns (even though most of the country's civilians have long since fled these towns and cities for the relative safety of the countryside), initially as a team of three characters – Welkin Gunther, Alicia Melchiott and an anonymous uniformed soldier.

Before battle begins, you're given the chance to assess the situation from an overview screen which displays the positions of your soldiers and those of the enemy, as well as any objective points. You can then use Command Points, which you have a limited number of, to take control of your characters. Typically at the outset you'll be able to use three Command Points, enabling you to move and attack with each character once or, if you like, with the same character three times.

Not a cameo from Sonic or Shadow in sight. Thank god.

Switching from the map screen to control of a character brings the camera out of the sky and right down to a close-up third-person view of the battlefield. From here you have full control of your character, so you can run, jump and hide behind conveniently placed stacks of sandbags until your time meter runs out. Of course it's best to make an attack before that meter depletes, and the effectiveness of your attack will depend on your position and that of the enemy soldier/tank, so it pays to take up a good position and then hit R1, which puts you into a slightly zoomed-in perspective and displays a crosshair so that you can aim and fire.

From our early experience with Valkyria Chronicles' battle system, it's obvious that tactics play a big part in the action and that there's plenty of potential for knife-edge conflicts later on. One silly move and you can find yourself outnumbered and out-positioned without enough health to stand a chance, and the Game Over screen appears if one of your key characters is killed, so there's the constant danger that a lot of good work in battle will be undone by one foolish decision.

The game in action. Go tiny girl, go!

Valkyria Chronicles is innovative in some places and surprisingly traditional in others. The book format of its storytelling is fresh and done well, but on the other hand this spells a fairly linear experience. Still, it's great to find an RPG using elements from tactical military combat games – sometimes Valkyria Chronicles seems to be related to the Rainbow Six games, of all things.

The English-language version of Valkyria probably won't be finished until much later this year, but the Japanese voice acting in place here is generally excellent. The story, too, treads a fine line between reality and fiction – it's not so daft you can't believe it to be true, yet it's not at all historically accurate. If you like your Japanese RPGs in human, believable settings, but with touches of visual flair (the watercolour graphics really are one of Valkyria's standout components) and complemented by satisfying, strategic battles, SEGA's latest shows all the signs of being able to satisfy your wish list. It could end up being the best SEGA RPG in almost a decade.

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Valkyria Chronicles™

Valkyria Chronicles™, the first game from SEGA Studios - Japan to utilize the groundbreaking “CANVAS” graphics engine, features a stunningly unique visual style resembling a watercolor painting in motion. Created exclusively for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, this epic role-playing game also marks the debut of the “BLiTZ” battle system, which combines tactical RPG gameplay with direct character control common in action games.

In this epic adventure set in 1930s fictitious Europe, you assume the role of Welkin, a heroic commander who leads his small platoon against two neighboring enemy nations on the brink of war. As Welkin’s small country is engulfed in battle, the “Valkyria,” an ancient race with destructive powers, emerges in the invading faction. Faced with this new threat, Welkin and his troops gather their courage to fight as never before for their freedom and a better future.

FEATURES

• Breathtaking Graphics Resembling a Watercolor Painting in Motion. The “CANVAS” graphics engine, created exclusively for the PLAYSTATION®3, brings this never-before-seen style to life.

• “BLiTZ” Battle System: Battle with direct control in action sequences just as in action games, while also maneuvering through the vast world with strategic moves typical of tactical RPGs.

• Epic Storyline: Engaging story and plot twists provide hours of gameplay; immerse yourselves in the dramatic battle for freedom as Welkin, with the fate of the world in your hands.

• Customizable Platoons: Customizable Platoons: With 50 upgradeable playable characters to choose from, you can gather powerful groups for each mission (e.g., all sniper groups or all female groups) to suit your varying battle needs.

• Beautifully Rendered Battlefields: You can gain the advantage in battle by drawing off the unique terrain in 30 different environments, as varied as industrial cities, forests, castles and fortresses.

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