Cygames has been constructing the Granblue Fantasy collection for a decade, first with a cellular gacha-style action-RPG, then with spin-offs starting from an anime collection to a pair of 2D combating video games. Granblue Fantasy: Relink is a return to these RPG roots that makes an attempt to retell the unique story to a brand new viewers. For essentially the most half, the sport succeeds by trimming the story right into a lean, roughly 20-hour expertise, however the transition will not be with out its stumbles.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink follows The Captain–either Gran (male) or Djeeta (feminine), relying in your choice–who is the chief of a bunch of skybound adventurers on the lookout for the island of Estalucia. Captain is linked by way of life power to Lyria, a lady with the flexibility to commune with Primal Beasts, who’re primarily the gods of the world.
The 2 journey with a band of warriors, every with backstories that may be explored all through the sport. There are 5 fixed companions: Katalina is Lyria’s sworn protector, Io is the resident mage, Rackam helms the Grandcypher airship, Eugen is a former mercenary turned good man, and Rosetta is the mysterious femme fatale. You possibly can add extra members to the get together, however whereas they’ll boost battle plans via new get together compositions, they do not have as a lot affect on the general story because the core group.
One main power of Relink is its unbelievable aesthetic design. This collection has at all times featured lovely illustrations, and right here it seems to be like these 2D drawings have been painstakingly recreated in full 3D. Battles pop with vibrant colours, as flashes of sunshine and vitality from sword slashes and magic spells fill the display. Every character’s persona shines via after they’re on-screen too due to clear facial expressions and the tone of their voice. The orchestral soundtrack–composed by a workers which incorporates names like Nobuo Uematsu and Tsutomu Narita–mixes hovering symphonies match for crusing with intense battle themes that hold the adrenaline pumping. The sport is a sight to behold and a delight to listen to, and its presentation instantly pulls you in.
The sport does not overstay its welcome, no less than not for a recreation within the action-RPG style. The primary story of Granblue Fantasy: Relink would require 15-20 hours to finish, and even fewer in case you plan to roll via it on a lesser problem. The story is not groundbreaking–you’ll try to save lots of a kidnapped lady and defeat her oppressors. It is customary fantasy stuff however there are a number of moments that hold it from being too generic. In a single scene, after fixing a puzzle to “discover a treasure,” the get together is greeted by a Shadow Of The Colossus-sized automaton, in a neat subversion of my expectations. There’s additionally a number of twists towards the tip, one which I noticed coming, however one other that took me by full shock. Although the general narrative is not breaking any new floor, there are nonetheless some neat story beats on supply right here.
Taking part in via every chapter feels fast-paced as properly, due to the action-focused fight system. The hack-and-slash nature offers off Kingdom Hearts vibes, with livid button-mashing combined in with the occasional strategically activated means. Hyperlink Assaults are cool, as they provide a sudden and highly effective assault via a team-up with a member of your squad. Typically the associate is correct subsequent to you, however different occasions your character leaps throughout the display, which provides an additional little bit of aptitude.
As a battle progresses, sure actions will fill a Hyperlink Meter. Ought to all 4 characters activate a Hyperlink assault without delay when the meter is at 100%, it is going to activate Hyperlink Time, which slows each enemy right down to a crawl and lets the crew minimize unfastened. Timing the activation of Hyperlink Time may be tough, as you are depending on three AI characters activating the transfer with you, however it’s price it; I used to be in a position to flip the tide of battle many occasions with this mechanic, and it rapidly proved to be a invaluable a part of battle plans.
One other set of huge strikes within the get together’s arsenal is Skybound Arts, or SBA. These are flashy tremendous assaults that may be activated after a sure character’s SBA gauge reaches 100%. Nevertheless, their actual affect is in letting the get together chain them collectively at any time when everybody hits 100% on their SBA Gauge; as soon as everybody has carried out their particular person SBA, a large Chain Burst assault supplies an on the spot follow-up for big harm. The Chain Burst assault additionally borrows the component of whichever character began the chain; if Gran begins issues off, for instance, the ultimate assault is a large Wind-based burst known as Galestorm. The button-mashing fight can really feel senseless at occasions, however with issues like Hyperlink Assaults and the SBA system, Relink’s battle system provides sufficient strategic concerns to interrupt up the monotony when wanted and hold gamers engaged.
Every chapter of the journey follows a strict system: Converse with the get together concerning the subsequent goal, journey to stated goal, full it, and return residence for the subsequent chapter. It is a noticeable shift from current action-RPGs, however it’s not a detrimental one. I appreciated the matter-of-fact strategy to this recreation, because it gave me clear duties to finish and pointed me in the best course each time. These missions, regardless of the narrative construction, do not all play out the identical means both; some will comply with a straight path to the key enemy, whereas others offers you a bigger space to discover. One chapter requires you to activate three sensors on a round map, and every of the sensors is protected by a boss-level enemy. The brevity of the chapters permits you to choose up and play one or two per session, however there’s sufficient selection that they do not all really feel like the identical factor over and over.
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Nevertheless, Granblue Fantasy: Relink’s core story mode lacks any significant problem, even on increased problem ranges. Therapeutic objects are plentiful in battle, and, ought to your character lose all of their well being, you possibly can button mash them again to life. The opposite get together members are battle-savvy, because the AI controls them while not having to continuously monitor their well being. In truth, I do not recall a single companion requiring me to revive them till the ultimate collection of battles, and it was good to have a reliable crew working alongside me.
Even when deliberately searching for out a tougher expertise, I nonetheless would come out on top–I mistakenly fought one boss in Chapter 4 with a single get together member, and but I by no means noticed the Sport Over display. I mashed myself again to well being when downed and used a dodge/counterattack technique to win. The battle did take quarter-hour, although I’m wondering how rapidly it could have gone if I had a full get together of 4.
That is to not say the sport is straightforward throughout the board, as Relink does supply some facet actions on the town that show tough. A few of them are the form of fetch quests assigned by random townspeople that RPGs have seen for years, whereas others are challenge-based missions known as Quests that supply ranks and scaling rewards primarily based on the way you carry out. I like these missions so much, as chasing the three-star S rank is a good problem and serves as a gauge for the way sturdy your get together has develop into. Quests carry over into the post-story expertise as properly, with a few of them serving as one of the best elements of the complete recreation.
A notable side of Relink is the Destiny Episodes characteristic. Every character has a set of 11 episodes that fill of their backstories, motivations, relationships, and extra. Most of them are advised with textual content flashing on the display in opposition to a chunk of the character’s artwork–for instance, in case you select Gran, solely two of his episodes characteristic precise combat–so they do not add a lot when it comes to gameplay. Nevertheless, they’re well-written and do job of filling within the blanks for these not aware of Granblue Fantasy’s world. Moreover, the episodes that do characteristic fight supply an incredible problem, as you will go into battle with solely the character whose story you are playing–no AI teammates allowed. Every challenge–story or combat–will increase the character’s stats after completion, so even Granblue specialists have purpose to brush up on the story.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink bundles loads of acquainted components collectively into one abridged RPG expertise, with various outcomes. The fight is quick and livid, however it may generally really feel monotonous, particularly in longer battles. The story is a good catch-up story for non-Granblue followers, however it does not do something to face out from its RPG counterparts. The seems to be and sounds of the world are great although, with Granblue’s signature fashion bursting to life with vibrant coloration. It does not revolutionize Granblue Fantasy, however Relink serves as a strong refresh for the previous gacha recreation.