Watch out, Final Fantasy! Granblue Fantasy is officially the hottest new JRPG franchise on the block

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SHOULD I PLAY GRANBLUE FANTASY: RELINK?

Absolutely check out Granblue Fantasy: Relink if you even remotely enjoy Japanese-style RPGs or just games with great action RPG combat systems. As a spin-off of the Granblue Fantasy mobile game that’s been running for almost a decade now, getting thrown right into the middle of this story might feel a little confusing at first. But developer Cygames uses this history to its advantage, presenting a world that feels complex and interesting to explore. Plus it’s populated by massive, godlike monsters in need of being hacked and slashed to death. Bonus!

TIME PLAYED

I’ve spent ten hours with Granblue Fantasy: Relink so far, which has taken me through Chapter 6 of the main story and about halfway to completion. In addition to the story chapters, I’ve taken on a half dozen sidequests, and I’ve arrived at the game’s second hub town, which means plenty of new sidequests are now open to me. I’ve also spent a good chunk of time digging into the character-specific “Fate Episodes.”

WHAT’S AWESOME ABOUT GRANBLUE FANTASY: RELINK?

• Flashy, fast-paced combat that feels great. Whether I was swinging a sword as main character Gran, aiming a rifle as grizzled old man Eugen, or leaping into the air with a spear as my personal favorite character, Zeta, fighting baddies in Granblue Fantasy: Relink always felt great. The game uses a real-time action combat system that focuses on exploiting the elemental weaknesses of your enemies, breaking their guard, and unleashing sensational group attacks with your party members, whether they’re AI-controlled or co-op buddies.

Part of what blew me away about Relink’s combat is just how varied everything is. Though Gran had to stay in the party for main story quests, I was able to choose which three other characters accompanied me at all times, and I could also switch to controlling any of those characters as desired. Each character I tried out had a totally different feel, often paired with mechanics that were unique to them. Even allies that used similar weapons or fighting styles played distinctively. And though I’ve only unlocked seven playable characters so far, there are around twenty available in total, so there really should be a style that appeals to virtually every player.

• Marvelous spectacle. I deeply appreciated how much Granblue Fantasy: Relink commits to just blowing things up and having each encounter be as massive and overwhelming as possible. I played through some great set pieces, such as a huge battle against other airships where I had to leap from ship to ship, taking out their power sources one by one. But the boss fights were truly special, often featuring larger-than-life enemies that required careful strategy and MMO-style attention to mechanics. In other words, the boss battles looked incredible but also felt deeply satisfying to overcome.

• The in medias res approach. I admit it: For the first half hour or so of Granblue Fantasy: Relink, I was a bit overwhelmed. The game tossed me right into the middle of the Granblue Fantasy story—from what I’ve read online, it takes place somewhere after the third main arc of the mobile game—introducing me to a full crew of six characters who had a lot of history behind them already.

It didn’t take long for this decision to grow on me, though. The cast was all likable, and I was able to begin discerning the relationships between different characters relatively quickly. And since the adventure was already well underway, I was able to leap right into the more exciting moments without the long build necessary in most JRPGs. This also means the game can reportedly be completed in a brisk twenty to forty hours, depending on how many sidequests one does, and then the focus is entirely on the grindy, Monster Hunter-style post-game. To this old man who rarely has the free eighty-plus hours that RPGs often ask of him, that sounds great!

• A strange, beautiful sky world. Another benefit of Relink picking up in the middle of the story is that it can use a world and characters that the mobile game has already been fleshing out for ten years now. Granblue Fantasy is set in a world of floating islands that can only be navigated by airships. Main character Gran is on a never-ending journey toward the “end of the sky,” a mythical island where he believes he’ll find his long-lost father. It’s a fun, easy-to-grasp setup that made me want to get invested in this world. And with dozens of distinct sky kingdoms out there, I can see how the mobile game has kept going for so long. I hope we can see more of those islands in Relink DLC or sequels in the future.

• Incredibly deep character progression. Beyond just leveling up and equipping gear, Granblue Fantasy: Relink allowed me to improve my characters by unlocking new passive and active skills for them through the “Masteries” system. Each character has three distinct mastery skill lines, and I earned mastery points for everything from defeating monsters to opening chests to completing simple sidequests. Even ten hours into the game and with dozens upon dozens of mastery points spent, my most progressed character has only reached thirteen percent on one of her skill lines. Players looking to max out a character (or multiple characters, for that matter) could easily sink a hundred-plus hours into the game.

• Wish-listing my dream materials. Beyond Masteries, Granblue Fantasy: Relink has a deep crafting system, which seems to be where much of the post-game focus will be spent. Individual weapons can be crafted, leveled up, and upgraded even further to increase their max level. This is all good stuff, but what I really wanted to call out here is the brilliant ability to add specific crafting materials to a wish list. Up to twenty materials can be on your wish list at one time, making it easier to keep track of what specific things you’re looking for, how many you have at any one time, and so on. This is a system that any and all games with grindy crafting systems should implement right now.

WHAT SUCKS ABOUT GRANBLUE FANTASY: RELINK?

• Player power tied to some slow side stories. Every one of Granblue Fantasy: Relink’s twenty-plus characters has their own series of Fate Episodes, which are little side stories that shed more light on that individual character’s past and personality. It’s a great way to get to know the cast, but these Fate Episodes often play out as, essentially, mini-visual novels—long stretches of narration on top of a static piece of art. If they were totally optional, that would be fine, but that’s only technically true; playing through Fate Episodes actually gives stat boosts to the character they’re covering, so I felt pushed to watch all of them as soon as they were unlocked. That led to long stretches of sitting through a bunch of slideshows and wondering where all the main story momentum had gone.

• The annoying cartoon sidekick. Throughout his journey, Gran is joined by Vyrn, a baby dragon who talks like he just stepped out of an ’80s cartoon, up to and including referring to imposing enemies as “buttheads.” Vyrn isn’t as aggravating as Genshin Impact’s Paimon, but that’s the absolute most praise I’m willing to offer. During longer story missions, I found myself desperately wishing for the option to turn off Vyrn’s constant battle shouts and exclamations whenever I found treasure.

PLATFORM TESTED

PC via Steam.