GrimGrimoire OnceMore (Switch)

GrimGrimoire originally released for the PlayStation 2 all the way back in 2007, with this GrimGrimoire OnceMore remaster getting a release only in the Japan for the time being last year. Now released in the west, complete with an additional PS5 version, is it worth revisiting this Vanillaware classic? Lets take a look

Lillet arrives at the Tower of Silver Star to begin her lessons at the magic academy. During her first five days she meets her teachers and fellow students and begins the first steps into the world of magic. On the fifth evening, Lillet wakes to find the Tower under attack from a released spirit, who has killed the teachers and is seeking the hidden Philosopher’s Stone. Just as Lillet is about to fall prey to this spirit, the clock strikes midnight and she is sent back to the beginning of her first day at the Tower to begin the cycle anew.

The story is presented in a visual novel fashion with a fantastic visual style and good voice work. Luckily its not just the presentation that will you engaged for the 16 hours or so it’ll take to finish, as the story itself has plenty going for it to keep you entertained. While the remastering work focuses on improving the UI & controls, sprucing up the visuals, and adding a little extra to the gameplay, there is a gallery to fill for completionists. Plenty of beautiful artwork is unlocked as you go here which should be a boon for fans of Vanillaworks.

As soon as the game starts it becomes instantly apparent that this is a Vannilware game, the hand drawn fantasy look highlighted in later releases is on show from the off here. Sprite work is crisp for what was a PlayStation 2 game originally due to the remastering work, there’s plenty of detail lavished onto most aspects of the visuals such as enemies, stages etc – though some levels can look a little too ‘tiled’ which can make browsing around them by eye difficult to pinpoint with the lack of landmarks.

There’s also some good voice acting to supplement the story sections, and a fitting BGM for the visuals, but its no surprise really that this also runs well given its origins. Portable had no performance issues and looked crisp on the small screen, docking was the same really but the game scaled up well and still looked great on my OLED given the art style – so it should also be a treat for Switch OLED owners.

Dubbed an RTS by many, the game actually has a couple of other areas that it branches in to. Sure, RTS is an apt description as most of your time will be spent resource managing – You’ll be sending out allies to collect the mana required to upgrade and purchase more units from the grimoires in use. As an example the first will let you build elves to collect mana, but a quick upgrade give you faeries that can go on the attack – these fairies being flight units can also pass through floors etc for flank attacks. A further upgrade will give you defensive units to protect production in a way the fairies can’t. You’ll gradually unlock these units through lessons, alongside more magic types to give you more options, but your mana crystals can only be used by one magic type each so some extra strategy will come in later engagements.

Another aspect of this game mentioned would be tower defence. When on the defensive and stationary units are used the game does take on more of a tower defence than RTS feel, as you layer the defence lines and create choke points to keep your resources safe. This unit variety does help alleviate the lack of it in environments, unit management just about works ok on the Switch controls, so you have plenty to look forward to as your unit repertoire gradually grows. The other aspect would be visual novel, the game has chapters throughout that are just story, but these don’t just offer story as the lessons from the tutors can also increase your knowledge of the various magic types offered – you’re learning alongside Lillet in a way.

GrimGrimoire is often touted as an underappreciated RTS for its era, but I don’t ascribe to that notion myself. Sure it still looks great and plays well enough on the Switch, but it’s one of those games that has to click with you to get the most out of what it offers. Its artwork will surely draw in a new crowd that has enjoyed more recent Vanillaworks games, but the OnceMore moniker is probably perfect here as GrimGrimoire OnceMore will likely mainly appeal to previous fans of the original.

3

Summary

A beautiful adventure that may, or may not, do a good enough job with it’s RTS gameplay to keep you interested

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Geoffrey Wright

Rocking the world of gaming since the Atari 2600, has now settled down to bask in the warmth of moe. Moe is life for a moe connoisseur.

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