Originally conceived as a joint venture between Cygames and PlatinumGames, Granblue Fantasy Relink underwent significant changes during its development, ultimately transitioning to Cygames’ sole control. Despite the shift, the game’s release carried with it ambitious aspirations to impress series fans and establish itself in the action role-playing game genre.
At its core, Granblue Fantasy Relink weaves a tale of adventure and discovery, placing players in the role of Gran or their female counterpart, Djeeta. Leading a band of heroes on a quest to uncover the mysteries of Estalucia, a mythical island promising endless possibilities, players are drawn into a world reminiscent of the epic adventures found in popular manga like One Piece. With a vast sky replacing the traditional ocean setting and numerous islands ripe for exploration, the game embraces familiar tropes while introducing its unique twists and turns.
One of the game’s standout features is its narrative, bolstered by Destiny Episodes that delve into each character’s backstory and motivations. These episodes not only provide valuable context for newcomers but also deepen the connection between players and the game’s diverse cast of characters. Coupled with the comprehensive lore accessible through the Journal of Lyria, Granblue Fantasy Relink ensures that you indulge yourself in its richly detailed world from the outset.
From a visual standpoint, Granblue Fantasy Relink excels, with its vibrant art direction and meticulous attention to detail bringing its fantastical world to life. Drawing inspiration from manga aesthetics, the game boasts stunning landscapes, unique character designs, and breathtaking vistas that showcase the developers’ commitment to crafting a visually captivating experience. While occasional texture issues may detract from the overall polish, the game’s presentation remains a highlight throughout the adventure.
Where Granblue Fantasy Relink truly shines is in its combat. The game offers a fast-paced combat system that keeps players engaged with its flashy visuals and dynamic action. Boss encounters, in particular, provide exhilarating moments of intensity, showcasing the game’s potential for epic showdowns and strategic depth.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink’s most captivating feature is its frenetic combat system, which effectively highlights the unique abilities of its twenty playable characters without detracting from the narrative. In battles, up to four seafarers can participate, with one controlled by the player and three by AI. Each character can execute quick combos, parries, and evasions to minimize damage, along with utilizing four special abilities. By strategically alternating between them, you’ll end up filling the stun bar to unleash deadly Link Attacks, increasing the Link Level for various bonuses.
Additionally, Celestial Arts, activated after filling the corresponding bar, deliver powerful elemental attacks culminating in a devastating Chain Barrage. Memorizing characters’ elements allows players to exploit opponent weaknesses, promoting diverse combat strategies. The game’s variety extends to characters’ movesets and abilities, encouraging experimentation with different play styles. However, the game’s difficulty lacks balance, mainly due to a mechanic inspired by MMOs, where players can be revived a limited number of times before facing inevitable defeat if the critical bar is depleted.
Granblue Fantasy Relink’s linear-level design and lack of exploration opportunities leave much to be desired. The game gives the impression of a large world but lacks an open-world structure to facilitate it, instead opting for a more linear adventure. The crew progresses through various biomes represented as islands, essentially dungeons with corridors connected to open areas. Progression feels compartmentalized, without much room for exploration or seamless travel. Transitions between islands are mundane, typically involving uneventful flights aboard the Grandcypher. Once on land, the heroes are confined to one island segment, limiting their freedom to explore.
The endgame in Granblue Fantasy Relink is also one of its stronger points, as it shakes things up with some unexpected twists of its own. Many of the systems introduced throughout the main story play a crucial role in the endgame content. It’s here that the game invites you to team up with other players and take on endgame quests. These come in five different variants with multiple difficulties. It’s at this point that Granblue Fantasy Relink pivots towards more of a Monster Hunter-like experience, breathing new life into the game.
Character progression in Granblue Fantasy Relink offers a wealth of customization options, with a diverse roster of playable characters boasting unique abilities and playstyles. However, the game’s progression system, inspired by gacha mechanics, isn’t particularly satisfying. While the depth and complexity add to the endgame experience, the grind-heavy nature of stat optimization and customization is off-putting.
Granblue Fantasy Relink delivers a visually stunning and narratively rich experience set within a vibrant fantasy world. While the combat remains the highlight throughout the adventure, the game falls short in other areas, particularly its linear structure and grind-heavy progression. Nevertheless, for fans of the franchise and action RPG enthusiasts alike, the game offers a compelling adventure as well as an engaging endgame.
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