0
0
I generally don’t like to jump into games (or any form of media really) midway through. Unfortunately, the original Granblue Fantasy wasn’t something I played. I did play the fighting game (Granblue Fantasy Versus) but I was lost there too. Starting off with Granblue Fantasy: Relink was just as disorienting.
I didn’t know the characters (though playing the fighting game did make me familiar with the main cast) and didn’t know the story. It felt really weird.
I stuck with it though…mainly cause I needed to write the review and didn’t want to shortchange the game but just playing an hour or two.
You know what? I’m glad I did…because Granblue Fantasy: Relink might be my first favourite ARPG of 2024.
What is Granblue Fantasy: Relink?
Granblue Fantasy: Relink is an 3D third person ARPG and is part of the Granblue Fantasy series. It is developed and published by Cygames and SEGA. Our review copies were kindly provided by SEGA, who awesomely gave us both a Playstation 5 and PC version to compare and play though.
For those unfamiliar with the series (which is pretty much everybody I reckon), Granblue Fantasy tells the tale of Gran (also known as The Captain) and his crew, as they traverse sky islands (kind of like Skies of Arcadia in this regard) on their ship, the Grandcypher . The sky islands (collectively called the Sky Realm) are a huge part of the world and traversal through them done via airships.
Gran and his crew are on their way to find the legendary land of Estalucia, where he suspects his father is.
There’s quite a bit more to that story than that (such as the Astrals, the Primal Beasts and more) but that’s the basic plot right there.
In Granblue Fantasy: Relink, the crew arrives at a new region of the Sky Realm (the Zegagrande Skydom) and is caught up in the machinations of the Church of Avia, lead by the fearsome Lilith. Lilith kidnaps Lyria (one of the main characters) and is utilizing her powers to absorb the Primal Gods to open an interdimensional gate to the Astral Realm.
Needless to say, doing that is bad…so it’s up to Gran and the crew to stop Lilith and get back Lyria.
If you’re like me and have no idea about the series, no worries. There’s a handy in-game glossary that tells you all the important bits. Even better, there’s a mode called Fate Episode, which tells the backstory of every single one of the playable characters in the game.
While the episodes are told through static scenes (though there are are playable parts here and there), the writing is good enough that you get a better sense of the crew (and their motivations) as you play through the episodes.
More episodes steadily unlock as you play through the game and I really found myself looking forward to the next unlocks.
Honestly, while the characters are undeniably anime stereotypes, their backstories are pretty intricate, and for some, relatable.
One of the most impressive features of the game is the scale of its environments.
While the locations you explore are linear, the dungeons themselves are massive. T
owering trees that reach up high into the sky, massive lava caverns and more! The environments you find yourself in as you play as damn impressive and it’s part of the reason I keep on going. I just want to see what’s instore.
Another reason I kept playing is that the boss battles are insane!
While the first bosses are tame, the game soon shows what it’s truly capable of later on by having you fight a colossal mech in a huge dessert and a giant lava worm in the middle of a lake of magma…among other bosses.
The fighting is intense, and the mechanics bring back pleasant memories of Final Fantasy XIV’s raids and the intricate dance of weaving in and out of danger zones and avoiding AOE blows.
It only gets more intense as you progress with the final battles being some of the game’s most hectic (and enjoyable).
I’m a bit miffed though that the game ends somewhat abruptly. Compared to the main story, the endgame plot is bit unsatisfying and doesn’t really fill in the void for more adventures with Gran and his crew. Despite the fact that the endgame is labelled as such, there’s actually a good chunk of content that’s only accessible once you’ve beaten the main story.
Discovering and upgrading the crew’s weapons fully can only be done once you’re in the endgame. It’s also where you can unlock more quests for more rewards, as well as lock the rest of the game’s playable characters.
There’s quite a lot of work to be done…but I can’t help but feel that all of them should’ve been funneled into the main story, to pad it out a bit.
It certainly doesn’t help that you’re doing bite sized quests for the most part too. It feels like the game’s turned into a mobile game, or a portable version of the regular game because you just do quests over and over to grind for items or to progress.
Sure, the quests are fun (since most of them have you fighting and even reliving some of your previous battles), but the drive and the awe of discovering new areas to explore is pretty much gone. Unless you’re really hardcore and want to grind out the skills, upgrade all the gear and beef up all the characters, there’s not much to do in the endgame.
For me, the endgame being a bit of the letdown not only stems from the bite-sized quests, it’s also from the lack of cool cutscenes.
It’s a HUGE factor for me to progress through the main story. I just wanted to see more cool shit Gran and his gang would get up to. The cinematics in Granblue Fantasy: Relink are incredible and some of the best I’ve seen in decades of reviewing games and watching anime. Whoever was in charge of them should definitely get a raise.
Compared to the cinematics though, the music doesn’t really hold up. It’s decent enough I guess, but definitely not on par with the cutscenes. It’s not really surprising considering the quality of the cutscenes. You’d need a score along the lines of Final Fantasy VII – X…or even FFXIV! Which is a significant ask.
Visually, the game looks pretty similar on the PC and the Playstation 5.
The draw distance might be a bit farther on the PC, but that’s really not a big deal other than on some of the bigger maps. The framerate for both versions are sublime, and honestly, that’s the most important thing, especially with the game’s lightning fast combat.
The Bottom Line.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink is truly the biggest surprise of the year thus far. I never expected something so…grand. The combat is great, the visuals and cutscenes are awesome…and even the music is decent. It’s only when you take into account the short main quest and the endgame that the cracks show.
The main quest definitely should’ve been longer, or at the very least, incorporated more of the endgame content. Why are most of the gear locked behind endgame content instead of being quest rewards during the main game? There’s barely any decent character progression throughout the main quest in the first place! Certainly, pacing and the doling out of rewards could be much, much better.
Apart from that little pacing issue, the game is tremendous fun so definitely pick it up when you get a chance!
TLDR:
One of the sleeper hits of 2024! Potential Game of the Year material, even taking into account the weak endgame and short main story length.
The Good:
- Lots of playable characters with distinct fighting styles.
- Battles really fun.
- Incredibly well done cinematics.
- Decent story and voice acting.
The Bad:
- Main quest length is pretty short.
- Quests can get repetitive and boring.
Salehuddin Husin, EIC
Sal's been in the industry since the early 2000s. He's written for a ton of gaming and tech publications including Playworks, Hardwarezone, HWM and GameAxis. Recently, Sal served as a juror for the Indie Game Awards at Taipei Game Show 2020. A geek and hardcore gamer, Sal will play everything, on any platform.
You must be logged in to post a comment.