Today's issue of Weekly Famitsu had a large spread on the upcoming Valkyria: Azure Revolution, that will be released in Japan for PS4 and PS Vita on January 19th, 2017.

First of all, we finally get the full picture of the Vanargand unit.

Besides the characters that we already knew about five more are revealed. From left to right on the back row we have Sara, Tilda, Daryl, Isaac and Jorda.

We also get to take a look at the map showing part iof the continent, showing Jutland to the south, corresponding to the real world location of Turkey, the Rus (or Ruzhien) Empire of course is equivalent to the old Russian Empire.

There are also a few more familiar countries: Transylvania, Slavia, Bulgar and Grecia form the equivalent of our Balkans, while Persha corresponds to Iran and its surrounding area (Persia). The Black Sea has been aptly renamed "Azure Sea."

More importantly, Sega finally explained the new battle system, revised taking a page from the feedback received about the first demo. It's definitely a lot closer to the original Valkyria Chronicles games, even if it retains a bit of its unique spin. The system is based on four keywords, which you can read below.

Keyword 1: Action Gauge - Storing the gauge while moving freely.

The player can move without restriction in the battlefield. In addition, at the bottom left of the screen, the action gauge accumulates over time, allowing an action at the press of the button when it's full. That way, players can enjoy a mix between real-time and turn-based battle where you can freely move around.

It should be noted that enemies also act in the same way, so when their gauge is full, they can take an action. You can see the enemy action gauge displayed over their head, so you can effectively decide the order in which you should defeat them.

Keyword 2: Four Characters Party - You can lead Vanargand.

You sortie with a party of four characters, but you can control only one at a time. You can switch to one of the other characters at the touch of a button, and give simple instructions. You can also set their behavior in the "action guidelines" menu.

Keyword 3: Battle Palette - Time stops when you attack.

When you press the triangle button when the action gauge is full, the Battle Palette will appear, and you'll be able to select your death blow, including magical attacks using the power of Ragnite, grenades and weapons such as the sniper rifle.

In addition to common attacks everyone can use, there are also character-specific skills. When the battle palette is up, time on the battlefield stops, and you can carefully aim for your enemy without being hindered.

The range and area of effect of attacks and weapons will also be clearly displayed.

Keyword 4: War Situation Gauge - Judge the flow of the battlefield.

During the battle, at the top of the screen it's always displayed the "War Situation Gauge," representing control of the battlefield. This gauge increases or decreases depending on combat action, like defeating enemy soldiers.

When a side becomes dominant, the action gauge accumulates faster, and they receive a variety of bonuses showing their battle advantage.

In addition to this, the concept of "feelings" exists. Those can occur in various situations, like being targeted by special attacks or weapons. Negative feelings can have different effects, like making counter-attacks impossible. One can become "impatient" or "surprised." Dominating the war situation makes generating such feelings in the enemy easier.

Morale is very important in battle, because soldiers that have seen their allies flee the front lines can become anxious. On the other hand, increasing morale can make your allies more effective. One's results on the battlefield may affect those around him.

This is how a small elite unit like Vanargand can defeat armies even if they have the numbers disadvantage. If the enemy cannot move freely, even a small party of four can win against a regiment.

The more the battle advantage turns in your favor, the more negative effects affect the enemy, making the fight easier. The War situation gauge will increase significantly if you fight well.

We also learn that there will be cross-save between the PS4 version and the newly announced PS Vita version.