Earlier this February, Sega released a remastered version of its 2008 tactical RPG, Valkyria Chronicles, in the form of the aptly named Valkyria Chronicles Remastered on PS3 and PS4. Included in this remaster was a demo of the series’ upcoming game, Valkyria: Azure Revolution. What many may not have realized is that Sega has been gathering feedback on Azure Revolution from those who have played the demo, and it seems like a majority of fans aren’t particularly happy about the Azure Revolution’s gameplay.
So much, in fact, that Sega stated that they will be altering Azure Revolution’s gameplay to resemble the series’ traditional strategy-based gameplay. Fans had complained that Azure Revolution’s gameplay had veered too far into the territory of the Action RPG.
This news was shared in an interview between Director Takeshi Kozawa and Famitsu, and can be found in the Japanese gaming magazine’s latest issue (via Hachima).
If you’re curious to see what that action-based gameplay looked like, you can check it out in the below video:
Much of the Valkyria fanbase’s harsh criticism stemmed from the fact that to many, the action-based gameplay made it difficult to approach Azure Revolution’s battles from a more tactical angle. Kozawa said that to accommodate the game’s shift toward its strategy roots, a new action gauge has been added for both allies and enemies. This new gauge allows you to perform special actions when filled, though the nature of these actions has not yet been disclosed.
In addition, players will be able to pause the game when using abilities or weapons. Kozawa also announced that the Azure Revolution team is currently experimenting with granting players the ability to customize their squad members’ AI, as well as give them commands. The number of characters in a party has also been increased to 4.
And, to top it all off, field encounters have been removed.
If nothing else, it’s interesting to see one of the largest Japanese gaming companies address its fans’ concerns so directly.
Kozawa told Famitsu that a new demo featuring the above changes will be released in Japanese regions in the summer of this year.
Valkyria: Azure Revolution will release in Japan sometime this winter for PlayStation 4. No release date has been announced for other regions.