Valkyria: Azure Revolution is losing its second word but gaining a release date window. As Gematsu reports, Valkyria Revolution will be headed to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PS Vita in the West in Q2 2017.
According to the report, Valkyria Revolution breaks away from the WWII-like timeline in the original Valkyria Chronicles series and focuses on an alternate timeline version of the European Industrial Revolution era. Instead of using the XCOM-esque time unit strategy ARPG system from the original games, the game does away with turn-based strategy for a mixture of real-time combat and tactical gameplay.
“Five lifelong friends consumed by personal revenge plunge an entire continent into a terrible war, sacrificing the lives of countless innocents for a cause based on twisted half-truths and outright lies,” Sega’s overview explains. “This ‘Circle of Five’ use their combined influence in their political and military positions to motivate their small, economically blockaded homeland to rise up and become a powerful resistance against its imperialist oppressors. Will the Circle of Five be remembered as heroic liberators, or will their selfish motives expose them as traitorous conspirators who sacrificed untold lives just to carry out a personal vendetta?”
Gameplay features include tactical combat strategy planning, customizable weapon engineering, improved graphics and a lively soundtrack from Yasunori Mitsuda. The game promises “a whole new entry with new characters, a new world, and new gameplay mechanics,” including melee combos and ranged attacks.
Japan will be seeing a physical and digital release of Valkyria Revolution on PlayStation 4 and PS Vita next month on Jan. 19. Meanwhile, the North America release will feature digital and physical releases for PS4 and Xbox One, but only a digital release will hit North American PS Vitas.
It’s an interesting move by Sega to publish the game on Xbox One in the West. Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XV sold 79 per cent of its first week copies on PlayStation 4, with only 21 per cent to spare on the Microsoft console. Plus, Xbox One is not exactly known for its JRPG and Japanese media audience. Perhaps Sega seems an untapped market in the Xbox demographic. Regardless, check back as more news develops regarding Valkyria Revolution.