Awesome screenshot for awesome episode. Fitting.

Garrick: Oh, wow. I might have missed episode 13 thanks to AX, but the awesomeness that is episode 14 will make up for that. Quite glad I am that I’ve gotten the priviledge to review this, because I’ve done an well below par job over this season, and well… that may not change. But the point is, I’m here, and I’ll try to do this best I can. Because this episode deserves it.

Garrick: I’ve gotta compare this episode to the game. The taking of Fouzen. The monster fortress guarded by a giant train with a frikken big cannon. Trouble, I think so. But, of course, we don’t get just the battle. We get more. We get character interactions, morality issues, and… Oh. Wow. Is that Zaka/Rosie I see? *mind explodes*

Garrick: Of course, I could go a lot into the pairings that come up this episode, but I think that’s more fitting for the end-post section, so, I’ll just go into some of the other things, that I may have left behind by not blogging episode 13.

Garrick: For one, the Imperials are using Fouzen as a mining city for resources… and uh… Easiest way to get workers is to use a race that’s been discriminated against for a while. Who? The Darcsens. Of course, a lot of the episode is devoted to Rosie’s hatred of the Darcsen race and how she deals with what she sees… There’s even a scene of her trying to comfort a lost Darcsen child… But, yeah. You can tell that somehow… that hatred will become some sort of fighting point. And that point is revealed this episode.

Garrick: Meanwhile, one of the points in this episode is the liberation of Fouzen’s Darcsens. Those that were being “enslaved” by the Imperials to labor. Of course, what stands in their way… (that is, Squad 7 and, of course, Faldio) is the really big-ass armored train. Overpowered much? You bet.

Garrick: But, against all odds (like always), Squad 7 wins. You can’t have game over yet. That’s no fun. So, using Zaka’s help, and an Imperial army tank comandeered by Ramal and Isara (Isara is LOVE), they blast down the rails holding up the giant armored train… and, uh, General Gregor and his beloved city of Fouzen fall to its death.

Garrick: I may have forgotten to mention, though, that while Largo did manage to release some amount of the captive Darcsens… they mostly got blasted. By one cannon shot from the big guy. So, that kind of sucks. And, Rosie, ever emotional about human life, gets infuriated by the heartless killing… and nearly gets blasted to bits herself. But in the end, Zaka saves her (a nice scene I didn’t get to see in the game), and… uh… good game for the big boss.

Garrick: Oh, might I say, they just found a way to add another Faldio/Alicia moment. This time, it’s being saved from a sniper shot. I don’t know how Faldio saw the guy getting ready to fire, but… we get a moment where the two are on top of each other on the ground… and.. well… Faldio, being the guy he is, wants to savor the moment. Go you.

Who cares about Welkin/Faldio/Alicia? It's about Zaka/Rosie!

Garrick’s Valkyria Chronicles (PS3) <–> Valkyria Chronicles (TV) Comparison Section:

Oh.

Wow. Talk about differences again. Not that it’s really any different. It’s, once again, the character interactions. And, really? They work.

I remember talking with Minnie and her friend, Phantom, about Valkyria Chronicles, and this came up. There’s a love triangle in the anime. There isn’t one in the game. Why? Because that’s how each of the mediums work. Traditionally character based, an anime can better portray these kind of reactions without it getting lost in the gameplay/story. In fact, the Faldio/Welkin/Alicia triangle makes the anime what it is. And, well… I can’t imagine the anime without it. Well, I can… it’d just be the game.

Oh, and the Zaka/Rosie moment. Wow. Talk about a good idea. Zaka, in the game, is hardly ever important outside of commanding the other tank in the game (tanks are good, thank you), the Shamrock. I don’t know if that’ll make an appearance, but yes. Two tanks > One. Having him do something outside of that is nice. Especially with Rosie. Darcsen-hater + the second most awesome Darcsen in the game/Story.

Oh. They did happen to skip something VERY important, that happened in the game, unless they decide to show it next episode. Or later. It’s so big that I can’t bother to spoil all you readers who haven’t played the game. All I gotta say… it’s big. And made me… well, go insane.

Garrick’s Rating for Episode Fourteen: 11/10

Garrick’s Anticipation Scale: 9/10