My first blog post on Giant Bomb. Let's see what we can talk about here! Even though I still haven’t been able to play Valkyria Chronicles, it certainly has my attention. Developed by Sega and the same studio responsible for titles such as Skies of Arcadia, Valkyria Chronicles is a tactical role-playing game set during World War 2 exclusive for the PlayStation 3. What sets this game apart from the Japanese tactical RPG crowd is its unique water color visuals powered by Sega’s Canvas engine. Everything feels as if it was being drawn real-time by an artist telling his story. Have you played this game before?

I’m quite sure that its style combined with the innovative gameplay mechanics has made Valkyria Chronicles so popular amongst it fans, although its a shame the game hasn’t been selling well. Its said that poor marketing is to blame for this, which resulted in a lot of hardcore role-playing gamers not even being aware of its existence when the game was released. Sega remains faithful in their title however, as Valkyria Chronicles is giving birth to a whole line-up of new products.

Soon after the game was released, a visual novel, art book and even its own exclusive animation show followed in Japan. Which makes Valkyria Chronicles seem as if its is turning into an entire franchise. Producer Ryutaro Nonaka has expressed interest in making another title during interviews. While this isn’t a confirmation of a sequel coming any time soon, the producer admitted that he didn’t want to stop at just one title.

The two visual novels (or manga) were both released in November of 2008 and are entirely based on the game. The animation made its debut earlier this month and is directed by Yasutaka Yamamoto with music composed by Michiko Yokote. I’ve watched the beginning of the first episode and was thoroughly impressed. I’m not sure how close it will stay to the game, though.