Valkyria Chronicles 4

Plot

Claude Wallace and his childhood friends Kai Shulen and Raz join the Federation Army to fight the Empire in the Second Europan War, protecting Gallia and avenging an attack on their hometown Hafen. During training, Kai disappears, and his sister Leena takes his place as "Kai". The trio passes training and joins 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 childhood friend Riley Miller, who initially distrusts Claude but later accepts his leadership. They break the Siegval Line and battle the elite Imperial tank unit Ausbruch led by Klaus Walz. Winter arrives early, halting the unprepared Federation forces, and a massive Imperial counterattack routs them. Squad E escapes to the coast, rescued by advanced Federation snow cruisers.

Development

Development began around the end of 2015 after director Kohei Yamashita finished planning. The team studied World War II troop records as reference. They first developed Valkyria Chronicles Remastered for PlayStation 4 to introduce modern players to the series. The soundtrack was composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto, with the main theme "Light Up My Life" by Shilo, written and performed by Mai Kuraki. A Japanese anniversary DLC pack included a 25-track soundtrack CD. Sony released limited edition PlayStation 4 consoles for the Japanese launch.

Reception

Valkyria Chronicles 4 received "generally favorable reviews" on Metacritic. In Japan, the PS4 version sold 76,778 physical copies in its first three weeks, and the Switch version sold 5,596 physical copies in its first week. By June 2020, Sega reported over one million copies sold worldwide. The game was nominated for Best Strategy Game at The Game Awards 2018 and for Strategy Title of the Year at the Australian Games Awards, and won Game, Franchise Role Playing at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards.