Posts Tagged ‘Valkyria Chronicles 2’

Welcome once again to my ever more untimely, not-sure-when-its-going-to-end, series of posts about my games of 2010. These are not the best games of last year, or even the most notable, they are the games that made an impact on me during an emotional period of my life and that will forever be linked with those memories.

Valkyria Chronicles 2 on PSP was the follow up to Sega’s 2007 Valkyria Chronicles. Blending turn-based strategy with real time combat the original certainly stood apart from its competition, but it was the sketched comic book style that made headlines. Moving to the PSP saw much of visual flare needing to be muted (with in-engine cut scenes needing to be replaced by comic book stills) but the game play remained intact with only a few concessions being made to the smaller devices limited memory.

The new awful teen stars.

If I had a complaint about Valkyria Chronicles’s series it would be the too overly- verbose saccharine anime. Unfortunately for me the series is now dependent on this, with the brand carried on an anime series and a selection of ill-clad toys. This dependence on pandering to the male anime fan will probably stop the franchise ever revisiting its more serious faux WW2 topics but does at least ensure continued titles in this unique series.Valkyria Chronicles 2 would have rubbed salt into this anime reality. Setting itself a military academy that is essentially a typical Japanese pulp fiction high school with love triangles, childish drama, the shy one, the studious one, the cool one… you get the idea. Thankfully however my Japanese was nowhere near good enough to follow the reams of text that made up the story, sparing me from hours of frustrating reading I would have felt compelled to do and just letting me jump straight into the action.

I actually received my PSP (as a Christmas present, thank you Miki) for the express purpose of playing Valkyria Chronicles 2 and quickly discovered that even without the story (or maybe because of no story) my expectations were exceeded. With just the missions to hook me I sank in hours daily on my commutes. Maps made up of several small areas (rather than the original’s single large maps) lead to new grab and dash attacks that changed up the tactics in a number of interesting ways. The academy setting also acted here as an excuse to reuse many of these small areas as training grounds, which did bore at times, but at least each new visit introduced new elements.

Areas were smaller, but some iconic landmarks returned.

Revisiting the familiar areas did allow me to practice the newly introduced character customisation with it’s branching skill trees. Where the first game saw whole classes and weapons being upgraded on mass, Valkyria 2 saw each squad member able to specialise within their class. This meant while at the start of play only four unit types were available by the end there could be upwards of sixteen slightly different designations, all with the option of slightly tailored weapons.

I must have put over thirty hours in before it, and my PSP, were stolen. (Yes, I am sure some regular readers were wondering when I would get to my overly depressing point). One day I went drinking with a bag stuffed full of sentimental items and had it nicked from under my nose (well table in truth but close enough). The theft itself was a blow, with the loss of some treasured possessions, but the gaming implication is what I am remembering here. I was so close to the end of the game I knew I would probably never return to it.

Most notable among the new classes were a hammer class for breaking armour.

The revelation that I didn’t really want to go through it all again left me questioning of how much I had really enjoyed Valkyria Chronicles 2. If I liked it as much as I thought surely playing through again would be a pleasure not a chore. I contemplated this and found that while it was fun, my real pleasure was derived from the satisfaction of progress. Climbing a mountain is fun, but not if just before you reach the peak you are sent back to the bottom. Experiencing the same obstacles again would not result in the same challenge, or satisfaction. Now I simply can’t return to challenges I have already conquered, so despite a desire to see the peak, the climb is not longer worth it. But at least soon I will have a new mountain in the soon-to-be-released Valkyria Chronicles 3, which looks like it may even have a good story.

On the occasions my posts fall below one a week here on DoFuss, I start to feel guilty. I have so many ideas for articles littering my desktop that wish I had more time to realise them. One will be going up later today, and already have three more on the go, but whether I finish the next piece on time invariably does not fall to my passion but my schedule. Reviewing games, articles for other sites and life all to frequently obstruct me.

When the feeling of guilt becomes too great I put together these ‘DoFuss Link’ posts, which provides a handy list of my recent work on other sites where you see a little more of my writing if you so choose. These posts serve three purposes, inform you of my work, keep DoFuss a bit more up-to-date and most importantly make me feel better about it taking me ten days between posts.

Below are a list of reviews and articles that have been posted since my last update. Each site has more in the wings ready to go (Heavy Rain reviews in particular on both Game People and Play Devil should be interesting), so if you are eager to stay up to date with my writing keep an eye out there. If you are less inclined to keep on top of my work then I will of course have another one of these updates in April so you can just check back here, or just ignore these posts completely.

As always if you do pay theses a visit I would much appreciate you leave any thoughts or feedback on respective site.

Scared Gamer -

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition, Valkyria Chronicles, Valkyria Chronicles 2, Alien Breed: Evolution, Bayonetta (revisited), Mass Effect: Galaxy and Pitfall: The Big Adventure.

Haiku Gamer -

Valkyria Chronicles.

Sports Gamer -

Little League World Series Baseball 2008. (Yes, I did review the 2009 one last month).

Mass Effect 2, Polar Panic, Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond, Alien Breed: Evolution and South Park: Let’s Go Tower Defense!

Post Natal Depression.

I have to listen to every show through again while I edit. Because of this I have started to notice a very different tone (and length) depending on my cohort for the episode. My conclusion is that I am failing in my roll as a host. Not that this is necessarily bad, but next time (whoever is with me) I am wrestling back some control and giving this show some consistence.

Maybe.

This episode underwent a number of late changes. Our special guest (Blokey from the UUDD forums) was unfortunately unable to make it at the last moment, so will be joining us next time. Darren was also unavailable so it fell to Dan to pick up the mantel of the second spot.

DAMN YOU BLOKEY!

We touch on numerous topics, courtesy of Dan’s impeccable planning. It was fortunate his outline was so thorough too, otherwise there wouldn’t have been a show because the plan was to revolve everything around forums and Blokey… YOU HEAR THAT BLOKEY.

Ahem… I am sure he will be able make it next time along with Darren, so keep an eye on the site for that. Enjoy the show.

Sleepy Improv Edition. Play Now | Play in Popup | Download