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In the alternate universe, the citizens of Japan are faced with a new virus. This virus challenges the existence of humanity itself. You are now the appointed leader of the newly formed Special Force Valkyrie, which was created to combat this virus at the source. As the leader, what will you do? Will you liberate humanity from this virus or will humanity fall? Let’s take a journey in this tale in our review of Dark Rose Valkyrie.
Dark Rose Valkyrie
Platform ｜ PlayStation®4
Genre ｜ RPG
Voiceover option ｜ English & Japanese
Language format ｜ English subtitles
Release date ｜ June 6 (NA) / June 9 (EU)
Developer ｜ IDEA FACTORY / COMPILE HEART
Publisher ｜ Idea Factory International
*Thank you to Idea Factory International for providing a review code for the game*
Intro/Story:
According to the official website for Dark Rose Valkyrie, the story is as follows:
1929 – It was the year of the outbreak. In masses, normal people were transforming into inhuman creatures called Chimera.
The cause: a mysterious virus brought to earth by a meteorite, known as the Black Garnet, which crashed there long ago.
The Chimera Virus in its beginning stages would wipe out 3% of the world’s entire population. In a state of national emergency, Japan became a closed nation in an attempt to stave off the pandemic.
A covert military agency known as ACID was established to combat the remaining Chimera in the country.Time passes. ACID establishes a special unit known as Special Force Valkyrie in order to eradicate the Chimera that threaten humanity to this day.
Asahi Shiramine was chosen and appointed as the captain of this newly created unit.
On his way to the base, Asahi, unarmed, runs into a Chimera. Force members rushed to the scene and helped him repel the enemy threat. As a result, this sudden battle proved both this force’s usefulness, as well as Asahi’s abilities.
Asahi and the other force members grow excited over their victory.
However, they had no way of knowing what harsh fate awaited them…
This story is something different from the usual Idea Factory story. There is a reason for this unique take. That reason is that the game features staff from Namco Bandai’s long-running Tales of series, including character designer Kosuke Fujishima, and scenario writer Takumi Miyajima, both of which notably worked together on Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss. With their unique creativity combined with the brilliant minds at Idea Factory, the player is in store for a grand adventure and story. While plaything through the game, I enjoyed it quite a bit of the story being told from a different take while still having a bit of the Idea Factory charm.
One con I did find with this story, however, is the delivery of the story. While you get the main path to get the base story, it does branch out. It is up to the player if they want to discover more elements of the story or do they just want to stick to the same path. It is similar to past Idea Factory games if the player has played an IFI game. However, a newcomer may find this a bit different and frustrating as they play the game.
Intro/Story score: 4/5 – Dark Rose Valkyrie’s story is a unique take on an old formula thanks to guests that jumped on the development. However, even with the fresh breath into the story, sometimes the way the story is delivered is a bit of questionable in terms of how to gain the full picture of the main story.
Gameplay:
In typical Idea Factory fashion, the battle system is the same as past games. For those who have not played an IFI game before I will go over it briefly before giving my thoughts on it.
Tutorials are given in the first act (usually considered either the intro/tutorial chapter). It covers the basics of movement, combat, exploration, and interactions. It is fairly straight forward and newcomers can pick it up very quickly. Whenever a new system is introduced to the players, the game takes the time to give a small tutorial about it and the tutorial lessons are always available to look at any time. There is no real difficulty curve in the gameplay aspect.
My thoughts are that I love the fact that IFI decided to keep the basic gameplay formula. While it is simple, it is also not broken. If there is no need to change it, then do not change it. It seems that Idea Factory sticks to that type of logic. No complaints there from me. I love that type of logic as it feels consistent with the same games made by Idea Factory. Compare this to a franchise like Final Fantasy. Every game has some foundation that remains constant,
Compare this to a franchise like Final Fantasy. Every game has some foundation that remains constant, however, each game has different gameplay elements that the player must learn. This is entirely true for the upcoming release Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age. If a player transitions from, for example, Final Fantasy X to Final Fantasy XII, they will have to basically switch from what they already know to a much more difficult gameplay system.
The fact that Idea Factory remains with this constant gameplay system no matter the platform (Steam, PS4, Vita) shows that there is no need to upgrade a system that has no need to upgrade.
Gameplay Score: 5/5 – The gameplay remains constant to past IFI games. It is simple that veteran players and newcomers will find simple and enjoyable.
Visual and Audio:
Visually:
Visually, the game looks alright for a Playstation 4 title. It looks more suited to be visually made for the Playstation Vita. That is not to say that they are bad, but could be improved on. Some areas, however, need to have had some more work done. This is namely when the player runs around the world map area. It looks alright in some areas, but overall more time should have been put in to make it look more appealing.
Visual score: 3/5 – The visuals look like they were created for a PS Vita title ported to the PS4. While they look alright for what it is, it definitely needs a bit more time to improve.
Audio:
The audio aspect is good in some areas, and not well done in others. First off the soundtrack is very good. From moving to the HUB to the world map, and to other areas around the world it music is done well. In addition, the voice work for both English and Japanese dubs are fantastic. They are well done.
Now for the con aspect. Some of the sound effects are offputting. The major one I had an issue with, which I thought I could adapt to, is the loud breathing/sounds that come from the player as they run. Literally every few steps, the character makes a loud breathing or some loud sound that happens all the time. It does get infuriating and it never stops. I get that it is somewhat realistic that someone breathes as they run. However, these characters must be completely out of shape to do it every few steps.
Audio score: 3/5 – The music is great. As for the sound effects, not so much. This is true for the loud breathing/noise that happens every few steps the entire game.
Replay Value:
Straight to the point, this game has quite a bit of replay value. There are multiple endings. This is in terms of story and romance options. In addition, there is a new game plus in which a few things carry over. This makes some things easier in terms of getting the multiple endings.
Replay Value Score: 5/5 – Dark Rose Valkyrie is high on replay value. With tons to unlock and new game plus, the player has quite a ways to go if they want to 100% the game.
Fun Factor:
Is this game fun? I found the game very fun, to be honest. I love RPGs in general and this fits right there for me. For someone that loves JRPGS, this is right up their alley. For someone who likes IFI games, this is perfect for them. If you are someone interested in RPGs, this may be a good starting point into the genre. It has a solid story and is simple mechanic wise that anyone of any gaming level to get into it.
Fun Factor Score: 5/5 – I enjoyed my time with the game and I personally believe that others will too. It is a simple yet unique title that all fans of RPGs can enjoy.
Overall/Conclusion:
Dark Rose Valkyrie is true to the RPG formula. It is also an Idea Factory game through and through. It is fun, enjoyable, silly, and unique to other RPGs that are not of the similar formula. With all the huge RPG titles that came out this year, it is nice to sit back and enjoy something that is different from the rest. This game does have minor issues with visuals and certain audio aspects, but they do not detract from the overall experience of the game. If there is downtime in your gaming life and you crave an RPG to fill some of the time, consider picking up Dark Rose Valkyrie. It is an RPG that you can pick up, play a bit, put down, and do so again when you are able.
Until next time, Mgs2master2 out!
Dark Rose Valkyrie
Wrap-up
Intro/Story score: 4/5 – Dark Rose Valkyrie’s story is a unique take on an old formula thanks to guests that jumped on the development. However, even with the fresh breath into the story, sometimes the way the story is delivered is a bit of questionable in terms of how to gain the full picture of the main story.
Gameplay Score: 5/5 – The gameplay remains constant to past IFI games. It is simple that veteran players and newcomers will find simple and enjoyable.
Visual score: 3/5 – The visuals look like they were created for a PS Vita title ported to the PS4. While they look alright for what it is, it definitely needs a bit more time to improve.
Audio score: 3/5 – The music is great. As for the sound effects, not so much. This is true for the loud breathing/noise that happens every few steps the entire game.
Replay Value Score: 5/5 – Dark Rose Valkyrie is high on replay value. With tons to unlock and new game plus, the player has quite a ways to go if they want to 100% the game.
Fun Factor Score: 5/5 – I enjoyed my time with the game and I personally believe that others will too. It is a simple yet unique title that all fans of RPGs can enjoy.
Final Score: 4.1/5
