Mirror’s Edge, The World Ends With You, de Blob; add Sega WOW’s Valkyria Chronicles to the list of great 2008 games that you didn’t play. The game delights from the outset with its watercolor-esque visuals and character-driven narrative, hiding a versatile yet utterly accessible turn-based strategy system beneath its pretty face. Valkyria Chronicles is the game that keeps on giving, with the last session of my 30 hour playthrough taking me from the small through the not-so-small hours of Sunday morning. Until then, I hadn’t forgone sleep for a video game in quite some time – damn you Everybody’s Golf.
Like Uncharted 2 and LittleBigPlanet, Valkyria Chronicles is a PS3 exclusive that stands out by being almost inimitable. Unlike said exclusives, however, Valkyria Chronicles remains largely underappreciated. Then again, it was never going to do big business. It is a console-focused, PS3-only turn-based strategy title meshed with role-playing elements and quasi-real-time third-person shooting. It doesn’t exactly scream familiarity, does it? That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t feel bad about not playing it, though – because you should.
Thing is, for all of my glowing preamble, one thing about Valkyria Chronicles really got up my bonnet: its fictitious, alternative-reality version of World War II.
Let me explain: just before said small hours playthrough, I’d watched Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, one of 2007’s great films that you didn’t watch. Actually, you’re probably far more cultured than me. Who am I to judge when I’ve only just gotten to Persepolis and Valkyria Chronicles?
Anyway. Persepolis is the animated adaptation of Satrapi’s graphic novels of the same name. Similar to Valkyria, Persepolis’ visual style--black-and-white with bold, blacked out figures--is fantastic. But beneath the compellingly unusual visuals is a dark, heartfelt recollection of Satrapi’s extraordinary life, a life that saw an Iranian girl grow up through war, revolution and total oppression, a young lady try to hold on to her identity in the ostracizing West, and a woman uphold her principles in the malevolence of her domineering, sexist homeland.
TGR Stuff
171 days ago
I have an online friend who is part Iraqi, part German, but now lives in the U.S. In a way she reminds me of this game, in terms of identity crisis and/or denial. (Not that a person is defined by their heritage.) Anyway, this was a fascinating look at the deeper issues of this game. Though you’re right, it still looks like a blast to play. (And really, how easy is it to have fun AND contemplate sobering issues at the same time? I haven’t quite figured that out myself.)