Support NeoGAF

[michaelius]

I play it too safe, I usually clear the map using my snipers and grenadiers only from a distance and using scouts to spot them and then turn around

That's mistake - you have to push from turn 1 in all VC games since ranking is based on number of turns it took to finish game.

 

[CloudStrife_ca]

That's mistake - you have to push from turn 1 in all VC games since ranking is based on number of turns it took to finish game.

First play through is a scouting mission, you can always go back and replay with leveled up troops, which is kinda where the replay value comes in.

 

[Wunray]

So I beat the game on switch and I have to say VC1 has the better story, VC4 has the better cast but only slightly so.

Spoiler: After credits thoughts

So quick question who's grave was that kai was in front of? Raz or the real Kai. Speaking of raz it really is too bad how he went he was my fav character and rosetta is 2nd. If I were is claude's position I would have glassed the capital.

TBH the game went on a little too long for my taste but it was worth the 60 dollars, my only hope is

Spoiler: wishful hoping

They bring back raz in a dlc chapter cause you know what they say about off screen deaths

would rate this game a 8/10.

 

[Malakhov]

The grades are meaningless so you are right to dislike them. A rank is just finishing the mission asap. Any dimwit can do that with scouts + orders lol

If you win and don't lose anyone, you are doing good and playing smart

When you actually start losing people is when you know shit is getting real. You have to adapt to situations cuz sometimes events happen mid-mission such as mini bosses appearing or the environment changes. You are supposed to be nervous like the characters.

That's mistake - you have to push from turn 1 in all VC games since ranking is based on number of turns it took to finish game.

Well what I just did is level all my units to elite with the skirmish number 4. You can finish that one in 2 to 5 minutes in one turn and get 22.5k exp that way. Now ill be able to play the missions how I want to without wanting to rush through for grades or exp. I enjoy it more that way.

 

[psorcerer]

Riley missed a gatling gun tower 3 times in a row even if I was dead spot on

Sometimes "Auto-aim" misses the target, you need to carefully inspect the trajectory with R1. Maybe the grenade touches a wall or any other barier. All shots are physics-based. Sometimes you need to fine-tune it with the d-pad.

I had read that there was a medic class

Medic is called each time you approach any of your KO unit by any other ally unit (including tanks).
But if your KO unit is approached by enemy - it's dead, forever.

It's pretty easy to do A grades in missions just by employing a good strategy and no rush.
And it's unfortunately a key to a good game, because for A ranks you get more EXP and money -> you will have higher level units and weapons -> easier to make A rank next time -> etc.
And BTW in this game accuracy is the king, that's why save scumming works so well. Always upgrade for accuracy everywhere.

 

[Komatsu]

Just finished the game. Have played every VC ever released (yes, including 3) and though Operation Northern Cross makes no sense within the timeline of the series - as some have mentioned on the Steam boards, it’d have made more sense for it to happen in 1936 and not in 1935 - and the story is decidedly inferior to VC1, it is still a pretty good game.

I just want SEGA to keep making games that are not Asia-only and give the belated due to their many beloved franchises. So I will double dip and get it for PC as well.

 

[Ulysses 31]

Game made me work hard for them swim suits, first had to get to chapter 10 to even unlock the DLC and then face off against elite imperials with my 8-10 troops in only 3 turns... >.>

But I managed to get all the swim suits in the end.

Wish there was some log or something because the game said something about unlocking more stuff under certain conditions after beating the 2nd DLC beach lvl.

 

[michaelius]

I wish the game had more stats - like how many times each soldier was used in battles, how many enemies they killed/saved etc.

Still at my current tempo of around 1 battle per day it will take me months to finish it

 

[Malakhov]

I wish the game had more stats - like how many times each soldier was used in battles, how many enemies they killed/saved etc.

Still at my current tempo of around 1 battle per day it will take me months to finish it

Just finished chapter 10 and im at 22 hours already. Im on a slow pace.

 

[V2Tommy]

Recently finished VC4 and enjoying the post-game surprises. Wonderful game. Can’t say enough good things about it.

 

[infinitys_7th]

I think the biggest thing I like about it is how beefy the chapters feel now - a bunch of them have 2-3 battles, longer stories, more interaction between the main squad leaders and the troops, etc.

Balancing-wise, I feel like the same old problems are there (scouts are overpowered, engineers are great, troopers are more situational scouts with less mobility) but I appreciate how grenadiers have given a boost in utility to lancers (who are still kind of useless, but whatever), and the grenadier class itself is fun for setting up stuff (although interception fire seems oddly useless for them outside of tanks; it almost never hits, versus the enemy grenadiers who hit pretty well).

I'm glad they did away with all the "role blending" VC2 and VC3 had through the class trees/specialized weapons. There was no point in using lancers FTMP when you had snipers with AP rounds, etc. Classes should have defined roles, and the Elite status entrenches them more in that. I do wish they had balanced scouts down more - elite scouts can clear encampments just as easily as troopers with the grenade launcher, at the cost of maybe an additional action to mop up anyone the grenade did not kill. And I can almost always take out two enemies at once with a scout just like a trooper by line up their heads in my reticule so that once the first dies the second will get shot. The anti-tank artillery were a great idea, but they ought to do more damage to tanks - I almost always just tank their interception (lol) and then blast them with my modded accuracy AP round. Maybe follow-up with an engineer buddy to heal.

 

[Malakhov]

I think the biggest thing I like about it is how beefy the chapters feel now - a bunch of them have 2-3 battles, longer stories, more interaction between the main squad leaders and the troops, etc.

Balancing-wise, I feel like the same old problems are there (scouts are overpowered, engineers are great, troopers are more situational scouts with less mobility) but I appreciate how grenadiers have given a boost in utility to lancers (who are still kind of useless, but whatever), and the grenadier class itself is fun for setting up stuff (although interception fire seems oddly useless for them outside of tanks; it almost never hits, versus the enemy grenadiers who hit pretty well).

I'm glad they did away with all the "role blending" VC2 and VC3 had through the class trees/specialized weapons. There was no point in using lancers FTMP when you had snipers with AP rounds, etc. Classes should have defined roles, and the Elite status entrenches them more in that. I do wish they had balanced scouts down more - elite scouts can clear encampments just as easily as troopers with the grenade launcher, at the cost of maybe an additional action to mop up anyone the grenade did not kill. And I can almost always take out two enemies at once with a scout just like a trooper by line up their heads in my reticule so that once the first dies the second will get shot. The anti-tank artillery were a great idea, but they ought to do more damage to tanks - I almost always just tank their interception (lol) and then blast them with my modded accuracy AP round. Maybe follow-up with an engineer buddy to heal.

Scouts overpowered? Maybe I'm not playing them well but I actually use them to scout and yeah, destroy some units behind sandbags but troopers are strong as hell with the flame thrower, they go through lancers like butter, even killing two of them sometimes when they're well lined up.

All classes are effective and well balanced I think, you even have the option to gear the grenadiers to take out tanks or units.

 

[Danjin44]

Scouts overpowered? Maybe I'm not playing them well but I actually use them to scout and yeah, destroy some units behind sandbags but troopers are strong as hell with the flame thrower, they go through lancers like butter, even killing two of them sometimes when they're well lined up.

All classes are effective and well balanced I think, you even have the option to gear the grenadiers to take out tanks or units.

This my experiance as well. If try to Scoute missions then either enemie's grenadiers or troopers will cut you down like butter. Also once you put more accuracy for Lancers they become very useful.

 

[infinitys_7th]

Scouts overpowered? Maybe I'm not playing them well but I actually use them to scout and yeah, destroy some units behind sandbags but troopers are strong as hell with the flame thrower, they go through lancers like butter, even killing two of them sometimes when they're well lined up.

All classes are effective and well balanced I think, you even have the option to gear the grenadiers to take out tanks or units.

TBH, I never have great luck with grenadiers taking out tanks from hitting the radiator when I target it. It's happened once or twice - otherwise, shots always hit the body. I'll use them to take out artillery sometimes or for precision attacks on troops, because the target zone is much smaller than the regular mortar or the anti-personnel one. The anti-personnel one is good for clearing out camps, though. Just rarely works for interception - my grenadiers never lead the target like the enemy's lead theirs. I can only hit them if they stop right at the end. They do not seem to alter the enemy AI at all either.

This my experiance as well. If try to Scoute missions then either enemie's grenadiers or troopers will cut you down like butter. Also once you put more accuracy for Lancers they become very useful.

I tend to send out a scout to scout for enemies and reveal grenadier positions, then use snipers to kill the grenadiers' sights. I can usually get to the grenadier with a scout after that, depending on the environment. The other alternative is to use the Hafen or another tank (the Cactus works great for this due to its AP and carrying a grenadier or lancer out into the battlefield) to reveal locations, then use snipers and scouts to mop them up as necessary.

Once I got elite scouts, the grenade launcher is enough to kill encamped troopers or knock down the sand bag, and I can usually flank them without triggering interception. Their FoV is so low I can usually get a surprise attack.

Lancers are great because they can tank grenadiers, take out a sandbag, or knock a few people out of a camp to let me capture it.

 

[Durask]

So, any one knows how is it selling outside Japan?

 

[V2Tommy]

TBH, I never have great luck with grenadiers taking out tanks from hitting the radiator when I target it. It's happened once or twice - otherwise, shots always hit the body.

Have you switched them to anti-armor ammo? Plays a major role. Before I did that, tanks took 3+ shots.

 

[infinitys_7th]

Have you switched them to anti-armor ammo? Plays a major role. Before I did that, tanks took 3+ shots.

Yeah, I have three grenadiers in my squad - one with the anti-vehicle shells (Riley), one with the regular shells and one with the anti-personnel shells. It just never hits the radiator, even when I get a 1-2 hit to kill prospectus.

The first time I did was in the first fight against Klaus (took him right down), and then I took out one at Siegval. After that, it seems like it just does not work.

I was thinking maybe it was the angle I was attacking from or something (I keep my grenadiers behind environment cover or a vehicle, and the radiator is almost always pointed away from them), but IDK. The targeting circle is so tight that it seems weird that it almost always hits the body rather than the radiator at the center.

 

[V2Tommy]

Yeah, I have three grenadiers in my squad - one with the anti-vehicle shells (Riley), one with the regular shells and one with the anti-personnel shells. It just never hits the radiator, even when I get a 1-2 hit to kill prospectus.

The first time I did was in the first fight against Klaus (took him right down), and then I took out one at Siegval. After that, it seems like it just does not work.

I was thinking maybe it was the angle I was attacking from or something (I keep my grenadiers behind environment cover or a vehicle, and the radiator is almost always pointed away from them), but IDK. The targeting circle is so tight that it seems weird that it almost always hits the body rather than the radiator at the center.

Have you tried the "Blast Damage" order? I believe that's what it's called. It expands the functional radius of the attack. Vital on some late-game shenanigans.

 

[InterMusketeer]

I finished the game last week, and was suprised that there's still more to do afterwards. I need to finish one more skirmish, maybe replay some more missions for exp and money, and I'll try to unlock the rest of the content that way.

 

[cireza]

There is actually a lot of content de to unlock after getting the "first" ending. The skirmishes are pretty hard by the way.

 

[infinitys_7th]

Guess what chapter I just finished.

Loli + Electrical Outlet = Nuclear Battleship

 

[UltimateUnknown]

I finished the game a couple of days ago and man, what an incredible ride it has been. I was gonna go for plat anyway, but was really surprised that there's actually story content that you can unlock for the main story post-game. Post-game in general is really beefy. I have to say to everyone, without any spoilers, once you finish the game, do the extra stuff to unlock the rest of the story and watch the "true" ending. It's really worth it. There's some great bits of character development/interaction there.

Overall, this game was worth every penny I paid. The story was amazing and so were the characters. Few games can move me emotionally like these VC games can, and VC4 definitely lives up to that. Honestly, VC4 told a better war story than most I have ever played. The gameplay though in some ways felt slightly downgraded from VC3. I feel VC3 had more opportunities to grind and create "super soldiers" with the master table system, which was kind fun for me but did create some really crazy OP characters. This game went back closer to VC1, so it didn't feel as innovative as the previous games in that regard. Grenadier class was definitely the best addition though, followed by the Centurion. Ultimately, it had just enough to new stuff to keep it fresh and was as fun to play as any other VC game.

At this point, I hope and pray the game did well enough such that it can get a sequel. I love this series a lot and I want to see a lot more of it in the future.

 

[sublimit]

https://www.rpgsite.net/interview/7...ector-kohei-yamashita-and-producer-kei-mikami

RPG Site: This will be my final question. Now that we have crossed the fourth numbered entry in the Valkyria Chronicles series, where do you see the series going from here? We are facing the potential of new PlayStation hardware on the horizon, so I would love to hear hypothetically what you would like to implement if you had far more resources at your disposal. Feel free to dream as big as you want.

Yamashita: Now that’s the dream, to have unlimited resources! (laughs) I think my answer would depend on many variables, like the scale of the available budget, how well VC4 does, and whether there will even be a sequel at all.

So far, Valkyria Chronicles has focused only on a portion of the battlefield, and the relationship between infantry and heavy weaponry. However, there are many other elements at play during a campaign. For example, air and naval power are crucial, while in the bigger picture, there are a lot of logistical factors like strategy and R&D that also influence the course of war. There are numerous conflicts beyond the boundaries of Europa, too.

We’ve still yet to explore so much of the world of Valkyria Chronicles, so I’m sure that no matter what else we introduce, it’s bound to be exciting.

Mikami: The future of the series depends on the latest title’s performance, but it would be great to take on the challenge of working with new PlayStation hardware.

As long as I don’t need to worry about any limitations, then it’d be fun to create a game with enough complexity in the mechanics that we could portray close-functioning combined arms combat, and a conflict on that scale.

There are tons more of interesting stuff discussed in the interview.Check the link for more!

 

[HyGogg]

I don't think VC4 did terribly well. I think that team is being rolled on to the Sakura Taisen reboot, which is exciting in its own regard.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

https://www.rpgsite.net/interview/7...ector-kohei-yamashita-and-producer-kei-mikami

There are tons more of interesting stuff discussed in the interview.Check the link for more!

Good interview.

I'd love a 4x strategy game that lets me build bases, reinforce cities, manufacture weapons, train troops, etc. They could still use the VC battle system to resolve clashing armies on the main map a la Creative Assembly's Total War franchise.

 

[Sub_Level]

Pacifica Front featuring the United States of Vinland staging an island-by-island campaign against the Imperial State of Not-Japan.

Make it happen Sega.

 

[Darkking2001]

I 100% percented it...very fun...I'd say it's better than 1 for me as for 2 and 3 never played them.

 

[cireza]

It would be a great development to shift to a more global scale, managing the conflict from the world map. Like in Dragon Force.
And then, resolving the battles with the standard battle system.

This would also allow for a more open way to approach the conflict, without being forced through a linear path from beginning to end. You could rather tackle any enemy base you want, deciding in which direction you want to focus your assault, while defending on the other front.

Exactly like in the first Dragon Force game, actually.

Looking forward to the next Sakurai Taisen game. Sega always had very capable teams and persons for everything JRPG.

 

[infinitys_7th]

I'm loving the post-game so far. It's much meatier than VC3, and VC1 had a pretty bad post-game. VC2 was just lol of course.

Lots of rewards, the new Skirmish maps are fun and very grindable to max out levels and equipment (and one of them is mercifully easy to one-turn cheese to get to 10,000,000 Ducats). DLC looks good.

This is definitely my favorite of the series, even one of my favorite JRPGs. Hot spring/beach scene aside, it does not feel "JRPG anime", especially towards the end. Claude is fantastic - don't want to spoil it, but his arc is one of the best commentaries on the effects of war on a person that I have seen in games. It's not pushed in your face like a lot of games/series that try to have it do *coughMGScough*.

 

[Arkage]

I feel bad not buying this game. I loved Sega's SRPGs since the days of Shining Force, and liked VC1 pretty well. Supporting a game like this might even convince Sega to stop making garbage shining spin-offs and go back to the SRPG roots.

But I just got done clocking in 130 hours in DQ11 and I'll be damned if I'm going to move right on to another long RPG. Especially with Octopath still in my backlog.

 

[infinitys_7th]

I feel bad not buying this game. I loved Sega's SRPGs since the days of Shining Force, and liked VC1 pretty well. Supporting a game like this might even convince Sega to stop making garbage shining spin-offs and go back to the SRPG roots.

But I just got done clocking in 130 hours in DQ11 and I'll be damned if I'm going to move right on to another long RPG. Especially with Octopath still in my backlog.

You can beat it pretty easily in 40 hours or so, if you just want to do the main story. Side content and doing everything is looking like 60-70 hours, if you grind efficiently.

 

[UltimateUnknown]

I don't think VC4 did terribly well. I think that team is being rolled on to the Sakura Taisen reboot, which is exciting in its own regard.

Estimates so far from Vgchartz (not the most reliable I know, but it's the best we have) seem to suggest the game is sitting somewhere between 300-400K so far worldwide with physical+digital. With some nice deals during the holidays, it could reach close to 500K when all is said and done. That's not too bad at all as these numbers are actually slightly better than what VC Remastered/VC Revolution did, which led to VC4.

If this game has similar legs to previous mainline VC games, it could eventually reach closer to 1 million after some nice price cuts. Though VC games in general don't have massive budgets like AAA games and a lot of assets have been re-used from previous games, so they are most likely profitable with selling ~500K copies given the sales of previous entries. VC4 is already tracking along with them.

 

[Kazza]

Estimates so far from Vgchartz (not the most reliable I know, but it's the best we have) seem to suggest the game is sitting somewhere between 300-400K so far worldwide with physical+digital. With some nice deals during the holidays, it could reach close to 500K when all is said and done. That's not too bad at all as these numbers are actually slightly better than what VC Remastered/VC Revolution did, which led to VC4.

If this game has similar legs to previous mainline VC games, it could eventually reach closer to 1 million after some nice price cuts. Though VC games in general don't have massive budgets like AAA games and a lot of assets have been re-used from previous games, so they are most likely profitable with selling ~500K copies given the sales of previous entries. VC4 is already tracking along with them.

If true, than that's quite good news, as there were rumours that it had bombed badly. The game seems to have gotten a nice little boost in players from the steam autumn sale. I hope we get a sequel set in that world's far east. It seemed like a pretty low budget title, so I don't think it needs to sell a million copies to survive.

 

[cireza]

I feel bad not buying this game. I loved Sega's SRPGs since the days of Shining Force, and liked VC1 pretty well. Supporting a game like this might even convince Sega to stop making garbage shining spin-offs and go back to the SRPG roots.

But I just got done clocking in 130 hours in DQ11 and I'll be damned if I'm going to move right on to another long RPG. Especially with Octopath still in my backlog.

In my opinion Octopath is definitely much less interesting than Valkyria 4.

 

[UltimateUnknown]

If true, than that's quite good news, as there were rumours that it had bombed badly. The game seems to have gotten a nice little boost in players from the steam autumn sale. I hope we get a sequel set in that world's far east. It seemed like a pretty low budget title, so I don't think it needs to sell a million copies to survive.

Ah, that's actually quite interesting and great to hear because PC sales are completely untracked by Vgchartz as it only looks at physical sales. Steam could amount for a nice chunk of sales as well which I didn't account for previously. I could definitely see the game reaching close to 500K by the end of the holiday with autumn sales.

I do think Sega should probably re-consider selling VC games at a reduced price than the standard $60 (maybe $40-$50) given the budget. A lot of people seem to pick these games up during sales (probably just an easier purchase) and they could see higher numbers from the get to that way. But yes, so far the game seems to be doing nicely. It's just not going to be lighting any charts on fire, but then again that shouldn't be the expectation anyway.

 

[cireza]

Best thing to do for Sega, in my opinion, is to make HD ports of the two PSP games. This will help maintain interest in the series, as well as not being to expensive to produce.

And then, Valkyria Chronicles 5, but with a twist (not the same copy/paste formula). As we discussed earlier, something with a wider approach to the conflict, with management on the Europa map.

 

[Kazza]

Ah, that's actually quite interesting and great to hear because PC sales are completely untracked by Vgchartz as it only looks at physical sales. Steam could amount for a nice chunk of sales as well which I didn't account for previously. I could definitely see the game reaching close to 500K by the end of the holiday with autumn sales.

I do think Sega should probably re-consider selling VC games at a reduced price than the standard $60 (maybe $40-$50) given the budget. A lot of people seem to pick these games up during sales (probably just an easier purchase) and they could see higher numbers from the get to that way. But yes, so far the game seems to be doing nicely. It's just not going to be lighting any charts on fire, but then again that shouldn't be the expectation anyway.

Sales are still under 50k according to the new (less accurate) Steamspy, but peak concurrent players was well above 1k yesterday and just below that today, which isn't too shabby for a relatively minor release like VC4.

I agree with you on the price and think that Sega should release the next one at around the price point you suggested (which should be possible seeing as they could re-use a lot of the assets from this one).

Best thing to do for Sega, in my opinion, is to make HD ports of the two PSP games. This will help maintain interest in the series, as well as not being to expensive to produce.

And then, Valkyria Chronicles 5, but with a twist (not the same copy/paste formula). As we discussed earlier, something with a wider approach to the conflict, with management on the Europa map.

Agreed. But could the ports of the PSP games be done relatively cheaply? If so, definitely a good idea.

 

[appaws]

Hey Y'all....

Where are the hard skirmishes? I purchased and installed them, and I have beaten all of the regular skirmishes...but I don't see them anywhere?

Do I have to finish the story to open them? I haven't yet, I'm on Chapter 18 though.

 

[Tailzo]

I recently finished the Switch version. I am surprised to see such midling reactions to it though. As far as overall personal ranking I’d say;

VC4>>VC1>>>>>VC3>>>>>>>>>>>>>VC2

The fourth game has better maps, good character developements and really intense battles, imo.

 

[Kazza]

I recently finished the Switch version. I am surprised to see such midling reactions to it though. As far as overall personal ranking I’d say;

VC4>>VC1>>>>>VC3>>>>>>>>>>>>>VC2

The fourth game has better maps, good character developements and really intense battles, imo.

Reviews of the game have actually been super positive (82 score on Metacritic, 8.3 user score, plus 90% positive on Steam). I think it's just that the game is so similar to the original that it hasn't generated much excitement. The people who bought it are just quietly enjoying it, rather than shouting about how great it is.

 

[michaelius]

All DLC is 40% off on European PSN not sure about Xbox but Steam doesn't have this promotion.

 

[zenspider]

Reviews of the game have actually been super positive (82 score on Metacritic, 8.3 user score, plus 90% positive on Steam). I think it's just that the game is so similar to the original that it hasn't generated much excitement. The people who bought it are just quietly enjoying it, rather than shouting about how great it is.

This, and it was a dumb move to play VC1 a 3rd time in anticipation of VC4...

I really liked the game, but early RNG nonsense (point blank Lancer misses, etc) had me save scumming, and let more novel and faster paced tactics games capture my attention, namely Into The Breach.

I'm inspired to slot it back in soon though.