Customer Reviews

Valkyria Chronicles: Design Archive

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Length:: 1:28 Mins

I have the Japanese edition of this art book as well. There's not much difference except there's no dust jacket here.

It's a 400-page thick book and Udon did a good job with the binding this time, much better than some of their previous books. The binding is a bit stiff but at least the pages don't threaten to fall off. You'll still want to be careful with the spine though, it is a very thick book.

What's unique about the game is perhaps the graphics, which resembles watercolour paintings. It reminds me instantly of the game Okami which also uses a traditional art style.

The book is split into different chapters, namely Story, Characters, Weapon Machine, Military Affairs Natural History, Geography, Illustration, Preproduction and Interview. It's loaded with beautiful concept art for all aspect of the game. Character designs, storyboards, background art, promotional art, etc.

If you haven't played the game yet, the first chapter covers the game. This section will be a major spoiler as it covers the key events for every battle from start to finish.

There's plenty of character design. There are so many characters I lost count somewhere. Each character has different drawn profiles, uniforms, weapons, armour and gadgets. Just like the game, all these are in watercolour style with pencils. There's also plenty of commentary on the design.

Under the Weapons and Machine sections, lots of tanks are featured, among other war machines. You'll get to see the different sides of the tank profiles and 3D models before and after paint is added. They are very beautiful and detailed. Absolutely gorgeous. All the fact sheets are included, as with all the characters.

And there are also the set and background concept art for the locations. Most of them are development sketches and paintings.

Right at the end are few pages of interviews with the production team and the music composer Hitoshi Sakimoto.

This book is well worth the money, considering it's also much cheaper than the Japanese edition. It's loaded with so much content that every page takes a while to admire. There are so much details to see and much to read.

Highly recommended to fans of the game, artists and those who just like anything military related.

Simply put this book has anything and EVERYTHING you could want to know about the Valkyria Chronicles franchise (encompassing the first game). History, Geographic regions, Weapons & Armaments, Classes, etc. Not only do you get info and imagery of in-game content, but also information and designs of various objects that were left out of the final release such as Tanks, APCs, Weapons, Characters, etc. The book is solidly constructed and the paper quality is quite good. As the guy above mentioned a hard cover would have been nice, but there are absolutely no qualms about the actual content.

This book is truly a beautiful art book as well as an informative encyclopedia about the Valkyria Chronicles world. I loved seeing the creative process to create the game and well as the commentary from the creators. There are full character histories, comments from the design team, a summary of the game, information on weapons/scenery/props, and even documents from the "inter office presentations" where the game designs pitched the story.

Definitely worth the money for Valkyria fans as well as those who enjoy a beautiful artbook.

On a side note, I hope Udon follows through with the artbook for the second game, and maybe considers translating the manga. They certainly did a beautiful job with this one!

Just received my item and let me tell you that the book rocks:) I only wish it was a hardcover, but its a must have for fans of Valkyria Chronicles. Hopefully the anime gets translated over.

Though this is the first art book I've purchased, it's by far exceeded my expectations. Being a huge fan of the original Valkyria Chronicles game, I wanted to read about what went into designing the universe of Gallia and Europa. The book has been professionally localized and includes tons of casual notes from artists that really demonstrate how much love went into designing some of Valkyria Chronicles' most memorable characters. Just about every facet of the game is explored, from how many pointed tips the artists wanted to put on Alicia's headband, to the significance of license numbers given to Gallian tanks. A huge interview with the producers and leads at the end of the book details the days when Valkyria Chronicles was just an idea. Fans of the game's soundtrack will be particularly happy to know that there is an interview with the game's composer, Hitoshi Sakimoto, with brief liners of each piece explaining Sakimoto's thoughts on his on music. Simply put, this art book is a must have.

Having seen the anime but having never really played the game (being a 360 owner) I got this more as an anime fan than a game junkie. And even though it is supposed to be about/for the game, overall it still did not disappoint. It feels more a book about everything Valkyria related rather than be specifically focused on just one or the other. Though there are a lot of screenshots from the game, but the character designs are almost the same as in the anime so it doesn't quite feel like it's all about the game....plus there is also a ton of artwork too, so it really balances out.

There's sections on everything the characters,the vehicles,the missions,the weapons,the outfits,the locations,etc
(it's the whole reason the book is so big)

Practically everything you would want to know about from either end (game/anime) is in this book

so again, it's definitely a must have for fans

Exceeded all of my expectations for an art book. If you love a game and want to explore it in all its detail, you couldn't ask for a better product than this. This book absolutely enriches your experience. It should be three times the price. The commentary, the detail, the complete comprehensive scale, the paper quality - everything you could want is here. Great English translation as well.

Valkyria Chronicles belongs in a museum, and this Design Archive belongs in the gift shop.

This has got to be the best and most comprehensive video game art book I have ever seen. The fact that it is also less than 30 bucks and 400 pages also makes it the best deal I have ever seen on an art book. I'm not sure why the book is currently under review by Amazon and not available, because the book is exactly what I expected it to be. I'm not sure what customers are complaining about. If you were on the fence about this book, I have to say it is a great deal for all of the beautiful art you get...... even if you're not a hard core fan of the game... like me.

I am in love with this series. The game is one of the best game I have played this gen. If it had trophy I would have 100% it. With this love, I knew I had to buy this book. Boy was it worth it, it is currently one of the best art book I had ever own. Beating out my other favorite art book also publish by Udon SF20. With this book, you can see the love the designer went through to put the book together. It has beautiful artwork for each characters as well as the weapons, and scenery are explain in detail. It even goes into the story of the game, and how it all played out. At 400 page you can spend week reading through it, or just gaze at the beautiful art for inspiration. This is a must own for fans of the game as well as fan of the anime or just art book in general. You will not be disappointed. The wait was worth it.
To bad I don't share the same love for Valkyria Chronicles 2 for psp. If only they kept the same art style and kept it on ps3. But nope they had to make it a generic anime style game, which lost it uniqueness. This lend me to not beating part 2 to this very day. But none-the-less I will put in a pre order for Valkyria Chronicles 2 art book as well and hope it as good a quality book as this one, so let the wait begin.

This art book is just beautiful in all aspects. The only thing I could ever wish from this is for a hardcover version. I always am extra careful handling paperbacks, due to possible corner creases! This design archive not only showcases the rejected concept arts, but also the weapons and vehicles from the game. I have owned other art books from Udon and thank them for bringing this to the US.