Valkyria Chronicles 4 announced for PS4, Xbox One and Switch

Sega's cult classic Japanese RPG from the last console generation makes a return. Again.

It's about now that Valkyria Chronicles fans can finally shed their reputation as 'long suffering' and finally break away from many Japanese RPG fans as we declare: they've probably got it alright. After PSP games that didn't get localized and a big old void, Valkyria Chronicles finally seems to matter again - and Sega has reaffirmed their commitment with the announcement of Valkyria Chronicles 4.

We actually got a Valkyria sequel earlier this year in the form of Valkyria Revolution - but that game was dubious at best and veered far away from the strategy-driven combat that made the original PS4 exclusive so well-regarded and helped it to find a new, wider audience when it was eventually ported to Steam and current generation systems. Being a numbered sequel, this is a proper continuation from that game and its PSP sequels, unlike Revolution.

The game will launch for PS4 in Japan on March 21st 2018, while the Switch release will follow later in that territory. The West is getting an Xbox One version as well, and it'll launch with both the other versions over here sometime this year too.

This is actually a pretty packed announcement, revealing new features for the game such as a new Grenadier character class, a new 'Last Stand' option when characters are near death, and the promise of large-scale battlefields. Much-loved composer Hitoshi Sakimoto (best known for Final Fantasy 12, Tactics and the original Valkyria Chronicles) is also back on board for this game.

If you don't know what Valkyria Chronicles is, it's basically a strategy RPG that's set in a Japanese anime-tinted version of the second world war. It fits better than you'd think, and that's why it's become a bit of a beloved cult classic. Here's hoping this one can keep up with fan expectations where Valkyria Revolution faceplanted!