Sega is definitely investing in their new “Valkyria Chronicles” franchise. Not long after the PS3 sleeper hit Strategy RPG was released, a TV anime was launched, a PSP sequel was published, and now a third game in the series (also PSP) is in the works.
This albums contains a collection of vocal themes from the two games and the TV anime. To my knowledge it is “complete” to date; though, to be sure, more songs will come with more seasons of the anime and more games.
Like almost any vocal collection, there are winners, and there are absolute duds. The duds here, in my opinion, are Twintail and Riding That Wind. The latter is an autotuned male voice, and it has its own charm, but it’s not a song I could stand to listen to on repeat.
Most of the other songs, however, I totally can dig for 30 minutes of looping at a time. “Bonds to Tomorrow,” “Liar,” and “Our Story” are my favorites. I was surprised by “Our Story,” since it’s a male vocalist which I tend to dislike, and it’s a pretty kitsch pop ballad. Something about it… just works. The mix of Japanese with the occasional English lyric (“our story”) rhyming, it works! Hey, I can’t complain!
This music is nothing like Sakimoto’s instrumental BGM for the games. But it’s part of the franchise, and it’s something worth remembering. If you’re into Valkyria Chronicles, you may as well add this to your collection; it’s way better than hunting down each individual single for the games and anime, at any rate.
