Valkyria Revolution Review

by George Robinson | July 20, 2017 8:00 am

Developed by Media Vision
Published by Sega of America
Reviewed on PlayStation 4 (also available on Xbox One and Vita) 

 

Last year, the PlayStation 4 got a re-release of one of the best strategy games of the last generation, Valkyria Chronicles[1]. Now we have a brand new spin-off to the series, Valkyria Revolution. Following the the great success of the remastered version of the original, we now have a brand new story and cast to explore, but is it truly worth your time? Read further on for the full review.

The game story is told entirely though flashbacks. A student is learning about five individuals who went down in their nation’s history as traitors for starting the war that has led to their independence. As the story is told, it’s from the point of view from mainly Amlet, a newly appointed captain of a unit that carries anti-Valkyria weapons.

Valkyria RevolutionBeing filled with dozens of cut scenes isn’t always a problem in some games, especially if you’re a bigger fan of story as opposed to gameplay, but there’s an issue about the story, or rather how it is told. Valkyria Revolution takes frequent breaks in between each scene to bring you back to the central menu. There you can choose to either go back to being told the story or do thing like look up terms and definitions for key items in the story in case there was something you missed or didn’t fully understand. Given the length of time some of these scenes tend to run, it makes sense to provide plenty of places to have in case something were to happen and you need to start over. This would have spare you the trouble of re-watching several scenes in a row. However, just having a prompt asking the player if they would like to save would’ve been enough. Also, unless you go back and actually check back the chapter list, there are several scenes that you could miss out on. Some of them are important, which does make you wonder why would they chose to ignore this in the initial telling of the plot? Although, for the most part, they are events that hold minor impact on the overall plot.

Valkyria RevolutionThe game has you running around from map to map in each skirmish to compete objectives, usually defeating a particular target or eradicating all enemies on the map. You can perform normal strikes or use magic and abilities to attack enemies. You’ll have access to sub weapons like machine guns, rocket launchers, and grenades depending on the character you choose. You can switch characters out on the map at any time during the mission. However, this is actually one of the games great big flaws. After a while you’ll find yourself just attacking repeatedly with your main melee weapon. Unlike games like Nier or Ninja Garden where you can go the entire game just using the initial weapon you start with, just using each of the characters main weapons grew to be tedious. The only moments where using the other abilities are much more essential to use was during certain boss fights. This is especially true when you get to the fights against the Valkyria, which are the best moments in the whole game.

In addition of going through story mode for the main missions, you have to try and keep an eye on the territory that you have control over because there’s always a chance that it could be attacked; if you don’t defend it quickly enough, you’ll lose the territory and progress in the game. There is a time limit to be wary of since if you take too long to complete a level, the Valkyria appears to aid the enemy and makes the level much harder.

 

Valkyria Revolution

[2]

How Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Creates A Vibrant Fun Take On Rhythm Gaming[4]

 

In the end, it’s pretty hard to recommend getting Valkyria Revolution. IF you were a fan of the original Valkyria series, it’d still be hard to get completely into the game since it’s nothing like the other games except for a couple of things you see in the game like their fuel source in the world, Ragnite, or the Valkyria being in the game. But even treating it as if it was its own game, the story is pretty much a mess, the gameplay is repetitive, and even graphically the game isn’t impressive at all times. If you absolutely need your Valkyria fix, there is still the remastered version of the original Valkyria Chronicles you can play that was released last year. PlayStation 4 or Vita versions offer the cross play capabilities, but it’s hard to recommend picking it up. At least with the Vita version you can pick it up and play it anywhere you go.

 

 

Endnotes:
  1. Valkyria Chronicles: https://www.confreaksandgeeks.com/valkyria-chronicles-remastered/
  2. [Image]: https://www.confreaksandgeeks.com/hatsune-miku-project-diva-creates-vibrant-fun-take-rhythm-gaming/
  3. Video Games: https://www.confreaksandgeeks.com/category/reviews/video-games-reviews/
  4. How Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Creates A Vibrant Fun Take On Rhythm Gaming: https://www.confreaksandgeeks.com/hatsune-miku-project-diva-creates-vibrant-fun-take-rhythm-gaming/

Source URL: https://www.confreaksandgeeks.com/valkyria-revolution-review/