Valkyria Chronicles 4
A tactical RPG returning to the series' original style.
Valkyria Chronicles 4 is a tactical role-playing game from Sega, developed with help from Media.Vision. It belongs to the Valkyria Chronicles series. The game first came out in Japan for the PlayStation 4 in March 2018, then worldwide for the Nintendo Switch, Windows, and Xbox One in September of that same year. Later ports arrived on Stadia in December 2020 and on Amazon Luna in July 2021.
The gameplay follows the style of the series' first three titles. A new soldier class, the Grenadier, fires mortar rounds at enemies. If allied soldiers provide battlefield information, these mortars can hit targets without the shooter being seen. When a soldier is near death, a system called "Brave" may activate with a fixed chance. Using Brave lets the player restore one Command Point and boost a nearby ally's ability, counter an enemy attack if the soldier fell during the enemy's turn, or restore Action Points and let the unit move and attack once in an invincible state if downed on the player's turn.
The story follows Claude Wallace and his childhood friends Kai Shulen and Raz as they join the Federation Army to fight the Empire in the Second Europan War. They aim to protect their home country of Gallia and avenge an Imperial attack on their hometown of Hafen. During training, Kai disappears mysteriously, and his sister Leena takes his place under the name "Kai." Claude, Raz, and Leena pass training and join the elite Ranger Corps, with Claude commanding Squad E.
Squad E learns the Empire holds the advantage, having captured much Federation territory and invaded Gallia. Federation leaders commit all resources to Operation Northern Cross, a massive offensive aimed at the Imperial capital of Schwartzgrad. The operation starts well, and Squad E pushes through Imperial territory. They are joined by another childhood friend, Riley Miller, who initially distrusts Claude for fleeing a fire that killed her family but later accepts his leadership. Squad E breaks the Siegval Line, Schwartzgrad's final defense, battling the elite Imperial tank unit Ausbruch led by Klaus Walz, who sees Claude as a worthy rival. However, winter arrives early, halting the unprepared Federation forces. Crippled by snow and cold, with stretched supply lines, the Federation is routed by a massive Imperial counterattack.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Valkyria Chronicles 4
- Developer
- Sega · Media.VisionPorted to Windows by Hardlight
- Publisher
- Sega
- Director
- Kohei Yamashita · Masaya Kobayashi
- Producer
- Kei Mikami
- Artist
- Yukihiko Ito
- Composer
- Hitoshi Sakimoto
- Series
- Valkyria Chronicles
- Platforms
- PlayStation 4 · Nintendo Switch · Windows · Xbox One · Stadia · Amazon Luna
- Genre
- Tactical role-playing
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game is set during the Second Europan War, following Claude Wallace and his childhood friends Kai Shulen and Raz as they join the Federation Army to protect Gallia and avenge an attack on their hometown. During training, Kai disappears, and his sister Leena takes his place. Claude, Raz, and Leena join the elite Ranger Corps, with Claude commanding Squad E. The Federation launches Operation Northern Cross, a massive offensive toward the Imperial capital Schwartzgrad. Squad E pushes through Imperial territory, joined by Riley Miller, and breaks the Siegval Line. However, an early winter halts the unprepared Federation forces, and a counterattack forces Squad E to flee to the coast, where they are rescued by advanced Federation snow cruisers.
Aboard the cruiser Centurion, Claude is assigned to protect the fleet as it carries out Operation Cygnus, a contingency plan to attack Schwartzgrad from the sea. The Imperial unit X-0, led by Lord Heinrich Belgar, tasks Klaus Walz with intercepting the fleet. Forseti, revealed to be the real Kai, has planted his sister Leena as a spy. The crew discovers a young amnesiac Valkyria named Angie in the engine room. It is revealed that the cruisers' reactors use Valkyria as power sources and double as A2 bombs capable of destroying entire cities. Claude reluctantly proceeds with the mission, but a ceasefire ends the war before the bomb is detonated. Belgar attacks regardless and is defeated. The war ends with no clear victor, and the survivors return to Hafen.
Reader's Guide
Valkyria Chronicles 4 is notable for returning to the gameplay style of the original Valkyria Chronicles, while incorporating developments from later series entries. It introduces the Grenadier soldier class, which can fire mortar rounds and, with allied support, fire without being seen. The Brave system activates when a soldier is near death, offering options such as restoring Command Points, countering enemy attacks, or granting invincible movement. The game was developed with the goal of building a worldwide audience, using a grounded military setting inspired by World War II records, in contrast to the school setting of Valkyria Chronicles II. A remastered version of the original game was developed first to familiarize players with the series on modern platforms. The game received generally favorable reviews according to Metacritic. Its soundtrack was composed by series veteran Hitoshi Sakimoto, with the main theme by Shilo and performed by Mai Kuraki. Limited edition PlayStation 4 consoles were released in Japan to promote the game.
Did You Know?
- The development team studied records of World War II troops as reference material for the game.
- A remastered version of the original Valkyria Chronicles was developed first to allow players to experience the main series' gameplay on a modern platform.
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