It takes an especially awesome game to jolt me from my ongoing Monster Hunter obsession.  7th Dragon 2020 did just that today.  You probably don’t remember its predecessor, which was simply entitled 7th Dragon.  I wrote about it, (1, 2, 3, 4) but as hard as I blogged Sega wouldn’t budge when it came to a localization.  Thus the game joined the ranks of titles destined to never see the West.  Sega has a lot of those… (I’m looking at you, Ryu ga Gotoku: Kenzan!)

For 7th Dragon 2020, the foundation of the story has changed dramatically, as you’ll see in the above trailer (which features some lulztastic subtitles).  Rather than having a classic old-school RPG setting of its predecessor, 7th Dragon 2020 takes place in Tokyo of the year 2020.  The city suddenly becomes overrun by dragons and the mysterious furowaro flowers bloom all over the city.  The Murakumo warrior appear to be humanity’s only hope…  I am impressed with the brave new direction the series is taking.  It not only shows more confidence from the developers, but also equates to a more unique game.

Each character class feels like a remixed version of a person you would see on the streets of Japan.  The best example is probably the samurai jobclass, which looks like a lightly armored schoolgirl:

This is one of the most creative and badass character designs I have seen in a very long time.  I love the way it combines modern aesthetics with classical looking armor — simply brilliant.  The rest are awesome as well, I highly recommend you check out the game’s website.  If you refresh the page, the banner at the top will display different character classes.  I believe there are about 5 to see and they all rock my world.

Sega decided to have the spirited successor to 7th Dragon be released on the PSP rather than the Nintendo DS.  I can’t help but wonder if they weren’t happy with how the game performed on a Nintendo platform…

So, yes, I am in love with 7th Dragon 2020.  But it was a love never meant to be, I’m sure.  Sega won’t jump at the chance of localizing the second chapter in a story unfamiliar to most gamers, even if they can compact costs with digital distribution.  I could be wrong — maybe Sega will shock us and take a chance.  Maybe we can avoid a tragedy like that of Juliet and her Romeo.

Yesterday the opening movies for both Disgaea 4 and Valkyria Chronicles 3 made their way onto the web.  Both are free of dialog or text, so I get to sit out my position as occasional translator and just watch some cartoons.  Both trailers essentially do the same thing: introduce our characters and show how they interact with one another.  There is also some nice music to enjoy as well.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Did you notice the purple haired girl who seems to have some connection to Valbatoze’s past?  Could this have something to do with him being assigned his lowly position in the underworld?  I can’t wait to find out, but it looks like Disgaea 4’s story has some secrets to uncover.  (Did anyone else lol when Valbatoze was scarfing down anchovies?)

Click here to view the embedded video.

This trailer is more serious and focuses on the main trio of characters as well as the plight of the nameless.  The animation is pretty high quality for the PSP, but given how much time I actually spend with my PSP, I may not be the best judge.  If you have quick eyes you should notice Selvaria for a split second towards the end.  Since the events of Valkyria Chronicles and Valkyria Chronicles 3 are happening simultaneously, it is possible that we may see a few more familiar faces.

Both games are looking to be promising entries for 2011’s roster of titles.  Personally, I am more excited about Disgaea 4 just because the series is extra special to me; when I have the free time to devote to games, I prefer the console experience to a portable one.  Still Valkyria Chronicles 3 is looking worthy of a day one purchase, and I am saying this despite being burned by Valkyria Chronicles 2, which left me questioning the direction of the series.

With both games coming out in the next couple months in Japan, we can expect their respective PR campaigns to wind down, so this may be it for a while.  Once the games are in the hands of the Japanese bloggers I follow, you better believe I will slap the translator hat back on and get to work on getting more info to you.

For the sake of transparency, I will begin this review by stating I did not complete Valkyria Chronicle II.  I simply did not feel motivated to drag myself through the game.  If this makes you consider the review unworthy of your time then this is where you can stop reading.  If you would like to hear my gripes about the game and what led me to put it down, please continue.

Oh, one more bit of transparency to further thin down the number of people who will read this:  I may be slightly bitter that, aside from Sega continually ignoring my request to review the game, they also called me “Rob.”

Story – This is my bird.  He is the token cute animal.  Enjoy.

In the first few minutes of Valkyria Chronicles II we meet our feisty main character, Avan Hardins.  He is informed that his brother — who had been attending Lanseal, a school which trains Gallian soldiers — died in the ongoing civil war in Gallia.  Avan was very close to his brother and wishes to learn what led to his demise, causing him to enroll in Lanseal.  Avan is an energetic and skilled solider already having trained with his brother.

Just to reiterate, that is what I learned in the first few minutes of them game.  Here is a list of everything I learned about Avan in the twenty hours after that:

• He likes to eat
• He has a bird
• He sleeps in class
• He fails tests

Please take a moment to digest that.

The support characters are equally shallow, although some prove even more interesting than this insipid excuse for the person whose shoes I am supposed to fill.  He is comic relief, and the point of comic relief is to provide something in addition to an actual engaging story to lighten the mood.  When the mood is always light and there is no discernible story of any importance for 5 months (the game’s version of a chapter, being 12 in all) I can’t help but be turned off.

I suppose you could say there is some foundation of what may have been an attempt at a story: school life.  Odds are good that you can imagine some stereotypical school experiences from any given anime. They can quite easily be applied to what takes place in Valkyria Chronicles II:

“We are rivals now because our personalities clash!”

“Oh wow, we’re all in the same class!  WHAT ARE THE ODDS?”

“Oh, [INSERT GIRL NAME HERE] cooked something for us!  It’s delicious!”

“Avan, stop eating [INSERT MALE SUPPORT CHARACTER'S NAME]’s meat!  Boy, you guys sure can eat AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

There… there is like a civil war going on right?  What happened to that CIVIL WAR!?

I wish most of these situations did not happen in this game, but I assure you they did.  Better yet they are your “reward” for trudging through some relatively difficult battles, like this one which I wrote a complex walkthrough about.  Mind you that this battle is only in the month of March, aka chapter 3.  Perhaps this is a good time to discuss the game’s…

System – Rock, Paper, Scissors, Hammer, Ocarina, Wheelbarrow, Carrot Cake

Between battles the player will navigate around Lanseal’s campus.  There are a few places where you can go to upgrade units, purchase new equipment, and more.  Occasionally random events will pop up in which you can participate as well — more on this later.  After completing a certain number of battles in a month a key battle will become available, allowing you to advance to the next month.

The game introduces you to the new mechanics at a fair pace.  Many of them are interesting and bring a new level of depth to gameplay.  For instance, your tank is customizable and capable of having a number of accessories attached to it within a maximum weight capacity.  One such item allows you to place a bridge in certain spots on a map which opens a previously blocked path.  This proved enormously helpful on a number of maps, allowing me to flank groups of enemies which would have been dangerous to confront head-on.

Maps also bring with them unique status effects that force the player to adopt new strategies.  One such effect is “cold”, which causes fallen units to be hospitalized if left for one turn as opposed to three on a normal map.  Also, between turns no health will be restored to allies not within a base.  This effect can be countered with another tank accessory but still presents a real challenge, forcing the player to be more cautious yet still move quickly.

Battles now span up to 4 mini-maps, connected by bases.  In many instances the only way a player can move between maps is by capturing an enemy base which opens a base on another map allowing the player to dispatch units there.  This feature, possibly more than any other, really increases the challenge.  If I ever lost a vital base, it was possible to be shut out from a map entirely and I would have to use valuable man power to earn it back.  This is a real change over the last game where capturing bases essentially only provided a strategic foothold.  While I do think this update was mainly due to the limited capabilities of the PSP, this system was actually executed well.

Units can now be upgraded to new levels, branching off from their job class.  This requires the unit to acquire a number of items from performing admirably in battle.  This means only units that you use can be upgraded.  This system at first had me excited since it was fun to rank up my favorite allies.  It quickly became frustrating when trying to make one unit get one specific item proved difficult.  After unlocking Isara as an armored soldier and acquiring all but one required element to advance, I had her clear a mission entirely on her own.  Three times.  I never got the item and she never advanced.  Perhaps an option to purchase these items could be available to even things out?

Using the game’s sub-characters unlocks little dialog arcs where Avan interacts with them on campus.  I actually enjoyed this somewhat, since I get attached to sub-characters.  In one instance my relationship with a lancer unlocked a bonus map, which upon completing caused his friend to join the ranks of my squad.  This felt like a nice accomplishment and made me feel closer to both allies.

The enemies in the game are almost unfairly overpowered at times.  Most infantry was easily taken care of, but at a certain point a Valkyrie-like unit appeared on maps which was easily capable of one-shotting some of my infantry.  I guess this makes the playing field a little more level, but I found myself relying on the game’s rather crappy AI at times to pass maps, when I should be focusing on real strategy.

Presentation – Japanese animation, or anime

The game’s character and art succeed in reflecting the very relaxed tone of the game.  Considering I hated this relaxed tone, I pretty much hated all the art that went along with it.  Here is Cossette holding her breath to be quiet while Avan and Zeri fight:

Yup.  Civil war.  War is hell.

Conclusion

Valkyria Chronicles II suffers from being directed away from what made the first game successful. The unique canvas aesthetic has been replaced with uninspired animation, the sweeping story has been replaced with cookie-cutter, vapid high-school bullshit, and the battle system went from simple to choking on too much complexity.  Considering that Valkyria Chronicles II is attempting to be a direct sequel it had a lot to live up to but ultimately failed.

During Tokyo Game Show, Sega released this trailer for Valkyria Chronicles III.  I wanted to include a full translation when I posted it which is why it’s out a bit late.  Hopefully now that you can grasp what’s happening, it will have been worth the wait!

A quick note: I had previously translated the kanji for “name” as “reputation”, as it can be interpreted both ways.  I didn’t know at the time that people in the Nameless squad are quite literally stripped of their names being referred to only as their assigned number.  I believe this is only in the eyes of superiors though since the members of Nameless all refer to each other by name.

I find myself more drawn to the characters in this game — I genuinely want to help them get their names back and learn about their sordid pasts.  I also like that the game is showing a cruel side to the same military the protagonists belong to.  While it seems a little out of character from the first game, it at least shows that war is not all black and white.

I am quite happy with what came out of this year’s TGS in regards to Valkyria Chronicles III.  We got an initial announcement, story trailer, and we were able to see some gameplay.  This wealth of info on the game has definitely warmed me to the fact that the game will not be released on the system I had hoped for.

Please enjoy the translation, I hope it helps fans understand the game better.  If anyone out there is feeling generous and wants to make a version with subtitles, please let me know.  I would have no objections, but would want to include it here on the site.

Caption:
War is another side of politics; therefore, the facts of war are not always revealed.
- an Ex-Serviceman’s Saying

Kurt Irving:
Treason?!  I have no knowledge of this!

Bully Scout:
From today on, you’re nameless number 7.

Narrator:
It’s not the soldiers and the government who suffers… it’s the people.

Caption:
Era of War

Unknown Soldier:
The things a solider must protect are human life, the country, and property!

Unknown Soldier:
Do you really think fighting in unity will bring victory over the empire?

Caption:
Europe has been wrapped up in war.

Kurt:
The penalty for disobeying an order is execution, huh, I sure don’t want that to happen

Caption:
Abandoned by their country

Narrator:
Therefore they became called Nameless

Caption:
A squad stripped of their names as punishment

Caption:
To stand in one’s way

Maximilian:
My desire is for total victory!

Caption:
The Raven of Calamity

???:
I will try to revive the Darcsen calamity!

Caption:
And thus an awakening

Liela:
Everyone, please understand why I hid this from you!

I wonder if you hate me now…

Caption:
Valkyria

???:
Something called a Valkyria…!?

Soldiers:
Run! She’ll kill us all!

Liela:
As long as you’re alive, I won’t die!

Imuka:
Uaaahhhhhh!

???:
S-Stop Imuka!

Kurt:
I am Kurt Irving… I will definitely get my name back… without fail.

Valkyria Chronicles III is playable at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, which makes sense I suppose since the game is scheduled to be released in January.  4Gamer.net posted a brief video highlighting many of the game’s new features.  Definitely check it out if you are a fan of the series but a little turned off by the game being for PSP.  It looks leagues better than Valkyria Chronicles II, which I am progressively wondering why I am still playing — but that’s beside the point.  As soon as this video is on YouTube I will embed it into this post.

Getting into the video we see first-hand the different abilities unique to the main characters.  Kurt takes the first turn after the player selects his “direct command” ability.  He is a shocktrooper for this map, but I am not sure if that is his permanent job.  Once his turn begins, you see a ring appear around him.  This is his special ability where he can have units follow him during his movement:

The questions regarding strategies that comes to mind are: does this consume AP, and are the moving allies targeted, or just Kurt?  Either way this is an ability that will bring a new depth to battle.

Next the player selects Imuka and uses the command “Open Fire”.  This allows her to use her huge gunlance on multiple targets.  She turns toward one of the new enormous tanks — several parts on it are highlighted — and opens fire.  Suddenly it dawns on me: this is the third title in the series and just now this is a feature we can enjoy?  Aside from mortars and/or dumbly arranged enemies, everything in Valkyria Chronicles I and II is one-on-one.

Next, the player selects Liela and uses the “Valkyrie”  order.  Watch as bullets ricochet off of her blue flame!  I love how her hair is still partially red.  After ending her turn, Liela reverts back to human form and the video wraps up.  I am in awe.

The new level of strategy around the game is just astounding.  Characters are no longer simple cookie-cutters of a jobclass with maybe a slight variance in HP or negligible potentials.  Now, their unique abilities can be crucial to a battle or certain situations.  Despite the smaller screen it’s clear to me that Valkyria Chronicles III will be big on strategy.  I look forward to learning about more characters and their unique abilities soon.

Yesterday, this week’s upcoming issue of Famitsu leaked on the web, bringing with it information on a number of titles set to be announced at this year’s Tokyo Game Show. Among them was Valkyria Chronicles III: Unrecorded Chronicles which has been confirmed to be for the PSP. I will get through the facts before I start to bemoan this decision.

Valkyria Chronicles III takes place in the year 1935. Although the title shares the same setting as the previous two games, it features a new cast of characters and a unique story. Still, the game revolves around Gallia caught between the warring Atlantic Federation and the Imperial Alliance. The name of the Gallian squad the game revolves around is “Nameless”.  Go figure.

The producer explains that the Nameless are the “dark” wing of the military.  It is made up of criminals and people who caused a problem to the military.  The story is driven by three main members of the group:

• Kurt Irving (center)

Kurt graduated from Lanseal academy and was a promising prodigy of a solider when an unknown incident caused him to be demoted to the Nameless (he is number 07 in the squad).  He is described as having a logical nature, able to curb the prejudices of others (presumably towards Darcsens or maybe other Nameless).  He strongly wishes to return to his former unit.

His quote reads: “I will definitely take back my reputation… without fail.”

• Imuka (pictured right with gunlance-thing)

The squad’s female ace, earning her number 01.  She lived in a town where she witnessed the elimination of the Valkyria.  During her travels searching for her enemy she enlisted in Nameless.

Her quote reads: “I was born to kill you!”

• Liela Marcellus

Liela is assigned number 13 in Nameless.  She is a descendant of the Valkyria but this fact is unknown to both her and her squad.  This is somewhat surprising since she is pictured numerous times as a Valkyrie in the scans.  It’s interesting how her hair is both red and silver.

Her quite reads: “I… I am not a god of death (shinigami).”

In an interview with producer Shinji Motoyama, he acknowledged the users who wanted this title to be on the Playstation 3. He went on to say that the game has changed since the first title so he decided that the PSP was the best platform for the game.  He further explained that being able to play the game anywhere was vital to Valkyria Chronicles III — the title being stressed as very important to the series.

He had a few more details to reveal about the game:

• It will not use the mission system from Valkyria Chronicles 2, but will go back to the interactive-book interface of the first game.
• The game’s atmosphere is darker and more gloomy.  The player will learn of the tragedies surrounding the members of Nameless and presumably the reason they were demoted to their position.
• You can use Liela in Valkyria mode in battle as well as Imuka’s crazy weapons.
• There will be a number of battles against enormous tanks like the Marmota from the first game.
• The method of training your units is more personalized.  It sounds like you don’t upgrade a specific class any longer, but unit by unit.

Here are the leaked Famitsu screens:

Ultimately, I am glad that the series is moving out of high school and back to the battlefield.  I believe this will be a redeeming quality when it comes to the game’s story and atmosphere.  For Sega’s sake I hope that the many fans who feel shunted by the decision to return to the PSP will feel the same way.  Personally, I am warming to the game but still disappointed.  The improved atmosphere coupled with HD would have made for a truly impressive game.  How are other members of Squad 7 feeling about this decision?

Sources:
INFO | SCREENS

Today the time table outlining Sega’s events at this year’s Tokyo Game Show was discovered in their web directory. The schedule lists a number of games including Valkyria Chronicles 3. And so — like a child discovering their Christmas presents — the surprise is ruined. Mostly.

We still have no idea what system the game is for.  There is a possible clue which appeared on the official Valkyria Chronicles blog.  For the blog’s 100th update, we were introduced to Homer’s sister and a mystery man:

I am unsure what to think about this image as it could be nothing.  The tone of both these characters is extremely over the top. If you thought Edy was self-centered, then Homer’s sister is wholly self-consumed. Her friend pretty much feeds into this. It’s hard to imagine them being key characters as this would produce a title which would not fit with its predecessors.

But these characters may simply be support characters. Someone did go through the effort to draw this image after all. Speaking of which, if one were to assume that these characters are from the next game, by examining the art style used you can see that it does not match the art of the first Valkyria Chronicles.  Why would that be?  If this duo is made only for this 100th post then doesn’t it make sense that they match the art of the characters around them?

If we were to assume a little further and conclude that this anime-esque style is how the next game looks than you have to ask yourself: why the change?  Unless of course, there is a change of platform.

I am sure I don’t need to explain that I hope the next game will be for the Playstation 3.  Frankly I am ready for the 16th so I can stop trying to piece together a bunch of vague breadcrumbs and have some answers!

I realize via the web and Twitter that some people are having a problem with the advancement quest for the month of March in Valkyria Chronicles II.  The quest, entitled VIP Escort, is considerably more difficult than any quest the player will have experienced up until this point.  Having played it at least 4 times I believe I have come up with an ideal strategy revolving around speed — your greatest asset on this mission.

I realize this is technically a spoiler so only read on if you are stuck!

The Situation:

There are three maps you must traverse, all of which have powerful units which will target your tank.  If the tank is destroyed, the battle ends.  When I completed the map I was able to do so in three turns and all my job classes were level 7.  I did not use any units who had ranked up at all and Avan was a scout.

Use this terrible map I drew to go along with the turn by turn instructions:

Yea, I know it’s just awful but I had to draw it in paint, from memory.  I don’t think the numbers correspond with the areas in-game either which may cause some confusion.  Just assume when I say “area _” I am speaking only about the above shitty map.

Deployment:

You will only deploy three units when you start. I know this sounds crazy, but trust me.  Avan and the tank are already where you want them.  You just need to place a trustworthy lancer in area one in the spot I have shaded red on the map.  Once this is done begin the battle.

Turn One:

For your first turn, run Avan over to the nearest base marked with the blue flag on the map.  There is one scout crouching here.  Run up and shoot him point blank or grenade him.  You can use up to 2 turns to finish him off with Avan but no more than that.  Once the scout is felled take his base and put Avan on standby.

Next, roll the tank over to the base and move it off the map with the scary men who want to hurt it.  Oh look, more scary men!  Don’t panic.  Now it’s time to utilize that lancer.  Lancers have been greatly improved in Valkyria Chronicles II and are better at killing infantry.  Run the lancer up the ladder directly to his/her right.  Run up to the tank strategically placed on higher ground and shoot it right in its tank-hole.  Feel that morale boost?

Once the tank is felled bring your lancer to the edge where the tank had been facing.  You should see a shocktrooper in a base behind some sandbags.  Use that lancer’s two remaining missiles (and no more than two turns) to kill the shocktrooper.  You may get a surprise shot off and kill it in one hit which would be ideal.  If he/she misses, the remainder of the battle will be rather difficult, but not impossible.

Before ending this turn, deploy Avan from the same base where the lancer was stationed in area one.  Your goal here is to run him over to the grass directly in front of the base (see map) and hide him.  Odds are his movement is low, but he should be able to make it. Now you can end your turn.

Enemy Turn:

You will lose your base in area 2.  Don’t worry, you don’t need it.  A lancer will come out of the grass and shoot your tank, but depending on how much damage you took in area two, you should be fine.

Turn 2:

Now, use 2-3 turns to have Avan capture the base where your lancer killed the shocktrooper. Take advantage of jumping over sandbags to increase movement and be quick about ending your turn to avoid taking too much damage.  Once you capture the base, put Avan on standby.

Next, roll the tank into that base and bring it to the third and final area.  This should only take two turns and you should receive minimal damage.  Hopefully you have at least one CP left.  If so, deploy an engineer in the same base where the tank spawns and give it a quick repair before ducking behind a sandbag.

Enemy Turn:

Reinforcements arrive!  It doesn’t really matter what happens, as long as the enemy cannot kill your tank.

Turn 3:

Your only goal for this turn is to roll the tank to the goal.  It should only take two turns.  If another tank blocks your way you should have enough remaining turns to send a lancer out and destroy it.

I hope this helps any struggling Valkyria fans out there.  Good luck!

Last night on my way home I rather impulsively decided to purchase Valkyria Chronicles II. I loved the first game on a level which is difficult to put into words. As soon as I cracked the game open I wanted to try and get some secret characters from the first title.

To my dismay Sega changed all the passwords for the Japanese version of the game and will probably distribute them over time — although it looks like they were too lazy to change the method of obtaining Isara Gunther! By simply copying a save file from the first Valkyria Chronicles onto your memory stick, you can unlock her.

Here are instructions on how to do this:

• Attach your PSP to your PS3 using the same USB cable used to charge your controller
• Via the PSP’s interface enter USB mode
• Via the PS3’s interface select your save file from Valkyria Chronicles (NOT the settings data, this will be a much smaller file then the actual save file) and select “copy”

If you don’t already have a save file from the first Valkyria Chronicles I was nice enough to upload my own personal file which you can download here.  After you extract it, insert the folder into the top level of the memory stick.  This should be where folders labeled “PSP” and “Save Files” appear already.

Once you have the data on your memory stick start the game up.  When you get to the menu go to “extras” and then select the “Link Data” option.  The game will scan your memory stick and instantly recognize the save file unlocking Isara!

Isara's potential "New Bonds" increases her defence

It may surprise you to learn that Isara is an armored soldier, the game’s newest and most unique jobclass. This contrasts her role as tank support in the first title, and is also surprising considering how frail she was treated. Now, I like to pretend that her allies thought she was too dangerous with her hammer in the first game so she was best left locked inside the tank. There she would constantly polish her hammer as a eerie smile came across her face. Now, in Valkyria Chronicles 2, she has been freed to quench her hammer’s undying thirst for blood.

***UPDATE***

A commenter by the name of Dahl provided me with the password which unlocks the six members of Edy’s Detachment.  The members are:

• Edy Nelson
• Homer Peron
• Susie Evans
• Lynn
• Jann Walker
• Marina Wulfstan

I found this to be an extremely helpful bit of content to unlock, especially early in the game when you have a small pool of characters to choose from.  Not to mention that some of these characters are just amazing — specifically Lynn (Hard Worker FTW) and Marina (<3).

Here is the password (note that all passwords are case sensitive):

CR6BG1A9LYQKB6WJ

There are also a couple passwords for some tank decals:

Blitz Logo – VWUYNJQ8HGSVXR7J
SEGA Logo – 6RK45S59F7U2JLTD

Since you can also acquire Emilia with a Phantasy Star Portable save file, you may want to check out the library of save files over at Gamefaqs.  If you get lost follow the same instructions above for unlocking Isara.

I will post more as other passwords become available.  I expect to see them possibly on the Sega America blog but if you stumble across anything before then please let me know.

***UPDATE***

Faldio’s password was added on the official Valkyria blog:

GWNU95RSETW1VGNQ

He is a lancer, and an awful one at that.  You’re better off bringing out just about any other lancer, although I highly recommend Rene.  There is also a code for a Gallian decal for your tank.  I could care less, I don’t even use the decal passwords!  Here it is though:

TXU14EUV74PCR3TE

Enjoy!

Recently a teaser site appeared featuring the above image. It’s quite obvious the site will be for a new Valkyria Chronicles title. The image explains that the “top secret” document will be opened on September 16th, aka the first day of Tokyo Game Show.  This news comes out quite close to Sega acquiring the Valkyria Chronicles 3 domain.

So now that the facts are out of the way, I can have some fun with speculation.  First of all, the site’s address (http://code1935.jp/) holds a possible clue.  Mainly I am looking at the “code1935″ part.  That looks like a year doesn’t it?  It just so happens that 1935 was the same year of the first Valkyria Chronicles game, in E.C of course.  Valkyria Chronicles 2 takes place two years later in the year 1937 E.C, so I found this a bit odd.  Could this mean we are getting that prequel I have been wanting?  A side-story perhaps?

The next clue concerns the message above the Tokyo Game Show date.  I believe the message reads “altaha abilia” which is latin for “always ready“.  Then there is the number “422″ which is most likely the squad number for the lead characters in the next game.  While this is interesting, it really doesn’t tell us much more about the game.

This bring us to our big question: what system is this for?

The backlash from Valkyria Chronicles II being announced for the PSP was pretty intense.  I can’t say I was happy with the decision either.  I miss the unique aesthetic of Valkyria Chronicles’s canvas system which I believe was sacrificed for the move to PSP.  Therefore, I of course hope the game is going to be for Playstation 3.  In terms of other systems I wouldn’t rule out?  The DS is always a likely competitor.  Depending on the sales of Valkyria Chronicles 1 vs. 2, the decision may be to explore more portable devices.  Man, I am scaring myself just thinking about this.  Barring any leaked news we won’t have an answer until Tokyo Game Show.