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Valkyria Chronicles 4 PSN Demo Out Now, 17-Minutes of Gameplay
- Thread starter BRSxIgnition
- Start date
Playing through it right now. I'd say the character, building and vehicle models are all a little bit more detailed than VC1. The characters look lovely! Yeah the art style is the same but that's exactly what we wanted.
Can't believe I'm actually playing it! Story's easy enough to follow if you got a bit of J-knowledge, but the old google translate phone app is handy for all the words I don't understand.
The temptation to just straight up buy an import copy on release is high. HURRY UP WITH THE WESTERN DATE PPPLLEEEAAASE!
Can't believe I'm actually playing it! Story's easy enough to follow if you got a bit of J-knowledge, but the old google translate phone app is handy for all the words I don't understand.
The temptation to just straight up buy an import copy on release is high. HURRY UP WITH THE WESTERN DATE PPPLLEEEAAASE!
1. Just like VC1 remastered, so... I think it's 60fps?
2. Like VC1 remastered, but with more striking use of colour (and slightly more detail to everything).
3. Tanks are 1 command point now, and it ramps up way more quickly. The second map is huge (after you 'finish' it, it keeps going and gives you access to the second half of the map), and introduces almost every mechanic from VC1 already, outside of smoke.
4. It will run fairly well at 30fps. At worst, they'll remove the CANVAS filter like they did with the Revolution vita version.
I'm playing on a Pro, but doubt improvements for that are implemented yet. Here are some twitter screenshots:
Going to have to take a break after finishing the second mission now. This is way meatier than I was expecting, and I need to get some work done >.<
This demo's way longer than I thought it'd be. Barely understand anything, but I've been fumbling through it.
Gave it a shot. It looks and sounds a great deal like Valkyria Chronicles. Seems promising. It's nice to hear Sakimoto's music with notably higher production values than the rest of the games he scored.
(Every time I play a Japanese game, I'm driven crazy by how they reverse the X and O buttons.)
(Every time I play a Japanese game, I'm driven crazy by how they reverse the X and O buttons.)
Some problems:
1. Outside the handful of main cast (the captains), all the squad members have no presence in the story. I much prefer the more fleshed out characters in VC2 and 3.
2. The game is really easy so far. Maybe difficulty will ramp up later (I do think the gameplay mechanics open up quickly so maybe the real difficulty will come in after the two tutorial missions).
3. Not sure if I like the assist shooting mechanics borrowed from FE. It certainly adds a new dynamic to the strategy, but it may open up ways to break the game, and the game is already easy as is.
4. The new added grenadier is very strong and can take out enemy in cover from far away. Those who are not in cover are obliterated by snipers. Tanks are taken out by our tank. Occasionally you need rocket launcher to take out a fort, and medic to replenish ammo. And finally you send out recon to take the base with all enemy along the way already killed. Assault is plain useless.
1. Outside the handful of main cast (the captains), all the squad members have no presence in the story. I much prefer the more fleshed out characters in VC2 and 3.
2. The game is really easy so far. Maybe difficulty will ramp up later (I do think the gameplay mechanics open up quickly so maybe the real difficulty will come in after the two tutorial missions).
3. Not sure if I like the assist shooting mechanics borrowed from FE. It certainly adds a new dynamic to the strategy, but it may open up ways to break the game, and the game is already easy as is.
4. The new added grenadier is very strong and can take out enemy in cover from far away. Those who are not in cover are obliterated by snipers. Tanks are taken out by our tank. Occasionally you need rocket launcher to take out a fort, and medic to replenish ammo. And finally you send out recon to take the base with all enemy along the way already killed. Assault is plain useless.
That's because O is pretty much "confirm" and "OK" in Japanese lexicon.
Loved the demo, this is going on my wishlist. The Japanese version pre-orders have been doing quite well.
I never played the first one. Been meaning to.... Backlog is deep
1. Just like VC1 remastered, so... I think it's 60fps?
2. Like VC1 remastered, but with more striking use of colour (and slightly more detail to everything).
3. Tanks are 1 command point now, and it ramps up way more quickly. The second map is huge (after you 'finish' it, it keeps going and gives you access to the second half of the map), and introduces almost every mechanic from VC1 already, outside of smoke.
4. It will run fairly well at 30fps. At worst, they'll remove the CANVAS filter like they did with the Revolution vita version.
I'm playing on a Pro, but doubt improvements for that are implemented yet. Here are some twitter screenshots:
Going to have to take a break after finishing the second mission now. This is way meatier than I was expecting, and I need to get some work done >.<
Thanks, looks really good BTW. Colours make a great difference.
This looks like a game where HDR support could make a big difference, but I doubt they'll do it.
Finished the story missions in the demo. S-ranked the first two missions easily, but on the third one it took me a while to figure out what I was supposed to do with the panels, thanks to the language barrier.
I liked it. The game feels a lot like the first one, which is not a bad thing. I like that there were some more varied mission objectives, hopefully there's more of that in the full game.
Haven't tried the skirmishes yet, will try them later. The demo had a lot of content, and I need a break, haha.
I liked it. The game feels a lot like the first one, which is not a bad thing. I like that there were some more varied mission objectives, hopefully there's more of that in the full game.
Haven't tried the skirmishes yet, will try them later. The demo had a lot of content, and I need a break, haha.
OP
OP
To respond to these:
- We already know there are squad member sub-stories for the 50 soldiers you can get from the barracks, just like in VC2 & VC3.
- It's a trial, I wouldn't expect hard missions out of the gate.
- These assist shooting mechanics were in the original title. (You're speaking about having two people placed together, aiming, and having them fire together instead of alone, yes?) This wasn't taken from Fire Emblem.
- Assault is good for having as an overwatch/interception unit, one to make sure enemies don't walk past those with simpler interception fire.
Now that you mentioned it, yeah. I completely forgot it was thing in the original. It's been too long. I'm not sure if the rocket launcher did that too in the original though. Also missed the news about sub-stories, that would be very cool. I still want them to have more presence in the main story cut-scenes though. I should add that all the problems aside, I love what I played and it still feels surreal that I'm actually playing a proper VC.
But a lot of good stuff from VC3 are missing. VC3's tank upgrade system was very cool and made you think about what upgrade you should take according to the mission. I also prefer the class progression in VC3. I like the menu structure in VC3 too. In VC3 all missions are on one main map so you can see the whole campaign you go through. The book structure is too segmented, with less sense of progression.
I blame Azure Revolution. All the "innovations" in that game turned out to be shit and Sega is visibly scared. AR was too different, but now VC4 is too similar to VC1. Sega seems to go to the opposite extreme to the point that VC4 feels like VC1.5. I can accept it, but it's not the ultimate VC experience I imagined. I was hoping for VC3 system + VC1 big map.
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Just beat the story up until the cliffhanger in the demo (Trails to Valkyria lel) and I have a lot to say but it's nighttime here and I have to hit the sack. May not be able to post impressions for a bit because of my schedule.
Beating the story up until the end of the demo unlocks the "Extra Mission". Didn't look into it too hard and saving it for tomorrow but I think this is going to be a challenge mission that ramps up the difficulty a little bit. This mission is exclusive to the demo version of the game.
Well I keep calling it a demo, but it's really the full game, just with only the prologue and first two chapters available. If you beat the demo you unlock an accessory for use in the main game. In other words they really would like it if you played the demo lol.
Beating the story up until the end of the demo unlocks the "Extra Mission". Didn't look into it too hard and saving it for tomorrow but I think this is going to be a challenge mission that ramps up the difficulty a little bit. This mission is exclusive to the demo version of the game.
Well I keep calling it a demo, but it's really the full game, just with only the prologue and first two chapters available. If you beat the demo you unlock an accessory for use in the main game. In other words they really would like it if you played the demo lol.
At the same time if this one does well, they might actually make another one after that'll have more evolutions so that's good, and they can't fuck up too much by making it super similar to the first one. Better this than whatever they've been doing with Sonic for the past decade or two.
Lack of difficulty sounds disapointing though but at the same time, it is the demo/first missions, so also kinda makes sense it wouldn't be too challenging just yet.
Sounds like the advertising works.
We know next to nothing and people are already going nuts about vague and completely useless answers.
OP
OP
I only played the first mission tonight but I recorded and uploaded both the opening movie and the mission itself:
What's the scoring like to Ace missions? Is it still about the minimum number of turns?
Damn I was hoping they'd address that. I don't mind trying to get to the base with min turns but I feel it takes away from the thrill of engaging in combat. All that is in my mind is that I need to advance and get to that base lol. Would be nice if you got rewarded for taking out enemies too. I know in VC1 you would sometimes get special weapons if you killed special soldiers. But sometimes that would prevent you from getting the S rank.
Oh well. Still buying it. Just don't know if it'll be for PS4 or Switch yet.
I've only played the first game. Is this connected to the 2nd and 3rd games? Also, are those two games proper sequels to the original even?
I bought the remaster and never even played it. (Own and beat the original).
Wanna support this but it gonna need wait.
Wanna support this but it gonna need wait.
Here's the difference between assault and sniper: They both can't move very far, but sniper has a much longer engage distance. Using sniper you can take out enemy from a distance without interception fire. With assault you have to move into their faces. Assault is better at defending, but with S ranking in mind, you usually don't need to defend anything, just move forward as quick as possible.
Just downloaded the demo and it runs at a locked 30 frames on PS4 Pro. Doesn't appear to have a resolution bump or anything either.
Did no one ask if scouts are still broken? If completion percentage can still give you a high rating vs rushing to capture a base?
How difficult is it to play the JPN demo if you don't understand Japanese? I really want to try this, but there doesn't seem to be a US demo in sight.
OP
OP
There are videos out there on how to make a Japanese Playstation Account, once you do that, it's on the first page.
Sorry, wasn't clear. I have no issue getting the demo, it's actually understanding the demo itself. How important is it that I know Japanese to play it? Will my VC1 knowledge be enough?
It's very similiar to VC1, so you don't need to know any Japanese to beat it.
I completed the demo 100% I guess (S Ranked the 3 story missions, 2 skirmishes and the Extra Mission on Normal) so here's some random thoughts.
- It really is just VC1 again along with some improvements and I wouldn't have it any other way.
- If you played VC1 a fair bit, navigating menus is a breeze. All the familliar VC1 options are there along with a forfeit option that lets you restart the level either from turn 1 or from the unit select map that's quicker than reloading saves.
- You can replay story missions in the demo which was a dumb restriction in the first game and is a much welcomed change here.
- The touchpad button is used as a quick "end your turn" button so you can mash that when coming out of aiming/shooting to not take interception fire.
- Until balance felt largely the same. Biggest change seems to be snipers are able to actually cover a fair amount of ground this time which is an especially important change for the third and extra mission.
- AI is still VC1 AI where you expect to get fucked but then you don't until the AI has random brief moments of clarity like the one (and only) time a scout bothered to take one of the random bases I captured and then abandoned.
- Mission variety looking good. The third mission especially is rather unique, hope that extends throughtout the game.
- Spending a CP to have any unit retreat regardless of where they are is a good, strong option especially when you overextend a low health scout to capture a base/kill an enemy.
- S Ranking is pretty leinent; I S ranked the second, third and extra battle using 4 turns and I felt I could have optimized a lot. Especially considering I was not using orders because of the language barrier.
- Grenadier enemy phase fire is strong. You really gotta be mindful where that shit is coming down or snipe them before they get started.
- Like VC2 and 3, characters go into a tired animation that makes them double over when you max out their movement. I've found this actually lets you avoid the returning gunfire should you shoot someone and don't kill them, which is rather funny.
- When leveling up unit classes, it tells you if you're unlocking a new order/a new battle potential which is a solid QoL change.
- They don't wait until halfway into the game to give out medals this time which is nice.
- The short blond haired girl scout has Nancy Dufour's "Klutz" potential from the first game and the girl sniper has a new, horrible potential where she can't move around after being selected (you can still shoot, however).
It's pretty much another round of VC 1 which is great. That includes scout-rushing S-Ranks unfortunately. Mission variety seems to be great though. The third mission was especially awesome, searching for real tanks among decoys in the first part, and then the tower sniping in the second part.
Scout rushing is still a thing? Jesus. Well there goes any strategy.
Ranks are still based on speed but all the demo missions feature different objectives that are not based on capture. So saying scout rushing is in is misleading. Yes, speed matters, but the difference lies in tactics and efficiency.
For instance after capturing one base in the first mission the objective changes to passing through a lane to reach a camouflaged tank that's guarded by machine gunners and shocktroopers. You have to force a way open (and kill the ace) using tactics; you can't just run a scout and invincibly dance to the finish line <- that's what scout rushing is.
Scout Rushing in VC1 was:
-Enemies not dealing enough damage to you <- not the case in VC4 anymore
-Certain Scouts having potentials that heavily reduced intercept damage <- not the case in VC4 anymore
-Certain Orders that reduced damage so much that it was ridiculous and could stack with potentials <- not the case in VC4 anymore
-Too many missions based on pure base capture <- not the case in VC4 anymore (making an assumption but honestly, if the first three missions are any indication...)
For instance after capturing one base in the first mission the objective changes to passing through a lane to reach a camouflaged tank that's guarded by machine gunners and shocktroopers. You have to force a way open (and kill the ace) using tactics; you can't just run a scout and invincibly dance to the finish line <- that's what scout rushing is.
Scout Rushing in VC1 was:
-Enemies not dealing enough damage to you <- not the case in VC4 anymore
-Certain Scouts having potentials that heavily reduced intercept damage <- not the case in VC4 anymore
-Certain Orders that reduced damage so much that it was ridiculous and could stack with potentials <- not the case in VC4 anymore
-Too many missions based on pure base capture <- not the case in VC4 anymore (making an assumption but honestly, if the first three missions are any indication...)
Ehh, if there will be more missions like the third one it's going to be fine. But with a throwaway skirmish mission that just wants you to capture a base with no bells and whistles you're still going to scout rush obviously.
To me skirmishes were only for grinding purposes so people who got low ranks in the main story could make up the money and EXP difference.
The other thing is (though I don't understand it myself) some people really like grinding in RPGs, replaying the same mission over and over or killing the same monster over and over and so on. Those skirmishes are for them.
Based on everything I'm reading, it seems it's just like the first game, which is a good thing. I can't wait for the localization then, because I loved VC1.
They are the most used units for sure. I'd rank the infantry classes in terms of usage as scout > motor > sniper > medic > rocket > assault.
But you can't just let scout do everything. They die under interception fire pretty quickly. I think they should nerf the weapons of scout though. They are doing too much damage to human enemy, making assault even more useless.
Unless a boss battle was in a level scouts were op. Particularly the 1 or 2 of them that had the ability to lower damage from gunfire as they're moving.
I remember assaults were absolute monsters back in VC2, what happened?
Also the demo is available in Chinese and Korean.
More than enough.
Also the demo is available in Chinese and Korean.
They changed a ton, yes. Like hundreds of things actually.
If you go through the past threads you'll see lots of things that are new.
But I expect you won't care. Bottom line, this is not some $100 million AAA entry in the series, it is meant for the fans who enjoyed VC1 and wanted more. It uses the same engine and does have lots of improvements, but overall the look is somewhat similar. To claim they haven't changed or improved anything at all, would mean you've never played the first game, but that is quite hyperbolic.
I have next to no Japanese knowledge, and I was able to get through it just fine.
Something interesting: I got カルト killed in the second mission and his sister joined my squad after. She's a cutie too, so if he ever gets in trouble maybe look the other way. Unless this happens regardless of him dying in which case look out for your boy.
Oh wow, you stumbled across one of the hidden characters! Nice!
Time for me to get everyone on my squad killed to see if anyone else joins up lol