Valkyria Chronicles Remastered PS4 Review: Squad 7, Move Out! [Updated With Final Thoughts and Score]

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It's getting harder to remember that brief era wherein nearly every game console was backwards compatible with the previous generation's games. Thinking back on that hazy time is like glimpsing a unicorn as it darts through a thicket. Was it a dream? A trick of light and shadows? It doesn't matter. If it ever was with us, it's probably not coming back.

With fewer consoles offering up backwards compatibility, game developers have been happy to give us "remastered" versions of their games from previous generations. These re-releases usually feature touched-up graphics and other tweaks, though the core experience is largely the same as the original release's.

There's been some backlash over the practice. Critics say it essentially punishes fans who are nostalgic for old experiences, but can't easily play old releases because fewer game systems feature backwards compatibility. It's definitely a fair assessment, but it can also be argued that the hype for remasters refreshes games' memories. People who missed out on a title the first time around might be driven to say, "Oh, I think I'll give the remaster a try."

Case in point: Myself and Sega's Valkyria Chronicles Remastered for the PlayStation 4. Though I missed the original Valkyria Chronicles when came to the PlayStation 3 in 2008, the excitement behind the remastered version prodded me into finally trying the action / turn-based strategy game.

It was one of my better decisions. Most strategy game fans are still enormously fond of the first Valkyria Chronicles, and from your first mission, it's easy to understand why. Valkyria Chronicles -- and its Remastered brother -- features the charm, depth, and challenge of a top-tier Fire Emblem game, but it also features elements of a third-person shooter. It's a bold combination, and thankfully, it works.

Valkyria Chronicles Remastered revolves around an alternate universe version of the Second World War. Countries are scuffling over an ore called Ragnite, a dwindling ore that's used as a major energy source. The Eastern Europan Empire is particularly aggressive about securing veins of the stuff, and it rolls over smaller countries to grab what it can.

One of the Empire's targets is Gallia, a small neutral country that's rich in Ragnite. Unfortunately for the Empire, Gallia is also rich in plucky anime heroes. One young Lieutenant named Welkin Gunther leads a resistance against the forces threatening his home -- though it doesn't take long before he learns there's far more behind the war than the struggle for territory and Ragnite.

Valkyria Chronicles Remastered is 75% turn-based strategy and 25% shooter. You and enemy forces take turns moving across maps and towards a specific goal, e.g. "Take over the enemy base camp" or "Prevent the enemy from reaching destination X." You have several troops at your disposal, each with its own specialty and weakness. Scouts can cover a lot of ground, but have low defense. Lancers are vital for taking down armored vehicles, but move slowly. Snipers are deadly at long-range, but are sitting ducks if an enemy gets close enough to say hello. And so on.

That's standard stuff as far as strategy games go, but things get really interesting when you select a unit from the overhead map. Doing so causes the camera to swoop in and give you an over-the-shoulder view of your soldier. Suddenly, things get a lot more hectic as enemies within range start firing on you.

Luckily, Valkyria Chronicles Remastered is all about giving back as much as you take. You aim at your foes by pressing the "R" bumper and entering "Target Mode." When you're satisfied with your mark, you fire.

In an ideal situation, your target is wide open and a couple of headshots puts them down quickly. Unsurprisingly, enemy soldiers aren't stupid and often protect themselves by crouching behind sandbags or hiding behind armored vehicles. A clean victory requires you to understand each fighter's strengths and weaknesses. For instance, a grenade from a Scout or a Shocktrooper will knock down sandbags and leave targets exposed, but surviving enemies will potentially fill that Scout with holes when their turn comes around.

But the really nice thing about Valkyria Chronicles Remastered is that you can select the same soldier over and over again, as long as you have enough Command Points to do so. An over-used soldier doesn't have the same mobility as a fresh one, but if you're engaged in a firefight with a stubborn baddie, that one additional turn may be all you need to finish it off. If fighting's not an option, even the chance to move your soldier to nearby shelter can mean the difference between defeat and victory.

Most of the missions in Valkyria Chronicles Remastered also give you control of the Edelweiss, a customizable tank that brings the pain to flesh and metal targets alike. However, the Edelweiss's backside is weak to blasts (as is the case with nearly all the armored vehicles you go up against), and since the tank is vital to the game's story, its destruction means Game Over.

"Game Over" are two words I see a lot when playing strategy games, and Valkyria Chronicles Remastered is no exception. It's a tough fight, which is why this is a review in progress. Its challenge isn't exactly insurmountable, however: Even tough missions can eventually be cleared if you learn from your mistakes and try again. Whereas micromanaging your troops is usually the key to success in other strategy games, succeeding in Valkyria Chronicles Remastered requires you to move and act according to your surroundings. Yes, your enemies can dish out punishment -- but you can dish it right back. Valkyria Chronicles Remastered takes pains to ensure you and your rivals are on equal ground.

I'm a little over halfway through Valkyria Chronicles Remastered, and so far I'm pleased with my decision to finally give Valkyria Chronicles a try. I look forward to sharing my war stories after the fighting's done. Stay with me, Squad 7.

Part 2

As I got deeper into Valkyria Chronicles Remastered (and deeper into my maiden voyage with Valkyria Chronicles in general), I found myself noting how it improves over the oldschool entries in the Fire Emblem series. That's not a slight against traditional Fire Emblem, which I adore. But it's hard not to notice the ways in which Valkyria Chronicles challenges you without punishing you.

In Valkyria Chronicles, for example, you won't wind up with one or two super-soldiers who clear the field while your low-level schlubs plink at bad guys in hopes of scoring a few precious experience points. Instead, you divvy up the experience points you earn at the end of fights however you see fit, and all the members of the boosted class level up together. The game even pokes fun at itself by explaining the mechanic in military terms: Everybody either succeeds together, or they fail together.

But at the same time, your units are far from flesh-bearing robots trained only to kill. Every character has a personality and a backstory that plays into their fighting style, their strengths, and their weaknesses. Fighters form bonds, some of which are just amazing. Vyse and Aika from Skies of Arcadia are both in your army (they're hungry for adventure, you see), and when they fight as a team, they grant one another extremely helpful status bonuses.

That's just a start. Soldiers can be detrimental to each other, too. A "womanizer," who can be male or female, might get distracted around nearby female fighters. A fighter with a pollen allergy will suffer lower stats in tall grass.

One particularly intriguing detriment is the "Darcsen hater" stat, which causes soldiers to be repulsed when fighting in the company of a member of the Darcsen race. Darcsens are Valkyria Chronicles' allegorical stand-in for European Jews, and are demonized in much the same way Jews were during the Second World War. It's troubling that your own soldiers, the "good guys," can be openly discriminatory towards their comrades, but it's also a welcome touch of realism. There was plenty of racism and anti-Semitism in the Allies' ranks during the actual War, too.

In my view, it's these small but significant touches of character that elevate Valkyria Chronicles to the upper pantheon of strategy games, moreso even than its unique battle system. I quickly latched onto a cadre of favorites (Jane, please be my sadistic Shocktrooper wife), though the game's high injury rate nudges you into trying new people. If you're having trouble with a certain aspect of a stage -- your Sniper keeps getting hamstrung by their desert allergy, for instance -- switching to a fresh trooper might do the trick.

Again, not to rag on the older Fire Emblem games, but I'm pretty relieved Valkyria Chronicles gives you a window of time to evacuate wounded soldiers before you lose them completely. If Alex died and I could no longer hear Roger Craig Smith (the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog) scream bloody murder as he mows down Imperials, I think I'd have a break down.

Valkyria Chronicles Remastered is close to strategy game perfection, but it doesn't quite touch it for a significant reason: You're sometimes forced to suffer long waits while your enemies take their turn. That means watching and twiddling your thumbs while your foes move into position, heft their weapon, fire, then settle back into position. Unseen Imperials also shuffle around the map during this time, adding to the wait.

It's not a big deal during small battles, but if you're in a big fight with multiple Imperials across a wide expanse, it can be agony. To make things worse, enemy soldiers who can cover a lot of ground, like Scouts, will sometimes go for a leisurely constitutional all over the battlefield, only to take no action at the end of their journey. I assume the watching and waiting was a problem with the original release of Valkyria Chronicles too, and it's disappointing the remaster doesn't offer a solution.

It's a small ding, though. A pebble against the iron hide of a tank. Valkyria Chronicles is a special experience, and I'm happy I gave it a go. If you've yet to join Squad 7, it's time to enlist. The remaster is a great starting point, though given the long-standing praise for the game, you can't really go wrong with any version.

Since this is my first time with Valkyria Chronicles, it's harder for me to say "Go ahead and buy Valkyria Chronicles Remastered" if you already own the game; I don't have a frame of reference. That said, there's a long to wring out of this war. If you've been feeling the urge to get conscripted again, you may as well fight in 1080p and at 60 frames per second.