Now Playing: Valkyria Chronicles

Valkyria Chronicles is a turn-based strategy/puzzle game set in a fictional world similar to late 1930s Europe, where the small country of Gallia finds itself pulled into a war between two major powers – the Atlantic Federation and the Imperial Alliance. The story is told through the pages of a ‘history book’ focused on the operations of Militia Squad 7. Each chapter has a series of animated story events leading into a battle operation.

I must admit, I was initially a little irritated by VC as it felt as if I was spending more time watching animated scenes than I was actually playing the bloody game. The early battle operations are very short and very limited in scale and strategy. Fortunately, as you begin to progress through these early chapters the game rapidly expands in both depth and scope, introducing several new elements.

 

From the story book you can access your HQ where you can select your squad, assign special weapons, learn new orders, level up troop classes and invest in various upgrades. Each squad member is unique in appearance and ‘potentials’ which may have a positive or negative effect during operations depending upon certain circumstances. One scout may be ‘desert bred’ and perform better in such an environment, for example, whereas another is more suited to grassy fields. There are also tabs in the book containing more in depth information about the characters, weapons and history of the world as well as skirmish and class specific training maps.

From the HQ you can build up a squad comprised of five different unit classes – scout, trooper, lancer, engineer and sniper. This is in addition to two tank units. Each has various capabilities that make them useful in certain situations. The scout has the largest movement range, for example, but is ineffective against tank units, in which case you’ll need a lancer, although they are slow to move and have limited range.

Each operation plays out like this: there’s a briefing period where you can assign the units you’d like to use, selecting their starting position on an overhead map of the mission area. Each operation is turn based, switching between you and the enemy. Each turn grants you a number of ‘command points’. These are used to move your units (1 for infantry, 2 for tanks) or issue special orders (such as artillery support). Each unit has a certain movement range varying from large (scouts) to small (lancers). Every movement you make with the same unit depletes this range further until it is reset on the next turn.

 

Units can only attack once per turn, so it’s in your interest to move, attack and take up a final position as efficiently as you can as your command points per turn are limited. Although turn based, some enemy types can still attack your selected unit if you stray into their line of fire. Operations have various objectives to complete, but generally, your primary goal is to capture an enemy camp. Some maps also have interactive features such as lifts, trains, trenches and towers which can be integrated into your strategy.

One thing you realise early on, is that operations are ranked entirely on turns taken. Although your score will increase through enemy ‘ace’, ‘leader’ (leaders grant the enemy additional command points making them valuable targets) and tank kills, it’s the turns taken that really matters. The higher the rank, the more experience and money you will earn, which is then spent on levelling up your unit classes and buying upgrades for their weapons and equipment.

When you realise this, the operations transform into fascinating puzzles to solve, as you seek out the most fast and efficient route possible to complete your objectives with the highest rank possible. Often, this involves clever use of scouts using their high movement range to get behind enemy lines. Or, in one case, using a clever smokescreen to beat one of the ‘boss’ enemies in two moves. Not turns – moves. And there are many missions which allow you to figure out all sorts of ‘creative’ solutions to beat them in as few moves as possible.

I really liked this aspect of the game and it’s one which gives it a lot of replay value as you try various tactics to see which is the fastest. It does become something of a trial and error system with a lot of reloading, but it’s quite addictive and fun to play around with. One thing you must note, however, is for some reason, you can’t replay the main story missions until NG+ in which all of your unlocked levels and equipment carries over.

 

I quite enjoyed the story and characters of VC, even though I felt it could have pushed the darker elements far more than it did. I also got quite attached to certain squad members. They all have unique personalities meaning they’re not just faceless foot soldiers. And yes, I found the operations to be quite addictive and enjoyable to play, even though I must admit a couple of them were a bit dull. Even though I’ve completed it, I’ll likely go on playing to see what more I can unlock and if I can attain a top rank on every operation.

That said, I do have my issues with VC and these mostly revolve around the ranking mechanic. I get that it’s been designed in this specific way, but at the same time, I can’t help but feel it’s resulted in a game that feels more like a puzzle game than one of strategy. My issue is that because of the way it is designed, VC rather severely limits and restricts how the player may approach each operation. Because your ranking determines your experience and money gained, it’s in your best interest to attain the highest score possible in order to continue to upgrade and outfit your troops.

But as I’ve described, the only way to obtain the highest ranking is to complete operations in as few turns as possible. What does this result in? It results in units such as your tanks, troopers, lancers, engineers and snipers being used very rarely due to their limited movement range and their cost to your command points per turn. In general, your scouts are your most important unit, aside from a handful of situations that require a specific skill such as an engineer to clear a mine or a lancer to target a tank. Command points are precious things that you simply can’t afford to waste.

Now, you can certainly use the skirmish mode to grind experience and cash if you want. Ranking isn’t that much of a problem. But the game doesn’t simply push you to complete each operation quickly for ranking purposes. In fact, even if you didn’t care about ranking and simply wanted to approach each operation as a strategic operation utilising all of the various classes, you’ll only find it detrimental to do so. Enemy camps may continually call in reinforcements, making it important to capture them as soon as possible. The game is designed to play the operations in the fastest number of turns, and the longer you take, the harder it actually becomes and the less reward you receive.

 

I’m not saying this approach to design is wrong, rather that the supporting elements don’t quite fit. This particularly applies to units. With such a limited movement range you’ll rarely, if ever, want to use the trooper units in your squad. And although I used snipers quite a lot, it was only when it wasn’t necessary to move them too far from the starting zone. The limitations to command points and specific unit ranges means that the player becomes quite limited in terms of strategy. Why run a trooper to a position over three moves when I can cover a longer distance with a single scout move?

I was hoping the larger, later operations would grow in complexity in terms of unit strategy, but this never became the case, and attempting to play in a strategic sense where unit formation, position and composition is balanced and important, only results in being detrimental to your progress.

Some operations also become far too trial and error dependent in terms of emerging threats. In one mission, an enemy tank arrived as part of a story scripted reinforcement behind me and destroyed my tank in a single hit, failing the mission. I had to reload and position my tank out of line of sight in advance of the scripted action. It doesn’t really feel strategic, more like a puzzle which is revealed piece by piece as you progress, and only once you have the entire picture can you properly approach the operation.

But despite these issues, I still really enjoyed playing through VC and I’m sure I’ll continue to play as I experiment with different methods. It’s just a shame that the game feels so restrictive towards the player and limits their strategic options. I can’t help but feel the ranking system (and therefore the operations) would have been far more interesting if it took multiple factors into account. That said, VC is a good game and one I’d happily recommend.

7/10