Valkyria Chronicles II

Did You Know?

• The game received a score of 35 out of 40 and a Platinum Award from Famitsu.
• It was the second best-selling video game in Japan during its release week, selling 94,000 copies.
• During the 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, Valkyria Chronicles II was nominated for Portable Game of the Year.

Plot

The story occurs in 1937 E.C., two years after Squad 7 defeated Maximillian and ended the war between Gallia and the Imperial Alliance. Among them is 17-year-old Avan Hardins, who enrolls at Lanseal Military Academy after his brother Leon was reported dead on a special mission. Avan and his Class G classmates face the rebels, who deploy artificial Valkyrur like Dirk. The rebels attack Lanseal and steal research data from its abandoned campus, during which Dirk's helmet is knocked off, revealing him to be a corrupted Leon. Avan confronts headmaster Laurence Kluivert, who used Lanseal as a front for unethical experiments on students to create artificial Valkyrur. Kluivert commits suicide after the data theft. The rebels seize Randgriz and imprison Cordelia; Gilbert declares himself Archduke, but Baldren murders him and takes control.

Development

In July 2009, Famitsu announced a Valkyria Chronicles game for the PlayStation Portable, and the official website launched on July 17, 2009. Chief producer Shuntaro Tanaka stated the game would retain the BLiTZ system with wireless ad hoc support, and that development for the PSP aimed to reach a broader audience. The game was created with a Japanese audience in mind due to the PSP's popularity in Japan, resulting in a school setting and more fantastical characters.

Staff from the original game were involved, including Tanaka, character designer Raita Honjo, composer Hitoshi Sakimoto, and director Take Ozawa, who had been the main planner on Valkyria Chronicles. Shinji Motoyama served as producer, having worked on Sega's Bleach games, Nightshade, and Blood Will Tell. Anime cutscenes were co-produced by A-1 Pictures. At the 2009 Tokyo Game Show, Sega revealed that J-Pop duo Chemistry would perform the opening theme 'Our Story', released on their album 'Regeneration' on February 24, 2010.

Release

Pre-order bonuses included a bonus footage reel titled 'Valkyria Chronicles 1936: Gallian Front Memoirs', narrated by Cordelia gi Randgriz, summarizing the first game and events between the two titles. A 'Gallian Journal 1936' presented background information as a news magazine, and a limited-edition soundtrack was included. Pre-ordering also provided a code to unlock Selvaria Bles as a playable character. Additional hidden characters included Welkin, Alicia, and Ramal Valt from the anime, available as a DVD bonus from Volume 6 in Japan, and Mintz and Julius from the Valkyria Chronicles: Wish Your Smile manga, unlocked via a special password.

Isara, Maximillian, Selvaria, and Faldio from the first game were also hidden characters. Linking the game with Phantasy Star Portable 2 save data or using a password unlocked Emilia Percival, along with stickers and missions. Unlike its predecessor, the US and EU releases removed the ability to play with Japanese voice-overs. A playable demo was released on the Japanese PlayStation Store on November 2, 2009, and on the US PlayStation Store on August 10, 2010.