The tears we cry are echoes

You stood always smiling, ever-quiet, ever-tender.
And I, a lost child, always frightened, I remember,
That you came and found me blinded by unshed tears.

The tears we cry are echoes that tell what tomorrow can hold.
And I wept in your arms and I heard
Bells ring out across the land, bringing peace at last,
To your heart my dearest friend.

And now, the love that you gave me blooms and will live on
Through the tears in a song without end.

Those are the lyrics to a song, A Love Passed On, from a game I've been playing lately. A game that I would recommend to many: Valkyria Chronicles. It is a Strategy Role Playing Game, and is a Playstation 3 exclusive. Now, for the PS3 to have an exclusive, that on top of all is an RPG, is pretty rare, I know. But the game itself is excellent. The makers really pictured war as it is, introducing it through characters so attaching that we share the various emotions they go through. I've been hooked to the game from the day I downloaded the demo on Playstation Store.

The game occurs a set number of years after the First European War, during a conflict between the Gallian forces and the Imperial forces. After the main character, Welkin Gunther, came home to Bruhl only to see it taken by the Imperial Army on the same day, he followed in his father's footsteps, joining the Gallian Militia as a Tank Commander, with his younger sister as the pilot. He is then immediately given the title of Lieutenant and entrusted with his own squad, Squad 7, which immediately becomes YOUR squad to manage and set up so you can come up with the best strategies to make it through all eighteen chapters.

So, basically, you're left with different classes (Scout, Shocktrooper, Lancer, Engineer, Sniper), and a great amount of characters you can add to your squad, all with their own strengths and weaknesses. Some have fears or are frail, others have allergies or get distracted easily, causing lowered stats. Some like to show off, are masochists or feel more confident when other people are around, leading to a boost in stats. Through time, more people appear in the list, and your characters earn new potentials. You're sure to have your favorites, though, and when you have a character you like, you'll most likely forget about their weaknesses and use them anyway. We love to make our lives difficult.

Being careful is important though. There are a set number of characters that are important to the storyline and that will retreat if defeated in combat. However, the other characters are all vulnerable to the cruelest reality of war: death. If a character is rendered unconscious and is reached by the enemy before an ally, or is in this state for three turns without an ally rescuing them, they will die, making it impossible to use them until a New Game or New Game + is started. Plan your strategies well if you don't want to experience any losses in your squad. (My technique: I save A LOT during battles.)

All in all, this game has all but PSN's Trophies system (Which could pretty much be added later as Downloadable Content. Who knows.) and a Downloadable Content with a Very Hard difficulty level and new missions will be coming out soon. Now what reasons do you have not to go and buy it, hm? None! Go now! No, being busy is no reason! Come on, just go and buy it already!

I give it a 9/10. The music is excellent, the story is amazing, the graphics are unique, the characters (even the unimportant ones) all have that little something that makes us want to keep them alive, even the voice acting isn't irritating! The only thing I can't stand about this game is the withdrawal I'll have to go through when I finish it. With that said...

"This is an order! Get in the car, and drive to your nearest games store!"

"For Gallia!"