Granblue Fantasy: Relink to Versus
Cygames holds a large event for Granblue Fantasy at least once a year, the biggest dubbed the “Granblue Fantasy Fes” in which they detail the franchise’s newest and upcoming happenings. This comes in the form of updates for the still-ongoing mobile game (no longer on par with its popularity height years ago, but still popular per se) and titles being released for other dedicated gaming platforms. This year, however, was more significant than the others thanks to their plans to provide a definitive update for Granblue Fantasy: Relink after it’s slaved away in development for years, alongside a surprise announcement for fighting game Granblue Fantasy: Versus.
There’s nothing hyperbolic about claiming that Relink’s development has been a prolonged one. The project, an action RPG featuring Granblue Fantasy’s most popular characters as playable faces, started production at PlatinumGames. But it was switched to Cygames’ internal production house in 2019. Multiple trailers have shown how the gameplay, including the action tempo, has been visibly modified in the time since, but that’s nothing abnormal for a game in development for so long. It remains difficult to tell whether development was restarted or continued from where PG left off four years ago. Those of us in the public will likely never know the true answer, unless Cygames decides to be more transparent than other Japanese game publishing houses or if someone leaks it on a message board or blog in Japan. Don’t count on either of those happening.
Several characters have been shown in previous trailers, and the new one focused on faces like Id, Charlotta, Yodarha, and Narmaya. The stellar number of playable characters is perhaps one good reason why its development has been so long, depending on how unique their move sets will be. They all look unique from the lengthy gameplay demonstration provided.
Cygames remarkably still didn’t provide a release timeframe for Relink beyond a vague “2023” timeframe, but there are signs suggesting the game will arrive by the end of this year, beyond series producer Tetsuya Fukuhara claiming that it’s in the fine-tuning stage of development. The Assist Mode was detailed, an easy mode for players who want to focus on the story and not worry about the game’s difficulty, that will allow for players to perform combos with a single button. If that wasn’t enough, the Full Assist Mode will let a player venture through the entire game through the use of only the analog stick, largely letting the game play itself for maximum story enjoyment. Another good sign is how the newest trailer is the first to have English voiceovers, in addition to the Japanese language variant.
It would be a surprise if the game didn’t arrive worldwide by the year’s end. But it’s also a surprise that the game has taken so long to arrive to begin with, so there are no assurances here.
The bigger surprise is that a new version of the Arc System Works-developed Granblue Fantasy: Versus is coming, specifically Granblue Fantasy: Versus Rising for PlayStation platforms and PC via Steam. Yes, that’s new “version” and not “update” because Cygames is going old school by making the player base purchase a brand-new version instead of also providing this as a simple upgrade like every other fighting game publisher these days. How brave Cygames will be here will depend on its price.
In fairness, this version will come with a hefty list of upgrades. In addition to the kinds of features expected from a new version like new characters and stages, two categories for which there remain plenty more options to choose from, the new “Ultimate Skills” gameplay feature will be included. They’re upgraded iterations of the EX attack-style “Plus Skills,” with the added effect of slowing down the opponent. The RPG mode will also receive new content, alongside all the content from the first game. The mode itself will be simplified, in response to criticism regarding the first game’s being too much of a grind to complete.
More remarkable is how they’re adding the most-requested feature: Rollback netplay. It’s clear that Cygames saw all the sad face images and emojis under the many replies made to their Twitter posts over the last year, but they’re making fans buy a brand-new version for the pleasure. But this should help maintain the game’s lifespan in the online and tournament worlds for a little while longer. The lobby system will also be redesigned, hopefully for the better. It wouldn’t be a pleasure if the new features made it longer for players to enter matches.
Versus deserves some sympathy thanks to the poor hand it was dealt, as it had the pleasure of releasing just before COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns started. This, alongside the lack of rollback netplay for the best online connections, halted the game’s tournament ambitions. But again, the willingness to pay Cygames for the sympathy will depend on how much they charge, considering all these features absolutely could have been added through a significant upgrade. It’s not like that hasn’t been done before — multiple times, at that. They shouldn’t charge full price for it, but don’t rule that out either.
There wasn’t much doubt that the Granblue Fantasy brand is staying around, even if the mobile game has fallen in popularity a bit. But Cygames is determined to make the franchise more notable outside Asian territories, especially with Relink being guaranteed a worldwide release. Time will tell if their efforts are successful.
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Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
