Valkyria Chronicles: Design Archive

 (27 customer reviews)

Customer Video Review Length:: 1:28 Mins

I have the Japanese edition of this art book as well. There's not much difference except there's no dust jacket here.

It's a 400-page thick book and Udon did a good job with the binding this time, much better than some of their previous books. The binding is a bit stiff but at least the pages don't threaten to fall off. You'll still want to be careful with the spine though, it is a very thick book.

What's unique about the game is perhaps the graphics, which resembles watercolour paintings. It reminds me instantly of the game Okami which also uses a traditional art style.

The book is split into different chapters, namely Story, Characters, Weapon Machine, Military Affairs Natural History, Geography, Illustration, Preproduction and Interview. It's loaded with beautiful concept art for all aspect of the game. Character designs, storyboards, background art, promotional art, etc.

If you haven't played the game yet, the...Read more

Simply put this book has anything and EVERYTHING you could want to know about the Valkyria Chronicles franchise (encompassing the first game). History, Geographic regions, Weapons & Armaments, Classes, etc. Not only do you get info and imagery of in-game content, but also information and designs of various objects that were left out of the final release such as Tanks, APCs, Weapons, Characters, etc. The book is solidly constructed and the paper quality is quite good. As the guy above mentioned a hard cover would have been nice, but there are absolutely no qualms about the actual content.

This book is truly a beautiful art book as well as an informative encyclopedia about the Valkyria Chronicles world. I loved seeing the creative process to create the game and well as the commentary from the creators. There are full character histories, comments from the design team, a summary of the game, information on weapons/scenery/props, and even documents from the "inter office presentations" where the game designs pitched the story.

Definitely worth the money for Valkyria fans as well as those who enjoy a beautiful artbook.

On a side note, I hope Udon follows through with the artbook for the second game, and maybe considers translating the manga. They certainly did a beautiful job with this one!