Platform: PSP (PS Vita compatible)
Release date in Japan: January 27, 2011 (Extra Edition: November 23, 2011)
Artwork showing the main characters of Valkyria Chronicles 3.
Background
When Sega released the original Valkyria Chronicles on the PS3 in Europe and North-America, it received very positive reviews. In particular, the game was praised for its “BLiTZ” battle system (combining turn-based action with real-time third person shooter gameplay) and the CANVAS graphics engine (which made the game’s 3D graphics look like hand-drawn illustrations). Unfortunately, despite those positive reviews, the game’s initial sales were disappointing. Edge Online noted that in a shopping season that included such commercial heavy-hitters, it’s no surprise that this uncommon title was lost in the shuffle.. However, word-of-mouth from the fans and continued support from Sega’s Western branches through promotions and DLC releases managed to help the game make an unusual recovery. In April 2009, an entire six months after its release, the game’s sales quadrupled, almost matching the sales numbers of the month it launched. At that point, the future of the franchise seemed bright indeed.
But then news hit the gaming media that Valkyria Chronicles 2 would be a PSP exclusive. The reaction from the fans wasn’t positive, as few of the people who played the original game owned a PSP. Sadly the portable had only been enjoying decent sales in Japan, which didn’t bode well for the game’s chances to enjoy the same success as the original. While the sequel was still localized (with English voice-overs no less) and once again received favorable reviews, its fate was all but certain. And this time around the game’s sales didn’t manage to recover. As a consequence the third game in the franchise, Valkyria Chronicles 3, was only released in Japan. Sega later confirmed that Valkyria Chronicles 2 did not sell enough to justify localization costs of Valkyria Chronicles 3.
Localization Status
Despite the move to a different platform the franchise still retained a loyal fanbase. When it became clear that Valkyria Chronicles 3 wasn’t going to be localized, the fans responded with a campaign called the Gallian Liberation Front. With an online petition, letters and the use of social media fans tried to convince Sega to localize Valkyria Chronicles 3. Near the end of 2011, Sega’s Associate Brand Manager Aaron Webber received over 2000 signatures from fans asking for a release of VC3. When questioned about the possibility of VC3 being localized, he noted that “all hope is not lost” and encouraged fans to not give up and “keep growing the cause”. Unfortunately it seems this wasn’t enough to convince Sega. Another year went by without any news from Sega regarding a localization of VC3. A new game in the franchise, Valkyria Duels, was announced in Japan, but it turned out to be a browser game which lacked an actual storyline and relied on an ever-increasing use of fanservice to drive card sales.
In 2013 though, fan demand for Valkyria Chronicles 3 made a surprise return when Sony’s Shahid Kamal Ahmad decided to poll (on Twitter) which JRPG’s gamers would like to see released for the Vita. VC3 came in third in total votes, behind only Final Fantasy Type-0 and the Tales of Hearts/Innocence games. Even more impressive was the Operation Rainfall poll that followed shortly afterwards, where fans were again asked to vote which game they wanted to see localized. Even though pit against other Sega franchises such as Yakuza 5, the game took a quick lead in the number of votes and Yakuza fans had to make a genuine effort to rally support and overtake VC3 to claim the top spot. Even so, VC3 still ended up getting 35% of the votes (for a total of 6,894 votes). Even though Valkyria Chronicles 3 was released in 2011, the poll showed that fans still hadn’t forgotten about it. Sony later announced the formation of a “Third Party Production Team”, to help bring third-party franchises to the PS4, PS3 and Vita. They asked for fan input on which third-party games they’d like to see, and Valkyria Chronicles fans again responded. The comments in their blog post in particular received a large number of requests for Valkyria Chronicles 3. And with all this going on, a fan translation for the game is still continuing.
How can you help?
The reason Valkyria Chronicles 3 wasn’t localized is ultimately due to the poor sales of Valkyria Chronicles 2. Years ago, we wouldn’t have been able to change this situation as the game would be out of print. But nowadays, things are different. The game is still available as a digital download on PSN and costs only $10 on PSN. The fact is that every sale still matters as, unlike the second-hand market, every digital sale is money that’s going to Sega. You can indeed vote with your wallet. Buying VC2 is still the best way of showing Sega you want to see VC3 localized. And if you buy the game, or get others to buy it, tweet it to Sega or let them know on their Facebook page. Let them know we are still around, and that as far as we’re concerned we still want to see the franchise return to its former glory. The link to the VC2 page on Sony’s US store can be found here.
Unfortunately, the game can’t be bought directly from PSN for the PS Vita, although it does actually work. To get the game onto the PS Vita, you’ll need a PS3 as explained in this SegaNerds article:
How to play Valkyria Chronicles 2 on your PlayStation Vita
Note that for the EU this workaround isn’t necessary, although that only goes for the main game and not the DLC.
Other than buying VC2, you can also help by tweeting @Sega or posting on their blog or Facebook page and letting them know you want to see VC3 localized.
How can Sega help?
This might seem like an odd topic to discuss. Obviously, if Sega wants to help, they should just localize the game, right? But even if they can’t do that directly, there might be a way for them to help us. Or let us help them. Here are a number of things Sega could do to support the franchise:
- Release the original PS3 game as a digital download on PSN
- Make VC2 officially compatible with the PS Vita, making it downloadable from the PS Vita’s PSN store directly
- Make a deal with third parties that have already expressed interest in localizing Valkyria Chronicles 3.
These are just some examples of steps Sega can take to help the franchise and its fans.
Links
Official
Archive of the official US Valkyria Chronicles website
Official Valkyria Chronicles Facebook page
Official Japanese Valkyria Chronicles 3 website
Fan websites
Valkyria Chronicles 3 Translation Project
Valkyria Chronicles 3 fansite
Gallian Liberation Front website
Gallian Liberation Front on Facebook
Gallian Liberation Front on Twitter
Valkyria Chronicles Wiki
Alicia’s Bakery