12.1.2014

In this review I am generally going to try and avoid comparing this game with the original, but there are somethings that need to be said so I'm getting them out of the way here. This game cannot hold a candle to the PS3 original, and the reason is almost entirely the graphical limitations of the PSP system. The beautiful cinematic cutscenes have gone, replaced by still images with text boxes that don't really add as much to the feeling of being present in the world. Another limitation is that the levels cannot be as large or detailed as the ones in VC1, which means that they had to find new ways to expand them. They do this by making each battle consist of several separate levels. Worse,except for the main story-advancing ones they repeat the same level maps over and over. It gets tiring very quickly.As a standalone game VC2 holds up quite well. The combat system is still unique, and one that I wish more SRPGs would copy. You place your characters on a map and then click on one at a time who you then control. You move him around like a third-person shooter, only no other characters can move at the same time. The enemy will still shoot at you, but they can't move around to do it. When you stop to aim the game pauses to allow you time. It's an excellent combination of the best parts of shooters and SRPGs.A nice feature of this game is that you level up classes rather than characters. This means that you don't have to keep alternating characters to get their stats up (though you do have to alternate them to get their story bits completed). To this has been added an individual character customization setting which might seem a bit of a throwback considering what I've just praised, but in fact adds to the experience by letting you change an individual's specialization alongside the group stats. And it doesn't require any experience to do it, just awards that you're given for completing missions. Unfortunately, that does mean that the characters you want to specialize have to be the ones you play as, but then again that's why you'd want them to change specialization isn't it? Specializations can be ignored and still let you win the game, though it's pretty much impossible not to gain a few here and there.As I mentioned in the beginning, the levels are not large maps but a series of smaller ones connected together. When you capture an enemy base it captures one of their bases on a different map as well, allowing you to travel there. This means that while the levels are technically quite large, the game only has to load one small map at a time. It's a fairly clever way of getting around the limitations of the PSP and doesn't actually bother me. It's probably not as fun as it would be were it just some large map, but the challenge then becomes managing multiple maps at the same time. In other words, the challenge of multiple maps requires different tactics from a single large one. I'm rather more annoyed at the repetitive levels used over and over again. There are only about five of these and you'll be thoroughly sick of them by the end.The story is not particularly gripping, partly because they get distracted by minutiae. You don't get to be pursued by enemies or have your schedule changed that greatly. You spend the entire game in school, except when you go on missions. Those missions are run through your classroom. It's a pretty decent control mechanic to allow you to select missions and train characters, but it does rather lower the sense of drama and danger. You know that nothing can change too much or they'd need to redo all the settings. It's also a bit irritating that the game is set in a school and not the army. It seems a bit unlikely than they would send students out to right a massive rebellion.It also gets bogged down in secondary character subplots. These are actually a great improvement over the first game since they give you a real feeling of camaraderie. However, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. It seems like it would have been better to incorporate this character fluff in a slightly less-integrated way. As it stands it often seems like advancing your side characters' subplots are more the point of the game than the main plot. At the least, it needed to find a way to make the main plot seem more important than the side missions. These side plots are fun, but they shouldn't come at the expense of the main one.Since we're discussing characters I have to turn back to the first game for a brief moment. That game had an abundance of memorable characters including Welkin, Isara, Rosie, and Largo. I'm going to focus particularly on Welkin here since he was the lead. That man was great as the focus of an SRPG. He was clearly intelligent and thoughtful, and his amusing character traits that saw him obsessed with wildlife grew out of that intelligence. Avan however, is not that. He's kind of a thoughtless idiot. Now this wouldn't be a problem in a normal game, but since he's constantly beating all the other characters (because he's being controlled by you) it appears that he must be a bit of a genius, all evidence to the contrary. It's not so much that he's a bad character per se, but as the lead in a game that's about intelligent planning he is very much the wrong choice. The side characters are entertaining though, including Zeri, his ever-irritated Darcsen second in command, Helmut, the scary Imperial exchange student, and many others. And because of those side quests you get to know them a lot better.So my verdict: This is a darn good PSP SRPG. It has a great combat system, a neat world, and engaging characters. The graphics are very good for a PSP game, and are used to good effect. There are some irritating features such as the limited number of battle maps and the silly lead, but on the whole this game achieves greatness. However, when compared to the original it just isn't as good. It could never have been. And that irritates me. If only they had released this game for the Vita instead. That system would have been perfectly able to handle the graphical challenges posed by the original game. Since it seems unfair to blame the game for not living up to its predecessor I'm giving it five stars for gameplay that is as unique and addictive on the PSP as it was on the PS3. The only truly annoying bit that could have been avoided is Avan, but aside from that the game is as good as it could have been considering the PSP's limitations. But please, try the

13.12.2010

I absolutely loved the original Valkyria Chronicles and after it bombed (Shame on all of you I say!) I resigned myself to never getting to see a sequel to it. However, Sega apparently weren't prepared to ditch on it's new franchise just yet it seems, and so this PSP sequel is a real treat for those of us who loved the original game, and while it's a shame it's not on PS3 again, I for one am grateful for any new VC I can get, and in a lot of ways this handheld version offers some real advantages over it's home console predecessor.Taking place several years after the end of the first game, VC2 follows main protagonist Avan Hardins as he enrols at a prestigious military academy in the hope of discovering the truth behind his brother's supposed death there.The plot is a very different affair to the original, taking the form of a high school comedy drama much of the time, with multitudes of talking head dialogue sequences mixed in with full anime styled cutscenes serving to flesh out the game's fairly huge cast of characters in a way the first game never did. No longer are the troops in your squad faceless units to move around the field as each one has a distinct backstory and personality that gets explored in the story's side quests and optional dialogues, lending a real sense of investment in which characters you want with you on missions and who is best for any given situation. There is a LOT of dialogue to read through here, but the writing is pretty sharp(Not so much as the original perhaps, but still of a high quality overall) so it isn't any great chore to get through. The plot isn't quite as ambitious as the first game and definitely 'feels' like it's more Japanese aimed with it's themes and tropes this time, but so long as that doesn't bother you, you'll enjoy it.The gameplay is once again an absolute delight, playing pretty much identically to the first game's near perfect blend of third person shooting and turn based squad management, with some compromises made to the scale of the battlefields to accomodate the PSP's limitations. Instead of the massive open areas of the PS3 version, VC2 has large-ish areas broken up into multiple sections, with you advancing from section to section by capturing enemy base camps in order to work towards completing your objective which usually lies in the 'end' area of most missions. This approach, while obviously an unavoidable necessity, makes the game feel a bit more restrictive with regard to the levels of strategy you are able to employ to take down enemy squads. Whereas in the first game you could lay ambushes along roadsides for approaching enemy patrols or run diversionary attacks to cover moving units into position to flank the enemy's rear lines, in this PSP version, it's mostly a case of running to the first piece of cover and getting into drawn out firefights with the enemy in many of the areas. Some sections offer a bit more space to plan bigger attacks and the combat is always quite engrossing and satisfying, but the whole thing feels a bit smaller and more linear for sure.Tech wise, despite the scale reduction, the game does look very similar to the PS3 version, with impressive detail and animation on characters and levels, though with the stylised 'water colour' visual effect being far less pronounced this time around. It looks great. The soundtrack work is pretty good, though not nearly as impressive as the last game, same for the voice acting, which is good, if sparse, but nothing Earth shattering.There's probably no nice way to say that Valkyria Chronicles 2 isn't as good as the first game, but that is sadly the case. Saying that, the game is still truly superb and unlike any other RPG on handhelds. Add to this the new multiplayer options, the significantly longer play time and the greater wealth of things to do make it very easy to forgive the stripping down of certain aspects of the game to accomodate it's new portable home. It is a great game and well worth buying, and considering there's already another sequel on the way, it seems Valkyria Chronicles is a franchise that's here to stay, and I for one couldn't be happier.

3.8.2011

For those who never played the original game for the Ps3, no fear! while this game is set after the events of the original and does include a few character cameos from the first game, it is a fresh experience with its own story.Basically, in a small kingdom of Gallia, there is a civil revolt whereby some citizens wish to 'purge'Gallia of a race of dark haired people called Darcsens. The story follows a class of military cadets as they attempt to serve their country by opposing the rebels - and pass their exams too :)All in all, this is a great game. There is a bit of classroom antics and getting to know your classmates - the more you deploy them in battle, the more sidestories you will uncover,

13.7.2012

I didn't expect anything from this game, not owning a PS3 I never played the first one, I generally hate JRPG's, and thought the whole lazy mash-up of WW2/Japanese High School Drama sounded like an idea for absolute disaster. Imagine my surprise when I stuck this disk in and instead found one of the best games on the system!First off the presentation in this is superb. The graphics are gorgeous, the voice acting is charming and the game oozes character. Despite sounding horrific on paper the world and characters are all well realized and you may actually find yourself getting rather fond of your chosen team. There's no shortage of fun here either, the game is stuffed with missions, upgrades,

11.9.2010

A true sequel to the ps3 game Valkyria Chronicles has arrived on psp and is full of content for everyone.I was pretty impressed by Sega making a game like Valkyria Chronicles , I was used to their low quality products so I didnt have my hopes up and was taken by suprise.The game is simply amazing and you must have it.The story takes place 2 years after the first game in a military academy in Galia and revolves around Avan Hardins and his classmates , the whole setting is a school like and is fun and reminiscing.The country is in an internal conflict incited by a facton of its nobles(oh to hell with them)

8.11.2012

I had never really been into strategy games, but recently decided to give a few a try to see if I could be swayed and thank God I did. My PSP has been one of the best purchases ever with games like MHFU and Phantasy Star Portable 2, and now with this awesome title my library is complete (ok, it could be better if I could understand Japanese and get Valkyria Chronicles 3).At first I was a bit confused, especially with the JRPG style story going on in the background, but even that has grown on me immensely and I have totally grown to love Avan, Cosette, Zeri and crew. that is the story out of the way, as tbh I have never been a story person,

9.9.2010

Fans of the PS3 original can continue the fun and strategy of the original with a massive game on its baby system the PSP. Prepare to spend hours playing it till your hands cramp or battery dies.Yes we wanted a sequel which with his own charms and portable builds on from the original. For some the fact its on PSP wil be annoying but SEGA has registered a VC3 domain name so get this and play it before the next installment is released.Tactically the game has been expanded with several classes, material pick-ups/blending and blueprints for new weapons. Missions are numerous and some challenging for that elusive A Ranking. Customise the tank to a higher degree with turret combo's, armor mods,

1.9.2016

A little weaker than the original game, probably due to it being on the PSP, but still action packed turn based strategy game! if Sony/Sega port this game to the PS4 or home console you would have a hit for sure! The game takes place a few years after the events of the first game and you meet a new group of recruits that you will train and fight against invading forces, naturally you get cameos from characters from the first game, but over all the game play is a bit more in depth, and generally if you do get this, you will not be disappointed! Great game through and through!

5.6.2013

a nice game in anime style with average story and some fun characters!difficulty rises steep suddenly and you end up losing the will to play it due to insanely overpowered enemies.but if you dont mind the hardness and you like anime or japanese games then its worth your money!

4.10.2010

If like me you love tactical rpgs and have fond memories of games à la Final Fantasy Tactics, this game is for you.Beware, it can be a time eater. But what a load of fun!

7.9.2013

A great combat strategy game that will have you thinking through every minute for survival. The story will keep you playing all the way to the end.

1.10.2020

Lots of fun and will keep you busy for a long time, great stuff!

15.2.2015

Came very quick and over moon with it !!

12.2.2017

Arrived new and undamaged

24.8.2014

Nice game.

Valkyria Chronicles 2 (PSP) - Reviews

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