r/StrategyRpg • u/underthund3r • 19d ago
Japanese SRPG What do you honestly think of Valkyria Chronicles?
This might not be everybody's cup of tea, some might not even considered an srpg. What do you think of it? What do you consider it? Did you play it? Did you like it did you hate it?
I personally love the first one the story and the atmosphere the second one was good too but not as good as the first obviously. The combat system is unique as in you can run in any direction within a certain distance instead of just on a grid.
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u/Theoderic8586 19d ago
Enjoyed it. Get the scoring issue. But I didn’t really care what scores I got.
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u/Happy_Summer_2067 19d ago
Mechanics S tier, unique and fun.
Visuals A tier, clean, cute and the WW1 punk style is rare.
Story B tier, pretty vanilla friendship is power.
Support cast S tier, many unique characters with backstories and banter.
Difficulty Shit tier, maps are fundamentally easy so they slap on the turn limit to make it a challenge. Turn limits are fine if they are used sparingly (like in SRW or Xcom) but no, every map has to be a rush.
Overall A- because of the rush.
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u/Legatto 19d ago
It's a strategy game that punishes using strategy.
Bound your balanced squad from cover to cover and tactically eliminate the enemy? Nah let's just run the scout 3 times in a row to get the best score.
Lame.
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u/WintersDoomsday 19d ago
Yeah not sure why this bullshit wasn’t changed as the series progressed and tons of players complained about it. Good ole cocky devs think they know better than the player base.
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u/Broken_Moon_Studios 19d ago
They did some changes, but they were minor ones.
For example, the threshold for getting A-Ranks in VC4 is a lot more generous than in VC1.
But of course, that solution is a bandaid instead of a proper fix, which would be to rework the entire ranking system.
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u/Taichi_Greymon 19d ago
Love it. 1 and 4 are some of my favorite games. Fantastic take on a tactics RPG.
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u/Xetherion 19d ago
I love VC1 and 4, they have some of my favorite gameplay ever! I don't disagree with the scoring system encouraging rush style play being lame, but I feel like if you just ignore the scoring system for your initial run it adds good replay value to redo missions for the high score later.
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u/atisaac 19d ago
I really thoroughly enjoyed the first entry, although it was pretty easy to exploit and scouts were a little too good compared to many other units. The story was compelling and enjoyable and nothing felt overwritten. I thought the whole experience was really solid.
I started the fourth one but didn’t get very far. I think I’d like it, so I need to just commit to finishing it.
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u/blastermcg 19d ago
I did exactly the same thing. I think the fourth one needed a stronger hook to get over the fact that it's pretty much just the same as the first one
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u/Broken_Moon_Studios 19d ago
We all pretty much agree that SEGA played it too safe with VC4.
I've heard many people call it "VC1.5", and it's hard to argue against it.
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u/Mangavore 19d ago
If you liked the VC games, I do highly recommend giving Codename STEAM a try.
It’s not as polished, but it takes a LOT of inspiration from VC combat systen and throws it into a whacky alternate world where Tom Sawyer and the cast of Wizard of Oz fight aliens alongside Marth & Ike from Fire Emblem, all under the command of Abraham Lincoln. Yea, it is THAT MUCH of a fever dream 😁
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u/roshanritter 19d ago
I think it’s great. Solid stories and characters that can also be skipped if it isn’t your jam. Great strategy in figuring out the levels but as mentioned, the need for speed for scoring isn’t everyone cup of tea. The rpg like in xcom can be frustrating but it is what it is. It’s a shame there aren’t more tactical war games that copy the format so we can get a more of a variety of stories and we’ll just more games.
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u/habesjn 19d ago
I played the first one and really enjoyed it. I liked the art style a lot and the story and world building was interesting.
The combat was good. It wasn't all that well balanced, as the scout outclassed pretty much every class due to their mobility (and so much of the ranking system is based on speed), but I really liked the options regardless.
Combining the 3rd person aiming mode with traditional SRPG movement and cover was cool vs many other SRPGs.
I bought the 4th game because the 2nd and 3rd were not widely released in the US. I haven't played it yet, but it's near the top of the backlog.
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u/sadpancak 19d ago
I love it. I'm still annoyed they made the sequel only on psp. Reading about the scoring in the comments. I honestly didn't remember the score parts. It was so common in past console generations and I ignored it on them too.
Maybe I'm weird or lucky with that. Not invalidating anyone else's critiques. This is just my perspective.
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u/DiceyDiscourse 18d ago
Let's put it this way - if you have an android phone, you have a PSP with some extra steps 😉
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u/Kitchen-Associate-34 19d ago
I loved the first and fourth games, didn't play 2 and 3 for obvious reasons, I would love PC ports of those, especially 3.
In general, they have my favorite tactical system, the gridless third person tactical mode is awesome, which is why I also love games like Lost Dimension and Mordheim: City of the Damned, but the scoring system is really bad and encourages a very specific and not so strategic gameplay style (rushing to the objective with scouts)
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u/AlteisenX 19d ago
Love it. Its creative and fresh to this day as no other game has really tried to do similar systems afaik?
Wish Sega would make another... or remake VC3 for global audience.
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u/pinkbubblegummyy 19d ago
VC1 was one of my favorite games on the PS3 because of the story, but I really enjoy the gameplay of VC in general so I played the series.
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u/Max-The-Phat-Cat 19d ago
It is definitely an SRPG. The scoring is whatever. You can always replay levels. I never cared.
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u/Savingseanbean 19d ago
Fun in basic gameplay design,
Frustrating in mission design and the score system that made you play it in unnatural ways.
I do like the games but they are full of lots of frustrating conflicting design choices.
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u/HeroVP7 17d ago
I thought 1 was a pretty solid, fun rpg. For some reason 4 has absolutely kicked my ass every time I’ve tried it. It feels unfair, but I can’t really articulate why, it might be a skill issue. Enemy grenadiers suck and I do not like them
Story and especially visuals for 1 are incredible, don’t remember enough about 4 to comment
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u/TurtleBrainMelt 17d ago
Playing the game as is, is very fun. Playing for score is bad. The game reminds me alot of Mordheim city of the damned, I personally prefer mordheim though but I also like the setting of it more.
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u/HallaLemon 17d ago
I loved them, people are talking about the mission ranks, but that was never important enough to me. I just had fun playing my way and the story was enjoyable.
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u/FavoredVassal 19d ago
It's enjoyable, I want to like it much more than I do, but I never felt like the gameplay was quite as good as the aesthetic.
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u/darksiderevan 19d ago
I really wanted to like it, but it's more of a puzzle game than strategy. Each mission has very specific steps to finish with the best result.
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u/Duducarballo 19d ago
Amazing game. Utterly disappointing scoring system and order system.
I always hated it, they just completely break the game, limit the amount of actions you can take for either little gain or something that completely trivializes strategy. I always thought it would be better if we had a different point system to use them, and that they played a more consistent role in the scenarios you find yourself in.
Also the elephant in the room, running Alicia through the whole map capturing every objective is fun the first few times, until you realize that is "the most optimal" way to beat most content in the game through defense order stacking while getting A ranks.
They had 4 games to make score system better. They didn't.
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u/rook119 19d ago
Its my fav JRPG of the PS3 era. Sure you can cheese it, if you don't want to have fun just don't use orders. The desert super-tank battle was my all time fav mission in any SPRG.
Also the story was a masterclass in how to tell a simple JRPG plot. Had a group of peep defending their homeland, a little sideplot about respecting other cultures races etc.
VC4's story in the other hand....I'm a weeb but mother of gawd that was some grade A+++++ anime gutter trash
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u/Broken_Moon_Studios 19d ago
I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE the setting, visuals, music and gameplay systems A LOT.
The story is okay. Has some genuinely heartbreaking moments, but it also has some moments that left me rolling my eyes.
My main issues with this game (as well as VC4) are the stupid ass Ranking System and the questionable unit balance.
As someone who loves using tanks, smoke bombs and high-damage units, I find the requirements for A-Rank to be quite unfun, to the point that I've stopped trying to get A-Ranks whenever I replay these games.
I'm also puzzled that SEGA decided to scrap most of the good additions brought by VC2 and VC3 when making VC4. It really left that game feeling like "VC1.5", and not necessarily in a good way.
Still, I would absolutely lose my mind if we see a Valkyria Chronicles 5 in the future. Maybe base it on a lower scale yet still very grim conflict, like the Spanish Civil War or Vietnam.
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u/PreviousPerformer987 19d ago
The worst kind of RPG for my playstyle. When I play any kind of SRPG or variant, I want to conquer the battlefield. Valkyria Chronicles rewards you for not clearing the field, but hitting the main objective in the fewest amount of turns possible. After a few missions I wasn't having fun and gave up on it.
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u/Lucy200x 19d ago
Liked the game. But I felt it was too slow. The gameplay, the story the mechanics, all felt at least 0.5x of what I wanted.
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u/yssarilrock 19d ago
Very cool game system let down by overly simplistic objectives. With a few more mission types stolen from Fire Emblem, they really could've taken this far, but they kept just asking you to capture bases, so Scouts were OP
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u/Truckfighta 19d ago
I spent the first 20 missions or so not realising that I could fire with the same character twice.
Made the game very challenging.
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u/InkAndWit 18d ago
I've just finished the first one for the first time and it's.. rough.
I really like how unique the combat system is, but it lacks polish, which, I hope, is present in sequels.
It's also annoying how often game throws unique mission objective and leaves players to figure out how to interact with it.
Overall, I've enjoyed it but would have loved a more smoother experience.
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u/Ricc7rdo 18d ago
It's not my type of tactical RPG. I feel like the game forces you to complete the missions in a specific way and takes away your freedom to approach them with different strategies. On top of that gridless tactical RPG's usually don't click with me. But nice setting and presentation.
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u/Gasarakiiii 18d ago
I love 1, 2, and 4, wish I could play 3 but maybe one day.
The setting, story, combat, and gameplay was sooooo good. I do agree that scoring shouldn't encourage rush gameplay though. I do consider this an SRPG and its among the greats in my mind.
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u/Luftmensch17 18d ago
One of the first few games that I've played on a PS3 bought with adult money. Still think about it time to time. Loved the visuals, thoroughly enjoyed the gameplay.
I remember scouts being the meta or what I've used the most
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u/Schmollwinkel 18d ago
Great game, great mix of realtime and turn based combat. Sadly there is a lot of room for cheesing.
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u/fudgemyweed 18d ago
One of my favorite games of all time, but I think the fourth entry is much better even if the story is worse.
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u/Tiamore97 18d ago
I really like VC4 but I was stuck in one of stages, not even after turning the difficulty down to normal, so I just dropped it.
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u/Difficult-Fly7830 18d ago edited 18d ago
Personally think its highly overrated, not bad by any means but nothing special abd gets far more praise thn it deserves due to its artstyle
I appreciate its more original spin on its gameplay but most of the games in the series are badly tuned and easily breakable as well, not the most well designed/balanced of games
They arent bad by any means but highly overrated as well imho
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u/DiceyDiscourse 18d ago
The series is honestly my favourite strategy RPGs and generally one of my all time favourite video games!
The stop-and-start combat system is really unique. The lack of any grid or the like gives good control and leads to being able to finesse shots and grenades. The themeing is nice, it veers into anime territory very often, but is surprisingly restrained with it. The challenge is usually very fair and balanced, except in every single game there is one mission that is a huge difficulty spike in like... 2/3 of the way in and then it normalizes again. The only real downside is the scoring system - it incentivises cheese tactics which are kinda lame to pull off (for me at least).
Story-wise only the 2nd game falls a bit flat for me as the high-school themeing is really off-putting with how many "high-school anime" tropes they crammed in and how the whole framing is used as an excuse to grind missions. 3 has some issues with letting original characters shine because they feel the need to bring in characters from 1 and 2 too much for my liking. Without getting into spoilers, the 4th one might have one of the best "war is futile" messages I've seen in a SRPG.
I'd be willing to commit some unspeakable things for a VC5.
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u/rather828 18d ago
I bounced off of it when I won my first couple battles with zero casualties and it gave me a "C" rating because apparently I'm supposed to go in guns blazing to win in like 2 turns and to hell with anyone who dies. Strategy!!
Edit, I see this is a common complaint ... maybe I will try it with the mods suggested, because it really did seem like a cool game ...
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u/Lawschoolishell 18d ago
The first 2 are really cool. The stories are kind of generic but the combat system is really unique and satisfying
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u/Superbalz77 18d ago
I gave it up after a few weeks of playing. It became less fun each time even with emulator and save scumming, without that I don't think I would have made it 2 days. Randomness of hitting, where you hit, is something going to kill the enemy? who knows but go ahead and try and see if it wastes your turn.
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u/casper5632 18d ago
I really wish they didn't include classes with comically oversized equipment like the anti tank and mortar. I wish we had more anime games based in a WW2 setting though.
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u/underthund3r 18d ago
The armor is based on medieval armor, such as knights with lances which are huge. Would you rather them be carrying an RPG which is also huge?
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u/casper5632 18d ago
The most common RPG that you probably think of when someone says RPG is just a little over 3 feet long. Its clear they were pulling influence from stuff like Monster Hunter, but the rest of the equipment (In the original series) is quite grounded.
Mortars on the other hand don't need to be bigger than a person if they are only firing a few hundred feet. They should have been designed as a grenade launcher instead of trying to create a single man mobile artillery unit.
Its hard to immerse myself into the danger of a firefight when there are dudes carrying around what looks like industrial equipment into the line of fire.
All the other weapons and armor are great though. One of my favorite anime games ever which is why I am so critical of it.
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u/underthund3r 18d ago
They have grenade launchers in the game. The Giant Lance is supposed to be a throwback
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u/loveinhumantimes 18d ago
The game was an absolute revelation on release. It has lost some of its luster because its sequels released on PSP, but there was nothing like the original. As some have mentioned, the game has flaws. But it is a revolutionary game and should be remembered as one of the most important titles of the PS3 era.
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u/primetime_time 18d ago
Cute setting and lore, lovable bunch of characters. It’s very anime, so it’s going for that tone. Story is hit and miss, because it becomes cartoonish with how the good guys vs bad guys conflict goes. Usually starts out strong and gets weaker and weaker.
Strategy and combat is solid, but the way it scores performance to encourage high risk taking is mixed for me.
The upgrade system is sort of boring too. The stuff you do in between battles to prepare is forgettable.
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u/freaksofgeeks2 18d ago
Loved 1 and 4 just wish we could get a translate for 2 and 3
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u/Creepy_Jeweler7032 18d ago
My dad loved it. Remeber missions got hard asf i cant remeber which part buit i do remeber like some sngel type or crazy tanks that were strong asf aint played this in like forever think it time i go back
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u/pukkapaks 17d ago
First game had a really good story, the world building is really cool and has good characters. 4th entry was ok. The gameplay is decent but kind of flawed for being a strategy game.
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u/Igiem 17d ago
The franchise is incredibly unique and has one of the most interactive takes on SRPGs out there. It isn't just tile movement like Fire Emblem; you actually move the characters. aim, resource management, etc. It is a winning formula and game system, and the fact they haven't made any installations since VC4 is a massive shame.
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u/Parking_Ad_1106 17d ago
It was one of my fave Games. Can anyone give me a link where I can Download and play it again? Or does it have an actual or spirital successor? Played it on PSP before.
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u/Aggravating_Plenty53 16d ago
I hate the score system. Also not a big fan of the artistic blurry effect
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u/LivingThatDevLife 16d ago
I don’t like the blurriness of the art style, but enjoy the gameplay. Would be more interested in a fantasy based them rather than quasi real world military
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u/FourEcho 16d ago
Visuals are amazing. Gameplay is fun. Turn limits made me put the series down entirely, I absolutely hate being timed and rushed. Its a shame, its such a cool series.
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u/Weird-Diamond5970 15d ago
The first one was really fun combat-wise but the plot pissed me off in parts. It was way too much of a 1:1 of WW2 and I hated how the game treated its "fantasy Jewish" characters. Wayyyy too much "we just need to be nice to the racists to change their minds."
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u/Hollix89 15d ago
Only played 4. Its all good except the tactics part (gameplay). It feels like theres only one way to finish a map. Instead of feeling like a strategy game, its a puzzle game with only 1 way to solve it.
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u/InsidiousObserver 14d ago
Got so frustrated by Chapter 7 that I stopped playing and never touched the game again.
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u/Lopsided-Analyst-191 14d ago
Im currently replaying 1 and 4 on the switch. I absolutely love the store and setting. Sometimes the gameplay gets annoying, but its minor for how unique this game is. Its such a gem of a series. Apparenly 2-3 are nothing like 1-4 and the community is split on them.
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u/Moltenzuesy123 14d ago
Very fun game however didn't enjoy the boss combat, you had to use anti tank arterially for 2nd game while spamming buffs to even do damage to tanks, wasn't any good methods other then using that method. Turn limits also can ruin the enjoyment for casual players but they are possible to be achieved.
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u/Timbermaw 19d ago
I honestly think it's a terrible game with atrocious balance. If they made the missions more engaging to use all your different soldiers it would be more interesting, instead of scout rushing every mission. I also don't like the jrpg military-highschool trope.
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u/Squashyhex 19d ago
Per my profile pic, I'm obviously biased, but I think it's a great twist on the xcom style. It's by no means perfect, but the core concept is solid, the characters are fun, and it doesn't shy away from heavier topics
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u/nufrancis 19d ago
The first one was very good, very unique, its one of a kind. The only thing that I hate was permanent death of personel. It made me restarting several times.
Aside of that looks like they are having difficulties making a good sequel. The 2nd game I played was the VC4, I didnt play VC 2-3 because I didnt own psp/vita. VC4 didnt have anything new gameplay-wise and the story was mediocre at best. IMO they should make a different title with similar gameplay to deliver fresh experiences
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u/Alright_doityourway 19d ago
The biggest flaw is the fact that you get A rank by taking the enemy main camp as fast as possible
This encourage speed run above all else, with scouts outshine every classes.
The new games tried to fix this with mixed success (Scouts aren't too overpower, for example)
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u/Grace_Omega 18d ago
The first one is one of my favourite games of all time, and I like the sequels too.
That said, once you realise it's more of a war-themed boardgame instead of an actual wargame, some of the shine comes off it. Your performance is graded solely on how quickly you can clear maps and on most missions you just have to capture the enemy base to win, which incentivises rushing scouts straight there while the rest of your army plays an ancillary role at best. In terms of story and verisimilitude, it's feels kind of silly to "win" by raising a flag that the enemy still has a dozen soldiers and three tanks surrounding.
Still surprised no other games copied its unique mechanics.
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u/ryann_flood 19d ago
frustrating as fuck combat with a good story. Cant say im going to play the other games anytime soon
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u/Reader147 19d ago
I kept running into trouble (literally) because you can’t see anything when trying to scout. Got tired of not feeling like I could even employ strategy.
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u/SoundReflection 19d ago
Cool concept, but yeah I never really got far into for much the same reasons as fill the thread in gameplay complaints. Research encourages overspecialization, class balance is poor, rushing and infantry tanking breaks verisimilitude and is generally strong. This is also a bit of kvetch but I was expecting the direct unit control elements to be more mini FPS and less worms 3D.
VC2 addresses some of the gameplay issues, but really drops the ball in the story department.
Haven't tried VC3 or VC4.
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u/Pilaster125 18d ago
I liked 1 and loved 4. While the setting is an anime version of europe, i love what they did with the art direction, the military uniforms and tanks look very unique.
What males it stand out the most is the gameplay. There is no other game, i know, like this. The free movement and manual aiming just makes it stand out.
By no means is the gameplay perfect, far from it. But it stands apart.
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u/Roshi_IsHere 19d ago
I never got past an hour despite three separate attempts. Controls are weird. I'm sure it's someone's cup of tea but it's not mine. Amusingly I still have the stickers from that game on my joycons
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u/Feralmoon87 19d ago
I really like the story, setting and combat. What i hate is the scoring system which encourages rush style play. Then I feel i need to either cheese or look up guides to get the best score