To this day, Valkyria Chronicles
remains one of the most under-appreciated PlayStation 3 exclusives out
there, regardless of how often the avid fans sing its praises. Some of
those same fans were a little disappointed when the sequel came
exclusively to the PSP, and it doesn’t help that the third installment
also seems to be leaving PS3 owners out in the cold. That being said,
strategy/RPG aficionados will most certainly want to dive into this
sequel; it’s very much like the original, and although I’m not the
biggest fan of the new school sim feature, Valkyria Chronicles 2 manages
to retain much of its charm and intricate appeal. The depth is here,
the storyline suffers only a bit due to extra emphasis on the
aforementioned school feature, and above all else, that unique and oddly
addicting gameplay is as good as ever. Honestly, if you were a super
huge fan of the first title and you don’t yet own a PSP, VC2 might be
enough of a reason to snag Sony’s portable.
As
you might expect, we have to make allowances for the graphics, which
obviously can’t be as accomplished or polished on the PSP. Even so, the
cut-scenes are still super pretty and the in-game visuals are more than
competent. I was actually surprised at how well detailed many of the
characters were, the effects enhance the experience as always, and
there’s only the anticipated lack of clarity and sharpness. If you can
handle the latter and accept you’re playing this sequel on a lesser
machine, you’ll be good to go. I do think there could’ve been more
diversity in the environments, though, as there were three or four
battles in a row where I began to get a little tired of my surroundings.
I don’t remember this drawback being evident in the original on the
PS3, which is why I mention it here. That aside, VC2 looks just fine and
really, the story-driven scenes are pretty darn impressive for a
handheld.
Concerning
the sound, both the voice acting and soundtrack are definite
highlights, although I might call the effects into question (due to an
occasional lack of balance and intensity). Some of you probably know my
favorite game of all time is Final Fantasy Tactics, so maybe I’m
unfairly biased towards the musical talents of Hitoshi Sakimoto, but the
quality and emotion of the tracks in VC2 is undeniable. I’m most
thankful this one particular element of the first PS3 presentation
carried over; it really gives the game that extra “oomph.” To me, the
voiceovers in this sequel are solid, but a bit more hit-or-miss in
comparison to the original. There are also less voices overall – again,
to be expected – and like I just said, the effects don’t always do it
for me. But man, the music is just so perfect and the complete sound
package fits the style, theme, and structure of the game. So we
definitely shouldn’t nitpick.
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