Like any book, we start at the beginning of GrimGrimoire OnceMore. Skipping to the end will screw things up.
GrimGrimoire OnceMore is a port of the 2007 PlayStation 2 game. Billed as an RTS (real-time strategy), it feels like a mashup of a 2D side-scroller and a tower defense game. I like good tower defense games, so I was intrigued, but my enthusiasm ran into some mixed realizations while playing the game. More on that later.
First, let’s see what’s in front of us. GrimGrimoire OnceMore’s 2D artwork is excellent, and the level of detail and rich colors make it very easy to see. It has interesting features such as several types of familiars (from workers to warriors), intriguing designs, and constructs ranging from runes to weapons. The only place the visual will drop is the stairs.
Of course, you don’t want people falling down stairs (that hurts). That’s really the background I wanted. The whole adventure unfolds in the castle, so the playing field will always be very similar stairs, corridors and alcoves. The architecture is interesting, but you get pretty much the same thing throughout the game. The setup is a bit similar, but you get the idea. This is basically tower defense from inside one tower. This limitation is something I can accept fairly easily, as you can see more game areas at some of the more advanced levels.
Unlike other tower defense games I’ve played, this game makes good use of the classic Fog of War features. You don’t know what’s lurking in the shadowy alcove until one of your units approaches it. I like this feature because it keeps things from being too easy. If you don’t keep an eye out, enemies can gain strength and attack you hard.
Now turn to audio. Because what you hear is also important. Background sounds, music and voice work are all clear and clean. Music is what you would expect in a game of this kind. It’s not great, but it sticks to the mood of the scene and isn’t intimidating. The footsteps were a little too loud and started bothering me, but the controls have some settings to dampen the footsteps.
Another great audio experience was the voice acting. The tone was okay, but some of the dialogue went too far. Generally speaking, the sound is good enough to be negative, but not good enough to rave about it.
Now for the story. Our heroine, Lille Blanc, is a freshman at the Silver Star Tower Academy for Wizards and quickly finds out that she has to live the first five days over and over again. Done and true, but a little tired. It might feel like “Groundhog Day,” but players can pull off additional details and elements that can be woven into their strategy. There are allies and antagonists facing frustrated romances and self-doubt…and they’re all within the faculty. Yes. I know the game was originally written in a different era, but some of the dialogue, especially with the male faculty, is sexualized to the point of being a little libido-inducing. Wait 15 minutes and you’ll see what I mean.
Of course, Lillet will have to hone his skills to save the academy. To help her, she must learn how to use three grimoires for each of her four schools of magic: Glamour, Necromancy, Sorcery, and Alchemy. She’ll learn to summon a variety of things to help her fight battles, collect enough mana to upgrade them, build an army, and defend her castle from the big bad guys everyone fears. If this all sounds familiar, it should. Just ask your new professor, Gammel Dore (say it a few times faster…yes). The first few rounds act as a tutorial. They are thorough, but a little jaded.
I said that magic has four branches, and each branch has three grimoires. Getting familiar with and mastering the crafting tools takes some work. You just need to make sure your skill tree is working and you have the skills you need to put your points to good use and take down the enemy in front of you. not. You can rework things and replay levels to get the resources you need to improve your spell library.
The controls are fairly easy to use. I say “pretty much” because there are some things you need to be careful about, like remembering to use some secondary controls when considering things. With a limited playing field, multiple friendly units, and multiple enemy units, various elements can appear to be stacked on top of each other. A four imp cadre might actually be seven he’s only four visible and three hidden behind. You can use the left Joy-Con directional buttons to scroll through the units, but this takes time.
Speaking of time, the game also includes a “speed up” mode, a feature you’ll find in some other tower defense games. This allows you to speed up your mana grind so you can move on to more detailed planning and combat phases. If you need more time, you can even bring things back to normal speed and pause the action to figure out your next step. Provided are still images created for your own enjoyment. They, like the rest of the game, are a little cartoonish, but well done.
GrimGrimoire OnceMore has some very minor playability issues, exhibits some strange behavior, and contains dialogue that some groups may blame you for (and that Some are a bit there…). On the one hand, it includes great artwork, solid gameplay, an interesting story, and a nice vertical twist on tower defense games. The first pass for the first 5 days is a bit tedious with training routines, but the game has plenty of fun if you master all the tricks.
