3 reviews liked by KenshinGirl
A beautiful and emotional ride.
Valkyria Chronicles was originally a PlayStation 3 game released in 2008. The original game has been remastered for a PlayStation 4 release with added trophy support, crisper visuals and all previously released downloadable content for less than £20. This is a steal for such an amazing title.
Although the story is very much it's own tale filled with it's own fantastical elements it draws heavy inspiration from world war II history for it's ideas and setting. In1930s Europa in the small kingdom of Gallia which is stuck in the middle of two superpowers, the Empire and the Federation. Unfortunately Gallia is home to a large source of Ragnite, a powerful fuel source which results in it being invaded. You play the role of Welkin Gunther, son of a former war hero who joins the militia to fight for Gallia's people and it's freedom.
The story is excellent, something I really didn't expect from a strategy role playing game. The core cast of characters are brilliantly fleshed out with their own personalities, their likes and dislikes and it brought some surprising emotional moments as the story progresses. I had tears in my eyes a couple of times to my utter surprise. The story is told from a book where you select different panels to watch story scenes in each chapter as well as engage in battles.
At the start of each battle you are given a birds eye view of a map, where your units start and how many you are allowed to take into battle. Each unit has a specific class which shows their general usefulness:
Scout - Large movement range, basic rifle.
Shocktrooper - Has a machinegun, medium movement range.
Sniper - Has a sniper rifle but has limited movement range.
Lancer - Has an anti tank weapon, limited ammo.
Engineer - Can repair tanks, refill troop ammo.
Depending on the map and your objective for each battle will depend on how many units you may want to take, as well as which type. To add to that each character has their own unique abilities as well as class abilities called "potentials" making every character in a class although the same, totally different. These abilities are not always positive and can often have a negative effect if say you bring a character allergic to pollen on a woodland map or a character that hates men with an otherwise all male squad etc. It's a really nice idea that makes you shift some of your squad around and even make some characters that get no story scene time feel like they have personalities.
The game is turn based with each side having command points that designate how many actions you can take on that turn. Every time you select a unit you lose a command point from your total, you can then move them if you wish attack with either one of their weapons or grenade and then continue to move them for the duration of their movement bar. The only exception is with Welkin and his tank the Edelweiss which takes two command points per action taken but is insanely powerful and immune to most gunfire though enemy lancers and tanks can still decimate it if you aren't careful. Command points can be saved from turn to turn if you have done all the actions you wish to take you can pass. The most interesting thing though is you can use the same unit multiple times, each time you select them after the first though their movement bar decreases as if their stamina is wearing down. It's an interesting feature (one the AI can and will use against you, though not unfairly) that can even allow you to complete battles in just a couple of turns with one unit if you know how.
Each battle has it's own objective to go along with the story, no two battles feel the same both because of this and the excellent variety of locations from small villages, forests, desert plains, cities and trenches. The art design to this game is superb and the graphics are simply gorgeous. It may be a PlayStation 3 port but thanks to it's canvas engine the game looks almost like a watercolor painting in motion so easily stands up to more technically proficient games designed for the PlayStation 4 in my opinion. The music matches the visual quality step by step with some outstanding pieces. There are some rousing orchestral tracks, especially the main theme but all of which have a distinct military flair to them to match the theme of the game.
There are 18 chapters to the main story of Valkyria Chronicles with some chapters having multiple battles. There are also skirmishes to play which take certain chapter maps you can free play and on harder difficulties they really mix up the enemies and starting locations for added challenge. My first time through took me around 25 hours, getting the platinum trophy, A ranking every battle and collecting every character profile took me about 36 hours so there is plenty of value to be had.
I can't recommend this unique game enough. It mixes third person shooting with strategy gameplay, a great cast of characters and an engaging story. It's such a good price that even if you aren't sure it's really worth the risk.
+ Enjoyable plot filled with interesting characters and emotional moments.
+ Unique potentials are a nice idea, separates characters in the same class and gives them personality.
+ Each battle feels fresh objective and location wise.
+ Beautiful art style and visuals.
Valkyria Chronicles was originally a PlayStation 3 game released in 2008. The original game has been remastered for a PlayStation 4 release with added trophy support, crisper visuals and all previously released downloadable content for less than £20. This is a steal for such an amazing title.
Although the story is very much it's own tale filled with it's own fantastical elements it draws heavy inspiration from world war II history for it's ideas and setting. In1930s Europa in the small kingdom of Gallia which is stuck in the middle of two superpowers, the Empire and the Federation. Unfortunately Gallia is home to a large source of Ragnite, a powerful fuel source which results in it being invaded. You play the role of Welkin Gunther, son of a former war hero who joins the militia to fight for Gallia's people and it's freedom.
The story is excellent, something I really didn't expect from a strategy role playing game. The core cast of characters are brilliantly fleshed out with their own personalities, their likes and dislikes and it brought some surprising emotional moments as the story progresses. I had tears in my eyes a couple of times to my utter surprise. The story is told from a book where you select different panels to watch story scenes in each chapter as well as engage in battles.
At the start of each battle you are given a birds eye view of a map, where your units start and how many you are allowed to take into battle. Each unit has a specific class which shows their general usefulness:
Scout - Large movement range, basic rifle.
Shocktrooper - Has a machinegun, medium movement range.
Sniper - Has a sniper rifle but has limited movement range.
Lancer - Has an anti tank weapon, limited ammo.
Engineer - Can repair tanks, refill troop ammo.
Depending on the map and your objective for each battle will depend on how many units you may want to take, as well as which type. To add to that each character has their own unique abilities as well as class abilities called "potentials" making every character in a class although the same, totally different. These abilities are not always positive and can often have a negative effect if say you bring a character allergic to pollen on a woodland map or a character that hates men with an otherwise all male squad etc. It's a really nice idea that makes you shift some of your squad around and even make some characters that get no story scene time feel like they have personalities.
The game is turn based with each side having command points that designate how many actions you can take on that turn. Every time you select a unit you lose a command point from your total, you can then move them if you wish attack with either one of their weapons or grenade and then continue to move them for the duration of their movement bar. The only exception is with Welkin and his tank the Edelweiss which takes two command points per action taken but is insanely powerful and immune to most gunfire though enemy lancers and tanks can still decimate it if you aren't careful. Command points can be saved from turn to turn if you have done all the actions you wish to take you can pass. The most interesting thing though is you can use the same unit multiple times, each time you select them after the first though their movement bar decreases as if their stamina is wearing down. It's an interesting feature (one the AI can and will use against you, though not unfairly) that can even allow you to complete battles in just a couple of turns with one unit if you know how.
Each battle has it's own objective to go along with the story, no two battles feel the same both because of this and the excellent variety of locations from small villages, forests, desert plains, cities and trenches. The art design to this game is superb and the graphics are simply gorgeous. It may be a PlayStation 3 port but thanks to it's canvas engine the game looks almost like a watercolor painting in motion so easily stands up to more technically proficient games designed for the PlayStation 4 in my opinion. The music matches the visual quality step by step with some outstanding pieces. There are some rousing orchestral tracks, especially the main theme but all of which have a distinct military flair to them to match the theme of the game.
There are 18 chapters to the main story of Valkyria Chronicles with some chapters having multiple battles. There are also skirmishes to play which take certain chapter maps you can free play and on harder difficulties they really mix up the enemies and starting locations for added challenge. My first time through took me around 25 hours, getting the platinum trophy, A ranking every battle and collecting every character profile took me about 36 hours so there is plenty of value to be had.
I can't recommend this unique game enough. It mixes third person shooting with strategy gameplay, a great cast of characters and an engaging story. It's such a good price that even if you aren't sure it's really worth the risk.
+ Enjoyable plot filled with interesting characters and emotional moments.
+ Unique potentials are a nice idea, separates characters in the same class and gives them personality.
+ Each battle feels fresh objective and location wise.
+ Beautiful art style and visuals.
Lunar: Dragon Song
2005
Seriously?
Lunar Dragon song, or Genesis as known here in the UK was the first title of this series released in the EU. I was excited, as the older games looked brilliant and was met with nothing but a wall of bad gameplay decisions that simply baffle the mind. I don't say this lightly when I say that Lunar Dragon Song has to be among the top 10 worst games I have ever played.
Now I will say that Lunar is not 100% without good qualities. The character artwork is nice and I quite liked the story at first with your characters being part of a courier service though it soon fell apart as past an initial delivery it loses all direction.
Everything else seemed like it was designed intentionally to be awful. Let me start by saying that in no RPG is it a good idea to make your characters lose their hp as they run. That's right, either walk everywhere or steadily lose your hp. Other then to infuriate and purposefully be different like a modern art gallery there is no point to it at all. This is just the start of the frustrating features this title has. I don't joke when I say this game is about as player friendly as an exploding oven.
The second most annoying feature, at least for me, was the experience / item issue. Lunar is a standard turn based RPG where each character and enemy takes it in turn to perform an action such as "item" or "attack" based on their speed. While basic the combat system is relatively fun but not fun enough to have to battle everything so much. There are two modes selected before combat, one that gets characters experience to level up at the end of combat, and one that allows them to get items at the end of combat, you can not do both. Bare in mind the only ways to get money are to either do deliveries between towns (which takes ages) or combat for items to sell as enemies don't drop money and you get nothing but a system that is totally pointless and involves extra grinding for no reason at all. Who, and I mean who, play tested this game?
Thirdly, throughout the dungeons there are multiple treasure chests that can't be opened normally, oh no, you have to run through the whole dungeon in a timed mode called "virtue" killing every monster, if you do it in the time allocated the treasure chests open. It's annoying. Just another "there to be different" features that adds nothing fun to the experience of dungeon traveling.
And last, why have only one character that does half decent damage, then take away all his skill to make him useless? Why? It didn't even make much sense plot wise, never mind gameplay wise.
Graphically the game is passable though will never impress. The characters and areas are colourful and fairly well designed. However, everything is a bit pixelated and really doesn't take advantage of the DS. The audio is of a similar fair getting by with some fairly generic RPG background tunes that neither offend or offer a reason to be remembered.
I have no idea how long the game lasts because this is one of the few RPG's I have played that I simply couldn't stomach to finish. Considering the item / experience issue though I can imagine it would take a while, but the question is, would you really want to? I gave up at about 12 hours in and honestly thought I did well.
Simply put, if you like RPGs or even if you don't, avoid Lunar: Dragon Song. The game is plagued with issues that simply take away all fun that the game potentially had leaving nothing but a game full of different gameplay mechanics that other developers never implemented for a reason. They just aren't fun.
+ Anime character designs look nice.
- Game breaking item/experience issue.
- Losing HP when running is an awful idea in every way.
- Graphics are pretty sub par.
- Everything else.
Lunar Dragon song, or Genesis as known here in the UK was the first title of this series released in the EU. I was excited, as the older games looked brilliant and was met with nothing but a wall of bad gameplay decisions that simply baffle the mind. I don't say this lightly when I say that Lunar Dragon Song has to be among the top 10 worst games I have ever played.
Now I will say that Lunar is not 100% without good qualities. The character artwork is nice and I quite liked the story at first with your characters being part of a courier service though it soon fell apart as past an initial delivery it loses all direction.
Everything else seemed like it was designed intentionally to be awful. Let me start by saying that in no RPG is it a good idea to make your characters lose their hp as they run. That's right, either walk everywhere or steadily lose your hp. Other then to infuriate and purposefully be different like a modern art gallery there is no point to it at all. This is just the start of the frustrating features this title has. I don't joke when I say this game is about as player friendly as an exploding oven.
The second most annoying feature, at least for me, was the experience / item issue. Lunar is a standard turn based RPG where each character and enemy takes it in turn to perform an action such as "item" or "attack" based on their speed. While basic the combat system is relatively fun but not fun enough to have to battle everything so much. There are two modes selected before combat, one that gets characters experience to level up at the end of combat, and one that allows them to get items at the end of combat, you can not do both. Bare in mind the only ways to get money are to either do deliveries between towns (which takes ages) or combat for items to sell as enemies don't drop money and you get nothing but a system that is totally pointless and involves extra grinding for no reason at all. Who, and I mean who, play tested this game?
Thirdly, throughout the dungeons there are multiple treasure chests that can't be opened normally, oh no, you have to run through the whole dungeon in a timed mode called "virtue" killing every monster, if you do it in the time allocated the treasure chests open. It's annoying. Just another "there to be different" features that adds nothing fun to the experience of dungeon traveling.
And last, why have only one character that does half decent damage, then take away all his skill to make him useless? Why? It didn't even make much sense plot wise, never mind gameplay wise.
Graphically the game is passable though will never impress. The characters and areas are colourful and fairly well designed. However, everything is a bit pixelated and really doesn't take advantage of the DS. The audio is of a similar fair getting by with some fairly generic RPG background tunes that neither offend or offer a reason to be remembered.
I have no idea how long the game lasts because this is one of the few RPG's I have played that I simply couldn't stomach to finish. Considering the item / experience issue though I can imagine it would take a while, but the question is, would you really want to? I gave up at about 12 hours in and honestly thought I did well.
Simply put, if you like RPGs or even if you don't, avoid Lunar: Dragon Song. The game is plagued with issues that simply take away all fun that the game potentially had leaving nothing but a game full of different gameplay mechanics that other developers never implemented for a reason. They just aren't fun.
+ Anime character designs look nice.
- Game breaking item/experience issue.
- Losing HP when running is an awful idea in every way.
- Graphics are pretty sub par.
- Everything else.
This is a review I wrote 12 years ago from another site I don't use anymore so am transferring it over for my own memories sake
There are two groups of gamers when it comes to ports and remakes. Those who see the company as milking assets and want to see new titles and those who are grateful to get a second chance to play a title they missed. I fall in the latter where it comes to Dragon Quest games as the first one to be released in Europe was Dragon Quest VIII.
The plot to Hand of the Heavenly Bride spans many years of the hero's life from childhood through to a full adult. Though certainly not pushing boundaries in any way the storyline is full of family moments, drama and twists to keep the game intriguing. Generally speaking the game feels a lot more personal about the hero's life than about any world saving quest which I found slightly different as well as sort of touching in a lot of ways.
The gameplay is essentially the same as it's previous installment Dragon Quest IV though with some minor tweaks to keep things interesting. As you would expect from a Japanese RPG from the SNES era all combat is a turn based affair with character information on the top screen and the enemy and battlefield located on the bottom screen. Dragon Quest V has a nice cast of characters with varying abilities as you would expect but most interesting is the monster recruiting system newly available to the series. Defeating monsters will occasionally have them request to join your party. Each monster has access to certain abilities as they level up and can also be equipped with varying weapons and armour. The variety of enemy types is fantastic and any you aren't using can be stored in monster daycare giving you a large cast to choose from.
Monsters vary from area, dungeon and continent and can gain experience from battles even when not in your main party when traveling with you in your wagon making your party balance far less tedious. I had one monster I kept in the background solely to heal my main party between battles though he still leveled up getting better spells and more MP. Useful needless to say, as it saved my main party's magic for when I needed it most. As just demonstrated Dragon Quest V can be quite tactical and even allows for characters to be given tactics and then just fight on auto allowing for easier enemies to be crushed without constant selection of "attack" over and over.
The visuals are excellent, not just in monster design but also in detail and colour. All the character designs like with all Dragon Quest games to my knowledge were done by Akira Toriyama of Dragonball fame which is fairly obvious by his unique style. The soundtrack has also been enhanced and reworked from the original SNES version and are generally as good as the DS hardware can allow. Overall the presentation is excellent.
The hand of the Heavenly Bride lasts for a good 40+ hours with plenty of hidden items to collect like mini medals, monsters to try and recruit, gambling in casino's as well as some re-playability based on who you choose to marry, one of these ladies is entirely new to the DS version of Dragon Quest V.
So to sum up, Interesting plot, excellent colourful visuals and plenty to do. Dragon Quest V is a perfect example of Japanese RPG's at the peek of their genre and any fan of RPGs or Dragon Quest should really do themselves a favour and pick this game up.
+ Excellent Presentation.
+ Monster Recruiting is excellent.
+ Great value for money.
+ Plot is quite personal.
- Little similar to Dragon Quest IV
There are two groups of gamers when it comes to ports and remakes. Those who see the company as milking assets and want to see new titles and those who are grateful to get a second chance to play a title they missed. I fall in the latter where it comes to Dragon Quest games as the first one to be released in Europe was Dragon Quest VIII.
The plot to Hand of the Heavenly Bride spans many years of the hero's life from childhood through to a full adult. Though certainly not pushing boundaries in any way the storyline is full of family moments, drama and twists to keep the game intriguing. Generally speaking the game feels a lot more personal about the hero's life than about any world saving quest which I found slightly different as well as sort of touching in a lot of ways.
The gameplay is essentially the same as it's previous installment Dragon Quest IV though with some minor tweaks to keep things interesting. As you would expect from a Japanese RPG from the SNES era all combat is a turn based affair with character information on the top screen and the enemy and battlefield located on the bottom screen. Dragon Quest V has a nice cast of characters with varying abilities as you would expect but most interesting is the monster recruiting system newly available to the series. Defeating monsters will occasionally have them request to join your party. Each monster has access to certain abilities as they level up and can also be equipped with varying weapons and armour. The variety of enemy types is fantastic and any you aren't using can be stored in monster daycare giving you a large cast to choose from.
Monsters vary from area, dungeon and continent and can gain experience from battles even when not in your main party when traveling with you in your wagon making your party balance far less tedious. I had one monster I kept in the background solely to heal my main party between battles though he still leveled up getting better spells and more MP. Useful needless to say, as it saved my main party's magic for when I needed it most. As just demonstrated Dragon Quest V can be quite tactical and even allows for characters to be given tactics and then just fight on auto allowing for easier enemies to be crushed without constant selection of "attack" over and over.
The visuals are excellent, not just in monster design but also in detail and colour. All the character designs like with all Dragon Quest games to my knowledge were done by Akira Toriyama of Dragonball fame which is fairly obvious by his unique style. The soundtrack has also been enhanced and reworked from the original SNES version and are generally as good as the DS hardware can allow. Overall the presentation is excellent.
The hand of the Heavenly Bride lasts for a good 40+ hours with plenty of hidden items to collect like mini medals, monsters to try and recruit, gambling in casino's as well as some re-playability based on who you choose to marry, one of these ladies is entirely new to the DS version of Dragon Quest V.
So to sum up, Interesting plot, excellent colourful visuals and plenty to do. Dragon Quest V is a perfect example of Japanese RPG's at the peek of their genre and any fan of RPGs or Dragon Quest should really do themselves a favour and pick this game up.
+ Excellent Presentation.
+ Monster Recruiting is excellent.
+ Great value for money.
+ Plot is quite personal.
- Little similar to Dragon Quest IV