Brave the Skies: A Review of Granblue Fantasy: Relink

It would be an understatement to say that Granblue Fantasy: Relink is a highly anticipated title. Fans' hope that Cygames would bring something exceptional to the table since the company's introduction in the far-off year of 2016 kept the flame burning despite many setbacks.

It's difficult to put into words how thrilled I was to finally play the whole game and see firsthand the results of the development team's over ten years of labor. Is Granblue Fantasy: Relink, however, all we expected it to be, or did the turbulent development process have an impact on the final product?

Greetings from Zegagrande

Granblue Fantasy: Relink, which takes place in the Zegagrande Skydom, follows the Grandcypher's crew—which includes the Captain, Lyria, Vyrn, Katalina, Rosetta, Io, Eugen, and Rackam—as they emerge as the Sky's only hope against the Church of Avia, an organization whose roots appear to sprout throughout the clouds.

When viewed objectively, the game's storyline is very self-contained and has a vibe to it akin to semi-canonical films set in the world of well-known series. However, it doesn't detract from its overall greatness since, although being predictable at points, the storyline skillfully brings out the depth and charm of both the well-known and lesser-known characters in the ensemble while also hitting some hard emotional notes. The game's stunning presentation and superb music, which perfectly translated the games' signature aesthetic and exquisite character designs into 3D, only serve to heighten the poignancy of the story's beats.

Don't worry if you are not acquainted with the Granblue Fantasy main characters; Relink provides a succinct overview of the crew's mission and how The Captain and Lyria first met in the prologue. Each playable character's Fate Episodes are also available to view. The first Fate Episodes will always include a synopsis of each character's backstory and the circumstances behind their recruitment into the crew.

Additionally, there is a rather extensive Glossary in the game that may be utilized in a number of sequences. If that isn't enough for you, you can also visit Field Notes under Lyria's Journal to see further information on the world and every character in the game, regardless of whether they are allies or enemies.

Granblue Fantasy: Relink functions similarly to games like in terms of exploring.Elysium the Valkyrie by restricting your ability to completely explore regions outside of the game's central centers to predefined plot chapters. However, after finishing the main campaign and getting to the post-game, you will only be able to repeat chapters in order to either find missing items or finish battle tasks. In around eighteen and a half hours, I was able to finish the game's main plot and begin exploring the post-game stuff, all while doing quests, gathering supplies, and leveling up my core party on occasion.

You may bring a variety of non-main-story characters to the field in addition to the core crew, including well-known figures like Ferry, Cagliostro, and Percival. They all feature narrative-related lines when investigating and dealing with certain bosses, to top it all off. This increases the primary story's replayability and contributes to maintaining the immersion. I discovered that I would often go back and go through certain chapters again to see what my favorite characters had to say.

There are variations for both the male and female forms of The Captain (Grand and Djeeta) in every sequence in the game, in case you were wondering. During your campaign, you may freely alternate between them and give them different names.

The name of the game is querying.

Apart from the main plot, Relink's primary emphasis is unquestionably on completing missions since that's how you get experience points and unlock resources to enhance your weapons and sigils. There are a tonne of quests in the game, split into two categories: side missions that can be discovered in hubs and tasks that may be completed at the Quest Counter. While most side missions require you to obtain predetermined goods, counter quests may range from survival-focused tasks to boss fights with some of the most formidable enemies in the game.

When it comes to side missions, I really feel that the more the better, but the sheer quantity of them also served to emphasize how impersonal a game this size should be, especially one with the breadth of Granblue Fantasy Relink. This, along with the fact that none of the non-story or mechanic-focused NPCs can communicate with the group, makes the side missions seem more like a way to get a goal than anything else.

You may complete all of the missions offered at the quest counter with up to three other players, each using their preferred character, as was promoted throughout the game's advertising campaign. To be honest, I had a great time. Being in perfect rhythm with your party enhances the experience, particularly in fights when each player has a unique duty to perform. The ranking system in the game, which awards points for your team's performance at the conclusion of each task, encourages you to try them again in the hopes of raising your score and earning all of the goodies.

The AI in Granblue Fantasy Relink for the companions was a huge surprise to me and a standout feature if you want to play the game primarily alone. When the subjects were facing multi-hit strikes or AoE sure-to-kill skills, they always made me feel like the worst member of my team because of their ability to spam flawless dodges and remain primarily in position throughout boss bouts.

Let's Discuss Advancement and Combat

Granblue Fantasy Relink is an Action RPG-style fighting system that is very responsive, entertaining, and rewarding. It is based on the idea of mastering your chosen character and being swift on your feet. Each member of your party may employ up to four unique skills and four distinct recovery items while on the field, in addition to performing several character-exclusive combinations. By gaining access to Mastery nodes, you may enhance each character's attributes, acquire new abilities, and give them passive abilities.

By giving your characters set weapons and sigils, you may give them additional passive abilities. These additions expand the already wide variety of builds that can be made in the game.

During conflicts, every character in the field is also capable of devastating Skybound Arts. Characters will automatically execute a Chain or a Full Burst Attack—the latter of which causes severe damage—after completing their Skybound Arts in order. Last but not least, the primary feature of the Relink combat experience is the ability to stun foes. By doing so, you and your allies may load the party's Link Gauge with very devastating Link Attacks, which will ultimately cause Link Time to be activated, giving you the chance to deliver huge damage.

While it disappointed me that you cannot command CPU party members as in Tales of Arise, you can configure them to only use Skybound Arts against specific targets. You can also decide whether to allow them to use the attacks at will or only after you use yours to ensure a Full Burst.

Even while some may argue that the game's bosses are unvariety (which they are), I was pleasantly delighted by a few of them since they provided really exceptional and, above all, thrilling encounters in which adjusting your strategy mid-battle is essential to victory. On a melancholy note, I believe that some of the series' most formidable enemies should have been available as optional bosses at the time of release.

The Conclusion

Granblue Fantasy: Relink offers a very polished experience with stunning visuals, an exciting combat system, a complex character progression system, a solid single-player campaign, an inviting multiplayer, and a wide variety of quests and playable characters that will keep you around even after the storyline is finished. However, the lack of an open world may disappoint those who were hoping to explore the many islands part of Zegagrande freely.