For all the attention Final Fantasy gets for being a PS3-exclusive series, Sega today added one more PS3-exclusive RPG to the mix: Valkyria Chronicles. The big news, though: Valkyria Chronicles is set to ship for the PS3 this fall — in North America.
Valkyria Chronicles provides a new take on the role-playing genre, as it combines the strategic elements of tactical role-playing games with real-time action sequences. A new type of tactical battle concept has also been designed for Valkyria Chronicles. Known as BLiTZ, this battle concept gives players freedom to strategically move around the environment and attack enemies using real-time controls, something never before seen in the tactical role-playing game genre.
Graphically, Valkyria Chronicles is built upon Sega’s new CANVAS engine. Using this engine, Valkyria Chronicles has 3D graphics that resemble “a watercolor painting in motion.” Sound bizarre? Yep, but it’s the best explanation. Check out our Valkyria Chronicles screenshot gallery to see for yourself.
Good RPGs also have a good plot, and Sega appears to be on the right track with this one. Valkyria Chronicles is set in a fictitious continent reminiscent of 1930s Europe that’s divided in two and ruled by the Empire and the Federation. The Empire has set its sights on invading a small neutral country called Gallia, which is situated in the middle of the two great empires.
The game follows a hero named Welkin and his fellow soldiers of the Federation’s 7th Platoon fighting against the Empire and its goal of unifying the continent under Empire power. The Federation discovers that the Empire possesses a secret weapon, known as the Valkyria, an ancient race with special powers thought to exist only in legends. With this new discovery, the fate of the Federation’s ability to win the war and a hope for a better future hangs in the balance.
Sounds heroic to us.