I will be called Growlanser
Stashed among the pile of games that were released over a year ago and that I should've played by now was Growlanser Generations. While I haven't played the second game included in the package, I did play Growlanser II and found a surprisingly good game.
Centered around the I'm-so-emo-looking-but-not-actually-emo Wein Cruz, Growlanser takes you through a tale of war and intrigue (at least there is minimal boy meets girl and saves the world in this game). Perhaps the best part of the story is how much of it unfolds based upon your responses as Wein. It starts from the Prologue where you have to answer a series of questions that determines Wein's stats and follows through at varying junctures in the story that help determine the game's endings.
I was expecting another FFT style turn-based strategy game, and was pleasantly surprised by Growlanser's real-time hybrid system. You issue commands that are carried out in real time. Spell casting is done in ranks, and multiple rank spells can be stacked against targets or spread out among a number of them. Weapons are actually items called rings, that can have gems attached to them and have the rings have their own stats. The gems have different effects such as multiple hits instead of one, reduced MP cost and lower countdowns for magic.
What was truly refreshing about Growlanser was it's unforgiving difficulty. It wasn't assbeat hard (although there were some times that I wonder if I would've won without a pimped out Hans), but the battles offered a nice blend of quick thinking (reacting to enemy movements) and long term planning (issuing commands that would take out the more dangerous enemies when possible). It also helps the Wein isn't an "OMG I'M SO EMO" lead character.
I must say that this is becoming one of the few things that will actually keep me interested in a game these days. Ever since the days of Cloud, it seems like RPG lead characters have descended into a realm of half boy, half bitch and do nothing but whine. I mean, I was ok with it when it was that little kid from Kingdom Hearts, since he is a kid and being a whiny bitch is expected. I am, however, getting a bit irritated by the gender benders that seem to be the in thing, at least in Square Enix RPGs. When you have the option to keep your character from displaying the emo and say things like, "I will be called Growlanser" you know you can expect some decent things from a game.
It's probably been a while since I felt that a game was too short (Fire Emblem), but Growlanser was a very quick playthrough for me. Made it from start to finish in a just under 17 hours, at least there is some replayability in there, since I know I missed a few key story events. The best part is that there is a new game plus type of mode, where you get to keep all your rings/armor from your previous playthrough. More games need to include this kind of feature, it really helps in keeping the game fresh and it requires a bit less content added since if you swing it right you can create multiple paths that can only be experienced via new games (this is one thing that really I liked about Chrono Cross, there was a point where the story branched 3 ways).
Other game that you might have trouble finding, but if you can pick it up, I'd highly recommend it.
Centered around the I'm-so-emo-looking-but-not-actually-emo Wein Cruz, Growlanser takes you through a tale of war and intrigue (at least there is minimal boy meets girl and saves the world in this game). Perhaps the best part of the story is how much of it unfolds based upon your responses as Wein. It starts from the Prologue where you have to answer a series of questions that determines Wein's stats and follows through at varying junctures in the story that help determine the game's endings.
I was expecting another FFT style turn-based strategy game, and was pleasantly surprised by Growlanser's real-time hybrid system. You issue commands that are carried out in real time. Spell casting is done in ranks, and multiple rank spells can be stacked against targets or spread out among a number of them. Weapons are actually items called rings, that can have gems attached to them and have the rings have their own stats. The gems have different effects such as multiple hits instead of one, reduced MP cost and lower countdowns for magic.
What was truly refreshing about Growlanser was it's unforgiving difficulty. It wasn't assbeat hard (although there were some times that I wonder if I would've won without a pimped out Hans), but the battles offered a nice blend of quick thinking (reacting to enemy movements) and long term planning (issuing commands that would take out the more dangerous enemies when possible). It also helps the Wein isn't an "OMG I'M SO EMO" lead character.
I must say that this is becoming one of the few things that will actually keep me interested in a game these days. Ever since the days of Cloud, it seems like RPG lead characters have descended into a realm of half boy, half bitch and do nothing but whine. I mean, I was ok with it when it was that little kid from Kingdom Hearts, since he is a kid and being a whiny bitch is expected. I am, however, getting a bit irritated by the gender benders that seem to be the in thing, at least in Square Enix RPGs. When you have the option to keep your character from displaying the emo and say things like, "I will be called Growlanser" you know you can expect some decent things from a game.
It's probably been a while since I felt that a game was too short (Fire Emblem), but Growlanser was a very quick playthrough for me. Made it from start to finish in a just under 17 hours, at least there is some replayability in there, since I know I missed a few key story events. The best part is that there is a new game plus type of mode, where you get to keep all your rings/armor from your previous playthrough. More games need to include this kind of feature, it really helps in keeping the game fresh and it requires a bit less content added since if you swing it right you can create multiple paths that can only be experienced via new games (this is one thing that really I liked about Chrono Cross, there was a point where the story branched 3 ways).
Other game that you might have trouble finding, but if you can pick it up, I'd highly recommend it.
posted by Kyden at
4:16 PM
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