The surprise but warranted PC release of Valkyria Chronicles introduced a whole new wave of gamers to Sega's once PlayStation 3-only starlet, and made this article a little easier to write. A parody of a certain World War, Valkyria Chronicles brings JRPG flare and an incomparable pencil-hatched aesthetic to the real-time-strategy sceneto great effect. Its many missions and sieges chronicle one small nation's trying, desperate, and occasionally tear-jerking struggle against Europa's military superpower. It is strategically sound and intellectually demanding, well-written, masterfully scored, and loaded with likable characters more witty than every brown-and-grey Call of Shooty put together. It was a triumph upon release, and with the added horsepower of PC backing it, Valkyria Chronicles is nothing short of exceptional now. And that's it. You can't fault the game for it, but it really is a one-and-done thing. Once beaten, Valkyria Chronicles becomes incredibly easy what with your fully leveled soldiers and weapons, and is also missing the heretofore palpable conflict driving the narrative. If you've seen the climax (good on you, by the way; game's no joke), nothing is driving anything anymore. Is it still fun? Absolutely. Is it worth buying and playing again? You bet. But at the end of it all, you'll always miss not knowing when enemy tanks would appear and when Soldier X would die in the line of duty.
A freelance games writer, you say? Typically battling his current RPG addiction and ceaseless perfectionism? A fan of horror but too big a sissy to play for more than a couple of hours? Spends far too much time on JRPGs and gets way too angry with card games?
Well that doesn't sound anything like me.
