Sometimes you look at a game’s rating on Steam and wonder, “Why are opinions so mixed?” You’re tempted to try it, just to see what the commotion is about, but think twice. If it’s not going to be a really fun experience, why waste the money on it, right? Well, I finally got to try one such ‘mixed’ game, and I have to say… Unfortunately, the reviewers were right.

Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story 2 looks right up my alley. It’s a school management simulation developed by Agate and published by PQube, set in an anime fantasy world where you’re raising the next generation of heroes. Not only are you managing the school, but you take direct control of the students on monthly missions. You build your three person team based on the skills you’ve taught them and what you think the mission needs, and then go out and explore the world with them. The fights are turn-based with a strong tactical basis, and the rewards feed right into the management sim side of the game.

So, why did I not end up liking Valthirian Arc? Because I want to like it. I see a lot of promise in Valthirian Arc, and if just a few things were adjusted, it would be a fantastic game.

Chibi on the Streets, VN in the Screens 

The graphics in Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story 2 are in a simplified, chibi anime style that gives characters full portraits when they’re speaking. The main characters are easily identifiable in and out of chibi form, each with distinct and lovely designs. The overworld graphics are also simplified to match the chibi aesthetic, crisp and clean. While an initial impression might be a little jarred from the transition between 3D chibi and 2D portraits, it actually is quite seamless in the game.

Once you’re allowed to explore the maps, they’re also quite imaginative and fun. There are many twisting paths in the woods and mountains. Enemies are hanging out or running around and have a little window to notice you walking by. Some are even cleverly hidden in bushes, waiting to ambush you as you walk up to a treasure chest. Some things change depending on the mission, and its actually fun to run around looking for the differences.

 Valthirian Arc doesn’t fall into the camp of anime style games lacking in diversity, either. A common criticism of games taking on the Japanese style is that there’s a distinct lack of people of color in them. Valthirian Arc doesn’t disappoint in this respect. I’d say more than half of the recruitable students are PoC, and there are main NPCs of color in both the hero and the villain camps. It’s very nice to see in a game of this style.

Cliffhanger Every Season

I very much like where they’re going with the story of Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story 2 as well. If it was developed into a whole full-blown anime, I’d be watching on the edge of my seat with baited breath.

You start as a newly hired principal to a newly built academy. The continent of Valtheria has broken into four countries, and schools like yours represent a rare neutral ground between them. You have to build your school from practically the ground up, starting with just a single student, one teacher, and a secretary. You gain two more students and watch them bond with each other over the course of three years. While they are your only charges, you begin to unravel a mystery in the behavior of monsters in the nearby wilderness.

Then suddenly, tragedy strikes and your school is implicated in the chaos. Finally out of the tutorial stage, you are able to gather more students and rebuild your reputation and relationships with the various kingdoms. I can’t say much more, as there are some genuinely shocking twists right off the bat. Trust me when I say, though, that Valthirian Arc does a fantastic job of getting you invested in the main plot of the game.

Where it Starts to Break Down

So, yes, there’s a really good base for a game here. However, as both a player and a Game Master with ten or so years of experience in crafting scenarios for my players, Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story 2 has a lot of ground to cover when it comes to its mechanics and playstyle.

When you’re crafting a game, you have to have a certain audience in mind. You have to take into consideration their experience, skill level, and frustration tolerance and hit this sweet spot where the gamer is challenged, but not bored or overwhelmed. While playing Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story 2, I couldn’t decide just what audience Agate was catering to. I was both bored and occasionally overwhelmed, but rarely was I ever satisfyingly challenged. 

Pick a Speed

To start with the beginning years of the game, essentially the tutorial, takes way too long. Who ever heard of an academy – a university, really – with only three students? Game mechanics like the Errands are inaccessible until you have, like, ten students. It took ten hours to collect that many. And the first area available to you for missions, the kiddy pool of combat, is your only option for several playable hours. You have to repeat the same mission of killing slimes several times before you get any variation in enemies. Gathering gold and arcstones is also incredibly difficult at this stage. Slimes give you maybe 100 gold a pop, and arcstones from students are low because you can’t recruit more than two your first couple of years. 

After you get past this stage, however, the growth is exponential. Tougher monsters, especially in the forest and mountains, drop thousands of gold. Finally ranking up your prestige lets you take in three or four students a year, quadrupling your arcstone income. You get a lot of buildings and upgrades very quickly. I jumped from D to B prestige rank on my second graduation. So many things became available all at once, and I couldn’t spend enough to empty my coffers. Even the stat increases to the students got so insane, they started finishing Advanced courses in one month. I had students max out two or three different trees by graduation by the fourth year.

 Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story 2 does this a lot. It has a hard time finding a middle ground. Is this a kids’ game? Or a teens’ game? Is it fast or slow? Easy or hard? Can I relax, or do I need to hardmode it? That last question is particularly relevant to the combat system.

No Middle Ground

In Valthirian Arc, your classes are essentially divided into Martial, Magic, Divine, and Tech. Every enemy has a number of shields representing their defenses that correspond with these classes. Break them, and the enemy is stunned for a few rounds of combat, open to massive damage. Your students have abilities they learn for buffs and debuffs, as well as status effects, but why use them? As long as you have strong students and can break the shields, do those skills matter?

Then you run into the bosses, who are impossible to beat unless you have a deep understanding of those skills. Your students max out at level 20 – that’s the peak of their skill. They can one or two shot most monsters, but the bosses? Especially the ones with regenerative powers? Not only are they hellish to fight, but they’re damn annoying too. 

I spent an hour building a team to fight one of the main story bosses, just barely in the window before it auto-failed. With three level 20 Advanced Major students, I barely won by the skin of my teeth. According to the achievement, only 6.25% of players on Xbox have beaten that boss and I can see why. Your Cleric can cast regeneration for 1,500hp a turn on one teammate in a turn. You generally have two turns before the three enemies attack. One of them can cast that same spell on his whole team in one turn and still have his friends attack you while one of them keeps regenerating their shields. It’s an insane fight. On Steam, the number of players who beat the scenario goes down to 3.8% of players. When this is your first big story boss of the game, that’s a major problem.

In The End

I could go on about how some missions in Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story 2 are unbalanced, or how the minigames feel childishly out of place at times, or about the minor bugs here and there. Also, there’s the fact that there’s no manual save option, which is wild. I don’t really want to, however.

I really wanted to like Valthirian Arc, and overall, I was disappointed and frustrated. There’s a good game here, I know it. The players know it too. Most of the downvotes were from fans of Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story 1 and its web browser-based predecessors. They all generally had the same complaints I have. We all want to love this story, but the gameplay needs to go back to school for the next release if it wants to have a chance at graduation.

Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story 2 is out now on PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox. It retails for $19.99. Review key was generously provided by PQube.