I admittedly had not paid much attention to Grand Kingdom since its announcement for the West. I had heard about Grand Knights History, but the series must have slipped my radar completely. The game is being directed by former Vanillaware director Tomohiko Deguchi. What he has created is a game that has proved you can still create unique experiences in the turn based RPG world. With the use of beautifully drawn characters and an incredible battle system, this might not be a game you should overlook.
The battle system is what stands out the most in my mind after spending some hands on time with Grand Kingdom at NISA’s 2016 Press Event. The battle puts your troops on three different tracks. Once it’s your characters turn you get to move the selected character up or down either of the tracks. Additionally, you are allowed to move left or right. These moves consume a meter at the bottom of the screen. After the move phase a separate meter is used for attacks. Archers and mages would want to keep their distance, but there’s a reason for this other than their low defensive stats. Their attacks are long ranged and create a shaded region that you’d want to make sure highlights an enemy. Once you select your attack and choose your enemy, it’s not over yet, a target box slides across the region and its up to you to press the attack button when it’s over the enemy. I haven’t had to pay this much attention to an RPG battle since The Legend of Dragoon. The game doesn’t allow you to get lazy because not only do your characters get these multiple attacks and combos, but so do the enemies.
The exploration on the field map makes you a piece on a board. You move along a line to your next destination, again, like The Legend of Dragoon. You can choose the shorter path or take the long way. The game leaves it up to you.
Before this hands on time with Grand Kingdom I hadn’t put much thought into the game, but after spending just 45 minutes with it it’s all I can think about. I want to get back in and create my own party and tactics. I want learn more about these characters and the story of the four kingdoms. If you were anything close to how I was about this game, I urge you to learn more about it and not over look my new most anticipated title of 2016.
Grand Kingdom is coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita on June 21 in NA and June 17 in EU.
