I know I don’t usually do video game criticism on this blog, but I’m going to make an exception for the end of this chapter. During the playthrough, one of my viewers accused the final cinematic as being the most anime ending possible. I strongly disagree, and instead would argue that there are a lot more overall cultural reasons for this resolving itself the way it does.
First, a bit of recap: last week was the first part of the chapter, in which the Centurion is driven into the heart of the Imperial capital, thereby putting Squad E in a position to accomplish their overall objective and end the war with a single, decisive strike. The only price will be Angie, and the millions of civilians caught up in the blast.
But first, there’s one more battle to fight, as the traitorous Forsetti attempts to wrest control of the Centurion. And here’s where I have to start doing a bit of commentary. One of the recurring themes of Valkyria Chronicles 4 is how war changes people. Some, like Claude, find an inner strength they never knew they had. Others, like Forsetti, become twisted and broken, justifying their behavior by some imagined moral code of their own making.
Then there’s the ending. Which, again, I feel that I have to put up a reminder, Valkyria Chronicles 4 was developed by SEGA, in Japan. By Japanese developers. Try to convince me that there’s no cultural and historical commentary being woven into a game where a last second truce prevents setting off a city-destroying nuclear weapon.
Now, of course, we do get into the anime game aspect, which is that this isn’t the end. Some people just aren’t content to let a war end with a ceasefire. There’s still one more chapter to go!