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| Liz Maas |
And here's what we found out!
11.03.10 - 10:54 PM
SEGA is heavily promoting Valkyria Chronicles 3 it seems. Earlier today they held an event in Japan where they showed off, demoed and talked about the third entry in the SRPG series. The demo was much like the Tokyo Game Show one, just with an extra mission - but if you can get on Japanese PSN, you can grab this demo there next week (November 9th), and even save and carry over your data into the full retail version of the game. If you clear the demo, you'll get a limited edition weapon in the full game.
At the event, the developers took questions from the audience, the Web and Twitter, and here's what they shared:
We mentioned before that Kurt Irving, your main protagonist in the Nameless Squad, was trying to redeem himself to the military somehow. He is described as level-headed, but like an 'ideologist with strong principles.' He also wants out of the Nameless ...for whatever reason. The Nameless Squad takes care of some 'off-the-record' missions that the Gallian army can't. In addition to Ramsey, Imca and Riela, also joining Kurt in the Nameless are Fellius (Number 21) and Valerie (number 12).
There are two heroines in the squad, and when asked about multiple endings (presumably based on which one Kurt ends up with), the game's staff said that each did have an ending, but they also made a big point of emphasizing that they were not making Valkyria Chronicles 3 into a dating sim and that its focus was war drama - and not the romantic kind.
When asked if the Gassenari family would play a role in the game, they only mentioned that fans will see some minor tie-ins that lead up to the family's role in Valkyria Chronicles 2. There will however, be separate sub character stories (like in the second game) and other extras that aren't part of the main story, so the player will have lots to experience - including extra episodes after beating the game.
Gameplay-wise, you can choose any of the five solider types for any of your characters, but the specialties will depend on the class. As well, now the whole squad levels up after a fight, and you'll distribute points in five areas. The battle potential system now incorporates a 'master table' (rather than being random) somewhat similar to Final Fantasy X's sphere grid.
Players can import save data from Valkyria Chronicles 2. No big surprise there, but you can also import save data from the first Valkyria Chronicles. SEGA wouldn't elaborate on what bonuses you'll get from this data, so we'll just have to wait and see. They did mention that there is a 'Chapter 0' download code that comes as a pre-order bonus in Japan, which entails Kurt's first campaign. Beating this chapter also nets you a limited weapon as well. So far, any other downloadable content has yet to be decided upon.
Finally, the game will have an Easy and Normal difficulty - but no Hard. (The staff says that there are 'hard' missions, if you're really looking for a challenge.) You can switch between the two difficulties anytime in the game, just not during a battle.
Valkyria Chronicles 3 will be out on January 27th, 2011. Japanese pre-orders will get a Gallia Secret Document File 422, which includes a booklet and the aforementioned Chapter 0 download code. There hasn't been any announcement of the game coming to North America quite yet.
