Senjo No Valkyria (Valkyrie of the Battlefield) : Best Cell shading ever?

The anime is average for an anime TV series, *and* inferior to the production quality of the game. Of course I remember gameplay. I raved about it too ! ^_^

Even suggest equal but in my eyes, they are not. In my view, the game has better quality than the anime. And no, I am not exaggerating.

Huh ? You think we cannot converge ?

The only problem is you mocking, or labelling people negatively for expressing their opinions. You are free to express your own, but from where I can see, the rest are correct too.

 

I think it's obvious our egos will continue this one for pages so I'll just let you have the last word after I've said my peace.

I don't think different art mediums should be compared as closely as has been done in this thread. If different art mediums could accurately emulate each other then yes make nitpick comparisons but they can't do that not yet anyway. Each art medium has its distinctive look.

I do think the art style of Valkyria Chronicles deserves praise but it does not look like a real painting. I understand the textures are supposed to be more simple and cartoonish but I still think it could've benefited from higher resolution. I also think the models could've been better. Things look okay when playing but during cutscenes with close ups are when these issues become apparent. An entire level's models and textures seem to load all in one go so that should tell you something about the fidelity. Not that I think higher quality textures and models are all that's needed to make it look like a real painting.

I've found the game enthralling and I usually don't like SRPGs. A big negative is the presentation of cutscenes which are composed of a background with characters popping up in a window when their dialogue comes. This basic cutscene composition is lame and a shame that they aren't like the other cutscenes which better show off the CANVAS engine.

 

Vazel, I am not debating because of ego. I am just saying everyone has their right to post their honest opinion even if they differ from yours. No name calling or mockery is needed.

In my view, the anime quality has room for improvement. Afterall it's only average by your recognition too. It's supposed to be Valkyria Chronicles. If someone tries to do a game/anime about Naruto, everyone will judge the output vis-a-vis the original quality, design and style... not to mention both the game and the anime share an anime + watercolor art style here.

It's already like a painting now. The hand-drawn anime doesn't compare well to the game even in its current form. If they can make the game more pretty, kudos to them. However some scenes are already wow worthy.

The gameplay has its flaws (e.g., easy to cheat/speed run once you "figure it out"). The story has its faults (e.g., Welkin may be too clueless sometimes) but they are minor compared to the entire package and flow. The Darcsen drama covers a major plot twist. Unfortunately, I didn't watch Bands of Brothers

I'd say that banding together is a strong theme in gameplay. Matching members in a squad is extremely important if you don't want to grind. I was only able to clear certain levels because I used compatible supporting characters in the squad.

I don't think the game is draggy. There are a few (reasonable) twists and turns in the story. Each one gives a setting for different gameplay opportunity (compare to how Bioshock drags on for too long towards the end but repeats similar encounters)

The book style presentation is limiting, but again they do not detract from the battles. People who expect a full 3D storytelling throughout may be disappointed. But where there're full screen cutscenes, most were satisfied or impressed based on the posts I read in multiple fora.

 

If they're trying to depict exactly the same scene, yes! The quality of different mediums can be considered relative to each other even though different.

'Like' is a subjective term. What degree of similarity constitutes 'like'? Are you telling me it has no resemblence whatsoever to a natural-medium artwork?

How do you measure that? How can you rightly say that you have the only effective eyes for determining this, and anyone else who sees similarities is misguided?

Hmm, nicely qualified. You got me there! I like the way you've identified the aspects of the game engine that give it away as CG and explained how these cannot be suitably addressed in an offline implementation.

I know you don't; you made that point very clear . However, if you had ever answered any of my questions, you may have come to actually understand the alternative POV and seen a legitimate if different way of thinking, instead of feeling everyone who disgrees with you is just being stupid.

 

The dlc is out. I'm impressed with Sega. This is one of the very few times where dlc is justified. The dlc was produced after the game came out(they're 85-224MB each) and is completely extraneous to the game it doesn't feel like it should've been included with the game to begin with.

 

I'm a big fan of this game and will probably get the DLC for it as well. Before I jump onto PSN to make my purchase though - can you give some initial impressions of the content?

Which one(s) did you end up getting, are there a decent amount of missions etc.?

 

The dlc is quite challenging. The Edy detachment was a little short with just one mission (and slightly annoying imo), but the Selvaria pack apparently gives you 4 missions and some very sweet in-game rewards when you get good grades. It's about the same bang for your buck as the main game - very nice indeed. I'm not sure whether to buy the hard skirmish missions or not, though.

 

To add to Sigfried's post the Edy mission has multiple endings depending on the rating you get. The Hard Ex mode not only removes the tank but it adds weapons and modifies the AI for more challenging gameplay.

 

I am too swarmed to do anything else right now but here's Sega's description on the the Hard mode DLC: http://blogs.sega.com/usa/2009/04/14/valkyria-chronicles-dlc-spotlight-1-hard-mode-ex/

...plus no Edelweiss ?

 

I bought all 3 DLCs. I'm a bit rusty now. Finished only the first Selvaria battle after 2+ hours (3 more to go). This and the Hard mode DLC are probably the most worthwhile of the 3 downloads. ^_^


EDIT: I haven't tried Eddy's Detachment. Looks like there is a humorous section in front ? The GAF folks seem to like it.

 

To further prove that not even offline rendering can make CG look hand drawn look at The Prince of Egypt animated movie where CG was used for some character extras and objects in some scenes. Also some of the effects in Prince of Egypt and other modern traditionally animated movies are CG. Look at Oban Star Racers that use CG for the vehicles and racing segments. There are other animated series like Justice League Unlimited that use CG for vehicles.

Again, don't get me wrong I think Valkyria Chronicles has pretty visuals(although it badly needs AA) but to claim that it looks like an actual hand drawn painting is embarrassing.

 

The DLCs increased Valkyria Chronicles sales on Amazon:
http://www.gamasutra.com/newswire?story=23247

...probably not a big overall jump (since it may not chart everywhere), but it's great to see more people hopping on board.

I don't think people are getting the wrong message from you, but they may not be wrong either. For people who have not seen a more realistic effort, it is possible to rate VC graphics like hand drawn painting (or as good as it gets). Secondly, the visuals can still look amazing even if it does not look _exactly_ like watercolor art. The fact that one can interact with a pretty anime in real-time may please some people too.

 

Well so I took the plunge and bought the game a couple of weeks ago when Gamestop was having their sale on it for $30 - just got to playing it this weekend though. I can understand now. Patsu you recall that conversation with you I was having as to the storyline elements and such, yeah? Well I'm a full believer now that's for sure. The demo honestly should have been a little more in-depth I think; I sold the game short because of it. But the hype brought me in during that sale, and I'm ever so glad it did.

Side question; the voice actors for Welkin and Largo, who are they? Welkin I swear is the same guy that did Rick Hunter in Robotech and has popped up elsewhere, and I definitely recognize Largo as well. Well in any event, the storyline and the English voice acting are really at the top of their class. This ranks in my top 5 PS3 games of the gen so far.

 

Yes I remember that short chat in the B3D room (and then our venture into Arwin's summerhouse ).

The GAF thread sealed the deal for me. I was going to buy but not so soon (Was planning to get something else first). I agree the demo is weaksauce.

My god, Rick Hunter ! Such a distant name. I haven't followed for a while. The VC credits are here:
http://www.giantbomb.com/valkyria-chronicles/61-20971/credits/

Where are you in the game now ? You completed it ?

 

Well, looks like I had the wrong guy pegged - maybe I recognize his voice from the Xenosaga games? Anyway great voice acting throughout the game, all characters and segments.

I'm just to Chapter 11 now.

 

Been playing this finally this week. It's really very good. Presentation is extremely high quality.

The actual story of the game swings very wide from silly and cute to somber and realistic. And it even brings discussion of topics like racism to the table which I was not expecting based on how the game looks.

Combat system is a little quirky though. I think it would have been improved by using a VATS like system from fallout3 instead of the free aiming. For the most part it works fine though.

 

Glad you guys like it. ^_^

Yap ! The story also swings from one twist to the next. Unless you have completed the game, it's not over yet.

 

Finally got around to giving this game some time, I absolutely love it. I keep kicking myself for being in to much of a hurry and not thinking my moves through, but what the heck, its seriously fun.

Just at chapter 5, but will keep on plowing through

 

Chapter 5 ? ^_^ That's a honeymoon chapter.

You're in for a ride.