Is there room for trophies for Valkyria Chronicles?

24Feb/100

Is there room for trophies for Valkyria Chronicles?

One of the more polarizing issues I have seen as of late within the Valkyria Chronicles fandom is the notion of incorporating trophies into the game. Since their introduction with Sony PS3 Firmware 2.40 in July 2008, the issue of trophies as source of contention between fans who believe the feature to be useless beyond bragging rights and those who feel that the addition of trophies extend the longevity of the game. The odd thing is that there isn't a whole lot of motion towards providing some means of integrating trophies into games prior to the adoption of Trophies. For the most part games that have come out since have had the option built-in, probably due to a mandate of Sony's. There are the odd few games that were released prior to July 2008 that have a patch produced that gives players the opportunity to get trophies; one of these games happens to be Disgaea 3, which was released 3 months prior to Valkyria Chronicles. The trophies in Disgaea 3 aren't really focused on achievements made during the game, such as defeating a boss or beating the game while viewing certain cut scenes; Disgaea 3's trophies focus on the expansion of gameplay once you have beaten it.

For instance, one of the trophies are for defeating certain enemies in the game's Item World "dungeon", or doing 10 billion damage, or even doing some pirating. This sort of approach to trophies is the kind that I actually am pretty cool with. It doesn't really take away from the story as you play the game, it's sort of like New Game+ in older JRPGs from the PS1 and PS2 era. On the other hand you have games such as Killzone 2 in which the trophies are part of the main gameplay. For instance, in Killzone 2 you get trophies for defeating a boss and even beating the game. These sort of trophies, at least to me, don't really get me all charged up to play it beyond the first time I beat it.

It was quite recent that rumours started up, yet again, that an undisclosed fan favourite PS3 title would be getting trophies. This was due in large part to a recent IGN podcast which caused a bit of commotion as to whether the undisclosed title was Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots or Valkyria Chronicles, both titles in which fans are clamoring for trophy support. In the end it turned out that it was Game of the Year, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, that was getting additional multiplayer trophies as part of a new Downloadable Content (DLC) pack being released by Naughty Dog. This news did not dissuade fans when a new post was published on the Sega of America blog that a new DLC package was being released for Valkyria Chronicles. The blog entry brought quite a slew of comments, myself included, asking that they incorporate trophy support in the game. I would think that it wouldn't be too much of a stretch considering that the game itself sort of has trophies in the form of medals which are gained by meeting certain requirements such as killing a certain number of Imperial soldiers or completing certain chapters in the game. The argument persisted in the comments section regarding trophies. Some fans felt that those begging for trophies should just realize that Sega isn't going to incorporate them, others feel that it is foolish to buy and play a game only to acquire trophies and increase your online bragging rights, and there are even others who are supportive of the idea of trophies and believe, like I do, that they would add replay value. Having said that, even without trophies I have found myself replaying Valkyria Chronicles several times, without no gain aside from the pleasure and enjoyment of the game.

Personally, I feel that these trophies should have some sort of benefit to the player. I believe Final Fantasy XIII has a trophy that, when unlocked, provides the player with a custom theme that can be use on the PS3. This kind of trophy is a good one, you get something back for accomplishing it aside from the feeling of accomplishment you get when seeing that notification that you have got a new trophy. If games were to incorporate this more often I think it would go to great lengths to improving a player's enjoyment of the game. It would be nice if there could be a mix of trophies that unlock in-game features and ones that simply note that you have achieved something. With Valkyria Chronicles as an example, perhaps a trophy for killing a certain number of Imperials would give the player the opportunity to upgrade a weapon or even be given in-game items such as new weapons, like the Ruhm, which is acquired once you have beaten the corresponding DLC. Other trophies, for example such as having collected all the Enemy Ace weapons, would give you a notice that you have accomplished this feat. These are just ideas if Sega were to ever incorporate trophies, but I do believe there is something more that they could add that is far better than trophies, namely a multiplayer option.

It always struck me as odd that the first Valkyria Chronicles game did not have a multiplayer feature. I have always felt it would have added more replay value to the game had there been the ability for owners of the game to challenge one another to skirmishes. In Valkyria Chronicles 2 there is a multiplayer feature present in which you will be able to play other players via the PSP's built-in wireless adapter. This might be a challenging venture for Sega to even bother considering and would take more work than just adding trophies, but can you honestly not think how fun it would be to play other fans of the game in skirmishes? I know I would pay to be able to get that as a feature! However as it stands this sort of feature won't find its way to the PS3 until Sega announces a new title in the franchise for the PS3. Here's hoping that happens and sooner rather than later!