Grand Kingdom is a grand triumph of innovation and amalgamation, standing alone as a semi-new type of JRPG altogether. Mixing elements from other JPRGs, classic fighting games, and board game elements into an all new experience, Grand Kingdom will have some dedicated players still moving troops through enemies lands for years to come.
Grand Kingdom is one of the best tactical RPG games of the recent years. Its gameplay is amazing and features a fantastic online mode. Besides, in this game you will find lots of extras and secrets that have to be discovered.
As a fan of S-JRPG, I've played so many games in this genre. I can say that a few of them has the addictive feeling of Grand Kingdom. Even after 150 hours of playing it, there are so many things left to discover for me.
The battle system is very unique and it feels like a combination of so many different games. The result is very satisfying.
If you like this genre, give the game a chance. You won't regret it.
It's a smart, complex strategy game with so much feeling and reward - the style is beautiful, the 3 lane combat is extremely satisfying, and the multiplayer "world" battles are great. Equipment changes character look which is a nice bonus.
Grand Kingdom is a great tactics game that demands patience because it isn't an easy one, has many options and a not-so-easy-to-handle progression curve. It's complex gameplay mechanics might make the less patient players abandon it.
For the patient, though, Grand Kingdom is very worthwhile stuff. As a debut, it proves that Monochrome Corporation is a talented development outfit, and this is one of the more original takes on the tactics genre that we’ve seen in recent years.
I feel mixed on Grand Kingdom because I want to like it, but it just seems lackluster on its feedback loop of repetitive mission design; there is nothing that significantly caught my attention outside of the intricacies of battle from constantly building parties of different classes. Its story is severely lacking, and the War mode has a few neat quirks that overstayed its welcome rapidly. Grand Kingdom is an entertaining experience that presents neat, unconventional approaches to the genre, but there are so many aspects of its infrastructure that just seem haphazardly unrealized.
From my review here ****/grand-kingdom-review/ :
"Grand Kingdom is a game that will fly under the radar for many, but it really shouldn’t be missed if you are a strategy game fan. I’ve been playing the PlayStation Vita version (on a PSTV) of the game for a few weeks now, and I absolutely love it. But I am a huge SRPG fan, with Final Fantasy Tactics being my favorite game of all time. If you aren’t a fan of FFT, Disgaea, Tactics Ogre, and the like then this game may not be for you. Grand Kingdom is all about strategy. The battle system is the most unique I’ve seen in years, maybe ever. And before battle you move around the “field” (kind of like a world map) using a chess piece, plotting your route and using items — you aren’t simply moving from spot A to B. Both moving around the field and battling require a lot of thought, as well as party formation and item management. If you are into deep strategy JRPG’s then you should check this game out ASAP..."
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For the first 10 hours, I thought it was a great game. 30 hours later, I left with mixed feeling. The game itself is a solid S-JRPG with great art style and interesting system. However, it is cleverly designed so that you would either grind your eyes blind or submit to microtransaction.
Character level doesn't matter in this game, level 99 is just the beginning. Character attributes decide how powerful your squad is. And of course the characters you hired are mediocre. Attribute leveling up scrolls are farmable from treasure missions. Sadly, for these rare missions to show up, you need to refresh mission list using game currency.
The actual process of leveling up a character is making money, getting scroll, leveling your character to lv20, train up(improve one attribute), repeat from step one. To grind effectively, you need to build a very specific power leveling squad first. In the end, this is still very time consuming. Major attribute scrolls don't show up often. Or, you could just simply buy scroll/tome(could level up attribute by 2 ranks) from Playstation store using real money.
This game is designed to be extremely grindy and repetitive to encourage microtransaction. In a way, it is a somewhat pay to win mobile game disguised as a console RPG.
I enjoyed playing around with party setup and characters for a while. But after I have hunted down all the bounties in the exploration maps there wasn't any challenge left sadly. Normal and "Hard" fights are so easy that any of your characters can handle them solo. It is a shame because I would really like to play more but there is just nothing else left to do. I don't know how it was with the online content available, but now without it, the content runs out fairly quickly. I bought the game at a 80% discount price so I am not THAT disappointed, but I would strongly disencourage anyone to buy it at full price now, without the online content available.
There is no balance to the game. The online system would be fun, if it was fair. Sadly, you go in with a party you have worked hours on to grind up to level 9 and fight AI parties of 15+, with A rankings in prime stats. And there is no 'surrender' option in a fight, so you WILL be killed, if you run away the AI WILL chase you down, and WILL keep killing you untill you abandon the mission or run out of moves, all while being forced to watch each attack and loading screen.
The items that let you raise your attributes affinity (needing less bonus points to gain extra stats) are on the cash shop for real money, making this game a freemium game you have to BUY first. I want to love this game, but it lacks and sort of balance and exp gains are less battle related and more quest bonuses leading to those same high level units winning and you wasting time on a lost cause.
SummaryAfter the fall of the once-prosperous Uldein Empire over one hundred years ago, the Four Great Nations now wage war to claim dominion over the Resonail continent. Battles are no longer fought by honorable knights loyal to a nation, but by mercenaries who sell their services to the highest bidder. As the leader of a mercenary squad, the p...