Developer: Monochrome
Publisher: NIS America, Spike Chunsoft
Platform: PS4, PS Vita
Tested on: PS4
Grand Kingdom – Review
Mercenaries tend to be marked as unreliable and unworthy but what if they were the only group to turn to in times of war? In Grand Kingdom, you’ll learn that being a mercenary isn’t always that bad and that there is more to it than meets the eye. The most important question remains: are you up for the life of a hired soldier?
Story
Our journey begins in the country of Resonail, where the four nations Landerth, Valkyr, Fiel and Magion are constantly in battle to get back up their feet. These struggles have been going for centuries and since rations and soldiers are getting scarce, these battles are being fought by mercenaries. This is where you enter the scene. You’re the leader of a mercenary group, just fighting without a goal. After another dull battle, you get invited to join the ‘Guild’, an organization that has several mercenary groups with a ranking system. After a brief discussion, you decide to join this group and finally get a new objective. You might seem happy, but the question is if everyone else thinks the same…
As this game focusses on both on- as offline modes, this story content is the base of the entire game and is quite sufficient. Even more, if you continue the campaign mode you’ll certainly get to see a lot more of what the game has to offer.
Graphics
Grand Kingdom combines several different styles, which match better than expected. First of all, you have the overview map, which has been made up as a board game board, whereas the fighting screen is done in a 2D style with 3D elements. There are three lanes that can be used and the background has some specific items for that particular area. Also, you can place objects on the battlefield, giving that extra 3D effect. The conversations are coated in a more comical 2D style, where the participants are visualized and altered depending on the state of the discussion.
This mix of graphical styles makes the game quite special and refreshing. There are some cutscenes that are triggered during battle, when there are ballista’s in range for instance. They help or attack you once in a while and when they’re firing their arrows, you get a nice short cinematic that eventually blends with the battleground. This certainly is a fun addition and shows that the developers did their best to get as much details in as possible.
Sound
Music wise, the game has a few tunes to offer which fit perfectly. For instance, when you’re venturing through the several menus Grand Kingdom throws at you, you’ll hear a typical fun and up-tempo tune that can be linked to bars and other happy places. This switches when you go into war or start a battle for a quest, getting a bit more dark but retaining the beats. This certainly helps to keep your wits sharp.
The sound effects emphasize this feeling, as there are loads of small sounds that pop up now and then. This forms a nice entity with the background music and gives it that bit extra. Next to the blazing artillery, stepping on the map and slashing enemies certainly has some nice sounds as well. One last mentionable aspect is the voice acting. Almost each cutscene or conversation is guided by some voices although they seem to lack some depth and intonation, though it is a nice addition.
Gameplay
Grand Kingdom is a tactical RPG in which you are the commander of a mercenary squad, fighting to get fame and glory in this problematic time. The four nations are constantly in war and need every manpower they can get, making your troops quite valuable. You can choose to do offline missions or go online and test your skills against other players while fighting for your contractor.
There are four types of quests that can be done while doing tasks offline. For starters, you can continue in the campaign which will make you advance in the narrative, while there is a gather quest that gives you the opportunity to venture certain areas to collect items and gain experience. Also, this is a good way to get specific items for blacksmithing for instance. The last two possibilities are the ‘versus’ and ‘single’ mode, where you can compete against others or do quests for one of the four nations.
When you want to transverse the map, except for the gathering quest, you use steps to move around. This amount can be seen beforehand and this is a very important element. Next to your movements, other aspects are bound to this number as well. Fighting enemies will consume rounds, while certain circumstances might cost some time too. It is quite important that you strategize at the start of a quest, as this can lead to victory or doom.
Starting a battle is done when you and an enemy troop collide on the same stone of the map. You’ll first get an overview of the type and level of your foes, while the complete team is placed on the field. Each party has a leader and when he is killed, the team goes into a leaderless state, which will decrease the recovery of the Act and Move Gauge. This means that the posse won’t be able to move and attack as much as before so killing the leader is the key to success.
The battlefield contains three lanes, in which you can shift freely. Each character has a specific role with their own particular attacks, so it might be a good idea to place the tanks/melee fighters up front and the ranged in the back. The order of attacks is shown on the bottom of the screen and determines which party will move first. Certain attacks or spells need some charging so this can be seen as well. Keep this in mind, as it will make or break your strategy.
Moving during a battle can be done for a limited time, as a meter will deplete depending on how far and how much times you switch lanes. Don’t worry though, as you can reset these steps and take another route to your destination. When you’re finally in the right position, you can start your attack. These are linked to the four buttons of your controller and might be a tricky at the beginning as you tend to press the circle button to cancel but then you actually might perform that specific ability. Most of the attacks will need you to press the button at the right time so you can hit your target(s). Timing this on the right time will cause your target to get knocked back or stumble forwards, resulting in a back attack. Another consequence is that you can let your opponent crash into someone else, which will increase damage on the involved parties.
When your assist gauges are filled up and an enemy defeats one of your mercenaries, it is possible to survive by performing ‘Last Grit’. This consumes 2 gauges and will leave you with a few health points, although you can choose to let that specific character die and save this feature for someone else. One other aspect that is quite important is when one of your foes is near death, you get the chance to let another member of your team do an assist attack, which can be the killing blow. Of course, you can choose to save this option as well. The last aspect regarding battling is that you can throw or place items on the battlefield. This can be useful to block certain attacks or even to heal yourself.
Before you can jump into battle, you need to hire your crew. Each member has a specific class with its own abilities but can also take up more spots in your team. For instance, dragon mages will use two places instead of one, but you get a lot in return. In the end, you decide which roles your team needs. This also counts for the formation. You can position your members on any spot in the three lanes and it is up to you where you want to place your leader and other members. When you’ve selected someone for your team, you can also choose their visual appearance. There are a few elements like their clothing color, hair style and color and facial expression which can be selected from a few predefined options. There aren’t that many to choose from but at least you can give them a bit of personality.
After you’ve gathered your posse, you can go to the shop and get some items. There are ones to use during battle, while you can get grimoires to learn new skills or objects to place on the field. Weaponry and gear can be obtained here as well. One of the other aspects is that you can visit the four nations to buy and sell items at the trading posts. Depending if you’re fighting for that nation, you have some other possibilities as well. For instance, you can visit the barracks and supply materials to help their research and obtain better support during battle. Also, you can gather intel at the marketplace to give you more insights regarding the battle. The last iportant aspect is the training area. Here, you can learn skills from grimoires, create Gran Grimoires by spending master levels or give your mercenaries better classes by using a scroll. This is certainly important to exploit, as your enemies are cunning and getting difficult to defeat.
In the online part, you can sign a hiring contract for one of the four nations and it is up to you for how many wars you’ll be fighting for the same contractor. You’ll get a bigger bonus if you’re signing for a longer period of time. Once you’re hired, it will cost you to break the contract, so choose wisely. You can get into several battles against your foe where you need to overcome obstacles and take several bases. These clashes are done in real-time, so it could be that one particular charge takes more than two hours. At any rate, the more you can defeat mercenaries and capture stations, the better your bonus will be. One final remark regarding this matter: your reputation will drop with your enemy so it is important to keep this in mind.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a tactical RPG with a mixed graphical style and loads of things to do, then Grand Kingdom certainly is something to reconsider. Delve into the world of the mercenaries and fight your way through the campaign or test your skills online in several wars while enjoying the upbeat music. The game has also a fun campaign to offer, so you’ll certainly have a lot on your hands.
Grand Kingdom - Review,
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