INTRO:
Despite their being the eponymous characters in the series, the Valkyria in their azure brilliance have only been presented as adversaries. They are not easy to implement in-game as usable actual units, and their tragic (and unwittingly amusing) backstories does not make for a good excuse to have them as protagonists, much less playable characters.
This DLC will not make a convincing argument for that, mainly due to its primary purpose on reminding players about the first eponymous character of the series and – of course – delivery of goofy fan-service.
PREMISE:
The DLC is only unlocked after the player has finished the storyline in the fourth entry at least once. Thus, the player would already know that Crymaria has a better resolution to her story than the final battle against her would suggest.
Rather than focusing on the aftermath, this DLC expands on a brief flashback that Crymaria had in one part of the story – specifically her relationship with Selvaria, the first Valkyria of the series. Things did not turn out well at the end for Selvaria, but Crymaria does not know that (yet) in the chronology of this game (and this DLC).
Rather, Crymaria brooded on the fact that despite her power output as a Valkyria being beyond that of Selvaria, she was not chosen by Prince Maximilian when he visited the lab in which they were test subjects. As the storyline in the main game would imply already, Crymaria has an issue with controlling her powers and is prone to despairing rage that exhausts her. In the DLC, this issue is revealed to have been around for a long time, and was considered as the reason for Selvaria being selected over her.
(This review article would avoid tedious speculation over the true reasons for Maximilian having selected Selvaria. Such discussion is better off done elsewhere - or not at all.)
Prior to her transfer over to the X-0 unit (and under Dr. Belgar’s service), Crymaria is to be assessed by another extant Valkyria in the Imperial army’s service – this is none other than Selvaria herself.
This reunion of survivors from the lab experiments did not go smoothly. Crymaria is resentful of Selvaria’s presence, and Selvaria is a harsh taskmistress who, outwardly, has a low opinion of those who lack self-control. Things turn violent; this is where the player comes in, as will be described later.
The resolution of the battle that ensued is canonically unclear, but whatever the outcome was, Selvaria would greenlight Crymaria’s transfer to X-0. The player’s perseverance with this (rather clumsy) storytelling is rewarded with a bittersweet final meeting of the two Valkyria – one that would be rife with irony too.
As a side note, it is notable that Crymaria’s loyal canine companion, Fenrir, is nowhere to be seen in this DLC. It is unclear whether this was intentional on the part of the producers or not.
NOT-SO PARALLEL MISSIONS:
There are two missions that the player has to play in order to bring this flashback story to its conclusion. Either has the player supposedly playing out the battle between the two Valkyria from the perspective of either super-powered lady with glowing red eyes.
In practice, either mission plays out just like those in the main game: the player is up against seemingly overwhelming enemy forces, all of whom are as dumb as rocks. It is up to the player to make use of their relatively smaller force to defeat the opposition.
JUST USE THE VALKYRIA…:
In actuality, there is no reason to use any unit other than either Valkyria. The defeat condition does not include loss of the player’s starting base, whereas the victory condition requires defeat of the other Valkyria, who can only be reliably harmed by the player’s Valkyria.
Indeed, as either Valkyria would suggest in the mission briefing, the Imperial soldiery on either side are best off either being used against their erstwhile compatriots, or not at all. Indeed, the only regular unit that the cunning and wise player would likely use is the Engineer, who can (somehow) resupply the Valkyrias’ ammo-dependent weapon modes.
After the player has completed both missions in this DLC and watched the concluding cutscenes, either Valkyria becomes available for use in actual gameplay. This is non-canonical, of course.
… BUT NOT TOO MUCH:
The Valkyrias’ main setback is obvious from the get-go: either requires 2 CPs to be activated. This is a lot, as the first game’s (underwhelming) Edelweiss had suggested.
In missions in which the player must capture objectives while retaining any critical ones, the need for 2 CPs to activate them can pose considerable opportunity costs. The player would not be moving many other units, so the CPU-controlled opposition might just be able to outmaneuver the player, despite its stupidity.
In other missions where annihilation of the enemy is required or sensible for achievement of extant objectives, the Valkyrias are very much the only units that the meticulous player would use; there is no reason to use any other, unless the enemies are spread out too thinly for efficient multi-kills.
CRYMARIA:
Crymaria plays like she does as an adversary in the main storyline. She can bombard a large area with her crystal shards, and her interception fire is slow but devastating against any enemy that is too stupid to get out of the way.
Interestingly, she is designated as a Grenadier. The purpose of this becomes clear to the observant player when she is activated; her bombardment attack uses the same user interface as those of Grenadiers when they are controlled.
As for her interception fire, she will turn to track any enemy that strays within her vision arc. Since she is mechanically a Grenadier, she also receives sighting info from other unis on her side. This makes Crymaria incredibly handy at defending – and clearing – critical locations. However, like Grenadiers, Crymaria has no retaliatory attacks.
Furthermore, Crymaria ignores any allies in the vicinity of enemy units when she makes interception-fire, meaning that she can inadvertently kill them. However, her interception-fire does substantially reduced damage on allies.
SELVARIA:
Selvaria plays a lot like she did in the previous games, when the player unlocked her for use. To briefly describe her, she is a front-liner, and is intended to be moved into the right spot where her energy beam can blow through multiple tanks or enemies in a single shot.
The multi-shot mode of her Valkyrur lance is better used as a form of interception fire, instead of actual attacks when she is activated. This is also her retaliatory attack, should an enemy be foolish enough to attack her in their turn.
It should also be noted here that most of her animations and visual designs appear to have been adapted from those seen in the previous games. Selvaria also lacks facial animations, or at least those that are anything other than her usual trademark stern demeanour.
CANNOT HEAL AND CANNOT TAKE COVER:
Neither Valkyria can heal; Selvaria has canonically mentioned that Ragnaid reminds her of bad memories when she was a test subject. It is likely that Crymaria shares the same trauma. This has gameplay ramifications: neither Valkyria can heal on their own, and they do not regain health over every turn. This is likely a gameplay-balancing measure.
Unfortunately, this also goes against another narrative element, which is that a Valkyria can close their wounds readily. There is even a scene in this DLC in which Crymaria mentions this.
Neither Valkyria can take cover either, likely due to their apparently inherent pride of being post-human. This is generally not an issue, because they have defence ratings that are so high that any deliberate attack on them is not likely to do much of anything (especially if their Valkyria Potentials trigger).
CHIARA AND NIKOLA:
The petite minions of Dr. Belgar also become playable non-canon units after completing the side story of this DLC. They are armed with their trademark crossbows (and special bolts) and their stun grenades. Otherwise, they function like other Scouts, e.g. taking only one CP to be activated.
Unfortunately, they also retain their awful personalities. Using them means having to bear with their grating voice-overs (which are unpleasant in both Japanese and English dubs).
RAITA-STYLE GRATUITOUSNESS:
Raita Honjou may be a bit fixated on curvaceous ladies, but it is undeniable that he can come up with striking character designs – especially if they are in swimwear or other scanty clothing.
Incidentally, this DLC package also comes with alternative models for Chiara, Nikola and Crymaria; Selvaria, of course, gets her own too. Crymaria’s model is particularly goofy, because her Valkyrur relic is replaced with a parasol, of all things.
The differences are superficial, of course; their animation sets (including the gratuitous secondary ones) remain exactly the same.
SUMMARY:
There is tremendous ret-conning of the story that has been told in the first game. Granted, this is not the first time that this happened in the series. Selvaria’s backstory was expanded more than a few times in the first game through its post-game and DLC content. It is expanded again in the third entry (in which she is described as having no compunction levelling villages). This DLC makes another expansion again.
Such is the consequence of persisting interest in arguably the most popular character thus far among fans of the Valkyria Chronicles IP (for all kinds of reasons both obvious and not obvious). Since bringing someone back from the dead would require major narrative gymnastics, ret-conning is the only viable alternative.
Insertion of Selvaria into Crymaria’s backstory aside, the two Valkyrias are not entirely seamless additions to the player’s roster. They are very powerful, and in missions in which overwhelming power can lead to quick victories, there is no reason to use any other unit. Nikola and Chiara are better balanced, but as mentioned already, they are not pleasant characters.