I can’t wait for September 25. It’s not my birthday (but if it’s yours, happy birthday!) nor did anything of any real significance happen on that date in history (unless you consider the formation of U2 historically significant). I don’t think there will be anything of importance that will impact the rest of the world, actually. But it’s going to be a big day for me, at the very least. That’s because that’s the date when the English version of Valkyria Chronicles 4 is schedule to be released to the world on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Steam.

I am a huge Valkyria Chronicles fan. I became one after picking it up on Sony’s PlayStation 3 just shy of a decade ago. It was a fantastic game and I instantly fell with love with the charming characters, beautiful “painted” graphic style, very involved story and drama and, most importantly, the tactical gameplay that mixed turn based strategy with third person action. It was a game like no other and I couldn’t wait for the next game in the series. 

And all I did was wait. For some strange reason, SEGA decided to release both Valkyria Chronicles 2 and 3 on the PlayStation Portable instead of putting it on Sony’s home console. They didn’t even bother to release the third game in Western territories! In retrospect, the gameplay does work for portable systems. The campaigns/missions/levels don’t have to be played at length, especially since you get rewarded for completing them as quickly as possible. Even so, I still waited patiently and kept on looking for news if and when SEGA would bring those games to home systems.

I actually hoped there was a chance SEGA would wisen up and make my dreams come true after the sales success of Valkyria Chronicles Remastered for the PlayStation 4 and PC. I thought they would actually remaster and release the second and third entries to coincide with the release of Valkyria Revolution. But they didn’t. So I still waited for SEGA to re-release Valkyria Chronicles 2 and 3 to a home console.

Things are different, however, because I actually now have an alternative. I myself a PlayStation 4 so I can play games like Street Fighter V, Metal Gear Solid V, God of War and the new Spider-Man. But I also have myself a Nintendo Switch because I thought the console looked good and I did have a great time playing Super Mario Odyssey and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (which I’ve finished twice already). 

As I do realize that both Valkyria Chronicles 2 and 3 were developed with a portable system in mind and SEGA doesn’t appear to have any plans to re-release them on the more powerful home consoles, why not release them on the Nintendo Switch, another portable system? It’s actually makes a whole lot of sense!

First off, I’m pretty sure that this may be the first time Nintendo owners will experience the fantastic gameplay of the series. It’s nice that SEGA is bringing Valkyria Chronicles 4 on the Nintendo Switch since the console can seemingly handle the graphics engine pretty well. The Switch version looks comparable to the more “powerful” consoles like the PlayStation 4, with just a little bit of blurriness if you really squint at them running side by side. I’m actually thinking of getting it Valkyria Chronicles 4 on the Nintendo Switch because, well, I would definitely love taking the game out with me everywhere I go so I can play it any chance I get!

So, let’s say Nintendo owners do get Valkyria Chronicles 4 and love the game to bits. You can bet the next thing they’ll be clamoring for is to get Valkyria Chronicles 1, 2 and 3 on the Switch, right?

Well, SEGA seems to have the first game covered because they are going to make it available on the Nintendo eShop some time in October but not the other two games in the series. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to complete the series on the Nintendo Switch as it would be an untapped market at this time? Heck, I’ll be getting the Switch version and I already own the PS3 and PS4 versions! That’s how much I love the first game!

Of course, there is the question of if the games would actually look good on a modern portable system. After all, they were both released on the PlayStation Portable, a system that would definitely be considered “inferior” by today’s standards. Honestly, the graphics, especially of the second game, don’t look  all that good since the PSP simply couldn’t handle the polygon count to make it look as gorgeous as the first game.

Hopefully, SEGA still kept all the assets from the games so they can touch them up a bit to make them more palatable for today’s modern audiences. They don’t have to go overboard and do a full remaster and redo the games’ graphics entirely on they same engine they used for Valkyria Chronicles 4 (although that would be really appreciated).

However, I don’t think updating the graphics would be too much of a hassle. With the way modern console games are being made today, I would think they have filters to smooth out the blocky character models or make the textures pop out a little more. They wouldn’t need to do a whole lot, especially if the bundle both games in one package, which would be totally awesome, by the way!

There’s also the question about the cost of localizing the third game. The game doesn’t have an official English version but there is a fan translation available out there, which is actually pretty decent from what I’ve heard. So, if a bunch of fans can get together and make a good English version of Valkyria Chronicles 3, I bet SEGA can shell out a few bucks to make an official translation. 

I also think the games would play much better on a system like the Nintendo Switch because it has something the PSP doesn’t have: a right-analog stick. Although I never played Valkyria Chronicles 2 and 3, I have read reviews and one of the issues they had with the game being on Sony’s (failed) portable gaming system is that you had to control the camera using the triggers, which was kind of a pain. Remapping the camera to the right-analog stick or even use the Joy-Cons motion tracking would be a boon and make two already great games even better!

But the biggest question is if they would sell well on the Switch. I would say “yes” for the mere fact that fans in Western areas have been clamoring for Valkyria Chronicles 2 and 3 be made available to them for years now! I understand that SEGA didn’t want to put out a PSP game on the PS4 since it’ll probably look terrible, even with updated textures. And since it’s a portable game, it was probably meant to be played in bite-sized chunks, which means it would be perfect for the Nintendo Switch, a system that was meant to be played on the go as well as in the home. 

I hope the folks at SEGA read this and take this into consideration. At least you’ll know that there’s going to be one guy willing to pay for Valkyria Chronicles 2 and 3 on the Nintendo Switch.

That guy is me.

Do you think Valkyria Chronicles 2 and 3 would be a hit on the Nintendo Switch? Let me know in the comments section below!