Mordred

I know a bunch of people here have this game, but it didn't have it's own thread and if any game deserved one, it's Valkyria Chronicles. Any fan of Tactical RPGs owe it to themselves to check this game out. It takes a pretty well defined genre and turns it on it's head. For ages my favorite TRPG was Final Fantasy Tactics. No more. Who knew that what we really wanted from our tactical RPGs was 3rd/1st person 3D.

It's gotten a lot of press, but the artwork design on the game is obviously gorgeous. My one tiny complaint is that this game looks better on still screenshots than it does in motion. The effect used to create that cool watercolor look breaks down slightly in motion and the resolution isn't quite as high as I'd like (jaggy lines) but it's still an amazingly pretty game.

I have to say that this game is by no means easy. You get two or three training missions which ease you into the game a little bit and then you're instantly thrown into into the fray. You'll pick up tricks along the way, but you're going to fail missions. So far I haven't done better than a B rating at the end of the level, with everything past the 3rd level being a C or a D. Keeping your guys alive is tough.

I just passed the 7th mission (The Batomys) on my 2nd try and I've got to say that I think I lucked out. My first run through one of the badguys just ran around the entire map killing everybody and I had no chance. The 2nd time I somehow had an Engineer positioned in cover that she kept shooting at, but couldn't do much damage to and she stayed stationary to keep attacking him. Seemed kinda glitchy to me, but I have no idea how I would have passed otherwise.

I can't recommend this game highly enough. At the moment, it ranks only below MGS4 on my favorite PS3 list. If you've got a PS3 you owe it to yourselves to check out Valkyria Chronicles. The words "AAA title" were rarely more appropriate.

shumway

I picked this one up at Christmas time but have only been able to play the first training mission. The demo sold me on it before I heard all the positive word of mouth.

Walker Boh

I got this for Christmas, and agree with you ... it's a really good game. I'm up to Chapter 10 or 11. I love that it's not just the same thing over and over (so far); they managed to change up the battle styles and keep it very interesting instead of just throwing more and more enemies into the mix.

darkside

I'm ashamed of myself for not owning this. Really ashamed. I loved the demo, love tactical RPGS and love the fact a company had the guts to finally rethink the tactical turnbased RPG and turn it it into something this fun to play that looks beautiful. This was easily one of the best games released last year, but died in stores. I hate it when a quality title especially a AAA title dies a horrible sales death. However, I didn't buy it either I was so behind this holiday season so I'm to blame as well.

I want it, but just can't get caught up with my backlog quickly enough to pay full price for it. In the back of my mind I know it bombed and it will be $20 soon but I will get it.

maingon

the games amazing, tons of fun and any fans of Sega Dreamcasts Skies of Arcadia, well Vyse and the chick are in this game too.

chess

Bump for the Gamestop sale ($29.99).

I've only played the demo and picked the game up this morning...but I'm REALLY looking forward to diving in.

Considering the fact that I haven't played all the way through (or even started really), I can't in good faith recommend the game, but based on everything I've heard, it's absolutely worth $30 and probably more.

Breakfast with Girls

At first I thought this was related to Valkyrie Profile. I was a bit confused.

jdpatri

Thanks for mentioning the Gamestop sale. I've been waiting to pick this up on a price drop since I had such a backlog of games already.

tlwizard

You can use code SAVER to get free shipping. And it's a glitch apparently but if you use 5OFF60 you can get an extra $5 off the game. Both online.

If you go in the store, you can get a 10% off coupon from GameInformer, but a copy of said coupon can be found online.

darkside

Played a bit of it this morning and its pretty fantastic. Well worth the $30 price this week.

PerryD

Thanks! I applied the coupon and for some reason it took off $5 off all of the games in my cart. I didn't want to risk my order, so I kept the titles that I would buy without the $5 off coupon just in case they correct this later.

My order history shows the following:

VALKYRIA CHRONICLES - PS3 $24.99
GUITAR HERO: AEROSMITH - PS3 $4.99
BLEACH: DARK SOULS - DS $9.99
FINAL FANTASY TACTICS: THE WAR - PSP $4.99
IMPOSSIBLE MISSION - DS $4.99
CASTLEVANIA: DRACULA X CHRONIC - PSP $4.99

davidlynchfan

Just got back from GS picking this up. Thanks for the heads up on the deal. My first PS3 game. Game is simply Amazing thus far, just watched a superb anime intro which was quality all the way and done with my first battle. Don't hesitate to pick this up even if you got a backlog of 20+ games like myself.

Chew

Thanks. I've been looking for a cheap copy and this price is at least $10 cheaper than any used price I've seen.

nickdawgy

I paid full price for this, and it was worth it then. Great game.

Breakfast with Girls

The code is just totally broken. It doesn't even work when it's supposed to. It showed one total for me and then when I confirmed payment it showed a completely different total.

Ocelot

VC for $24.99 (broken code?) is not bad at all, awesome if you guys/gals get that to work.

PerryD

My order was cancelled

chess

Just suck it up and pay the $29.99 - $3. It's well worth it IMO.

chess

Video review:

http://ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/95063...ew_102908.html

tlwizard

Guess I got lucky because my order just shipped. I had also ordered some PSN cards and those all had $5 taken off as well. I figure with all the money I saved, I'm ready to go for the DLC.

Ocelot

What?! You even got the PSN cards discounted, damn, lucky...

tlwizard

Quick question... is there a way to go back and redo a battle to try and do better? Or do you have to save and reload?

Thanks. And having a blast with the game!

darkside

I don't think so. Once you have cleared it you move on other than reloading your save. However, some of these maps show up in skirmish so maybe you can redo battles there.

I'm just starting chapter 6 and loving the game. I am learning to use the save feature a lot to make incremental saves during a map. I have already lost 45 minutes on a map by making one dumb mistake at the end and having to redo the whole thing. Still overwhelmed at how good this game is. This is one of the best games I have played in a long time. Can't believe they mashed up a turned based tactical RPG with a shooter and made it work this amazingly well.

ultimaton

Yeah I just finished chapter 7, and you really gotta make use of mid-battle saves or you really have to make every move perfect.

Yes! I am in LOVE with this game. Everything about it is top notch. I really hope Sega does a sequel, because there are a lot of people that, like myself, waited on VC until it went on sell and after playing it would gladly jump into a sequel if given the chance.

darkside

I hate to flip my opinion so quickly on a game, but I'm tapping out on this one in chapter 7. This went from a fun, entertaining game to a completely frustrating experience. I have replayed this mission 5 times now, but my troops keep getting wiped out. I simply miss too many easy shots to be able to take down the tank. I end up trying to play catch up and I get most of my guys killed. I've never had the fun taken out of a game with the speed Valkyria killed it during mission 7.

I'm considering just playing skirmish for several hours to level grind, but that doesn't interest me right now. This one goes on the pile until I feel like dealing with it again.