Granblue Fantasy: Relink Review: Underrated JRPG Masterpiece of 2024

Granblue Fantasy: Relink: The 2024 JRPG Masterpiece Nobody's Talking About!

2024's Underrated JRPG Gem: Why Granblue Fantasy: Relink Deserves More Love

2024 was a HUGE year for RPGs! We got amazing immersive games like Dragon's Dogma 2 and Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, along with action-packed titles such as Granblue Fantasy: Relink and Stellar Blade. Most of these became instant hits and GOTY contenders, selling tons of copies, which clearly proved the enduring popularity of the JRPG genre! Yet, unbelievably, one of the best RPGs of the year? Completely forgotten! It's nuts!

Now, I get it; not every great game becomes everyone's favorite. We all have different tastes. But for this specific title to slip under the radar is crazy considering how awesome it is: superb combat, amazing characters, gorgeous cutscenes, plus a unique art style that is absolutely stunning. That deserves attention; this isn’t simply my opinion alone – this incredible success and various overwhelmingly positive user and critical reception is undeniable! So let’s dive into why Granblue Fantasy: Relink deserves another look!

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From 2016 to 2024: A Long-Awaited Release

Granblue Fantasy: Relink Narmaya about to unleash butterfly slash attack against horde of skeleton enemies. Image

I first saw Granblue Fantasy: Relink gameplay way back in 2016 at TGS, and I was completely blown away! The initial announcement alone, promising a new RPG based on the Granblue Fantasy universe (a collaboration between Cygames and PlatinumGames—the Bayonetta creators!), was enough to get any JRPG fan seriously hyped, even those (like me!) who were previously unaware of Granblue Fantasy IP. Those awesome visuals, the promising combat and incredibly polished trailers that improved massively with the passage of time really made those announcements hugely successful in generating interest, and later on helped those developers to establish that huge fanbase they are enjoying now!

The development itself was problematic. There were several delays – 2019 saw PlatinumGames leaving the project—then more delays into 2022, 2023...until the final release in 2024. Yet, that wait? Totally worth it! This demonstrates why hype can help improve anticipation; even creating situations which helped generate far better results; such long anticipation created very strong fan expectations! This wait helped refine that final release significantly and its quality and final product would’ve greatly benefited from the improved direction following many early complications and challenges. That extra time improved a truly superb game.

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Relink's Insane Combat: The Best of 2024

Granblue Fantasy: Relink Vane character outro pose from completing a successful quest. Image

Granblue Fantasy: Relink had competition! Plenty of awesome RPGs released during the same timeframe: Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth just a month later! Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth days before! Then the Persona 3 remake the very next day, alongside many other important titles including Dragon's Dogma 2 and even Unicorn Overlord! This suggests that any specific game release requires an awareness regarding its existing competition and carefully plotting the time for launching.

But what really makes Granblue Fantasy: Relink unique? It's a genre shift! Those previous Granblue Fantasy games are mobile games or fighting games! And this title also utilizes a less popular IP, despite its fanbase being large–this would result in its limited exposure in Western markets. It was almost destined for obscurity!

And this is what is incredibly remarkable about Relink’s success. Despite all the possible hindrances, it is critically lauded (80 on Metacritic, 9/10 on Steam). The amazing gameplay– this completely immersive, deep and extraordinarily satisfying experience truly deserves even more appreciation. Its enormous cast (over 20 playable characters) includes varied and completely distinct fighting styles— that fighting game heritage clearly shines, those unique attack styles only discovered during long-term gameplay really make it truly engaging! Those unlockable characters also add enormous variety; especially the option to not spend additional real money and simply earn through play!

Each mission is brief and focused; that always builds towards those awesome, boss battles. They’re almost like something from Monster Hunter—multi-stage, crazy-powerful, and have awesome movesets, forcing the use of distinct team-building strategies to make the entire experience very engaging and totally surprising, even requiring advanced tactics and knowledge surrounding every individual characters and its own capabilities!

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An Emotional Story and an Epic Endgame: Relink Delivers

Lloyd Irving, Dragon Quest 8's Hero, and FF10's Tidus in front of Dirk's house from Tales of Symphonia. Image

Those amazingly gorgeous cutscenes–some of the absolute best in all of JRPG history– totally help with the storyline! It has plenty of moments which created powerful emotional reactions. Even better is that epic endgame! That’s a great additional feature to add once the credits role; another way to generate additional user attention and keep them hooked even after they think everything is already completed and there is nothing more. This incredible grinding adds even greater replayability and those intense grinding moments really generate an overall very memorable and awesome gaming experience!

Granblue Fantasy: Relink has multiplayer – making that combat ridiculously good. It's surprising that Relink has so slipped under the radar! This doesn’t negate its appeal as something niche– those anime stylings and aesthetics aren’t something loved universally; even that factor should not detract from this incredible attention to detail, the numerous amazing details included here is worthy of far greater admiration than those relatively minor and negligible points.

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Conclusion: Give Granblue Fantasy: Relink Another Look!

Cloud from Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on the left, Ichiban from Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth in the middle, and Noah from Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on the right. Image

Granblue Fantasy: Relink is easily a GOTY contender! It is that truly exceptional game that should inspire many other studios, and developers to continue releasing products of the highest caliber, further innovating and improving and adding to the JRPG genre. This awesome gem needs rediscovering! Don't let its quieter launch distract you! Give it a try if you haven’t! You won’t regret it!