When comparing Valkyria Chronicles 4 vs Mario Tennis Aces, the Slant community recommends Valkyria Chronicles 4 for most people. In the question“What are the best single-player games for the Nintendo Switch?” Valkyria Chronicles 4 is ranked 11th while Mario Tennis Aces is ranked 17th. The most important reason people chose Valkyria Chronicles 4 is:
In this alternate version of World War II, you and your squad fight to defeat an empire with gameplay that really makes you feel like you're out on a battlefield. As the commander and tactician, you take turns controlling your different squadmates around the field, expending Action Points as they run to where you want them to go. Managing your AP while sending your squadmates to the most strategic location can be a challenge, but it pays off to outsmart your enemies. There may be times when you feel overwhelmed, but you have options at your disposal. Using the terrain to your advantage to send grenadiers to lob explosives over buildings for cover fire, while expending the rest of your AP to get your other squadmates to safety is one tactic that you can pull off. Figuring out the best approach to tackle any given situation helps you tackle anything that the game throws at you.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Tense and challenging tactical war battles
In this alternate version of World War II, you and your squad fight to defeat an empire with gameplay that really makes you feel like you're out on a battlefield. As the commander and tactician, you take turns controlling your different squadmates around the field, expending Action Points as they run to where you want them to go. Managing your AP while sending your squadmates to the most strategic location can be a challenge, but it pays off to outsmart your enemies.
There may be times when you feel overwhelmed, but you have options at your disposal. Using the terrain to your advantage to send grenadiers to lob explosives over buildings for cover fire, while expending the rest of your AP to get your other squadmates to safety is one tactic that you can pull off. Figuring out the best approach to tackle any given situation helps you tackle anything that the game throws at you.
Pro Side stories help you grow attached to your squadmates
Valkyria Chronicles 4 really gets you to care about your team. There are special side stories for each individual member, showing you more about their past and who they are as actual characters. It's a nice addition that lets you empathize with their personal struggles and appreciate how serious, funny, or down-to-earth any one of your squadmates are.
This is especially important since, if anyone dies during combat and you're unable to get a medic to them in time, they will permanently die. These side stories are a good motivator to make you want to keep everyone alive because you're attached to the characters, and not necessarily just because of how useful they might be in battle.
Pro Great starting point for Valkyria Chronicles newcomers
Despite this being the fourth entry in the mainline Valkryia Chronicles games, this is actually a good starting point for anyone new to the series. The tutorials are simple to understand, the gameplay is easy to grasp after a couple of battles, and the story doesn't expect you to have any prior knowledge of the other games. You can jump right in with this one and not feel like you're missing out on anything.
Pro Charming watercolor art style
Valkyria Chronicles 4's graphics are straight out of a storybook. The visuals look a lot like watercolor illustrations, giving them a unique charm that you don't see a lot of from other games. Green pastures in particular look beautiful in how vibrant and full of life they are. And the anime-style character models all look excellent, fitting right in with the environments as a cohesive look.
Pro Couch co-op with a friend is tons of fun
Playing with a friend right beside you makes the game much more enjoyable. Reacting to each other in real-time is just better than playing against a computer opponent. There's no online co-op -- only multiplayer matches against random people -- meaning you'll have to be in the same room together to play.
Pro Solid roster of Nintendo characters to play as
There's a good variety of characters you can play as. If you're familiar with first party Nintendo games, then you'll see a lot of familiar faces here, like Yoshi, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Luigi, Peach, and of course Mario. Everyone has their own playing styles, with bigger characters like Bowser and Donkey Kong favoring hard-hitting power shots, and others like Yoshi and Mario that have a more balanced approach. You can go with whichever style or character you prefer, practicing with them until you master everything. Getting to see all of these characters together in one game is great for fanservice as well.
Pro You can compete against others online in multiplayer
When you run out of single-player content to enjoy, you can hop online to play against random opponents. The main game mode is the tournaments you can play, which rewards you with special characters if you score well. Online connectivity is good too, especially with the choice to drop out of matches beforehand against players who have bad connections. Playing online is a really great way to test your skills and improve your play, since anyone you get matched with is an actual player who has their own strengths and weaknesses.
Pro Intense and engaging tennis matches
Mario Tennis Aces is incredibly addicting to play. Matches are fast-paced and exciting, with one particular mechanic that keeps things unpredictable. Every time you successfully hit the tennis ball to your opponent's end of the court, you build up a power meter that you can use in a couple of different ways.
When you want to quickly finish off a match, you can slow down time and take aim at a vulnerable corner of your opponent's court for an instant win. Or, if they try to do that to you, you can instead expend some of your power meter to quickly reach the ball and hit it back. Things can get pretty tricky when you both use up your power meters at the same time, leading to some satisfying wins.
Cons
Con Anime tropes distract from the story
The story does a wonderful job of showing the gritty reality of how war changes people, but there's a serious issue with the way the narrative gets interrupted by anime tropes. Too often, grave moments during cutscenes get sidetracked by anime-like slapstick humor that ends up ruining the moment. These scenes would have been fine if they happened at more tactful times, but sadly, this just isn't the case. So if you don't have much tolerance for these types of tropes, you may not like the story all that much.
Con Battles can take a long time to finish
Valkyria Chronicles 4 isn't the type of game you can pick up and put back down. Battles are quite long and involved, usually taking about an hour to finish. On top of that, there are no checkpoints during battle, so if you lose, you have to start all over again. If you don't have that kind of time or patience, then this may not be the game for you.
Con Very wide skill gap between experienced and inexperienced players
Mario Tennis Aces can be unwelcoming to new players. While playing co-op or online, it's tough to catch up with everyone else who knows how to time their power shots with the meter. If you don't pick up on this mechanic fairly quickly, you may feel like you're getting left behind. You don't necessarily have to use the mechanic if you and a friend agree not to, but this sadly makes matches pretty dull. Running against computer opponents is a good way to get your feet wet before moving up to other levels of play.
Con Limited gameplay options for solo players
If you're the type who prefers to game alone, then Mario Tennis Aces might not be for you. There's only one single-player mode, while the rest of the game is mostly dedicated to co-op and online play. The solo mode is also extremely short, clocking in at around four hours. Aside from that, there really isn't much else for you to do.
Con Certain characters are locked behind online tournaments
The primary way to unlock new characters is to win tournaments, but this isn't entirely fair. They're only available for a limited amount of time, with the rewards changing from tournament to tournament. Even though some of these characters are in the actual game as opponents in the single-player adventure mode, you can't get access to them unless you unlock them through these tournaments. If you don't like playing online, or if you don't have the means to pay for Nintendo's online service once it's implemented later on in 2018, then you're basically out of luck.
Con Single-player adventure mode is pretty difficult
The game's adventure mode makes up for its short length with some real difficulty. It's a rough introduction to the gameplay, as some of the matches and bosses are really hard. There's plenty of variety to things, like courts that have certain hazards in your way and uneven terrain such as tall grass, as well as inventive boss designs like a giant squid that shoots out tennis ball-shaped blobs of ink. But all of these things can get quite overwhelming, especially if you're using the single-player mode to get better at the game.