Quite a few people see Prince Maximilian's speech before the final battle in Valkyria Chronicles to be a rather weak attempt at making the player feel sympathy for him, especially in the light of the fact that he pretty much abandoned Selvaria to her fate and ordered her to sacrifice her own life for his ambitions. However, reflecting back upon it, it can be argued that the authors were being more subtle about it: at that point in the game, we as players know that both Maximilian and Selvaria have had it pretty rough, with Selvaria being considered nothing more than a thinking, talking weapon because of her Valkyrur blood, and Maximilian getting orphaned because of jealous conspirators. And Maximilian, being a brilliant Magnificent Bastard, couldn't possibly have missed the fact that Selvaria served him out of love, and obviously knew of what Selvaria might have been through at the institution she was imprisoned in. But even with this, other people's pain means nothing to him, while his must be avenged at all costs - even if it means relinquishing his own humanity by becoming an artificial Valkyria. So, in the end, it can be said that both Maximilian and Selvaria have had their own share of hardship... but Maximilian, when faced with the suffering of another person, failed to have empathy about it; unlike Selvaria who at least understood what Alicia was going through and felt kinship towards her. Kinda puts Maximilian's speech in a new, and hardly flattering, light, doesn't it?
I first wondered, why does Barious have such ominous music? Yes, the Darcsens blew the whole place up or not, but the song is out of place, especially when you consider that the song only plays twice more in the entire game. But then consider what times that song plays again: the second time Selvaria appears, wreaking destruction on your army, and when Alicia is revealed as a Valkyrur, wreaking just as much destruction on the Imps. Also consider that the Darcsen Calamity is actually a Valkyria Calamity, presumably caused by a Final Flame not unlike the one caused by Selvaria at Ghirlandaio. The song has less to do with Barious than that wherever Valkyrur or their tech appear, mass destruction follows them. -Observato
Norse legend has it that a Valkyrie's name signifies what personality she represents. One of them, roughly translated to Randgrid, can be described as a "shield breaker". Makes the hiding of a Weapon of Mass Destruction in Randgriz way more appropriate.
Also, Valkyries were often symbolized by a spear. That both Selvaria and Alicia had spears, and that the aforementioned WMD was also a spear is obvious. Also, ravens often signify their presence. And Darcsen hair looks something like a raven. Works even better when you consider that ravens are a bad omen, but don't actually do anything. Same with the Darcsens, what with their false accusations with blowing up the Valkyrur in the Calamity.
The crest of Gallia's royal family has a unicorn motif. The unicorn's horn strongly resembles the Valkyrurs' helix-shaped spears, as well as the enormous weapon, Valkof, hidden in the central tower of Gallia's capital city, Randgriz.
Why does Mussad have the Ultimate Evasion potential? The DLC chapter reveals he was an Ace, and we all know that Aces possess supernatural dodging skills. Johan in the same chapter also possesses Ultimate Evasion, and he ends up becoming an Ace.
Selvaria's off-screen tears following Maximilian ordering her to use the final flame. Given that during that same scene she'd gone so far as to effectively confess her love to him, his giving that order had gone to confirm what she had long feared: that her entire value to him had been defined by her Valkyrian blood, and that he'd never held any regard for her as a woman. She didn't cry because her life was going to end, she cried because he broke her heart.
Another interpretation is that she still loved him despite that order but was sad because dying meant she couldn't be by his side anymore. Had he really broken her heart, she could've defected because serving him seemed to be her main reason for being with the Imperials. It's also possible that she may have suicided out of a lack of will to continue living and/or that she hated the Gallian army so much that she wanted to kill them alongside with herself as she may have ultimately blamed them instead of Maximilian for what transpired.
Wait, what? Alicia recovers from a nasty ankle sprain in one night? Boy, even for an optimistic game like VC, that's a stretch... it's actually her Valkyrian healing factor kicking in, and the second overt hint you get that Alicia is more than she appears.
A book as the game's framing device gives some context to the Fridge Logic surrounding the game: As an author, Irene brings to her book bias and other flaws any writer would have (the difference is only in the extent).
The use of ducats for weapon upgrades (in a military context no less) was strange, until a connection formed between the dots: The mechanics (and Isara) are using the currency to pay, bribe, and otherwise get their hands on weapons, armor, and technologies reserved for regulars. As a militia, they wouldn't have access to those, partly due to their status as cannon fodder, but primarily due to General Damon and PM Borg being hopeless aristocrats who can't bear the thought that militia can be the ace in the hole of Gallia.
Of course Maximillian's artificial Valkyria power-armor fucks him up. Even if it were flawlessly able to replicate Valkyria powers... he's a guy.
The GRA fields it as a soldier class (Artificial Valkyria) no problem in the subsequent games, however, so IDK about this...
Why was a group of Imperial Troops able to get close to the recaptured base at Marbury and kill Isara? Because the game scoring system (Which is based entirely on how many turns it takes to complete the mission) indicates that military doctrine in this game universe is based on doing a job quickly, not thoroughly. If Gallia's military courses had emphasized the importance of securing things properly instead of reaching one's objective as quickly as possible, those men would have been killed, captured, or driven off well before.
The Lance's rocket grenades have no Splash Damage until you research mortar rounds and equip that specific soldier with them. They're shaped-charges for tank hunting, with Lancers trained to rely on shocktroopers for close-in defenses.
The anime diverges quite a lot from the games. Why? Because it is a TV show. It's a dramatization of events, whereas the game is a history book. Similar to how things like Pearl Harbor and Fury (2014) are riddled with historical inaccuracy, the VC anime is changed for the sake of what the "film-makers" think is entertaining.
If the Europans speculated that the Valkyrurs came from the north, what's stopping them from finding evidence of a nation of full blooded Valkyrurs? ...Sequel Hook perhaps?
Better question: if the Valkyrur are supposed to have come from the north, conquered, colonized, pillaged, and then fought a civil war over Europan territory between themselves, caused a disaster, covered it up, installed rulers that would maintain the coverup for them, and then returned from whence they came, how are there only two of them? Half the female population of Europa would have at least some Valkyria blood, and given how their culture worships the Valkyrur in general, you'd think that would be something most people would actually want to know about themselves.
Selvaria spared Squad 7, but went ahead and blew herself up as per Max's orders. In other words, she turned traitor at the last second but still committed suicide; if she was going to betray Max by letting the only dangerous unit in Gallia's military live, what the hell did she kill herself for?
Largely a combination of Worthy Opponent and even Evil Has Standards. Squad 7 has proven themselves as formidable and honorable adversaries but after all, they are only one squad. Max's orders probably did not specify their demise so she did not technically betray her orders. Selvaria knew that Squad 7 would not ill-treat her remaining soldiers so her Mother to Her Men proclivities kicked in as she placed the troops in the case of someone she could trust. Also Selvaria's final flame destroyed the standing Gallian army who were professional soldiers. Even though their track record is pretty crappy, these were the people who chose to be soldiers as opposed to Squad 7 and the rest of the militia, who were all conscripts. By destroying the standing army, Selvaria also denied the Gallians the ability to take and hold foreign soil since the militia would want to go home after the war and not stay on for too long as an occupying force.
The entire army can fit in a single castle by that point! Gallia would struggle with occupying a Wal-Mart, let alone a whole Imperial city.
Except that doesn't actually achieve anything. The only reason Selvaria hasn't flattened Gallia like cookie dough by that point is because Alicia, being a Valkyria who's basically undergone super training her whole life because she's been learning combat fundamentals without the benefit of superpowers, drops her like a bad habit. Squad 7 is the only truly effective combat unit in Gallia. Selvaria knows that because she's been mowing the military down the entire time and has never broken a sweat against any unit except Squad 7, so letting them go free turns her Final Flame into a Stupid Sacrifice.
Concerning a spoiler event, why the hell doesn't anyone scream for a medic after Isara gets shot? They're all right there in the camp they just took and moved everyone into. Isara's conscious for a good five minutes after being shot! You'd think Largo and Rosie, at least, would have enough sense to scream their heads off for a medic. This is made even worse by two things: one, medics will enter the battlefield during gameplay regardless of the actual situation except in a VERY few specific missions (and situations they'll run into include incendiary rocket fire) and you can save everyone else; two, Welkin does scream for a medic after Alicia collapses following her awakening to Valkyria powers. Shit, Welks, you couldn't think to do that for your sister?
This seems like a pretty clear case of Gameplay and Story Segregation, especially since, up until then you theoretically could've never lost a squad member to Permadeath and the 7's may simply be unused to knowing what it's like to lose comrades and how to react in such a case (which changes the second time they have a similar scare not long after the first). Despite being EWI veterans, Largo and Varrot still seem shaken up by the event, so other than with Frederick no one on the entire team may have had to deal with a deeply impacting death like that before. There's also the fact that Alicia's injury is pretty clearly suggested to be purposefully non-lethal due to it being caused by a Gallian character with their own goals in mind, whereas Isara's attack had no such conditions. It's also possible that Isara was specifically targeted for death due to Darcsen hate from the Imperials as seen in the Darcsen hunt and elsewhere. Though it's not shown, Isara may have suffered a wound known to be fatal no matter what, whereas Alicia's was clearly intended to be non-lethal. Basically, it's the same question as why no one uses a Phoenix Down to prevent a Permadeath in Final Fantasy.
Also, it could be that as the author of the book (the framing device of the game), Irene gave her interpretation of the event, and what we saw in the book may not be what exactly happened. It could easily have been a Gory Discretion Shot, averting Pretty Little Headshots would leave behind a very definitely dead Isara. Working on her tank, she might have burned to death when solvent or fuel she was working with caught fire. The "chronicles" part of the title is important, it is a sanitized version of history meant for mass consumption.
At no point in the story is it ever implied that what we're seeing isn't the "real" story. The author of On The Gallian Front appears in-game; She makes it clear that she hates propaganda and is determined to tell people the whole truth, no matter how unpleasant it it. Isara's death is part of the game showing that War Is Hell; she's a major character who's close to the rest of the cast who gets killed by one nameless enemy soldier after the battle was over. It's a distinct aversion of Plot Armor. Part of the tragedy is that it's abrupt and senseless.
No person can be truly objective; every publication has its bias. What is depicted may be the "real" story, but in no way is it the whole story.
Selvaria is by no means unintelligent or naive. If she was certain that Maxmillian had absolutely no feelings for her, she wouldn't have stayed in his army for as long as she did, nor fostered the belief that she could "win" his affections by showing her prowess as a general. Just before Naggiar, Maxmillian tells Selvaria that she "never failed him in her duties and that he exists because she does, and he has her trust"... exactly what someone in her position would want to hear. His noticeable composure and lack of surprise to her veryemotionalreaction to those few words indicate that he knew she would respond that way, and wanted the mask to slip. Throughout the game, he has also been adept at alternating between romantic and patronising gestures depending on what would get Selvaria to react as per his plans. His order for Selvaria to essentially be a suicide bomber is predicated by "Do you truly wish to be of help?" - essentially using her love for him to goad her into dying. And since it's implied that Selvaria has been in Maxmillian's service for years, it makes you wonder just how far and how deep the manipulation went. And when you consider that Maxmillian isn't above getting his hands dirty inANYsense...
This also overlaps with Fridge Tear Jerker because it means Maximillian got Selvaria to believe that his love was conditional, and something that could be won or conquered by "working hard enough" - and that if he didn't show affection to her, it was because she was a failure. She NEVER manages to break free of this manipulation, even until the end, as her last words before she dies are about how she is doing it so she can finally be of use to HIM. This kind of self-loathing, and defining one's self solely by how they can be of use to a loved one, is something felt by battered spouses in real life, and can and has actually happened to even the most intelligent and accomplished of people.
