This fourth game picks its plucky youngsters from the Federation’s ranks this time, specifically the Armored Ranger Squad E, tasked with salvaging the Federation’s war effort…by counter-invading the Empire’s capital city. The first game followed the plucky youngsters of Gallian Militia Squad 7 as it fought to repel the Imperial invasion of Gallia (aka Anime Belgium). Set once again on the fake-European continent of “Europa” Valkyria Chronicles 4 runs in parallel with the original, occurring during the “Second Europan War” between the Atlantic Federation – a vague approximation of the real-world Allied powers – and the Empire, a menacing amalgamation of Germany and Russia’s imperial periods, with a predilection for wacky science experiments and silver-haired super-soldiers. The game even takes the opportunity to change things up by transitioning to a winter environment halfway through, just to show all the characters in sweet-looking fur-lined snow jackets and the like.Īs with the original, the tension between the game’s peaceful look and its warlike nature is reflected in the storytelling. Detailed dieselpunk mechanical designs cribbed off 20th-century military hardware, the sharp-edged characters of artist Raita Honjou, and the painterly colors and comic-book special effects of the game’s custom CANVAS engine make for an aesthetic triple threat that Sega has done well not to mess with. Even at a time when there are at least half a dozen absolutely excellent games rocking an anime-style aesthetic on shelves now, nothing looks quite like a Valkyria Chronicles game. More than any other installment (thanks to being on modern platforms instead of the PSP), Valkyria Chronicles 4 looks better than ever.
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