Grand Fantasia Game Review

Grand Fantasia is a brightly colour anime styled 3D MMORPG. It is free to play but you will have to download and install the games data first before you can start actually playing it. Grand Fantasia only requires you to download 1GB of data which isnt large compared to other 3D MMORPG video games that require you to have over 4GB of free space on your hard drive. The game is not visually demanding too so computers that are around five years old might still be able to play this game smoothly.

Much like most other MMORPG video games, you are greeted with the character creation screen. It is here where you will choose to create the main character you want play as. You have the option of choosing to be a boy or a girl. You can alter the skin color, style of hair, hair color and even their eyes. The number of options you can choose from are generous compared to other MMORPG games Ive played, but the overall look of the game might still look childish to some gamers.

On the right side of the screen, you have the option to choose the type of class you want to be. There are nine classes that are available to be in this game. All gamers will start off being a novice where you are given only the default set of clothing and a weak sword however. You dont get to play as a specific class type until you have reached level 5.

At the bottom of the screen, youll have the option of customizing your sprite too. Sprites are like pets in other MMORPG video games and they play a very crucial role here in Grand Fantasia. There are not many options for you yet to alter the appearance and abilities for your sprite as they become available a bit later in the game. Once you have done all of that, you are then ready to enter Saphael and start off on your adventure.

The game starts off with a sprite explaining to you their importance in this world. Apparently, sprites hold the power that balances the world. The balance becomes altered whenever dark forces enter the world. Sprites grant their powers to sprite messengers in order to combat the evil that upsets the balance. The players role in this game is to help nurture and grow your own sprite. Once all of the sprites powers have been restored, balance will return in the world of Saphael.

Once the introduction is over, you are transported to a place called Siwa Island to start the games tutorial. I must say, the tutorial in this game is a bit of a pain as the games controls are explained in a tiny paragraph that flashes on top of the screen. It took me a while to even know which button was to press to even talk and interact with non-playable characters. Once I was able to find this out, playing Grand Fantasia was easy, although some other still problems came my way.

In terms of controls, Grand Fantasia plays much like most other MMORPG video games do. You can move the character around by either using your keyboard of pressing the left mouse button. The only thing that confused me is that you press the right mouse button to talk to other characters, plus to attack enemies too. Usually the left mouse button does this so my character was moving around like an idiot instead of actually attacking her enemies.

The combat is what weve seen from most other MMORPG video games. Its the usual point over an enemy and click to attack. In this case, you have to remember to click the right mouse button instead for your character to attack. The combat in Grand Fantasia is pretty basic because all you have to do is press the left mouse button over an enemy and your character will start attacking them. You dont have to do anything else other than watch your character hack and slash enemies until they die. The combat at the beginning of the game is fairly easy because the enemies are weak and hardly attack you. This is especially evident with all of the enemies you face in Siwa Island.

Once you level up and are able to choose a specific class that you want to be, the game opens up and becomes more enjoyable. You can either be an expert in magic, melee or ranged attacks depending on what class type you choose. When you play the game up to level 30, you can even open up sub-classes that categorize your style of play even further. The game becomes more fun when you level up because youll have access to more skills that you can use during combat. Its way more fun than the basic hack and slash attacks that you are given at the very beginning of the game.

There are many quests that you can do in Grand Fantasia that keeps the game fresh and exciting. There is a number of different looking locations you can visit plus a number of different looking enemies to face as well. The design of the game is awesome because not one level or enemy looks exactly the same.

As big as this game is, I have to say that the map is pretty useless. It does not really guide you to where you have to go and you can become lost in this game pretty quickly. I remember I needed to talk to a specific person to end a quest but it took me ages to find him. You can always enlarge the map for a better view of the area, but this does not really tell you specifically the exact location for your destination all of the time.

Graphically, Grand Fantasia has bright and beautiful graphics much like most Asian developed RPG video games have. I always preferred the look and design of Asian developed games compared to Western ones because everything looks cheerful. Sometimes I feel that Western developers like to set their games in dark and depressing places. You definitely wont find any depressing places in Grand Fantasia as everything is as colourful as can be.

If there are some points I have to criticize about this game, its the music. I usually love to listen to the music in these types of games, but the soundtrack is pretty limited here. The music is repetitive and often repeats itself. Another thing to note about this game is that it does not offer anything new to the MMORPG genre. If youve played lots of MMORPG video games before, you wont find any new gameplay elements to experience here in Grand Fantasia.

Overall, Grand Fantasia may not introduce anything new to the MMORPG genre, but gamers that love anime style games will love the presentation in this game. The graphics are colorful and the character models look cute. The controls are competent once you get used to them and the game becomes more fun as you progress further. There are a healthy number of quests you can complete that can keep you occupied for hours on end. It may not be the best MMORPG game out there, but Grand Fantasia is still a very enjoyable one to play.