We’ve finally made it to the last Valkyria Chronicles DLC. The first one, Hard Ex Mode, wasn’t recommended to everyone due to its arduous difficulty even though the alterations to the skirmishes were superb. Edy’s hilarious characters and dialogue couldn’t justify the price for its bland mission. Behind Her Blue Flame is possibly the most anticipated DLC because you get to play as the bad guys, including the awesome Selvaria, in a series of missions. However, the question remains:

Is this DLC worth the $5? Can this be recommended to everyone Valkyria owner? Is the third time the charm? Hit the jump to find out.

The story follows commander Selvaria Bles, a transferred engineer who is replacing the former engineer due to an injury named Johann, and his best friend Otto. They are sent on a mission to begin the invasion of Gallia and Selvaria is instructed not to use her Valkyria power. It’s interesting to see the Imperials’ view on both the war and Selvaria. Just like the Gallians, some of the Imperials see her as a witch.

We see a softer side of Selvaria as she actually gives advice and shows affection for her squad unlike in the main campaign where she was seen as a crazy evil puppet. Johann, the scaredy cat engineer, falls for Selvaria’s words and becomes dedicated in defending her no matter what. Otto only appears when Johann’s alone, and introducing Otto is a little questionable because he remains lifeless throughout the missions. Gallian General Damon also makes an appearance and remains one of my hated characters in the game as he tries to blow up a city, even risking the lives of his units. It makes you think twice as to who the bad guy really is. Just like Edy’s mission, the biggest disappointment in the narrative is the use of bobbling heads.

Behind Her Blue Flame is quite challenging. Your units, including the tank, have terrible defense, so they die pretty quickly.  Maybe I’ve just been spoiled with having my units as Elites. Selvaria is the best person in the squad; she is a beast when it comes to the battlefield. She has great defense, her health is three times bigger than a normal unit, and she can deal great damage with her lethal Rhum. As the strongest character, Selvaria would be your first choice to play, but the missions are cleverly designed in a way that you won’t be able to only use her.

Selvaria only carries her Rhum, so you’ll have to rely on Johann to cure her or raze any path blocking her way. In the second mission, Selvaria is gassed down which causes her to be immobile, so you will have to use the weaklings in order to save her before the Gallians detain her. The most irritating part about these missions is the Gallians seem to evade every attack. They throw themselves to the ground thus making you waste ammo and CP. After completing the first two missions, you unlock Selvaria’s insanely awesome Rhum which can only be equipped by one shocktrooper.

At first I thought this DLC only contained two missions, but to my surprise, there were two unlockable missions. In the first mission, you can choose to complete a optional requirement which unlocks an alternative mission for the second one.  In this new mission, Selvaria and enemy units are placed in a different position and enemy mortars are set to destroy the town under General Damon’s order. “A” ranking all three missions unlocks the best mission in this DLC. You are able to save during battles, just in case a Gallian evades your attack, which makes it easier to meet the “A” rank. Without giving out too many details, you get to play as a certain someone in a certain form. Pretty much, it’s who every Valkyria fan would want to play as.

All-in-all, this is the best Valkyria Chronicles DLC and my recommendation if you can only purchase one. We see a different persona for Selvaria as she reminds us she is a lady. Being put in the enemies’ shoes is very interesting because it lets you see both the Gallians and Imperials in a different perspective. While the missions are challenging and exasperating at times, they are great to play, and to top it off, you get an amazing weapon.

Overall: 9.0/10