Famitsu has announced that Sega’s Valkyria Chronicles series will be making a return on the PlayStation 4 with a remaster of the original Valkyria Chronicles and a brand new game in the franchise titled Valkyria: Azure Revolution.
The remaster of the first Valkyria Chronicles – previously released on the PlayStation 3 in 2008 – will feature higher-resolution graphics, trophy support, and DLC and will release, in Japan, on Feb. 10, 2016 for 4,990 yen. Notably, Sega has confirmed that a demo of Valkyria: Azure Revolution will come with release copies of the remaster and will be taking feedback for the final release.
While Valkyria: Azure Revolution won’t be due out until winter 2016, there’s a surprising amount of information to get excited about. The title will be developed by Media Vision (Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth) and character designs will not be done by long-time series illustrator, Honjou Raita, but by Hiro Kiyohara (Another manga) and Takayama Toshiaki. Additionally, Flight Unit (Atelier series, Shining Resonance) will be working on character models, bringing along their trademark experience for flair and cel-shaded glory.
A prologue for Valkyria: Azure Revolution has also been provided, shedding light on new protagonists Amleth, Ophelia, and Byrnhildr.
Prologue
With the discovery of the azure mineral Ragnite, the powerful Rus Empire achieved rapid industrial development and expanded its territory. Jutland, a small country, is econmically blockaded by the large country, and advocating “independence and freedom from colonial rule,” strikes the empire army’s base.
Characters
Amleth – The protagonist. The commanding officer of the Jutland Kingdom’s elite Anti-Valkyria Unit.
Ophelia – The heroine. The princess of the Jutland Kingdom.
Brynhildr – A Valkyria sided with the Rus Empire that stands before the heroes.
According to an interview with director Takeshi Ozawa and chief producer Youichi Simosato, these aren’t the only changes being made to the Valkyria Chronicles formula. “We wanted to do something new using Valkyria, and one of the things we’re putting in is a real time system,” said Ozawa. Adding to that statement, Ozawa established that they were considering real-time strategy for the new title, but decided on RPG in the long run.
Regarding combat…
Ozawa: “There are symbol encounters, but symbols are shown as a unit, and you can interact with a symbol before the encounter. You can snipe an enemy symbol, use a smokescreen to disable it, or shoot at it with a rifle to lure the enemy. Sniping is powerful, but on the battlefield it functions like an usable item so there are limits how often it can be used.
“Battles are conducted by setting commands to buttons. They’re action-ish battles. It takes on the familiar form of recent RPGs. The maximum amount of party members is five. You control one of them, and the rest move based on a set thought process.”
Shimosato: “As there are beings that transform into tanks, there are also weapons that imitate living things.”
This new battle system will be dubbed “LeGION” and will feature a real-time battle system with “added simulation elements,” according to Ozawa. Furthermore, the tried-and-true CANVAS engine – which has been used for both Valkyria Chronicles and its sequel, Valkyria Chronicles II – is also being replaced with the “Gouache” Drawing Engine. Despite this change, it seems as if the new engine will still provide the painting-like visual pop that the Valkyria series has been acclaimed for.
Shimosato added, at the end of the interview, that the team working on Valkyria: Azure Revolution will be commissioning music “from a famous name,” though they couldn’t announce anything yet. Ozawa ended the interview with a message to fans, saying:
Ozawa: “There are parts similar to Valkyria Chronicles, but because it’s largely different on the surface in a good way, we want you to enjoy this game with flat eyes as a new series.”
Here’s some images of the gameplay from Famitsu:
Source: Gematsu, All Games Beta
