TGS Round-up! Valkyria Chronicles 2!
Oh, btw, these reviews aren't edited. If anyone wants to do a quick read-through and help me out, I'd appreciate it!
There were a few disappointments in day one of the Tokyo Game Show (like learning I'd practically have to stay in line overnight in order to be able to play any of the Square-Enix games - which I did not do), but there were some shining moments too. The show ends at 5pm technically, but most of the booths start shutting down at 4, not letting anyone else in line to play. I saw a man getting out the "Do not enter" sign for the Valkyria Chronicles 2 line, but he saw me giving the game puppy-dog eyes and let this poor soul straggle in before shutting it of completely! Hooray! So I was literally the last person on day 1 to play Valkyria Chronicles 2.
And it was worth it!
I love the first Valkyria Chronicles on PS3, especially the art style, so I was a tad wary on how the PSP would be able to handle it. Luckily I was able to watch trailers and also people playing the demo on screens while waiting in line, so I found out quickly that VC will still look impressive in PSP. The art is crisper, taking away some of the watercolor effects from the PS3 version, but they still give it an old-style charm. The cutscenes are done in character portrait style rather than in-game graphics, but that works on a system like PSP.
When I made it farther up the line I was given an English (thank you Sega!) card explaining the controls. L/R change the camera angles, D-pad and nub move your character and your sights (I learned to use the nub for running and the d-pad to aim), Start ends your current action, Square changed weapons and also entered firing mode (you enter firing mode first, then change weapons if you press Square again), X cancelled actions, and Circle confirmed actions, performed terrain actions, and also fired your weapon if in firing mode. (For those who don't know, in Japan, X and Circle usually are the opposite of the US. Circle means "Yes" there, where X means "No". If you've ever played an old Metal Gear Solid game and cancelled out back to the start menu because you pressed X instead of Circle, you know what I mean!)
After a fairly long wait (I'd say an hour and a half), myself and two others were the last people left to play! Before we were sent out to the PSPs though, we first had to go through academy training! The booth had a small curtained off room with benches facing a TV. A woman dressed up as a student from the VC2 Academy stepped forward and spoke. Sadly, I'm not sure what she said, though it had something to do with "entering the Academy" and such. Then she had us watch a video explaining how to play the game.
If you have played Valkyria Chronicles of the PS3, you can skip this next section explaining how that game works. I was happy and impressed that they got the PSP version to play almost exactly the same.
For those who don't know, this is basically how the game works. There are six different unit types to make a unit out of: Scout, Sniper, Medic/Engineer, Lancer, Machine-Gunnist, and Tank (literally, a tank). Different missions will have different numbers of people available in your unit. Once your people are all set up (the demo had everything set up at the start), there are two modes to your turn. Command mode is set up like a tactical map. Your units are on the screen, the enemy units you've spotted are on the screen, goals and bases are also on screen. You have a set number of command points each turn (regular units use 1 command point per turn where as tanks use 2). Once you choose a unit you want to use, the game then goes to you directly controlling that unit. You run to the position you want to take (or drive if you're a tank) and perform your actions (shooting, repair, taking over a base), all while being shot at by the enemy units (fear not, they can't move during your turn, but they can shoot if they're in range). Each mission has a goal (defeat someone, take over a territory, protect someone, get somewhere, etc). Once you reach your goal, the mission is over and you've won!
Ok. Really quick explanation is over! Now it's time for my demo experience.
There was a small story scene before the battle. I, sadly, had no idea what was going on. Each character was voiced though, which was nice. The three main characters (I'm assuming they are the main characters since they were plastered all over the booth) are a headstrong brash kid named Aban (Scout), the school scholar Zeri (Machine-Gunnist), and a ditzy healer girl named Cosette (Medic). There was a quick flash to a classroom scene, where I presume you would set up your unit. Since this was a demo the unit and everything was already set, so I just pressed Circle to move on to the battle. The whole set up was so reminiscent of the PS3 version that it felt no different to me. I easily chose my first unit (a Scout, which are probably the best units in the game since they can move long distances and take stuff out with guns and grenades) and ran ahead to check out the area. I crouched behind a sandbag once an enemy spotted me and fired at him. Success! One enemy down.
The layout for this mission had paths with sandbags, some hills, and gazebo-type buildings with multiple entry points. To be honest, I knew that kind of terrain is more appropriate for Scouts and maybe a Machine-Gunnist - oh, and a Lancer just in case there happens to be an enemy tank. But seeing as how this was a demo, and probably the only time I'd be able to play for months, I wanted to try out all the units. I wish I could have used the tank more, but it was too slow and used up too many command points to efficiently use. At least I was able to machine gun a guy half to death with it. ^_^ My Sniper girl was more useful. I had her hide in the grass, then zoomed in with her weapon (you press Triangle in firing mode) for a one shot kill. I like Snipers! Even the helper standing at my shoulder applauded at the shot, ^_^
From first glance I knew I was going to like Zeri, so even though Machine-Gunnists don't move very fast, I used a couple of turns on him to have him catch up to Aban. Ducking behind sandbags and shooting the few enemy soldiers eventually got me to a base. I killed the soldier guarding the flag and took the base as my own. This gave me new options in the mission. On my command screen there was a second map that I could now access (it's very possible I could have accessed it before, but I only discovered the second map when the helper standing over my shoulder helped me get to it), and I could summon new units to the base on the second map once I sent them to camp from the captured flag.
With a new map to explore, I moved Aban over and summoned a Lancer girl as well. This turned out to be a smart idea, as Aban ran up to discover a few soldiers and a tank in a nearby gazebo-building. I wanted Zeri to join Aban, but the only way to get him to the other map was to have him go back to camp through the flag I captured and then summon him the way I did Aban and the Lancer. Sadly, this left him too far behind to really catch up for battle, so I did the rest of it with Lancer girl and Aban. The enemy had a turn somewhere, but at the time there was only one soldier on the map, so no real damage was done to me.
The final rush went something like this. Lancer girl blew up one soldier with her shot, then Aban took out another, leaving the tank open for Lancer girl to strike. She took out 2/3 of its HP in one shot, and to prevent the tank from killing someone on the enemies next turn I had her move again and finish the tank off. BOOM! Score one for tank explosions. With that taken care of, the rest of the mission was a snap. Poor Zeri just stood at the start point of the second map while Aban shot the remaining two guards and captured the final enemy base of the map. Scouts still rule.
I was congratulated for completing the demo (by the game and by the helper), then given my cool art bag as a reward for playing and lead away (by the time I was done with the demo, it was 5:00pm and the building was closing.
So, bottom line is the game plays a LOT like the first game. They even use the same sound effects! This is a good thing since the first game was fantastic. I was wondering how they were going to squish the game onto PSP, and now I know they did it well. If you liked the PS3 game, this is a must have. If you like strategy/RPG/tactical games with anime characters, this is a must have!
I was planning to import the game since I didn't think it would get a US release, but I was pleasantly surprised to see Valkyria Chronicles 2 on the reserve list at Gamestop when I got back! Go reserve it now! Head out!
There were a few disappointments in day one of the Tokyo Game Show (like learning I'd practically have to stay in line overnight in order to be able to play any of the Square-Enix games - which I did not do), but there were some shining moments too. The show ends at 5pm technically, but most of the booths start shutting down at 4, not letting anyone else in line to play. I saw a man getting out the "Do not enter" sign for the Valkyria Chronicles 2 line, but he saw me giving the game puppy-dog eyes and let this poor soul straggle in before shutting it of completely! Hooray! So I was literally the last person on day 1 to play Valkyria Chronicles 2.
And it was worth it!
I love the first Valkyria Chronicles on PS3, especially the art style, so I was a tad wary on how the PSP would be able to handle it. Luckily I was able to watch trailers and also people playing the demo on screens while waiting in line, so I found out quickly that VC will still look impressive in PSP. The art is crisper, taking away some of the watercolor effects from the PS3 version, but they still give it an old-style charm. The cutscenes are done in character portrait style rather than in-game graphics, but that works on a system like PSP.
When I made it farther up the line I was given an English (thank you Sega!) card explaining the controls. L/R change the camera angles, D-pad and nub move your character and your sights (I learned to use the nub for running and the d-pad to aim), Start ends your current action, Square changed weapons and also entered firing mode (you enter firing mode first, then change weapons if you press Square again), X cancelled actions, and Circle confirmed actions, performed terrain actions, and also fired your weapon if in firing mode. (For those who don't know, in Japan, X and Circle usually are the opposite of the US. Circle means "Yes" there, where X means "No". If you've ever played an old Metal Gear Solid game and cancelled out back to the start menu because you pressed X instead of Circle, you know what I mean!)
After a fairly long wait (I'd say an hour and a half), myself and two others were the last people left to play! Before we were sent out to the PSPs though, we first had to go through academy training! The booth had a small curtained off room with benches facing a TV. A woman dressed up as a student from the VC2 Academy stepped forward and spoke. Sadly, I'm not sure what she said, though it had something to do with "entering the Academy" and such. Then she had us watch a video explaining how to play the game.
If you have played Valkyria Chronicles of the PS3, you can skip this next section explaining how that game works. I was happy and impressed that they got the PSP version to play almost exactly the same.
For those who don't know, this is basically how the game works. There are six different unit types to make a unit out of: Scout, Sniper, Medic/Engineer, Lancer, Machine-Gunnist, and Tank (literally, a tank). Different missions will have different numbers of people available in your unit. Once your people are all set up (the demo had everything set up at the start), there are two modes to your turn. Command mode is set up like a tactical map. Your units are on the screen, the enemy units you've spotted are on the screen, goals and bases are also on screen. You have a set number of command points each turn (regular units use 1 command point per turn where as tanks use 2). Once you choose a unit you want to use, the game then goes to you directly controlling that unit. You run to the position you want to take (or drive if you're a tank) and perform your actions (shooting, repair, taking over a base), all while being shot at by the enemy units (fear not, they can't move during your turn, but they can shoot if they're in range). Each mission has a goal (defeat someone, take over a territory, protect someone, get somewhere, etc). Once you reach your goal, the mission is over and you've won!
Ok. Really quick explanation is over! Now it's time for my demo experience.
There was a small story scene before the battle. I, sadly, had no idea what was going on. Each character was voiced though, which was nice. The three main characters (I'm assuming they are the main characters since they were plastered all over the booth) are a headstrong brash kid named Aban (Scout), the school scholar Zeri (Machine-Gunnist), and a ditzy healer girl named Cosette (Medic). There was a quick flash to a classroom scene, where I presume you would set up your unit. Since this was a demo the unit and everything was already set, so I just pressed Circle to move on to the battle. The whole set up was so reminiscent of the PS3 version that it felt no different to me. I easily chose my first unit (a Scout, which are probably the best units in the game since they can move long distances and take stuff out with guns and grenades) and ran ahead to check out the area. I crouched behind a sandbag once an enemy spotted me and fired at him. Success! One enemy down.
The layout for this mission had paths with sandbags, some hills, and gazebo-type buildings with multiple entry points. To be honest, I knew that kind of terrain is more appropriate for Scouts and maybe a Machine-Gunnist - oh, and a Lancer just in case there happens to be an enemy tank. But seeing as how this was a demo, and probably the only time I'd be able to play for months, I wanted to try out all the units. I wish I could have used the tank more, but it was too slow and used up too many command points to efficiently use. At least I was able to machine gun a guy half to death with it. ^_^ My Sniper girl was more useful. I had her hide in the grass, then zoomed in with her weapon (you press Triangle in firing mode) for a one shot kill. I like Snipers! Even the helper standing at my shoulder applauded at the shot, ^_^
From first glance I knew I was going to like Zeri, so even though Machine-Gunnists don't move very fast, I used a couple of turns on him to have him catch up to Aban. Ducking behind sandbags and shooting the few enemy soldiers eventually got me to a base. I killed the soldier guarding the flag and took the base as my own. This gave me new options in the mission. On my command screen there was a second map that I could now access (it's very possible I could have accessed it before, but I only discovered the second map when the helper standing over my shoulder helped me get to it), and I could summon new units to the base on the second map once I sent them to camp from the captured flag.
With a new map to explore, I moved Aban over and summoned a Lancer girl as well. This turned out to be a smart idea, as Aban ran up to discover a few soldiers and a tank in a nearby gazebo-building. I wanted Zeri to join Aban, but the only way to get him to the other map was to have him go back to camp through the flag I captured and then summon him the way I did Aban and the Lancer. Sadly, this left him too far behind to really catch up for battle, so I did the rest of it with Lancer girl and Aban. The enemy had a turn somewhere, but at the time there was only one soldier on the map, so no real damage was done to me.
The final rush went something like this. Lancer girl blew up one soldier with her shot, then Aban took out another, leaving the tank open for Lancer girl to strike. She took out 2/3 of its HP in one shot, and to prevent the tank from killing someone on the enemies next turn I had her move again and finish the tank off. BOOM! Score one for tank explosions. With that taken care of, the rest of the mission was a snap. Poor Zeri just stood at the start point of the second map while Aban shot the remaining two guards and captured the final enemy base of the map. Scouts still rule.
I was congratulated for completing the demo (by the game and by the helper), then given my cool art bag as a reward for playing and lead away (by the time I was done with the demo, it was 5:00pm and the building was closing.
So, bottom line is the game plays a LOT like the first game. They even use the same sound effects! This is a good thing since the first game was fantastic. I was wondering how they were going to squish the game onto PSP, and now I know they did it well. If you liked the PS3 game, this is a must have. If you like strategy/RPG/tactical games with anime characters, this is a must have!
I was planning to import the game since I didn't think it would get a US release, but I was pleasantly surprised to see Valkyria Chronicles 2 on the reserve list at Gamestop when I got back! Go reserve it now! Head out!