Valkyria Chronicles 4 is a tactical role-playing video game created and released by Sega, with help from Media.Vision. It is the fourth main game in the Valkyria Chronicles series. The game was first released in Japan for the PlayStation 4 in March 2018. It was also released worldwide on the Nintendo Switch, Windows, and Xbox One in September 2018. Later, the game was made available on Stadia on December 8, 2020, and on Amazon Luna on July 8, 2021.
Gameplay
Valkyria Chronicles 4 is a strategy game similar to the first three games in the series. It adds a new soldier type called the Grenadier, who can launch explosive shells at enemies. If friendly soldiers are nearby to share information about the battlefield, the Grenadier can attack without being seen by enemies. When a soldier in your army is about to die, a system called "Brave" may activate. If activated, players can choose to restore one Command Point (CP) and help a nearby ally become stronger, stop an enemy's attack if the unit is attacked during the enemy's turn, or give the unit more Action Points (AP) so it can move and attack without being hurt during the player's turn.
Plot
Claude Wallace and his childhood friends Kai Shulen and Raz join the Federation Army to fight the Empire during the Second Europan War. They fight to protect their home country, Gallia, and to avenge an attack on their hometown, Hafen. During training, Kai disappears without explanation. His sister, Leena, takes his place in the army using his name. Claude, Raz, and Leena complete training and join the elite Ranger Corps. Claude is chosen to lead Squad E.
Squad E learns that the Empire is winning the war. The Empire has captured much of the Federation's land and is attacking Gallia. Federation leaders plan Operation Northern Cross, a large attack aimed at reaching the Empire's capital, Schwartzgrad. The operation starts well, and Squad E advances through enemy territory. Along the way, they meet another childhood friend, Riley Miller. At first, Riley does not trust Claude because of an event in the past, but he later accepts Claude's leadership after seeing his strength. Squad E continues their mission by breaking the Siegval Line, the last defense of Schwartzgrad. They fight the Empire's elite tank unit, Ausbruch, led by Klaus Walz, who sees Claude as a strong opponent. However, the war season changes, and winter arrives earlier than expected. The Federation's forces are unprepared for the cold, and their supplies run low. The Empire attacks again, forcing Squad E to retreat to the coast. There, they are saved by three advanced Federation warships called snow cruisers, which can travel over the icy Crystal Sea.
After boarding one of the cruisers, the Centurion, Claude is assigned by Captain Morgen to protect the ship during Operation Cygnus. This plan is a backup strategy to attack Schwartzgrad from the sea if Operation Northern Cross fails. Meanwhile, Klaus Walz is placed under the command of Lord Heinrich Belgar, who leads the Imperial science unit X-0. Belgar orders Walz to capture the Federation fleet and teams him with Forseti and Valkyria Crymaria. Forseti attacks the fleet, and Squad E responds. Crymaria intervenes against Forseti's orders, causing her powers to go out of control. She destroys one of the cruisers and damages the Centurion before escaping. Forseti is angry because their mission was to capture the ships, not destroy them. He tells Walz that he has sent his sister as a spy aboard the Centurion to track its movements. Walz sees how Crymaria is treated unfairly and begins to care for her.
On the Centurion, the crew works to repair the ship. However, the main reactor is damaged, and the ship must rely on a backup engine to move slowly. Meanwhile, Riley finds a young girl named Angie in the engine room. The crew believes she is a stowaway. Squad E grows fond of Angie as she becomes friends with everyone. During a mission, Angie sneaks onto an Imperial base and meets Crymaria, who recognizes Angie as another Valkyria. It is later revealed that Forseti is actually Kai, who has been working for the Empire and has been manipulating Leena into spying for him. Leena decides to stop helping Forseti and declares her brother is dead.
Claude learns that a third ship in the Federation fleet is under attack. Even though he knows it is a trap, Squad E tries to save the ship, but it explodes. To escape the blast, Angie sacrifices herself by entering the reactor, revealing she is the power source for the ship. Captain Morgen is injured and tells Claude the truth about Operation Cygnus. The reactors in the snow cruisers are powered by Valkyria, and they also act as powerful weapons called "A2 bombs" capable of destroying cities. The real goal of Operation Cygnus is not to attack Schwartzgrad, but to destroy it completely with the A2 bomb.
Claude is placed in command of the Centurion and reluctantly agrees to carry out the mission. Walz and Crymaria try to stop him but fail. Crymaria loses control of her powers again after believing Walz is dead, but he survives and helps calm her. The Centurion continues toward Schwartzgrad but is trapped. Raz sacrifices himself to disable the trap, allowing the ship to move forward and crash into the center of Schwartzgrad. Forseti boards the ship to rescue Angie, as he was once part of a Federation program to study Valkyria. Leena shoots and kills Forseti before he can reach the reactor. Claude prepares to detonate the A2 bomb, but the Empire offers a ceasefire, ending the war without a clear winner. Belgar ignores the ceasefire and attacks the Centurion, determined to take control of the reactor. Squad E defeats and kills Belgar, but the Centurion is severely damaged and begins to sink. Claude rescues Angie and Riley from the sinking ship.
The Second Europan War ends with neither the Federation nor the Empire achieving a clear victory. Peace returns, and everyone is relieved. Walz lives with Crymaria after the war. Squad E disbands, and the survivors pursue their own lives. Claude, Riley, Leena, and Angie return to Hafen to live in peace.
Development
The game was created by Kei Mikami, who also worked on Valkyria Revolution, and directed by Kohei Yamashita. The game's music was composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto, the series' main composer. The main theme, "Light Up My Life," was written by Shilo and performed by Mai Kuraki.
Development started around the end of 2015, after Yamashita completed planning the project. The developers aimed to grow a global audience for the Valkyria Chronicles series. They wanted to return to the style of the first Valkyria Chronicles game while improving ideas from later games. Unlike Valkyria Chronicles II, which was made for a Japanese audience with imaginative characters and a school setting, Valkyria Chronicles 4 uses a realistic military setting with characters that feel like real people.
To prepare for the game, the team studied records of World War II soldiers and used them as references. Before working on Valkyria Chronicles 4, the developers created Valkyria Chronicles Remastered for the PlayStation 4, so players could experience the original game's gameplay on a modern system. Mikami said the game shows what was happening in Europe during the war. For the Japanese release, a special content pack was added, including a 25-track soundtrack CD with music from all four games.
To promote the game in Japan, Sony released limited-edition PlayStation 4 consoles with designs based on the game.
Reception
Valkyria Chronicles 4 received "mostly positive reviews," according to Metacritic, a website that collects and summarizes game reviews.
When the game was first released on PlayStation 4 in March, it sold 76,778 physical copies in Japan during its first three weeks. After it was released on the Nintendo Switch in September, the game sold 5,596 physical copies in Japan during its first week.
In June 2020, Sega announced that more than one million copies of Valkyria Chronicles 4 had been sold worldwide across all platforms.
The game was nominated for "Best Strategy Game" at The Game Awards 2018 and for "Strategy Title of the Year" at the Australian Games Awards. It won the award for "Game, Franchise Role Playing" at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards and was also nominated for "Original Light Mix Score, Franchise."