Employing the same fusion of tactical and real-time gameplay as its predecessors, the story runs parallel to the first game and follows the "Nameless", a penal military unit serving the nation of Gallia during the Second Europan War that performs black ops.

Character designer Raita Honjou and composer Hitoshi Sakimoto both returned from previous entries, along with Valkyria Chronicles II director Takeshi Ozawa.

[5] Some characters also have Special Abilities that grant them temporary boosts on the battlefield: Kurt can activate "Direct Command" and move up to two allies around the battlefield with him without depleting their Action Point gauge, Riela can shift into her "Valkyria Form" and become invincible with boosted attack, while Imca can target multiple enemy units with her heavy weapon.

[2][8] Troops are divided into eight classes: Scouts, Shocktroopers, Lancers, Engineers, Armored Techs, Snipers, Gunners and Fencers, with the last three unlocked during the game.

Ordered by the Gallian military to perform the most dangerous missions that the Regular Army and Militia will not do, they are nevertheless up to the task, exemplified by their motto, Altaha Abilia, meaning "Always Ready."

The three main characters are No.7 Kurt Irving, an army officer falsely accused of treason who wishes to redeem himself; Ace No.1 Imca, a female Darcsen heavy weapons specialist who seeks revenge against the Valkyria who destroyed her home; and No.13 Riela Marcellis, a seemingly jinxed young woman who is unknowingly a Valkyria herself.

As the Nameless officially do not exist, the upper echelons of the Gallian Army exploit the concept of plausible deniability in order to send them on missions that would otherwise make Gallia lose face in the war.

One such member, Gusurg, becomes so enraged that he abandons his post and defects into the ranks of Calamity Raven, attached to the ideal of Darcsen independence proposed by their leader, Dahau.

Hounded by both allies and enemies, and combined with the presence of a traitor within their ranks, the 422nd desperately move to keep themselves alive while at the same time fight to help the Gallian war effort.

This continues until the Nameless's commanding officer, Ramsey Crowe, who had been kept under house arrest, is escorted to the capital city of Randgriz in order to present evidence exonerating the weary soldiers and expose the real traitor, the Gallian general who had accused Kurt of treason.

This is short-lived, however, as following Maximilian's defeat, Dahau and Calamity Raven move to activate an ancient Valkyrian super weapon within the Empire, kept secret by their benefactor.

Without the support of Maximilian or the chance to prove themselves in the war with Gallia, it is Dahau's last trump card in creating a new Darcsen nation.

As an armed Gallian force invading the Empire just following the two nations' cease-fire would certainly wreck their newfound peace, Kurt decides to once again make his squad the Nameless, asking Crowe to list himself and all under his command as killed-in-action.

[10] Due to the platform's popularity in Japan, the game was specifically created with a Japanese audience in mind, resulting in more fantastical characters than in the original Valkyria Chronicles.

[15] In order to achieve this, the cooperative elements incorporated into the second game were removed, as they took up a large portion of memory space needed for the improvements.

They also adjusted the difficulty settings and ease of play so they could appeal to new players while retaining the essential components of the series' gameplay.

When he originally heard about the project, he thought it would be a light tone similar to other Valkyria Chronicles games, but found the themes much darker than expected.

[19] The game's opening theme song, "If You Wish for..." (もしも君が願うのなら, Moshimo Kimi ga Negauno Nara), was sung by Japanese singer May'n.

Packaged and sold at a lower price than the original, Extra Edition came with seven additional episodes: three new, three chosen by staff from the game's DLC, and one made available as a pre-order bonus.

He praised its gameplay despite annoying limitations to aspects such as special abilities, and positively noted its shift in story to a tone similar to the first game.

[39] PlayStation Official Magazine - UK praised the story's blurring of Gallia's moral standing, art style, and most points about its gameplay, positively noting the latter for both its continued quality and the tweaks to balance and content.

Points criticized in the review were recycled elements, awkward cutscenes that seemed to include all characters in a scene for no good reason, pacing issues, and occasional problems with the game's AI.

[1] Kotaku's Richard Eisenbeis was highly positive about the game, citing is story as a return to form after Valkyria Chronicles II and its gameplay being the best in the series.

[43] A two-episode original video animation series titled Senjō no Valkyria 3: Taga Tame no Jūsō[b] was developed by A-1 Pictures and released the same year as the game.