Onward Christian Soldiers

  • Addit
  • 02/08/2014 01:56 PM
  • 5683 views


A Game Made By: Archeia_Nessiah & Fandrey
Created Using: Custom Engine (Flash)
It's A: SIMULATION RPG Game
That Roughly Takes Around: 6 - 12 Hours To Complete
And It's A... COMPLETED GAME!!!


You know that whenever an independent indie franchise manages to get a second game in the series that you know it must be pretty good. The original Valthirian Arc was a pretty good, if not a bit repetitive at times, tactical flash based RPG that seemed to have done pretty well for itself and garnered a bit of a cult following, so much so that the fans of the original demanded a sequel. And, for what seemed like an eternity for most kids this generation, after three long glorious years the second instalment, Valthirian Arc II, finally arrived for us all to bask in its magnificent splendour on the Interwebs! Yaaaaaay!

You know, I really didn’t think there was going to be a second one; I thought that was going to be it. One game, that’s all. Even though when I asked Nessy back then if there was ever going to be a second one and she said “FOR DAMN SURE THERE WILL” – I still didn’t believe her! But…I guess I was proven wrong once again. Never doubt the power of an artist.

So when I saw that brilliant title logo gracing the front page of RMN’s buzzing list sometime back - I just had to play it, I just had to! But like most of the empty promises that I tend to keep, I lazily waited for a couple months, waiting for the perfect opportunity to review this puppy. And now, thanks to the Reviewrim contest wrapping up, I can finally close the chapter for my participation in the event by grabbing my last badge by reviewing a sequel well worth the wait. Does it deliver and take the series even further than the last? Let’s find out.

The Story


…Weren’t you the jerk that fired my ass back in Valthirian Arc I?


Unlike the original game that didn’t really have much of a story other than just train a bunch of brats up to graduate in order to keep your job for another week, this one actually has a bit of a plot in it – and actual character development this time!

Once again, the academy is looking to hire a new principal for one of their brand newest schools built in Valthiria. These schools are responsible for pumping out some of the world’s finest soldiers, mages and scouts, as it seems to have worked pretty well in the past. Jeanne, who is your receptionist along with a bunch of other facility staff, including the return of Eva from the first game (who is now sporting green hair for some reason) have been entrusted into helping you managing, manufacturing and even preparing the missions for your students to undertake into. Your primary role is to see that your academy grows beyond what it is capable of and defend all of Valthria from the many evils that plague it and its citizens from the outside world. Can you be the one that leads the academy to find true success and utter glory!?

Although the story isn’t entirely noteworthy, it’s great that there’s actually some character interaction and even a bit of history and knowledge about the world itself. That’s one of the things that was a bit lacking in the last game but really wasn’t a necessary component to be tackled on for something like this, so I’m glad that these guys decided to add in something like that, really makes the whole setting and background come to life. It’s also nice to see past elements from the previous game also make an appearance, like some of the enemies from the last game and even Eva herself, who was the original instructor in the first. They basically took a game that didn’t really have much of a plot other than just a simple objective and tried their best to turn into something doable, and that’s really admirable here. I guess if there was one thing I wish they decide to do for a future installment is to have the students interact with each other, almost like a dating simulation. But that’s probably something for another time.


The Gameplay


Lousy punks!


Compared to the original, this is a huge – HUGE – improvement over it in pretty much every single way imaginable. These guys took everything that players found fault in the original game and beefed it up the best that they possible could.

Once again, the objective is to train students through battling, sending them on errands, etc. in order for them to grow and level up so you can upgrade their class, equip new gear, and eventually, if you wish, promote them and let them graduate. Wait a minute – “if you wish?” But wasn’t that the main objective in the last game otherwise you’d be fired? Wrong, my friend. You see, unlike the original game, YOU CANNOT GET FIRED THIS TIME, so don’t sweat it out. Instead of going with the more traditional arcade approach where your goal was to acquire a high score at the end, this game decided to go more of an adventure / god-like experience where the player can take as much time as they want in order to build their academy and do things their own way. In my opinion, this was a brilliant move, removing the sense of panic and allowing you more time and freedom to do what you want.

Speaking of the academy – there is SO much to do in it. When you start off the game, your school will only consist of a few empty rooms and only three students that you acquire right from the start. As you receive more fame from completing missions and running errands and graduating your students, your academy will grow to house more types of classrooms and even more students. You can build a wide assortment of different classrooms and even provide upgrades and even assign tutors to them, for a price, to help train your students even faster. This part reminded me so much of the old Sim City games that you can literally spend a lot of time on this part just alone.

As for your little ragamuffins, the customization setup has grown even more so than the original game. In addition to equipping new weapons and upgrading their classes, you can now equip different sets of armor on them as well, AND CHANGE THEIR NAMES FOR FREE THIS TIME *claps* The upgrades you can get usually depend on competing certain quests and upgrading your facilities, so make sure you spend a lot of time on that department.

Battling is pretty much the only component that hasn’t really changed that much from the original game, other than some minor details. Once again, it’s four students taking on hordes of enemies while using the mouse to guide your characters across the map and select a target and watch them swing towards the fences. This time, however, instead of a Principal Intervention gauge that fills up and you can activate for assistance, each character can perform an ultimate attack once their gauge fills up to max. Unleashing this attack, especially at different classes, can perform quite an array of different attacks and defensive abilities. Some characters can heal and status buff party members while others can dish out some devastating offensive damage. At least this game offers a bit of strategy within the fights this time other than just click, click, click and pray to god that you don’t die.

That’s just the icing on the cake. Although this game may not have a high scoring system like its cousin does, it sacrifices that in favor of a much deeper, more free roaming experience that I personally prefer more over the other one. There’s just so much more to do in this game that the time just flies by, hour after hour, having so much fun customizing your students and your facilities until your heart’s content.


The Soundtrack


Running like a tight oiled machine!


I’m a bit iffy when it comes to the soundtrack and sound department for this game, mostly because I’m comparing it directly with the first. I thought the original game had a pretty superb soundtrack with a pretty amazing and upbeat sort of voiceover cast. Sure, some people found it a little bit annoying - but it was still pretty cool. Valthirian Arc II continues the traditional with its musical score providing some pretty catchy, if not a bit repetitive at times, soundtrack. I liked a couple of the tracks while a few of them are just okay. It isn’t the greatest thing I’ve ever heard, but since it’s custom ordinated, I have to give these guys props. The musical score kind of reminds me of that of some the earlier Game Boy Advance games for its time. Perhaps not the richest in sound but providing a nice beat throughout.

The sound effects are good, and I do like some of the menu sounds used, but it’s the voiceovers that are a bit disappointing compared to the first. It seems like most of the voice actors doing the roles really just didn’t seem that much interested in it and provided sort of a mundane sort of quality to them. Luckily, similar to the first game, you can turn the voices off if you wish, but they do get more tolerable after a while, similar with the first. Perhaps not all the voice actors could come back to this game, so I completely understand, but it’s still less than the series’ usual quality. Overall, the soundtrack and sound department are still exceptionally good, but it’s not quite as good as its cousin.


The Aesthetics


Peeps be pimpin’!


A vast – vast – improvement from the first game, even though it really wasn’t that much of a major cause of concern in the first place. Once again, the graphical presentation, especially for a flash game, looks fantastic. The character and monster sprites look far more detailed and run even more smoothly compared to the first; the character portraits look professionally done (even though it does seem to copy and paste in regards to their clothing styles, only switching out facial features to make them try and look more unique); and even the menu layouts look ten times better than they did before. I didn’t think it was possible that they could upgrade any further in the graphical department compared to the first – but they did it. They freakin’ did it. I can’t really complain about anything here. Although one of the things I will complement on it is that I do like that there are more detailed maps and different changes of layout instead of just the usual grassy field or tournament tilesets from the first. It’s nice to see more backdrops used than just the same old one setting all the time.

The End Result


Onwards Christian soldiers, marching as to war…!!!


Valthirian Arc II does something that most sequels always try to strive to be: better and more memorable than the first. Usually a lot of these don’t pan out just right, but I like to think that this one did. This game took everything that the original had that was faulty with it and expanded it farther and further than it could possibly ever reach. Not only was this a blast to play, but it was addicting as HELL, man; I just simply couldn’t put it down.

I think the greatest move that they did was make it so that each game in the series is unique in its own way and plays quite differently than the rest; one game is sort of an arcade styled classic while the other one plays more like a freeroaming god-like / tactical simulation game. And that’s what most developers should try and do if they’re planning on making another addition to their series’; you want to make people come back to play all of your installments of that franchise that offer very different experiences with each one. You don’t want to just make one game that’s clearly vastly superior to the original that no one would ever come back to; you want to make people play ALL of your games! And that’s why I think the Valthirian Arc series did it right. Both games are a blast to play and offer two very different spectrum's of entertainment.

And although I do feel that the sequel is a better all-around game that the original, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check out both of them. This is clearly one of the best and most addicting games that I have ever played on RMN thus far. You can tell that those three years polishing this badboy was well worth the wait. And who knows!? Maybe if a Valthirian Arc III happens to come out (not bloody likely, but who knows) it will improve on everything that this game did (…again) and even add a dating simulation aspect to it – or something else that’s far more impressive!

Never doubt the power of an artist.




OVERALL GRADE:
5 / 5 - A ~ Perfection. Absolute Perfection.

Posts

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Aw Addit, thanks for the review! We're glad you enjoyed it :D
You’re welcome, Ness. ^^

(Now go make me a Valthirian Arc III.)
Idk if Agate Studios have plans for a 3rd one (I highly doubt it?) but we'll see :0
Tell them that I will bake them all homemade cookies if they do. :D

- GOOD HOMEMADE COOKIES!
If they do make a 3rd one, they need to use not Flash and get it greenlit on Steam.

I'd vote for it.
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