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Wow, Sega. Wow. When I first saw trailers for this new RPG, I fell in love with its artistic style and direction right away. However, once I found out that it was developed by Sega, I instantly began to doubt the quality of the gameplay. "Sega hasn't made a good game in years, and it's not like they have a reputation for quality RPGs," I reasoned to myself. "No way do they get this right."

I couldn't have been more mistaken.

I was totally hooked on this game by the 3rd chapter. That's only about 5 hours in! The sheer amount of story and character content is staggering: an RPG-lover's dream come true. But they don't just throw cutscene after cutscene at you. The game implements a system wherein you can actually purchase extra cutscenes and character content (with in-game cash, not real dollars. This isn't an Epic Games title!) if you're interested. If not, pocket the money and make sure your squad is armed to the teeth with the latest weaponry. Either way, Skirmish mode is available any time you need to acquire more experience or money. And each new skirmish has multiple difficulty settings (the harder ones resulting in more cash and experience) thus adding to the insane replayability.

This brings me to your squad. Not since Final Fantasy Tactics has the SRPG player's squad of soldiers had so much personality. And objectively speaking, Valkyria Chronicles even beats out Tactics in this small regard. Each squad member is a unique character, with quirks and personality traits THAT ACTUALLY AFFECT HOW THEY PERFORM IN BATTLE. Fine-tuning your squad into an elite group of 20 soldiers that work well with each other is a never-ending process throughout the game, as more new recruits are drafted at the beginning of every chapter. Once you've begun really getting the hang of battles, you'll find yourself noticing weak points in your squad and weeding out soldiers that are not carrying their weight.

I could gush about this game for pages. The amount of content in the game is staggering, and I haven't even touched on the phenomenal battle system that (like all GOOD SRPGs) forces the player to strategize and think critically about every battle. Level-grinding will only get you so far in this title. Hands down, a truly stellar showing from Sega. Let's see more!

I have the game. : D

I didn't buy it my friend never bothered to ask for it again.

Yes.

It's like Advance Wars but more exciting.

My only gripe is that battles sometimes can drag on.

I know in my local Gamestop they do.

And some people on youtube like Armake21.

The demo didn't impress me that much either. And now look at me.

Follow that link and read some of the comments. EVERYONE that has the game, swears by it. Everyone who just played the demo is like "What's the big deal, the demo sucked?"

Believe me when I tell you that the full game is worth owning. Easily.

Full game worth owning or not, game wise, nothing but art warrants a purchase from me for that game.

I'm not say it's bad at all, but it's just something I wouldn't buy outright.

It certainly feels that way. My roommate is a huge Fire Emblem fan (thanks to me! mrgreen ) and we both noticed major similarities right away. My roommate is actually currently referring to Valkyria Chronicles as "the greatest thing ever."

@ The Artist Formerly Known As Daxelman: EVERYTHING warrants you buying this game outright. Pretend there is no demo. The demo is nothing. The game is everything. Anyone who claims to have an interest in RPGs but passes over this game has no credibility as a gamer.

WAH! RPGs are my passion, but I have no PS3. I miss out on so much...