Valkyria Revolution

Valkyria Revolution is a spinoff title within the Valkyria Chronicles series.

Plot
Told in past tense via a schoolboy questioning his professor as to the true history of Jutland, the story follows the exploits of five friends known as the "Five Traitors", five people who were said to have orchestrated a war between Jutland and the Ruzi Empire.

Jutland, a small country is blocked economically by the powerful empire of Ruzhien, expanding it's territory and becoming the ruling empire over most of Europa and creating an industrial revolution through the mining of Ragnite, a blue mineral that has the power to be used as both an almost limitless energy source as well as harnessing alchemic properties.

Ten years prior to the great war, a small orphanage in the peaceful land of Molda is burned down by the Ruzi Emperor, Klaudiusz and his four Grand Generals during a visit to a Valkyrian ruin. These men not only burn down the orphanage but also kidnap the orphanage's caretaker, Maria. Only five orphans survived the attack by having the good fortune of being away from the orphanage during the attack and are subsquently adopted by foster parents, each growing skillful in their particular trade:


 * Amleth Grønkjær: Became a skilled officer in the Jutland army, before becoming the Captain of the special anti-Valkyrie unit, Vanargand.
 * Basil Sabancci: Became a lead industrialist, inheriting a factory that specialised in making ragnite weaponry and technology with a head for business.
 * Fritte Eriksen: Became a journalist, finding his writing was capable of swaying people's minds and hearts.
 * Solomon Kahlenberg: Became a legislator, helping to create laws and bridges between nations and with a great understanding of legal loopholes.
 * Violette Szand: Became a master spy, using both her charm, and intelligence to gain useful intel.

These five would conspire together, using their specialist skills to push Jutland towards war with the Ruzi Empire for revenge and a chance to find what had happened to their caretaker, Maria.

An initial attempt on Klaudiusz's life was made by Amleth, but he barely made it back alive having faced down a Valkyria known as 'The Reaper' who was the Ruzi Empire's greatest weapon and secret. In response, he and Basil worked together to create Anti-Valkyria weaponry as any further attempts on Klaudiusz's life would prove futile with the Reaper guarding him. Amleth then went on to form the Anti-Valkyria military unit, Vanargand, recruiting specialist soldiers with a high affinity for Ragnite into his squad.

Alongside the new soldiers, Princess Ophelia of Jutland and her guard, Godot, join the Vanargand, having once been in the same academy as Amleth and wishing to be of service. Amleth is unhappy with this set up, but Ophelia promises she will not be a burden, getting her first taste of battle in the process and killing her very first opponent which shakes her deeply. They manage to emerge victorious in the battle, removing the blockade and allowing Jutland the ability to trade freely again, even defeating one of the Grand Generals, Balthus Greppenberg and his dragon shaped mecha.

As Balthus flees, Amleth chases him down and slays him after he refuses to answer any questions regarding Maria, which both Ophelia and Godot witness, raising Godot's suspicions on Amleth's nature.

Gameplay
Gameplay in Valkyria Revolution is very different from the mainline Valkyria Chronicles titles. The player has full control of the character they are playing and can freely swap between four individuals on the battlefield. Whilst the player can only play as one character at a time, different orders can be given to make the AI act offensively, defensively, supportively or freely. There is also a larger focus on melee weaponry and the use of alchemy magic rather than the more traditional firearms of other Valkyria Chronicles titles, although each character will also be equipped with a firearm and a grenade.

Some elements from the previous titles have been carried over such as the class system that includes Scouts, Shocktroopers, Sappers and Shield-Bearers. Personal potentials which can activate in battle also make a return, aiding or hindering battle progress depending on the specifics of the potential also return, with characters able to activate hidden potentials as the story progresses.

Much like previous titles, perma-death can occur for members of the squad, however players will usually have a 60 second opportunity to revive the fallen before they are permenantly killed.

Whilst players can attack relatively freely, there is a cooldown meter which varies between characters based on their class. Attacks can not be performed until the word 'Ready' appears on the screen, forcing players to dodge, block and weave away from enemy fire whilst they wait.

Trivia

 * Sega released a demo of Valkyria Revolution in order to garner feedback and make alterations. They ended up recieving three times the amount of feedback they were expecting, most of which was highly critical of the game mechanics.
 * The original release was a far more action orientated affair, with many of the tactical elements in the final released not included.
 * The action gauge was also added after reports of it being too hard to strategize in the middle of all the action, forcing players to make a tactical retreat and consider their next step before it is full again to allow them to perform their next attack.
 * This is the only game in the series to not feature Selvaria Bles, Alicia Melchiott or Welkin Gunther in some capacity, as it's setting is a completely different war and possibly timeline.
 * The game did very poorly with fans of both Valkyria Chronicles and action RPGs, with many citing the cutscene to gameplay ratio being heavily skewed towards the former and the gameplay being relatively uninteresting. Critics agreed with the game being poorly realised overall, with Chris Carter of Destructoid even stating the game was better during it's demo stage as the forced strategy elements ruined it's action stating he wished they'd "stuck to their guns and made it a full action romp".