Portable Warfare

Valkyria Chronicles is one of the best IP to come out from last generation. It has everything I loved in a video game : cel-shaded graphics, strategy RPG gameplay and women with big guns. While I have yet to finish the first game on the PS3, it's only because I have too many PS3 games to clear. The recent HDD woes on my PS3 system certainly didn't helped matters.

VC3 was a great experience and to be honest, I enjoyed this type of game more on a portable than a console. Since my PSP has been sitting idle for a while, I decided to play VC2 in the mean time. Now I'm really playing the series in reverse order and hopefully that won't be an issue as the 3 games are loosely connected. It does mess up the timeline quite a bit though.

Valkyria Chronicles on the PS3 is like the big-budget brother to the PSP siblings. In VC1, every dialogue was voiced and the character models were used even in the non-animated cutscenes. VC3 made some small compromises but the strong character design and artwork made up for the loss.

VC2 seems to be using a different art director compared with VC1 and VC3. The new style of character design is hard to get into after being so used to the original artist. The new characters pale in comparisons to the cast of VC1 and VC3. To top it off, their personality isn't great either. The lead character is supposed to be some underdog slacker but it's pretty hard to root for him.

As for the gameplay, in VC1 and VC3 you get to view your enemy's action as it unfolds during their turn. It may be boring for some players but I tend to use the time to put down the controller and take a quick break. It's always a nice surprise if you come back to find half your squad wiped off because of some poor decisions (lol). In VC2, you don't get to see your opponent turn at all as everything is simulated on the battle map (it doesn't zoom in on the characters). This speeds things up considerably but it's hard to improve and learn from mistakes when you don't get to see how the AI plays.

It's clear even from this point that VC2 isn't the best in the series. In fact it could have very well torpedo the series potential if it wasn't for VC3 righting the ship.

Crossing That Line

Who can complain of more Valkyria Chronicles 3 on the 3DS?

Project X is one of those guilty pleasure games, it’s not an excellent game by any means but certainly very addictive and fun. The crossover theme seems to be a common fad in Japanese modern games and here it’s demonstrated to great effect as classic characters from mega franchises come together for one big team-up mash. The chemistry between all these different characters is the highlight of the game, never mind the fact the story makes no sense and it’s just an excuse to pile as many characters together as possible.  I was surprised by the level of detail as the amount of voiceover work is extensive and the characters are all voiced by the original voice actors (from what I can tell with the Valkyria Chronicles 3). Each fixed pair of characters can be assisted by a third party member and I often mixed up each pair with a new character just to see what silly banter they throw at each other.

The game is a strategy RPG but there are action elements thrown on that allows you to string together combo attacks. Basically it’s a bit like the first Devil May Cry game where you juggle the enemy in the air but here it’s all about the timing of the buttons to keep the combo going as long as possible. The animation and 3D effects when you unleash the special attack is simply awesome, no matter how many times you seen it. It’s high unlikely to know every character in the game but there is a useful crosspedia to help you catch up to speed with them and the universe. I started playing Sakura Wars on the PS2 after being introduced to the Gemini character and that’s the beauty of the game, you learn more of other game series.

The game has a repetitive and predictable structure but somehow I'm always drawn back by the familiar characters, theme music and before I know it, another hour has passed. I guess that’s what it means by having fun. 

So Much To Play So Little Time in 2014

The year is almost finished and I thought I would reflect back on the games I have played and completed over the last twelve months. So going through my trophy log and saved games, I have compiled a list of the following games that I started and finished within the last year.

1. Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
2. Max Payne 3 (PS3)
3. Deadly Premonition (PS3)
4. Resident Evil Revelations (3DS)
5. The Spirit Camera (3DS)
6. Yakuza 5 (PS3)
7. Lollipop Chainsaw (PS3)

None of these games were particularly new or expensive but rest assured, I have not gone cheap on games as I finally got a new Nintendo hardware this year. Cross generation games are still prevalent for now so it remains to be seen when the PS4 will happen, probably not next year unless a nice Yakuza Zero PS4 custom edition emerges.