Genre: Strategy RPG
Developer: Sega WOW
Publisher: Sega

Like other forms of animation, video games have the potential to marry the very best hand drawn art with the panache of polished cinematographic techniques. No game illustrates this principle in action as thoroughly as Valkyria Chronicles, which oscillates from beautiful water-colored looking stages and character portraits to some of the most stunning cut-scenes ever created, which seem to literally explode from the screen in a flourish.

Hitoshi Sakimoto, who incidentally was greatly maligned for his severely wanting Final Fantasy XII soundtrack, proves with his Valkyria Chronicles composition that he is in actuality among the upper tier of video game maestros, putting together a collection of Japanese-RPG sounding selections, but with appropriately strong military undercurrents. The Japanese voice acting cast is for the most part a tad understated, which is refreshing in an age of the short attention span, "in your face" presentation that inundates today's media.

Half of what comes in Valkyria Chronicles-- the unit placement phase, the turn-based flow-- is standard SRPG fare. But the meat of the game lies in the new mechanics: the pseudo real-time character movement, the way in which tank combat is so seamlessly integrated, and the strategic emphasis on aiming, combined with the outstandingly balanced stages and well-paced story elements, make for a SRPG experience straight from the top drawer.

Like the voice acting, the character development is a bit understated, almost but not quite like good cinema. While the story is made up of the shallow and overdone themes that Japanese RPG stories tend to contain, it's far less labored and meretricious than other such titles from the far East, in part because of its less esoteric nature. On the balance, the dazzling art direction, nuanced and inventive gameplay, and endearing soundtrack make for one of the Playstation 3's very best titles.