So yeah, I've just bought Valkyria Revolution today. I knew going in that it would a different experience to the other Valkyria games but I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. After all, it's developed by Media Vision, the same team behind Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, which is one of my favourite JRPGs in recent years. Having only played a couple of hours so far here are my initial thoughts:
I like the art style; it's an extension of Valkyria Chronicle’s water colour style while still being able to do more thanks to the PS4's extra power. The high fantasy/steampunk-ish setting really helps in this regard. The set pieces in this game are absolutely beautiful, a real sense of imperial grandeur throughout.
I love the premise of the story. Basically, you're part of a small cabal actively manipulating your kingdom into pursuing an aggressive war of expansion. The idea is evil but there's still a clear sense of righteous fury to the whole thing, with the heroes motivated both by revenge and the desire to free their kingdom. It kind of reminds me of Persona 5 in a way, where the main cast follows a dark path in the pursuit of a noble goal.
Now, as for the gameplay... I can see why Valkyria Revolution has become so controversial, to say the least. It's a definite departure from the original turn based combat and because of that it lacks the tactical sophistication that made the first game so renowned. But so far, I don't hate the new combat mechanics, I treat Vaklyria Revolution as its own game, with its own unique quirks. It will be interesting to see how the mechanics open as I get further into the game.