We've become accustomed to a singular artistic illustration of war. Chaotic cinematics that leap from one shocked face to the next, bodies - and body parts - strewn around, sinking into the mud. There's sometimes an accompanying chorus of plaintive strings, as though the visuals alone aren't enough to convey the horror, but it's usually all but drowned out by a competing soundtrack of screams and explosions.

Valkyria Chronicles 4 on the other hand? Well, it takes a very different view. While big hitters like Battlefield and Call of Duty ramp up the shock and confusion of war, delightfully detailing the blood and the bullets, Chronicles paints it with a soft watercolour brush.

Even the darkest days in Valkyria Chronicles 4 are conveyed with an air of romance and optimism, your daily duties accompanied with jaunty tunes and soft giggles. Militia costumes are bright and bold, and your squadron flighty and flirtatious. I'm trying not to be distracted by this window dressing as I know full well that beneath this squishy exterior beats the stone cold heart of a challenging tactical JRPG... but my eyes keep being pulled back to Raz's snazzy cravat and matching hairband. And not in a good way, either.

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Ten years have passed since the very first Valkyria Chronicles, but it could have been so much longer ago - or much more recently, really. There's something ageless about Sega's original PlayStation 3 tactical shooter, something in its washed out lo-fantasy take on World War 2 that feels like it transcends time. That's another of the strange things about Valkyria Chronicles - it's a game that's constantly pined for, and yet one that's never really been away all that long.

Maybe it's because so many of the games in those intervening years never really scratched the itch left by the original - or weren't properly given the chance to, anyway. A sequel came out for PSP back in 2010, taking the turn-based formula back to school in a slightly discordant but still enjoyable outing, followed up quickly by a third instalment that, while brilliant, never made its way out of Japan. A five year lull ensued, the silence broken by Valkyria Revolution's dismal fanfare - a spin-off that bungled a handful of the series' tropes into an anaemic action game. It was a definite nadir of Valkyria Chronicle's decade of existence.

So how lovely it is to have such a concerted bounce back so soon after the Valkyria games had hit rock bottom - and what a bounce back it is. Valkyria Chronicles 4 is a full-blooded, big-hearted throwback to everything that made the original shine, a return to the strategic action as well as to the whimsical fantasy take on World War 2. After the turbulence and disappointment of Valkyria Revolution, there's something warming about going back to it all and finding everything in its right place.

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