Finally able to pull myself away to write up a hopefully thorough review of this game. I'll try to answer any questions you may have pertaining to it as well.
First off, if you're looking for a true FPS or 3PS, stay far far away. It was never designed to be one, and while it looks like one, the similarity is only skin deep.
Secondly, for those that read my hands-on impression from a week+ back from the Akihabara event and got the impression that the game itself was rather lukewarm, I'm going to start out by saying that I have been completely blown away by this production. The original impression can be found here:
http://www.ps3forums.com/showthread....light=Valkyria
General
If there were one word to describe this game, it would probably be "warm", and not in a bad sense at all. The storyline and graphics deviate from typical realism sought by so many games nowadays which is a refreshing infusion into the current lineup of games. The CANVAS system/engine as most of you already know, allow for a very watercolor-esque non-photorealistic rendering and is just gorgeous. Youtube videos and what not just don't do the game justice. Admittedly, the edges are a little rought (ie. not enough anti-aliasing) but with the realtime hatching of the shadows and overall warmth of the graphics, personally, I like it much much more than the smoothness/flatness presented thus far by games like Tales of Vesperia which some people have tried to compare it to, though it's really like comparing apples to oranges.
Audio
The first thing that caught my attention when the game was announced was the music and this did not disappoint at all. The composer is Hitoshi Sakimoto who also did the music for FFXII.
The music is VERY well matched for the various scenarios that present itself as well as the actual battles. A great balance of lightness, elegance, seriousness, etc. The instrumental work is beautifully done to the point I'm considering grabbing the soundtrack when it's released next month. It falls just very slightly short of what I feel is the epitome of game music composition from Venus&Braves for PS2. Admittedly, I'm still only part-way through the game, so this may change. The music for the actual battles is matched very well, and I often find myself taking a short breather just to listen to it in-between troop movements.
The OP song from JUJU (no one in Japan seems to have heard about her lol) was also used in the game commercials in Japan, and I originally didn't like it too much. However, it's grown on me, and coupled with the OP movie, it goes very well with it. The instrumental work of the rest of the game eclipses it, though...while some may actually buy the MaxiCD single for this, I'll probably skip on it and just stick with a download or something.
The voice acting thus far is amazing. The performance of Welkin's VA feels a little weak with some sporadic moments of talent, but the rest of the main character VA's are extremely well done. For those that watch anime, of particular note imho is Rosie's VA performance by Toyoguchi Megumi who voices Chiba Kirino in Bamboo Blade. While both characters bear some VERY minor voice resemblance, I wouldn't have been able to tell had I not known beforehand that they were one and the same...very talented VA who I would rank higher than Kuwajima Houko who voices Isara (and Miyazaki Miyako in Bamboo Blade). Eleanor Barlot's voice done by the same VA as the Major/Motoko from GITS and Radi Yeager's voice done by the Same VA as Batou from GITS is also a perfect match for their respective characters. Maximillian's VA is done by Fukuyama Jun...Lelouch from Code Geass...you could probably substitute Max with Lelouch and still have the same character...the resemblance of performance is somewhat uncanny. It's very clear as the new characters join in, that Sega paid a lot of attention and detail to the chosen VA's...personally, I couldn't be happier with the cast they chose. I kinda pity the US release if they redo the VA's and don't include a Japanese audio track.
The SFX are mixed. The rumble of the tank while standing by it, the sound of the river, and general ambience is very nicely done. However, the SFX for the gunshots/explosions/etc are a little weak....I suppose which in and of itself isn't a bad thing if you live with others and/or play in the wee hours of the morning and/or have thin walls between your neighbors (i fit into the last 2 ).
Graphics
Just gorgeous...as stated earlier, it's a little rough around the edges, but it's a very appealing design. The goal of the production was to create a sense of warmth, and I don't think Sega could have done any better job with the design concept. Using sprites and what not for explosions are a little bit of a downer, as well as the jaggies, but for me, it's a small set of details that can be forgiven.
The colours are rich and vibrant and the actual texturing of the entire scene makes it look like it's painted on a canvas...not just on a flat sheet of paper...some might not like that crinkled/textured look, but i think it's a nice touch.
In particular, the arial view of the city of Randgriz is just amazing.
I really don't know what else to say here...a picture is worth a thousand words so I suggest searching and looking for high definition screenshots.
Gameplay
Once you start to get the hang of the game, which has a learning curve of about...maybe 30min...it is a very heavy S-RPG. As stated initially, this isn't your fast paced action FPS/3PS game. It's essentially a semi-real time and semi-turn based RPG.
You initially start on the command map which shows you your troop positions and visible enemy troop positions. On this map, you also have a bar at the top with a line of what appear to look like medals. The number of medals you have = the number of command points (CP) you have. Troops require 1CP per use (both movement and attacks can be done during a use) and tanks use 2CP per use. You may use the same character over and over during your turn (a turn consists of using all your CP or turning over command to the enemy) however there are caveats associated with this which I'll go more into detail shortly. On the command map, you can select which troops to move. If you opt not to use all your CP, they are carried over to your next turn.
Once you use CP to choose a troop, there's an orange bar at the bottom which corresponds to your action point/action bar (AP). This bar goes down with movement and once it's empty, you can no longer move. After ending your current troop movement, you go back to the command map, at which time you can reselect the same troop, however, the AP gauge will have recovered only partially. Each subsequent selection lowers the amount of recovery during the current turn thus gradually limiting the motion of that particular troop.
The movement of your characters is in the typical 3PS style, and replaces the standard "move your character to a square or hexagonal space on the map".
vielleicht muss man irgendwelche punkte oder so überlassen das sie zurückfeuern?
War damals ziemlich geil. Und bis heute auch einzigartig. Mal sehen wie sich VC schlagen wird.
peinlich peinlich...
