Recently, Sega announced that Valkyria Chronicles is getting a reboot in the form of Aoki Kakumei no Valkyria. While the game looks to have a more RPG lean than previous entries in the series, I for one am delighted that one of my favourite games from last generation isn't getting completely dead and buried like I originally feared.
I loved Valkyria Chronicles. There was something incredibly charming about the pencil sketches graphical style and character-driven storyline set in a metaphorical version of World War 2. The turn based, free roaming combat worked incredibly well, allowing you to balance your tactical thinking and skills in third person shooters equally, giving you a unique challenge. The worst thing about Valkyria Chronicles, really, was that no-one freakin' bought it.
The sequel got a far less fanfare of a Western release, despite the PSP-exclusive title being a remarkable step-up from the already great PS3 original. The third game wasn't released outside of Japan at all, leaving fans like me forever wondering what the future held for Gallia and the surrounding countries.
In all honesty, I thought that was it for the series. I made my peace that the first and second games would be the last I'd ever see of them, and I accepted that what could have become one of my favourite series will always just be a memory, the games becoming unplayable as the systems begin to age. It seemed in the modern day, a tactical, turn based game wasn't ever going to set the world alight.
But in 2012, something strange happened. X-Com: Enemy Unknown was released, a straight turn-based tactical game that served as a reboot to the original X-Com series of games. Usually, this would be a kickstarted affair with only the diehard fans buying into it, but Enemy Unknown defied those odds and became a small commercial and critical hit, prompting an expansion and sequel. Maybe the genre of pointing little men into certain position wasn't dead, it was just a shame that X-Com revitalised interested AFTER Valkyria Chronicles had come and gone.
I don't know if it was the success of X-Com that pushed Sega to revisit the series, but in 2014 they released the first Valkyria Chronicles on PC, forever cementing its legacy, and making it playable for generations to come. The game became an unexpected hit, shooting to the top of the sales lists and finding the Western audience that alluded it for all these years. As happy as I was to see a favourite game of mine getting that much love, I was just excited to jump into the shoes of Welkin and Alicia again to take down the evil Imperial Alliance. And this time I could do it while collecting trading cards.
As I replayed the game, all I could think was if the second would get a Steam release, and hoping it would lead to the third game coming out. I still haven't played it, and it pains me that my lack of knowledge in Japanese is holding me back from it (That is, until I finally crack and just emulate a fan-translated version). With the huge success of the game, all I could do was cross my fingers that this wasn't the end for Valkyria Chronicles.
Now here we are, seven years after the first game, four years after the last. Sega have finally announced that Valkyria Chronicles is returning. The PS4 is getting a remastered version of the first game, possibly to cash-in on its new found fame, and the series is also getting a reboot in the form of Aoki Kakumei no Valkyria, a game that looks to have more of an RPG lean than the previous entries. But from the screenshots the sketchy artwork looks the same, the locales look the same - whatever changes Sega feel like they need to make to the gameplay to ensure this time the series is the success it deserves to be, I'm all for it. If it means I get to jump into that world again, I'm completely on board.
So tell me, commenters of the Huffington Post, is there any series you loved that made a big comeback out of nowhere? Or is there a series or game you loved to pieces that has now been tragically forgotten? And lastly, are you as excited as I am about Valkyria Chronicles returning?