Valkyria Chronicles 4

YES YES YES! FINALLY SEGA IS GETTING IT! If they do this right like they did with the original Valkyria Chronicles on PC, this is not just a day one but a pre-order for me!

Valkyria Chronicles is an absolutely fantastic title and it did very well on PC, even so many years after its PS3 release; it got a whole new life! SEGA did just about everything right with its release - quality PC features (minus one engine issue in how the original game was developed if you tried to go OVER 60 FPS), all the DLC released to date, a very reasonable price ($20 or $30) in light of its late arrival compared to the PS3 version, and original Japanese audio!

The game itself is a must play for any who enjoy "tactical JRPGs" and has a unique take on even that dynamic thanks to its "active combat" system which is pretty much unlike any other game series out there of which I am aware. For those who enjoy (or at least don't absolutely hate) anime, the story is solid and unique with the characters well drawn and developed - every character in your squad is their own person with likes and dislikes; there are principle characters and officers, but no "throw away"s. Each has their own particular strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, and how they relate to other players in the unit - its a little like Fire Emblem in some ways, but isn't dependent on sticking characters next to each other for them to "level up their connection" or anything. Very well designed system. The setting and gameplay are both solid and if they're keeping the same character artist (which it looks like they may) that looks even better.

For ages I'd been hoping that SEGA would use the success of the original Valkyria Chronicles to bring its sequels to PC and hearing of VC4 is great news, but I wonder if they will now be willing to bring the other 3 games in the series to PC. Valkyria Chronicles 2 was released in the west on PSP (sadly English only) and Valkyria Chronicles 3 Extra Edition was also on PSP but released Japan only! I think they'd both benefit from a "HD Remake" of VC2 and VC3 Extra Edition being brought to PC with updated controls, graphics, features, and other polish - not unlike how Assassin's Creed Liberation HD took a mobile title and brought it to PC upgraded. The more recent "Valkyria Revolution" released in 2017 on PS4 (including in the West) would likely be a relatively swift port to make it ready for PC!

Some of us have been working on bringing more Japanese developers and publishers to see the value of "proper", high quality (uncensored, original audio included, technically PC viable etc) releases of their titles. From the niche to the more mainstream it seems that these efforts are bearing fruit and picking up momentum!
 
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Some purchasing information....

PreOrdering grants you a DLC Campaign worth about $5, so that's a nice bonus for those who know they'll be purchasing. For those waiting, it will ostensibly be available after the fact, but just for the standard price.

Besides Steam, you can also find the game on Humble Bundle / Store, but notably not GreenManGaming - they don't have a deal with SEGA as a publisher as of yet . Fanatical has at the moment one of the cheapest prices on the game pre launch, a 20% discount at $47 instead of its standard $60 (all prices in USD). I believe Cdkeys.com has something similar. However, Voidu at time of writing has a special promotion whereas the game shows a 10% discount, but there is a stacking voucher code "PLAYHARDER" that adds 20%, making the game's final price around $42 and the cheapest I've found. Note that Voidu and many others typically have game keys for the EU Region , so look carefully but Valkyria Chronicles 4 specifically notes "US" so I had no concern buying - it activated on Steam immediately and properly noted pre-order benefits.
 
I'm going to give this a shot on the Switch. I enjoyed VC3 well enough on the PS3.
 
MavericK said:
I'm going to give this a shot on the Switch. I enjoyed VC3 well enough on the PS3.
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I kinda wanted to get it on Switch, but the reduced texture resolution really put me off. It's significantly lower than on the other consoles or PC.
 
Colonel Sanders said:
I kinda wanted to get it on Switch, but the reduced texture resolution really put me off. It's significantly lower than on the other consoles or PC.
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That's a bummer, but I don't see myself playing this much on PC or another console. I generally try to get games on Switch now because I love having the option of playing this stuff handheld.
 
Colonel Sanders said:
I kinda wanted to get it on Switch, but the reduced texture resolution really put me off. It's significantly lower than on the other consoles or PC.
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Indeed. I'm usually of the feeling that if you have a PC capable of playing a title that's on multiple platforms, PC is the best choice for a number of reasons. Price is certainly one - PC titles (and their DLC!) are discounted more heavily and more often, including pre-launch, from legit sites etc. Check out GMG's PS4 section where most are less than 10% discount on even slightly older titles, compared to their PC discounts. Shadow of the Tomb Raider is 6% discounted, whereas on PC is 20-25%.

Gameplay / Tech / Modding is another major factor - the Switch offering lower quality textures is a good example as the PC version typically offers the most and best graphical/technical options, but ease of modding (without having to worry about getting your device banned) is also really important. Something like Kaldaien's "Special K" fixing and enhancing tons of titles to how Valkyria Chronicles 1 itself has a number of mods on PC (There's even higher resolution textures, other small fixes, a total rebalancing mod called "Gallien Crossfire" that changes the gameplay significantly - check a few of them out in the Guiides section of the game's Community page on Steam), it makes a big difference. SEGA has pretty much done VC1 and VC4 "right" on PC by allowing both language vocal options, but Japanese players who want to play on PC for instance found that the global version did not support Japanese text/UI - so they modded it in, and will likely do so again for VC4! All of this wouldn't be possible on console, or at least not without risking a ban, keeping your console offline, and having some significant modding/patching experience.

MavericK said:
That's a bummer, but I don't see myself playing this much on PC or another console. I generally try to get games on Switch now because I love having the option of playing this stuff handheld.
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Have you considered remote play on your PC using your Switch? Last I checked there were a couple of clients (homebrewed thus far - some use something like Parsec; this reminds me to check to see if any emulate/connect to SteamPlay ) that would let you use your Switch to display/control content remotely. If you want to play mostly on the switch that's one thing, but if you want to be able to play mostly on PC yet still have the benefits of the Switch's mobility, this may help. Alas I've not been able to check myself as I'm waiting for a few developments in the Switch dev scene before changing from my earlier firmware.
 
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RanceJustice said:
Indeed. I'm usually of the feeling that if you have a PC capable of playing a title that's on multiple platforms, PC is the best choice for a number of reasons. Price is certainly one - PC titles (and their DLC!) are discounted more heavily and more often, including pre-launch, from legit sites etc. Check out GMG's PS4 section where most are less than 10% discount on even slightly older titles, compared to their PC discounts. Shadow of the Tomb Raider is 6% discounted, whereas on PC is 20-25%.

Gameplay / Tech / Modding is another major factor - the Switch offering lower quality textures is a good example as the PC version typically offers the most and best graphical/technical options, but ease of modding (without having to worry about getting your device banned) is also really important. Something like Kaldaien's "Special K" fixing and enhancing tons of titles to how Valkyria Chronicles 1 itself has a number of mods on PC (There's even higher resolution textures, other small fixes, a total rebalancing mod called "Gallien Crossfire" that changes the gameplay significantly - check a few of them out in the Guiides section of the game's Community page on Steam), it makes a big difference. SEGA has pretty much done VC1 and VC4 "right" on PC by allowing both language vocal options, but Japanese players who want to play on PC for instance found that the global version did not support Japanese text/UI - so they modded it in, and will likely do so again for VC4! All of this wouldn't be possible on console, or at least not without risking a ban, keeping your console offline, and having some significant modding/patching experience.



Have you considered remote play on your PC using your Switch? Last I checked there were a couple of clients (homebrewed thus far - some use something like Parsec; this reminds me to check to see if any emulate/connect to SteamPlay ) that would let you use your Switch to display/control content remotely. If you want to play mostly on the switch that's one thing, but if you want to be able to play mostly on PC yet still have the benefits of the Switch's mobility, this may help. Alas I've not been able to check myself as I'm waiting for a few developments in the Switch dev scene before changing from my earlier firmware.
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Some people prefer to play japanese games on japanese platforms.
 
I should be getting my copy of this today, looking forward to trying it out.

Honestly, the Switch version doesn't look that bad to me compared to PS4. I watched a comparison video and the only real difference was the textures being slightly worse.
 
MavericK said:
I should be getting my copy of this today, looking forward to trying it out.

Honestly, the Switch version doesn't look that bad to me compared to PS4. I watched a comparison video and the only real difference was the textures being slightly worse.
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Yeah, I mean I don't really think it's bad enough to the point of impacting gameplay. It just comes down to personal preference, really. One thing that annoys me is it's 30fps even on PS4 Pro (where the VC Remastered is 60fps.) Wish we at least had the option...
 
SOAREVERSOR said:
Some people prefer to play japanese games on japanese platforms.
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Everyone has their own preferences of course, but I've thought of PC as agnostic in terms of national origin as opposed to console platforms (ie Nintendo and Sony being from Japan, Microsoft from the US etc). Regarding authenticity for a given game is of importance, I've always found the PC - by virtue of modding without consequence - to be the most viable in this regard. If I wish to use a patch to remove localized censorship, change the official or even add unofficial text/UI language support, or "undub" titles to return the original language audio, I can do so typically without isssue. This is not to say that something similar cannot be done on consoles, but they typically require more mucking about with "dangerous" files, needing custom firmware, flash carts, or other devices; these days, some of which threaten your console with a ban if discovered. I've long been a fan of (especially Japanese as they've been most prominently affected, but really any foreign titles) being available worldwide with quality, minimal localization that retains as much of the content itself, its culture, and its "spirit", changing the UI and adding subtitles for comprehension but little else.

MavericK said:
I should be getting my copy of this today, looking forward to trying it out.

Honestly, the Switch version doesn't look that bad to me compared to PS4. I watched a comparison video and the only real difference was the textures being slightly worse.
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Ahhh good luck! I hope you enjoy it! Early reports seem to be very solid with official reviews in the 8.x / 10 range, generally, with player reviews similarly positive. It seems they've added a lot of new content, such as new classes, inspired by VC2/VC3. Let us know how the Switch version fares, if there's any slowdown, or difference while playing docked vs mobile.

I'll probably be starting my PC version soon, but i'd like to finish offf playing through VC1 again as a refresher.
 
RanceJustice said:
Everyone has their own preferences of course, but I've thought of PC as agnostic in terms of national origin as opposed to console platforms (ie Nintendo and Sony being from Japan, Microsoft from the US etc).
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It's all based on American Company hardware and built by Chinese laborers. Yes, everyone has a preference, but not all of them are well thought out. Some are just inherently xenophobic.
 
I liked the port to PC, but didn't adore it. It's definitely the best effort Sega has made to produce a successor to the Shinning Force series. I'll pick it up when it's on sale.

I just remember hitting an impassible difficulty wall on one mission, and giving up on the game. In the Shining Force series, if you couldn't find a tactical solution, you could always grind your way to victory, but I encountered an impassable difficulty wall in this game, no matter which walk through I followed.

If this is like the predecessors, then it's worth twenty bucks to me, and I look forward to picking it up :D
 
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twonunpackmule said:
It's all based on American Company hardware and built by Chinese laborers. Yes, everyone has a preference, but not all of them are well thought out. Some are just inherently xenophobic.
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True, I suppose. Though one could say that those consoles are these days using the same manufactured in China elements like PCBs based on American hardware design; the Nintendo Switch being pretty much an Nvidia Shield Tablet, and both XB1/PS4 using modified AMD APU style platforms etc. However, the PC doesn't - for the moment, thank "insert deity here", - have a single company of any national origin controlling things top to bottom and their network and way of doing things being the only legit option.

defaultluser said:
I liked the port to PC, but didn't adore it. It's definitely the best effort Sega has made to produce a successor to the Shinning Force series. I'll pick it up when it's on sale.

I just remember hitting an impassible difficulty wall on one mission, and giving up on the game. In the Shining Force series, if you couldn't find a tactical solution, you could always grind your way to victory, but I encountered an impassable difficulty wall in this game, no matter which walk through I followed.

If this is like the predecessors, then it's worth twenty bucks to me, and I look forward to picking it up :D
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When you speak of an impassable difficulty wall do you mean in VC1? While Shining Force was pretty much the SEGA answer to Fire Emblem (its a pity most in the west didn't get to experience them all concurrently), Valkyria Chronicles is certainly a bit different in that there are more options thanks to the active battle system. While I did find VC1 to be challenging, were you aware that you could in fact "grind" a bit even in VC1? You couldn't replay any main campaign missions the first time through, but you could go to any of the "Scenario" missions, including the special DLC challenges, and replay them time and time again farming XP and money.

This can be used to XP your troop classes and give you money for hardware upgrades. There's no wall on XP progression save the increasing amount of XP necessary as you level up, but the equipment you unlock is limited by chapter, generally. However, some of the DLC special Scenarios are, despite their difficulty and being made for high level characters, able to be completed even at low levels and give TONS of XP in addition to some high end "Enemy/Imperial" type weapons. So yeah, you can generally grind quite a bit and it does make things much easier. I've heard of people grinding the Scout DLC special mission to the point they can pretty much level their classes to 11 and promote to Elite right away!

It all depends on how much grinding you wish to do, but truly the game can be very difficult at certain times due to tactics, but the "scoring system" can also make things more difficult. I really hope that VC4 refines the score system of VC1 which was somewhat counter intuitive. In VC1, your letter grade for a mission was pretty much entirely based on how fast you completed it - under X turns you got an A, more than that you got a B etc. So someone who went along more slowly to find/kill all the special rare officers/Aces etc.. may not be graded as highly and get as much XP/Money; there are bonuses for officers/aces/tanks killed but it usually isn't as much to make up getting a B or C where yo would have otherwise gotten an A. Many recommend not even worrying about letters really on your first playthrough and grinding out Scenarios and other repeatable content if you need more rep/resources; most of the time you can pretty easily get a B / C and clear all the special enemies. Oh just to let you know, there is an excellent VC1 mod for PC called "Gallian Crossfire" which makes the game more difficult, but also completely changes many game systems to make them more consistent - read up on it!
 
It was Chapter 7. I could find no strategic way to beat it without losing key characters, even after I replayed old campaigns to max-out my team. I don't seem to be alone in hitting the wall on that chapter. And yes, there's no level cap, but experience earned is fixed for a given replay, so it's an effective level cap (just like any good strategy game with battle replay).

I'm not busting my ass to get around such an obvious bump in difficulty intended to kill off your troops, even when you play it fairly well (I'm not a perfect player in any strategy game). So if you continue onward, you have to train many replacements.



It's a good game, but a game I will probably not finish is a game that's not worth paying $60 for. I don't like in-depth war simulations, as I don't have the mindset for keeping track of so much turnover. It's also the reason I'd make a terrible manager :D

I like meeting the party once, and then learning their strengths and weaknesses, and subbing-out one or two in each battle, not processing whatever comes fresh out of the meat grinder after every battle. I think I let maybe two people die in all the previous battles.
 
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