Valkyria Chronicles - Reception

Reception

Valkyria Chronicles has been critically acclaimed by numerous sources, including writers for IGN, RPGland, RPGFan, G4TV's X-Play, Gametrailers, and Gamespot. Multiple publications were impressed with the title's gameplay design, noting that it gave players a new sense of tactical freedom absent in other games of the same genre via the removal of certain staples such as a grid-based map. The active nature of combat generated positive feelings towards a more involved strategy and produced, according to Game Revolution's Chris Hudak, "nail-gnawingly tense" situations that kept the player emotionally involved in the game. Both the game's story and the way in which it was presented were cited as strong points. Longevity was also attributed to the game, with James Quentin Clark of RPGFan noting that, "the game gets better the more you play it." While pleased overall, multiple reviewers issued complaints about the sometimes questionable activity conducted by the enemy forces' artificial intelligence. Others stated that the third-person camera interfered with the ability to shoot effectively in certain situations.

Despite having garnered positive press, sales of the game have been mixed. While it sold 77,000 copies in its first week of release in Japan, it only sold 33,000 copies in the United States during November 2008. Valkyria Chronicles has sold over 1 million copies worldwide. It was the 93rd best-selling game in Japan in 2008, selling 141,589 copies. Despite weak initial North American sales, Valkyria Chronicles recovered somewhat with sales sharply increasing in April 2009 following a price cut and the simultaneous release of an anime based on the game. Approximately a year after the game's initial release, both producer Ryutaro Nonaka and gamers surveyed by Famitsu stated interest in a sequel to the game.