video Valkyria Chronicles 4 - Comin' at Ya Yet Again with Team Darcsen

[Ertrick36]

What's with Darcsen girls with bobcuts and them looking like they just set a daycare on fire and got away with it?

[Ertrick36]

Lots of shit happens in this part, I think it'd be best if you simply watch it for yourself than listen to me give a witty synopsis.

I'll just say I want to give Minerva a big, long hug.

[Ertrick36]

I just died playing through one of the squadmate missions.  Holy shit, I can't believe everything that ever happened.

Thursday and Friday's parts will be extra good, I feel.

[Ertrick36]

We get to finally see every other villain in this part.  Also, we now have a new Darcsen leader who will lead the Federation into a new age.

[Ertrick36]

I've been very busy the last couple of days doing housekeeping and the like.  So...

This is all I have.

*Internal screaming*

 

It'll probably be delayed until Monday.  Reason being is that I'm actually gonna have to edit it a little bit.  Not entirely happy with some of my commentary this time, mostly towards the end.

[Ertrick36]

So busy, I've only been able to put out the first half of my squad stories segment just now.

And holy fuck, this is one's a real doozie.  I hope to god anyone watching this hasn't had a love story cringey and awkward as this.

 

I'll release the second half as a new part.  Probably will just rerecord it, tbh.  Not happy about it.  But I'm pretty fucking happy about this one.

Edited October 22, 2018 by Ertrick36

[Ertrick36]

Okay, so I'm just gonna delay the next part until tomorrow.

I do feel like I should give myself a break.  I have some things I need to focus on first and foremost.  Like severely neglected car maintenance.  Make sure to regularly change your oil kids, otherwise it'll start making weird ticking noises that'll freak you out.

 

With that said, I may ease up on VC4 posts.  I'll have something else fill the void on my channel, so if anyone has liked watching me play this game, I'll most likely always have something for you to watch.  It's just that I feel I might get burned out on VC4 if I keep going at it with this pace, so I'll bring it down to maybe once or twice a week.  I mostly went this fast in the first place so that I could gain access to a vast majority of the game's functions.  After getting to the Centurion, I feel like I can slow down to really appreciate the game.  And stall for time until I can finally grace the Federation forces with the omnipotent power of Isara.

Spoiler

For posterity, in the event that I'll need to call upon it, I'm posting her full title here:

President Superior GUNSLINGIN' Cold-Blooded Overachieving Worldwide Tank Driving Genocidal Fast-Thinking Code-Talker the Post Apocalyptic ACTUAL Scientist, Bitter as Hell Time Travelling Ultra Grande Exalt of Ylisse, Europa, Black Mesa, America, and Magvel, Great Prime Minister of Grannvale and Duke of House Freege, Daedric Prince of MADNESS and Cheese Driven G-Approved Interdimensional Agent of the Porcavian Pigs and Wildwoods who wields DARUDE'S PROTECTION, THOR HAMMER, and UNLIMITED POWER!

 

[LucarioGamer812]

Oh wow. Didn't know you were playing VC4 and recording and uploading it. I'll have to check those out later on. As for my progress I'm going on chapter 14 in the game, no casualties yet but I will say it's been an experience. Some of my thoughts I'll leave in spoilers with titles.

SPOILERS FOR SOME PARTS OF VC4 UP TO CHAPTER 14 AND VC1 AND THE VC4 DLC

Characters/Dialogue

Spoiler

So in general I find the cast of vc4 to be good. Basically everyone of the main cast is good with exception for Raz. I hated him so much. He is a hot headed idiot and his perviness at times really irks me the wrong way. Especially since this is the most vulgarity I've seen in the series and nearly all of it is from him. I also feel his presence at times influences the others to make casual pervy comments as well. That brings me to the dialogue. Besides vulgarity the pervy and sexually undertoned dialogue is just god awful. And as previously stated most of it is from Raz and directed at him by other characters.

As for the non main characters, some of them are good. I have the ones I use, but I do like how they are included in regular story cutscenes in the background and in flashback reports.

Gameplay

Spoiler

In general I think this game has the best gameplay in the series, maybe second only to valkyria chronicles 3. The grenadier class is so fun to use tactically. Class improvements were to be as expected but Snipers getting interception fire capabilities when becoming elites is so good.The apc from the psp games is nice to use though I only really used on 1 or 2 levels. Also the slight alteration for sneak attacks and flanks is very good, though a bit broken. The last stand mechanic has rarely occurred for me but sometimes helps, most of the time doesn't cause my units only fall due to blatant rng, unfair mechanics, or bosses.  In contrast the lead mechanic is useful though I wish it could be used more than once a turn just due to unit counts and mobility. This game also from what I've experienced is a lot harder on you first time through, ambush spawns are nothing, mechanics have changed such as anti-tank cannons being able to intercept fire armor, the knockback from grenadiers makes it impossible to challenge at range, and even some naming errors. My main example is that the mortars cannons in one chapter are actually anti-tank cannons and can oneshot the hafen due to that lack of knowledge. Another complaint I have is mortars and lancers, they are able to damage boss thanks and fire support locations like mortar cannons and such, but are unable to damage them past a specific point or only ko them in specific ways, usually being anti-tank mortars, which while a unique concept I find generally less useful than standard infantry mortars since infantry are more common. While not 100% sure how the game runs based on my experiences between the ps4 version of VC1 and Switch version of VC4, it plays better on ps4 but works well on switch when docked and using either a pro controller or wired controller. The controls feel a lot more responsive with those than the joycons.

I want to also say the variety of scenarios the game puts you through is great. Having different combat scenarios and little map mechanics are great. Though one scenario I hate, and thats the fight against squad F over food, which I feel was just poorly done filler.

DLC

Spoiler

So I got the special edition of the game, primarily for the dlc being honest. I am sadly disappointed. I do not know the circumstances of the voice actors from the original game not being able to voice this game or even if they are the same voice actors. All I do know is they all sound completely Different. Welkin sounds nothing like himself, Alicia sounds different when you remember the voicelines, Rosie is a few noticable pitches higher than what she was, Largo sounds more like Hector, Isara surprisingly sounds mostly the same but due to previous statements I find it unlikely her voice actor came back due to her personal reasons. Edy also sounds different and that is disappointing to me as a Edy fan. Anyways as for the story of the dlc, well it's the same situation vc3 had when it brought squad 7 into the story briefly, it was just a shameless cameo, back then I defended 3's cameo as we were most likely seeing the reports of what happened in VC1 brought to records by our stalker reporter, and in VC3 it made sense it wasn't recorded due to the nameless being unrecorded parts of history. But in 4's cameo it felt like they were pushing down squad 7 some to push squad E up, while that never was said and they worked together, it just felt like they were trying to push squad E harder by supposedly giving them the approval of squad 7 which I personally feel lowers the valued traits of squad 7. Though only in this instance since the legacy they built in VC1 is addressed here and is something I do fondly remember.

All in all, so far (and partly due to a lack of competition really) Valkyria Chronicles 4 would be my game of the year, but I am counting Torna the Golden Coutnry as a separate game and giving my game of the year to it, at least for games that came out in 2018. As for my overall game of the year, without a doubt that goes to Radiant Dawn, since I finally got nad played through it and I will say it's one of the best fire emblems, it did make me rage at times but overall a great experience, especially with Nephenee becoming a literal god, She capped every stat except magic with no stat boosters.

[Ertrick36]

On 10/24/2018 at 10:55 AM, LucarioGamer812 said:

Oh wow. Didn't know you were playing VC4 and recording and uploading it. I'll have to check those out later on. As for my progress I'm going on chapter 14 in the game, no casualties yet but I will say it's been an experience. Some of my thoughts I'll leave in spoilers with titles.

SPOILERS FOR SOME PARTS OF VC4 UP TO CHAPTER 14 AND VC1 AND THE VC4 DLC

Characters/Dialogue

  Reveal hidden contents

So in general I find the cast of vc4 to be good. Basically everyone of the main cast is good with exception for Raz. I hated him so much. He is a hot headed idiot and his perviness at times really irks me the wrong way. Especially since this is the most vulgarity I've seen in the series and nearly all of it is from him. I also feel his presence at times influences the others to make casual pervy comments as well. That brings me to the dialogue. Besides vulgarity the pervy and sexually undertoned dialogue is just god awful. And as previously stated most of it is from Raz and directed at him by other characters.

As for the non main characters, some of them are good. I have the ones I use, but I do like how they are included in regular story cutscenes in the background and in flashback reports.

Gameplay

  Reveal hidden contents

In general I think this game has the best gameplay in the series, maybe second only to valkyria chronicles 3. The grenadier class is so fun to use tactically. Class improvements were to be as expected but Snipers getting interception fire capabilities when becoming elites is so good.The apc from the psp games is nice to use though I only really used on 1 or 2 levels. Also the slight alteration for sneak attacks and flanks is very good, though a bit broken. The last stand mechanic has rarely occurred for me but sometimes helps, most of the time doesn't cause my units only fall due to blatant rng, unfair mechanics, or bosses.  In contrast the lead mechanic is useful though I wish it could be used more than once a turn just due to unit counts and mobility. This game also from what I've experienced is a lot harder on you first time through, ambush spawns are nothing, mechanics have changed such as anti-tank cannons being able to intercept fire armor, the knockback from grenadiers makes it impossible to challenge at range, and even some naming errors. My main example is that the mortars cannons in one chapter are actually anti-tank cannons and can oneshot the hafen due to that lack of knowledge. Another complaint I have is mortars and lancers, they are able to damage boss thanks and fire support locations like mortar cannons and such, but are unable to damage them past a specific point or only ko them in specific ways, usually being anti-tank mortars, which while a unique concept I find generally less useful than standard infantry mortars since infantry are more common. While not 100% sure how the game runs based on my experiences between the ps4 version of VC1 and Switch version of VC4, it plays better on ps4 but works well on switch when docked and using either a pro controller or wired controller. The controls feel a lot more responsive with those than the joycons.

I want to also say the variety of scenarios the game puts you through is great. Having different combat scenarios and little map mechanics are great. Though one scenario I hate, and thats the fight against squad F over food, which I feel was just poorly done filler.

DLC

  Reveal hidden contents

So I got the special edition of the game, primarily for the dlc being honest. I am sadly disappointed. I do not know the circumstances of the voice actors from the original game not being able to voice this game or even if they are the same voice actors. All I do know is they all sound completely Different. Welkin sounds nothing like himself, Alicia sounds different when you remember the voicelines, Rosie is a few noticable pitches higher than what she was, Largo sounds more like Hector, Isara surprisingly sounds mostly the same but due to previous statements I find it unlikely her voice actor came back due to her personal reasons. Edy also sounds different and that is disappointing to me as a Edy fan. Anyways as for the story of the dlc, well it's the same situation vc3 had when it brought squad 7 into the story briefly, it was just a shameless cameo, back then I defended 3's cameo as we were most likely seeing the reports of what happened in VC1 brought to records by our stalker reporter, and in VC3 it made sense it wasn't recorded due to the nameless being unrecorded parts of history. But in 4's cameo it felt like they were pushing down squad 7 some to push squad E up, while that never was said and they worked together, it just felt like they were trying to push squad E harder by supposedly giving them the approval of squad 7 which I personally feel lowers the valued traits of squad 7. Though only in this instance since the legacy they built in VC1 is addressed here and is something I do fondly remember.

All in all, so far (and partly due to a lack of competition really) Valkyria Chronicles 4 would be my game of the year, but I am counting Torna the Golden Coutnry as a separate game and giving my game of the year to it, at least for games that came out in 2018. As for my overall game of the year, without a doubt that goes to Radiant Dawn, since I finally got nad played through it and I will say it's one of the best fire emblems, it did make me rage at times but overall a great experience, especially with Nephenee becoming a literal god, She capped every stat except magic with no stat boosters.

Yep, I've been planning to do it since I first heard about VC4.  I hope you'll stick around through it all.  I may start out awkward, but I swear I get better as time goes on.  Just like with my VC1 LP.

Those things don't really strike me as spoilerific.  They're very vague in that they don't really reveal any plot details.  At most, the DLC bit might be considered spoilery.

I've heard about how none of the original VC1 actors returned and some of the characters apparently sounded fairly different as a result.  I'm not gonna be able to find anything out about that DLC until December, as the PC version didn't get early access to it, but I know I'm gonna get it, if only so that I can make Team Darcsen come full circle and bring this lovely lady:

back into the fray.

And speaking of, I'll get the other DLC as well.  I already have Captainless Squad, so besides that and the Squad 7 DLC I'll just need the beach one and the one with Selvaria.  And maybe the Expert Skirmishes.

 

Anyway, I've finished recording part 15; it'll get uploaded sometime later in the evening.  It's not too terribly long.

Edited October 25, 2018 by Ertrick36

[Ertrick36]

It's here, a short and easy part.  It's a lot of the decent-but-not-as-good-as-Kai snipers, getting together to bicker at Leonhardt and teach Neige that the power of staying cool is to just be a goddamn human being with motivations.

[Ertrick36]

Goddamn, I made this part a lot longer, and about a third of it was me just talking.

Well, consider this next part as a combination of three things: me actually playing the game, me reviewing the game so far, and finally me laying out a sort of unofficial, official new schedule for my new gaming blocs.  I'll post more about it later.  Just know that you should start expecting me to spice up your lives with some variety, kinda.

[Ertrick36]

My inner punk exploded when I saw the name of the mission with Roland, Keigel, and Ryan.

Also, in this part I talk about my plans for next week and all succeeding weeks.

I'll be reducing the VC4 LP to a mere 1-2 parts per week.  And I'll mix in a few other games to fill the void.  So far, I know I'll be doing Disgaea on PC, and I think I want to do some Fire Emblem.  Aside from those, however, I'm not sure.  If nothing else, I may double-up and do one of these games twice a week.  I'll still stick to the same schedule, roughly; I'll try to put a video out every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  Mondays will be when VC4 parts come.

[LucarioGamer812]

On 10/25/2018 at 1:37 PM, Ertrick36 said:

Yep, I've been planning to do it since I first heard about VC4.  I hope you'll stick around through it all.  I may start out awkward, but I swear I get better as time goes on.  Just like with my VC1 LP.

Those things don't really strike me as spoilerific.  They're very vague in that they don't really reveal any plot details.  At most, the DLC bit might be considered spoilery.

I've heard about how none of the original VC1 actors returned and some of the characters apparently sounded fairly different as a result.  I'm not gonna be able to find anything out about that DLC until December, as the PC version didn't get early access to it, but I know I'm gonna get it, if only so that I can make Team Darcsen come full circle and bring this lovely lady:

back into the fray.

And speaking of, I'll get the other DLC as well.  I already have Captainless Squad, so besides that and the Squad 7 DLC I'll just need the beach one and the one with Selvaria.  And maybe the Expert Skirmishes.

 

Anyway, I've finished recording part 15; it'll get uploaded sometime later in the evening.  It's not too terribly long.

Well I put them in spoilers more or less to save space but also for anyone who wants to go in blind (which why are they here but whatever lol) Wait is there more dlc besides the squad 7 dlc? I was not aware of that. Well I'll get them eventually. Anyways for Isara, you have to A rank both maps. First one shouldn't be hard if you have elite troops, but the second one may be hard due to small unit numbers and turn counts. After that you unlock a third map for Isara's unlock. Good luck with the lp. Whenever I get some free time between college classes and family life I'll try to watch them.

[Ertrick36]

Finished recording this next part, and...

Well, there's something I just noticed that I feel very stupid for not noticing before.  Not entirely unexpected, but... there's a lot of intrigue, I'll say that much.

[Ertrick36]

On 10/27/2018 at 5:29 PM, LucarioGamer812 said:

Well I put them in spoilers more or less to save space but also for anyone who wants to go in blind (which why are they here but whatever lol) Wait is there more dlc besides the squad 7 dlc? I was not aware of that. Well I'll get them eventually. Anyways for Isara, you have to A rank both maps. First one shouldn't be hard if you have elite troops, but the second one may be hard due to small unit numbers and turn counts. After that you unlock a third map for Isara's unlock. Good luck with the lp. Whenever I get some free time between college classes and family life I'll try to watch them.

There is more DLC.  In fact, right at the end of this part, I got access to play the first one I got, which is a side story focusing on other members of the squad.  There's also a beach DLC which - when completed - will enable you to outfit the squad leaders (minus the one you select, I think) with swimsuits.  And there's one about Crymeria and Selvaria which I don't think anyone has access to yet, as well as a challenge skirmishes DLC.

 

Anyway, here's the next part.

So much intrigue in this chapter, I can't even keep track of it.  I feel just like Charlie Day when he kept getting boxes full of Pepe Silvia.

[Ertrick36]

I'm taking a week off for now.  I'm really sorry, but there's a lot of stuff I need to sort out in my life.

 

EDIT: Okay, I'm not going to actually take a break, but I'll just let everyone know that I will almost certainly be a bit belated in my scheduling; stuff may get posted late in the evening or a day later.

Edited October 30, 2018 by Ertrick36

[Ertrick36]

Okay, so my computer has been having issues and I'm sick, so sorry but no VC4 tonight :/

I'll probably be able to put out the other stuff as it's all less strain on my computer, but I'm gonna need to diagnose this issue when I feel better.

[Ertrick36]

Again with the goddamn computer issues, and I don't have much time to record/upload today...

Now is the time for me to take to the internet to see what the hell my problem is, because this shit is getting old.  The reason I uploaded nothing last week was mostly due to being busy, but I should be able to upload videos for the other games.  There will be no VC4 this week, and maybe not for a while until I can figure this all out, but I still think I can record other things.

[Ertrick36]

Thank Isara, I was finally able to record something!

Uploading it some time in the evening.

[Ertrick36]

Nothing to see here but a snowball fight.

Oh, but don't underestimate... the Beast!

[Ertrick36]

Is Rita actually a drunk lesbian, and is Simon a literal man-baby?

At least one of these questions is answered in this part!

[Ertrick36]

So I just learned today that the DLC comes out on the 18th, not the 17th.  So the next part of my VC4 LP may come tomorrow or Thursday instead.

[Ertrick36]

Yeah, so...  The DLC is not available on PC, but it's out on other platforms.  So... no idea when the next part's coming out, it seems as though my sneaking suspicion that it wouldn't release on time on PC was right.

On a side note, probably never gonna buy another Japanese-developed game on PC again.

[Ertrick36]

I regret to say this, but I'm going to be putting this on temporary hiatus.

Not because of anything going on in my life.

And not because there's something I want to LP more.

 

It's because Sega has seen fit to delay the release of the last couple DLC on platforms other than the PS4.

I'm gonna be quite frank, I'm pissed at Sega.  I don't care if this is the worst expansion to ever come out in the last ten years for any game, I was looking forward to playing it on the day they said it'd be released.  But I guess if they don't want me to play their completed game until I buy a PS4, then I guess they won't mind if I stop recording footage of their game and thereby give their game free advertising.

So until they do release it, I'm not playing their game.  I had a plan, they fucked it up.  So fuck them.  I'm sick of this kind of garbage treatment from Japanese developers as a primarily PC gamer.  And I hate that I'm having to do this for yet another one of their games - that it's from the same franchise is all the more frustrating.

In the meantime, I will temporarily replace VC4's bloc with something else.  I'll post it in the other thread.  Might either replace it with more FE or some other game I'm thinking about.  Not this Monday because it's Christmas Eve, but the next Monday.

[Ertrick36]

Yes!  Good news at last!

We finally got the last couple of DLC on PC, and I got it free to boot because I preordered.  So starting Monday, I'll be back at it again with some VC4.