GrimGrimoire OnceMore Review
Vanillaware’s classic 2007 PlayStation 2 title GrimGrimoire has finally seen a rerelease for modern consoles. The core game and narrative are the same but there’s been quite a few quality-of-life features added to help modernize the game.
At its core GrimGrimoire OnceMore is a 2D real-time strategy game with sections akin to a visual novel. There’s quite a bit of story here so don’t just be expecting level after level of uninterrupted gameplay. Thankfully, the story is pretty good revolving around a young apprentice mage named Lillet Blan following her adventures at the Silver Star Tower, an esteemed academy for would-be magicians.
As you progress through the game, you’ll quickly become acquainted with an eclectic cast of characters as Lillet settles into her new environment.
Gameplay
The main gameplay sections of GrimGrimoire OnceMore have you taking on the role of Lillet commanding your familiars to decimate the enemy’s troops. Each level takes place in some truly gorgeous-looking multi-tiered environments where you will control a cursor to issue commands to your familiars in real time. Time will only stop when choosing units and there’s a lot going on, especially in the latter sections of the campaign.
Familiars controlled are each from one of four unique schools of magic; Alchemy, Glamour, Necromancy and Sorcery each with their own strengths and weaknesses, a little like the elemental weakness you may find in JRPGs or the weapon triangle system from say the Fire Emblem series.
You can select each unit group by using the direction pad and issue commands as a group. In terms of commands, you can move your familiars, direct them to attack, have them defend an area, heal, patrol an area, and gather. Familiars are summoned from runes which can be placed on each floor each costing a certain amount of Mana which you must be mindful of at all times. Additional Mana can be collected via crystals using glamour class familiars.
Levels are usually finished by destroying enemy units and runes but this can change from battle to battle. Upon completing a level you’ll be awarded coins which can be spent studying, aka the skill trees, to make your units stronger, faster etc, it’s quite satisfying to see Lillet grow stronger and a nice natural way to explain how she becomes a more competent mage throughout the game.
There are quite a few different skill trees to try out and your coins spent can be refunded so experimentation is encouraged.
What’s New?
High-definition graphics and the obligatory bump up from the PS2’s 4:3 aspect ratio to a much more modern 16:9. Throughout my playthrough, I mainly played in handheld mode on an OLED Switch and I must say, the art and colours really do pop, that’s not to say the original was bad in any way but I really appreciate the bump up in visual fidelity. I’m also happy to report that I experienced zero slowdown or any other performance issues during my playtime, even when the screen was full of units.
We have an all-new voice cast to complement the revamped visuals and the options to choose from English or Japanese voice dialogue from the get-go, which is a very nice addition. I opted to play with Japanese voices and the VA performance was great.
A few additional quality-of-life features have been added such as a fast-forward function (which is a lifesaver when collecting mana) and the ability to pretty much save your game wherever and pick it back up later, which is perfect if you are playing in handheld mode and quickly need to pause the action.
Conclusion
Overall, GrimGrimoire OnceMore is worth a play. The updated quality-of-life features make this version the definitive way to play. Being a Vanillaware game the presentation is fantastic with some very rememberable character designs and set pieces. Although the story is quite interesting, I can see how some people would be put off by the sheer amount of dialogue between chapters and I would highly suggest trying out the free demo released to give you an idea of the balance between story and gameplay.
7
Nintendo Switch review code kindly provided by NIS America