Tag Archives: Valkyria Chronicles

Valkyria Chronicles Remaster Preorder Update, JPN PS Page Updated With New (?) Screenshots

InTheSky January 9, 2016 4 Replies

The release date for the Valkyria Chronicles Remaster (February 10!) is fast approaching. With that in mind we’re going to see more promotional pushes for the game until the day arrives.

First, Sega finalized the product design for some of their preorder goods and posted them to the official Valkyria Project Twitter account. Follow it now if you haven’t already done so! The Valkyria Project Twitter account showed finalized goods design packages for three offerings earlier today:

Number 9 (GAMERS):

Number 10 (Game Shop Takarajima):

Number 11 (SEGA Store):

Lastly, there’s a new large promotional page for Valkyria Chronicles Remaster on Sony of Japan’s website. It debriefs you on the story, the CANVAS graphics engine, and the BLiTZ battle system. It also offers a bunch of screenshots for Valkyria Chronicles Remaster, like the one chosen for this article’s featured image.

However, there’s a problem. There’s nothing that differentiates this screenshot that we used for the featured image above (also reproduced placed below as the first of two screenshots, courtesy of Gematsu) and this second screenshot below, originally retrieved from IGN.

“New” Screenshot

Old PS3 Screenshot

The second one is for the PS3 version of the game. Besides offering a complete package in the form of trophies and the original version’s DLC, Valkyria Chronicles Remaster is advertised as being graphically enhanced (output at 1080p) and so exact similarities like this should not be possible. Some words from my colleague Draikin to shed more light on this situation:

For the game’s cutscenes, it could make sense that they look exactly the same as those of the PS3 version. The same was true for the PC version. While the majority of those scenes were rendered “in-engine” (using the same graphics engine as the one used for the game itself), they were actually pre-recorded and stored as movie files on the disc. It seems the developers couldn’t recreate those scenes, and had to reuse the same movie files. Of course, the difference in quality between the higher resolution in-game PC graphics and the lower resolution, aliased PS3 videos was very apparent. It looks like the PS4 version won’t have these scenes redone either, which is a shame, given the price they’re asking for the remastered version.

However, while this could explain why some of the remaster screenshots look like the PS3 version, even the in-game screenshots being used appear to originate from the PS3 version. As listed above, some are clearly taken from old press material. While this doesn’t necesarilly have to mean anything, it’s odd that we haven’t (to my knowledge) seen any actual 1080P screenshots from the PS4 version. The one trailer we got didn’t have the quality needed to really compare the PS4 remaster’s graphics to those of the PC version. It seems we may have to wait for the game’s release before we can judge the quality of the PS4 port.

We invite additional thoughts and/or critical eyes on this matter! Let us know what you think and see. It’s only about a month until Valkyria Chronicles Remaster is released in Japan.

Valkyria Chronicles Remaster Gets its First Trailer

Draikin December 25, 2015 Leave a reply

SEGA have released a trailer for their upcoming PS4 remaster of Valkyria Chronicles, aptly titled Valkyria Chronicles Remaster. There’s nothing particularly new to see for those who played the original, as the trailer shows off the game’s BLITZ battle system and the DLC that will be included in the game (which had to be bought separately for the PS3 version).

Valkyria Chronicles PS4 Remaster Japan Retailer Preorder Bonuses

InTheSky December 19, 2015 Leave a reply

Sega has revealed an assortment of retailer-specific preorder bonuses for Valkyria Chronicles Remaster’s release, set for February in Japan. The official Valkyria portal was updated with a list of participating retailers and the accompanying bonuses.

Suffice it to say, this is a rather large undertaking with outreach to many outlets in Japan. It speaks well to Sega’s efforts for Valkyria in this region! There’s been no localization announced for either Valkyria Azure Revolution or the Valkyria Chronicles Remaster, but after the strong sales of the PC port of the first Valkyria Chronicles game (and because I particularly like this franchise,) I hope to see more of this franchise in the West.

Gematsu captured an image of all 15 of the preorder bonus packages with translated retailer names above the preview images, reproduced for your browsing after the break.

Valkyria Promotional Blitz: Teaser Websites, Screens, and a Twitter Account!

InTheSky November 19, 2015 Leave a reply

There’s no two ways about it; Sega of Japan is really betting on Valkyria’s growth as a franchise.

Sega of Japan has created a Twitter account for the Valkyria franchise. Give them a follow! If the Twitter accounts for other franchises like Yakuza and Sakura Wars are any indication, the Sega staffers for each franchise are quite dedicated and take note of all sorts of minutiae related to the franchise (the Yakuza and Sakura Wars accounts occasionally posted information on their characters being present in Project X Zone 2, for example.)

The Valkyria franchise seems to be addressed on this page as the “Valkyria Project”, so as to encompass the Chronicles games (Valkyria Chronicles 1-3) and Azure Revolution. We can probably expect to see it addressed as such in the future.

The first tweet of the Valkyria Twitter account announces Sega’s Valkyria portal website. It features links to official websites for all console/handheld Valkyria games at the bottom, and at the top there are three tabs. The first offers summaries and images for each Valkyria game (including Duel.) The second is an anime tab, with pages for the anime adaptation of the first game and the Valkyria Chronicles 3 OVA. The third tab is a Goods tab; it’s a cataloging of Valkyria Chronicles media and merchandise. It doesn’t offer product pages or purchase links for everything (though some items do have purchase links) but it’s an effort that is much respected.

Next, let’s check out the promotional website for Valkyria: Azure Revolution. Suffice it to say, at the moment it won’t take you too long to check out the whole site, though I like the background colors. Worth noting is the caption for the logo – it could be a tell for the plot events of Azure Revolution. If you missed the release of screenshots for the game earlier today, check out our writeup.

A website for the PS4 remaster of Valkyria Chronicles – Valkyria Chronicles Remaster, is also available. It features a large collection of screenshots and details the plot, gameplay and visual features, and added DLC content (all previous DLC episodes, Hard EX mode) present in the remaster. PSN trophies will also be available for this game. You may recall that the absence of trophies was met with some backlash after the game’s PS3 release. The planned boxart for the can be seen below:

Here’s to hoping the West follows suit! Valkyria’s second wind could be quite the storm.

Famitsu Reveals First Screenshots of Valkyria: Azure Revolution

Draikin November 18, 2015 1 Reply

Famitsu posted the first screenshots of Valkyria: Azure Revolution, the RPG set in the Valkyria Chronicles universe which was announced yesterday for PS4. While they’re in a low resolution, they do give us some idea of the game’s art style and graphics. And the difference in style is certainly apparent. The art style reminds me more of Shining Resonance than Valkyria Chronicles, which may make sense given that the developer of Shining Resonance was Media Vision, which is also in charge of this game. That said, we’ve yet to see high resolution screenshots and a video of the game in motion, so it’s difficult to form an opinion of it just yet. Aside from the Valkyria: Azure Revolution screenshots, Famitsu also posted two low-res screenshots of the PS4 remaster of Valkyria Chronicles. Take a look at the screenshots below!

Valkyria: Azure Revolution and Valkyria Chronicles Remaster Announced for Playstation 4!

Kuronoa November 17, 2015 2 Replies

Sega unveiled the next entry of the Valkyria Chronicles franchise in the latest issue of Famitsu titled Valkyria: Azure Revolution for Playstation 4. This marks the first entry since the original to be developed for console. The Famitsu article, translated by Gematsu, gives us a quick look into the story and staff involved.

Valkyria: Azure Revolution Trademark Filed

InTheSky November 4, 2015 Leave a reply

We all know about Aoki Kakumei no Valkyria or “Valkyria of the Blue Revolution.” Now, it’s come to light that Sega of Japan has filed a related trademark for “Valkyria: Azure Revolution.”

So, the difference here is that the previous trademark was filed in Japanese, while this one is in English. But note that both were filed by Sega of Japan. (Those two trademarks in the image above after the Valkyria one were filed by Bandai Namco Entertainment and aren’t related to this story.)

We’re sure to find out more about this soon! I can confidently say that anyone reading this wants this to be a full-fledged Valkyria Chronicles game on a dedicated gaming platform. Let’s all hope for the best! Valkyria Chronicles definitely deserves more as a franchise, and I think it has the potential to become bigger than it has been thus far.

Credit for the featured image goes to this Gematsu article.

“Valkyria of the Blue Revolution” Trademarked – Something New for Valkyria Chronicles?

InTheSky October 20, 2015 1 Reply

Sega Games recently filed a trademark for “Valkyria of the Blue Revolution”.

Let’s just get this out of the way – this is Valkyria Chronicles related, and even as someone who gets too happy with his predictions, every gambling person should be comfortable with betting on this. Between the structure of the trademark title (juxtaposed with the franchise being known in Japan as “Senjou no Valkyria”) and the fact that Sega is filing the trademark, we more or less know what to expect.

We’ve seen trademarks be filed and not used, but I don’t recall one for a game that wasn’t developed at all (outside of the ones that Bandai Namco likes to file to hide the title of a new Tales series game.)

It’s a move that’s both unexpected and expected, in my opinion. As many of our readers probably already know, the PC port of the first Valkyria Chronicles game sold quite well and Sega has publicly expressed their happiness with its commercial performance. At the same time, it’s not been clear what direction the series would go after that port, and the third game is still yet to be localized. On top of this, we don’t know what sort of game would come next for the series – a remake? A new universe/sub-series or spinoff (similar to what we see in Phantasy Star or Yakuza?)

Nevertheless, it’s welcome. Valkyria Chronicles is a series that has, in its own way, made a small impact on many gamers and as a newer franchise has successfully maintained mindshare as a modern great. It very much deserves to live on.

Now, we wait. Let’s hope for something exciting!

Valkyria Chronicles Mod For Civilization V – Principality of Gallia

InTheSky August 27, 2015 Leave a reply

The fan content love for Valkyria Chronicles continues with a mod of the PC strategy game Civlization V. The Civilization games are complex games where the player is tasked with a leading a civilization to growth and promoting its survival by managing many facets of its development, while keeping in mind such factors as the resources needed to sustain your civilization and your environment, besides the other civilizations you interact with (maybe in a not-so-friendly manner.)

The mod “Principality of Gallia” adds Gallia as a civilization choice besides the preset choices given with the base Civilization V game. As you many know, Gallia is a small, humble country with access to the ocean and rivers adding to its lushness. It’s also rich in the all-purpose mineral Ragnite, which invites The Empire’s invasion in the first Valkyria Chronicles game. In Civilization one typically manages resources and this mod adds Ragnite as a resource. Civilization games are conveyed to the player through the vantage point of a civilization leader, and the leader for Principality of Gallia is Welkin Gunther.

Valkyria Chronicles PC Rebalancing Mod – “Gallian Crossfire”

InTheSky August 16, 2015 Leave a reply

It’s come to our attention that a special mod for Valkyria Chronicles on the PC has been made publicly available for download and use with the game. It’s most often referred to by the name “Gallian Crossfire”, and it’s the creative work of a Valkyria Chronicles fan by the name of Busard.

Gallian Crossfire is a rebalancing of Valkyria Chronicles. While praised for a variety of traits including a unique battle system and pleasing art direction, the first Valkyria Chronicles game does regularly receive criticism from some gamers who take issue with finer aspects of its gameplay systems. Continue reading to learn more about some perceived problems with Valkyria Chronicles’s gameplay and Gallian Crossfire itself!