If you have already read other reviews and come across a statement like: "It’s still the same Valkyria Chronicles", then I won’t be original in this. Is it worth noting that this statement literally. Everything here: the basic mechanics, visual style, even leveling remain the same. But if they ask me: “play first part or fourth?» (portable parts we will not consider), I’ll say: "PLAY BOTH"!»But here I will only talk about four.
Events Valkyria Chronicles 4 develop parallel to the first part. Again Second European (analogue World War II), again Federation(Allies), Empire(Germany mixed with Russian Empire) and small Gaul(it’s more complicated here…). However, this time the focus shifted from the Gallic troops to the Federation troops (And to be even more precise, the troops Kingdoms of Edinburgh (United Kingdom)).
…from which energy is generated, fuel and even medicines are made. In general, nothing new..
During the period when the Empire attacked Gaul, the Federation launched a large-scale operation "Northern Cross"(“Northern Cross” as translated by the team The Miracle), whose goal is to capture the capital of the Empire. And one of the most important cogs in this almost suicidal mission is squad "E"(English).).
I won’t go into more details of the plot, but if we consider plot in general, then he came out enough not bad. This is definitely not a masterpiece, but it fully fulfills its task of maintaining interest in the game. However, there is one nuance that may negatively affect its perception. Unlike the first part, in Valkyria Chronicles 4 There are significantly fewer staged cut scenes, and those that exist usually show either something epic or have a comedic and even erotic nature. It’s a little frustrating. But there is also something that significantly compensates for this shortcoming – this characters.
This is the format in which you will receive plot details throughout almost the entire game. It is worth recognizing that these fragments received an upgrade in the form of the presence of rare staged moments in them, but this does not negate the fact that there are too many of them.
Characters – she is one of the strongest points of the series Valkyria Chronicles and the fourth part no exception. One might even say that in this regard, the fourth Valkyrie somewhat surpassed its progenitor. If at the beginning of the story it seems that heroes do not have more than two character traits, then by the end each of them will have time to reveal an unexpected side of themselves, which is why you will love them even more. All this, perhaps, is due to the fact that more time in the plot began to be devoted to some everyday things, which in the first part were usually taken out of the main chapters. In addition, in local history there was a place for revealing the main villains. Almost all of them have interesting characters and clear motives, and by the end you even begin to empathize with some, and even feel sorry for some.
A dog named Ragnarok is a kind of symbol of Squad “E”, but he takes practically no part in the plot.
But basiccharacters are one thing, characters are completely different minor. IN Valkyria Chronicles each member of the squad is a full-fledged individual, but if in the first part these were only sets of characteristics and peculiar behavior on the battlefield, then in Valkyria Chronicles 4 everything is different. Now almost every fighter has their own unique mini-story (“almost everyone” – this is because the story is usually connected with three characters at once, focusing on one of them in particular). These stories help to better understand the character, as well as reveal his hidden potential. True, to open these stories, the character must be actively used in battle.
And here I think we can move on to what it does Valkyria Chronicles game, namely, to gameplay.
Gameplay Valkyria Chronicles represents step-by-step tactics. The game contains t.n. system Battle of Live Tactical Zones (abbreviated BLiTZ),the basis of which is the movement of units on the map. The game is divided into the player’s turn and the opponent’s turn. Both the player and the opponent are given a certain amount of command points (quantity depends on leaders in the squad), which are spent on choosing a fighter or vehicle on the strategic map, as well as on distributing special orders, which give various buffs. Once you have chosen a fighter (or technique), the game takes you to the battlefield where you can control the unit directly. At the fighter’s (like technology), depending on his class, there is a certain amount movement scales. Besides this, a fighter can do one action, such as a shot, a grenade throw, or healing. During shooting, the game takes into account each individual bullet, the radius of their spread, as well as the distance to the target (affects damage). In addition, during your actions, enemy units will not just stand in a pillar (same as yours during your opponent’s turn). If they see a fighter approaching them, they will open fire on him, which is guaranteed to remove some of his health. Therefore, you should think about your actions in advance before going on the attack. The game also does not limit you in the use of units. You can spend all your command points on one fighter, but with each new action his movement scale will decrease (first a quarter, then half, and then the scale is only enough for a couple of steps).
Character traits also play https://milyon88casino.co.uk/mobile-app/ an important role in combat. During the game, if certain conditions are met, the character may receive a buff or debuff to the characteristics.
In general, the whole essence of the system BLiTZ only revealed when you try to complete the mission in 1(ideally)-3 moves (sometimes 4 if the mission has special conditions). The tasks generally contribute to this, t.To. most often the task on them is not to kill enemies, but to capture the main base, which, with the correct use of certain classes and orders, is even easier and faster than it seems at first glance.
And everything that I described above applies to all games in the series, including laptops. Now let me tell you what Valkyria Chronicles 4 different from everyone else.
Firstly, from the obvious, a new class of fighters has been added to the game – Grenadiers. These are fighters carrying a portable mortar with them. They shoot far and hurt, but the movement scale is the same as Lancers (fighters with anti-tank weapons). In general, this is a fairly useful and effective class, but it needs to choose a mortar for the situation each time, because.To. weapons are divided into anti-personnel and anti-tank.
We also added new equipment – Armored personnel carrier. With its help, you can move soldiers across the battlefield without fear of enemy machine guns and grenadiers and without wasting their movement scale. This is, in general, its entire function, but it is only thanks to this that the armored personnel carrier is the most useful vehicle in the game. After all, as I wrote above, it is the transfer of units in this game that is of greater importance. It, just like the traditional main tank, can be upgraded.
Helps the movement of fighters and a new order to the leader – Escort. With its help, one of your leaders can take up to two fighters with him once per turn and lead them the same way without wasting their scale. Accompanied fighters can also help eliminate the enemy by inflicting additional damage on him with their weapons.
In general, the list of orders has also expanded noticeably. In particular, orders appeared ship Centurion. With its help, you can detect the enemy in the area in advance, conduct shelling, evacuate the wounded and repair equipment. This also significantly expands the possibilities, but, unfortunately, the game has much more useful orders, so you don’t have to use the ship at all. The ship itself is also upgraded and plays a significant role in the plot.
This ship not only looks unusual. It is capable of splitting a very thick layer of ice and has good speed and maneuverability. It’s just a pity that they won’t let you drive it..
There is also an opportunity to choose a leader from minor characters. As I briefly mentioned above, leaders – these are characters that give an additional command point in battle. In the first and other parts, the leaders were the main characters who do not have the opportunity to finally die in battle (and minor charactersmay be killed and you won’t get them back until the end of the story). And in fact, this was their entire role, but with the advent of a new order in the four, they became much more valuable units.
In general, these are all major innovations, otherwise pleasant small changes. So, equipment now costs one point (in the first part the tank cost two) and tanks no longer have a separate track integrity strip. This simplified the game to some extent, but not so much as to write it down as a minus. Appeared Last chance, giving a fighter after death a chance to get up and take another action, or fall, but give a buff to the nearest ally. Missions began to be diluted more often special conditions, like the presence of deep snow, blizzard or fog, and sometimes the game can throw additional goal. Also, characters can now equip not only new weapons, but also some item that increases characteristics.
About the visual style. This is a mixture of anime and comics (in this case, manga most likely), made in watercolor colors. It looks quite good and, importantly, the first part and the fourth, thanks to such a visual, quite stand the test of time. Although during the game you will have to get used to the white frame around the screen.
Musical accompaniment the game remains at the same level as in the original, that is, everything is the same excellent. It’s not surprising, t.To. participated in its creation original composer. Well, this is also because the game, in addition to its own tracks, sometimes likes to include something from the original in order to put pressure on nostalgia and further confirm the opinion that this is all the same Valkyria Chronicles, which already more 10 years.
Several DLCs have already been released for the game, some of which are dedicated to meeting the characters of the first Valkyria Chronicles. These additions turned out to be quite worthy and are definitely worth going through for every fan.
As many have already noted, the fact that the game completely repeats the first part is really its main plus and the main one minus. The developers simply took and did not change anything in what worked perfectly in 2008 year, but significantly expanded gameplay possibilities And filled the game with even more content (particularly related to minor characters). And yes, plot presentation in this part got worse, but thanks excellent character development he doesn’t let go until the very end. I think the game still deserves a number "4" in the title.
The game also has post-game content. It includes more complicated battles, additional levels of upgrading everything, as well as additional episodes and an expanded ending.
I think I’ve written enough text to explain what it is Valkyria Chronicles and why at least part four definitely worth a try. And I hope you were able to read all of this, I will be glad to read criticism (adequate only, without insults and all that).
The game is available on platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch
Average completion time: 25 hours, excluding additional episodes and battles.
Multiplayer: absent.
Voice languages: Japanese And English.
Translation: fan text cracker.
I have everything.
Enjoy playing good games.
P.S: I bought the game two years ago when it came out, but I only played it recently, because.To. I was waiting for the release of the cracker.