I’ve put about 3-4 hours into Valkyria Chronicles so far. I know, I’ve been slouching! But I wanted to give some of my first impressions anyway. :)

So far I have loved every second of it. It’s definitely a unique game, and very hard to put down. One of the things I love the most is the chapter system. And this may sound contradictory, but it makes it easy to stop playing, even though you don’t want to. Easy because there’s good spots to stop, breaks from the story and action because you have to select the next chapter from the “book mode” first. Hard to stop because it’s just so fun.

Did that make sense? I hope so. lol If you’ve seen screenshots then you already know this, but the game looks marvelous. The cel-shaded art style is beautiful, and perfect for this game because it is being told from a book. It gives it that “illustrated” feel that fits so perfectly.

As for combat, I am loving it. It’s turn-based and strategy heavy. The strategy is getting more important as I go along, so I suspect (and hope for) some very intense strategy gameplay soon. You have to think about what you’re doing, especially since you’re managing a whole squadron of characters. And man are there a ton of characters to choose from! You assign who is in your squad, and can change them from town whenever. It’s a lot of fun.

Lastly, I’m really getting sucked into the story. That’s the mark of a good story, and of course story is arguably the most important part of an RPG. A story can be ruined at any time, though, and especially with a bad ending. So once I finish I’ll tell you if it holds up! But for now: I give everything an easy A. :)

And with that said, it’s time to play some more Valkyria Chronicles!