15 Severely Underrated PS3 Games That Deserve A Second Chance

11. Valkyria Chronicles

The JPRG genre carved out a space for itself in western video-games culture by way of Square Enix and the Final Fantasy series. But these days, it seems that Square Enix has established a dictatorship over the genre, and if you're a non-Enix JRPG trying to make a name for itself on western shores, then you'll have a tough time of it. Speaking of dictatorships, that's the story at the heart of Sega's ostracised JRPG, Valkyria Chronicles. The game is set in an anime take on an alt-history Europe circa 1935, in which you plan and wage battles against an Eastern European alliance of autocratic nations. It's a heavyweight plot, filled with memorable characters, tragedy, and the moral ambiguities that inevitably arise in war. The fact that characters can die permanently in battle adds a poignant weightiness to each encounter. Valkyria's visuals blend anime with a slightly washed out watercolour palette, giving it the pleasing feel of a historical document. The gameplay combines big-picture battle planning on a strategic map with semi-turn-based third-person combat, which requires plenty of patience and forethought on the player's part; perhaps a bit too much for the average console gamer unused to the slower pace of strategy games. It's definitely an odd beast; a mixture of powerful storytelling, contrasting gameplay styles, and a dreamy JRPG aesthetic. Yet it all works together beautifully, and holds the game up as the most unique and - I'm calling it - best JRPG on the PS3.