from · me · to · you

So Valkyria Chronicles is one of the better things that happened to me for the year 2008.

The game is a strategy-RPG-pseudo shooter and that is part of its charm. Your militia has access to five different character "job"-types: scout (balanced yet highly reliable), stormtrooper (carries the automatic), lancer (fights tanks), engineers (heals everyone), and sniper (no explanation necessary). Oh and you have tanks too.

My biggest gripe with the classes are that they weren't balanced well. Every character has a limit to how much they can move from a Point A to a Point B in one turn. You have a gauge, when you walk, that gauge depletes. When that gauge is empty you're stuck where you are. Snipers have the smallest gauge, followed by STs and Lancers, then Engineers, and finally Scouts.

It's incredibly annoying because MOVING your camp becomes a huge hassle. Having a ST or a Lancer cover a Scout's ground in a single turn isn't possible. If I move my Scout from point A to point B utilizing all my walking gauge, it will take the Lancer/ST three turns to get there. What were they thinking?

I UNDERSTAND that you can't just give the most powerful classes the greatest mobility. BUT, the current system is flawed because the Scouts can handle pretty well themselves. Therefore, at that point, you're asking yourself "Why do I have STs to begin with?" (Lancers can more easily be justified, but they are still a pain in the backside to mobilize).

There's a time and place for everyone in this game but the scouts shine through the most. It's frustrating because I've also been about having a time and place for EVERY character but it just isn't ideal in VC.

Still, I love it.