Especially with there being a fan translation patch out there now.
A little backstory first: The first Valkyria Chronicles was the very first game I picked up for my PS3 many years ago. I actually bought it before I even owned a PS3 because I was so certain I'd like it. However I found the game a little disappointing when I eventually got around to finishing it. The core gameplay was neat, but it had more than a few notable flaws, and the story was full of too many lame anime cliches. (I have a fairly high tolerance for anime, but VC hit too many of the wrong notes.) I still thought it was a decent game, but I don't have as fond of memories of it as some people. Because of this I never touched VC2 because nothing I heard about it suggested it fixed anything I disliked about VC1. (And introduced even more to not like.)
Okay, so onto VC3. I just reached chapter 6 and so far it seems like a better game than VC1. The story and characters are still very anime, but a bit less blandly so, I guess. Kurt is a bit more believable as a leader than Welkin, who acted too much like a scatter-brained doofus too often. I also like that there's more than just a couple characters in your group that participate in the story, even if it's only minor. One of the issues I had with VC1 is that most of the more interesting characters had no role outside of combat. (That game would have been so much better if Vyse and Aika had notable story roles.) It does mean there are significantly less characters to choose from than VC1, but that's balanced out by the fact that you have significantly more control over customizing them. I also think playing as basically a suicide squad is interesting, although setting it in the background of the events of VC1 seems a little forced. (Especially considering I'm almost certain one of the characters is secretly another Valkyria.)
The gameplay is where it feels most notably improved though. It's still very very similar, but there's a few key changes that improve the experience. The classes generally seem more balanced for one. Or at the least Scouts don't overshadow all the other classes. Having your scouts make a beeline to the objective is really not that effective anymore. Part of that is due to the way missions are split into smaller maps. Being able to leap-frog your party between bases as you advance means that a shocktroopers limited AP doesn't make them feel practically useless, because they can actually get into the fray much easier and more often. Also, given that bases are your gateway between the maps, protecting them is actually an important strategy. You can't just sweep across the battlefield, killing everything in your way. If you're not careful you can quickly lose ground from enemies sneaking around you and stealing your bases.
The changes to the upgrade system also generally seem for the better. I did like that exp was universally shared for each class, but it was still abuseable if you pumped most of it into a specific class. (Like, say, Scouts.) Now you just level specifically stats that universally benefit all classes. On the flip-side, you don't access to the more advanced version of the classes without using a specific character with a specific class in combat, which does eventually limit you down to a core group of most used favorites.
There are also a few new classes that unlock as you progress in the game, but so far I've only just unlocked the second one (Gunner) and I haven't found much use for the first one. (Armored-tech.)
I also like all new options for tank customization. In VC1 you had your big clunky tank that you could modify with parts, but it was mostly just stat differences. Now you can modify its frame for armor vs mobility or make it an APC that has limited combat capability, but can carry units across the battlefield for free. You can also add various utility parts, like a lamp to negate the negative effects of night, or an arm that can place ladders or bridges that your units can use for shortcuts. The tank was always strong, but now it's a very valuable utility as well.
Lastly, the English patch I'm using seems decent, although it's clearly not 100% complete. There's still some untranslated text (although nothing that has been very detrimental yet) and I've noticed more than a few obvious spelling and grammatical errors. The text also often clips outside the boxes and sometimes off the screen.
It's a real shame this is the game they decided not to localize, because it feels like the game where they were finally starting to get things right, even with the limitations of the PSP. Anyone who liked VC1 or was disappointed VC2 and has yet to give this a try should do so. I haven't played it enough to wholeheartedly endorse it, but I feel like I've played enough to recommend it.
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