Grim Grimoire (PS2)

[Gabriel]

Did anyone pick up Grim Grimoire? It slipped under my radar, but looks like it might be decent.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Yeap...was playing it nearly nonstop last night. It starts of slow to teach you the basics..and then ramps up considerably in difficulty...hehe. It is made by the same software house that did Odin Sphere (Vanillaware LTD.) and it shows. The art style is very similar and the 2D intro looks similar to Odin Sphere. However the gameplay is very different from that of Odin Sphere as I'm sure you're no doubt already aware.

 

In short Grim Grimoire plays like a simplified RTS. I say simplified because the management isn't nearly as heady as traditional RTS games tend to be. You basically build runes and use them as you would different buildings in other RTS style games. What I cannot figure out is how Odin Sphere got a Teen rating by the ESRB and yet Grim Grimoire gets an E?! If the ESRB had actually played the crazy game, they would have quickly found out that the storyline text in the cutscenes...is NO where near an E rating. Anyway, the game is a lot of fun to play though admittely different from the usual fare. That is why I like it..and so far...Vanillaware to me is like the next Clover Studios. Too bad this game is getting hard to find and doesn't seem to be selling as well as Odin Sphere has..or did. I picked up what I'm pretty sure was the last copy here in the Tulsa area last Friday at Gamestop in the mall that only got about 4 copies in originally. 3 of those were preorders I was told. So, I literally snagged the only non ordered copy the store got in. Odin Sphere was a bit of a pain to find as well, but it was available at a few more stores locally at the time and seem to have come in larger orders than Grim Grimoire did.

 

I say pick it up...or at rent it at first if RTS type games aren't your cup of tea.

[Bruce Tomlin]

Thanks for the tip! The first Gamestop I went to, their computer said they had one left. The guy searched around a bit, and found it in the "48-hour hold" box, where it had presumably been sitting for longer than 48 hours. Still shrinkwrapped, not gutted. Score!

 

Of course I had to walk into the attached Barnes & Noble store and find Retro Gamer Collection 1 on the magazine rack for a whopping 30 bucks!

[Gabriel]

Well, I grabbed this one. I played it a bit and thought it was neat, but I haven't gotten back to it.

 

The character talky art is very nice. Considering the dialogue, I also wonder how the hell this game got an E rating. The individual units I've seen look nice, although the animation leaves a bit to be desired.

 

I understand the map never really changes. That's a bad thing. The background is bland. Hallways and staircases are only so interesting.

 

The tutorials are more than a bit irritating. Prepare to press through a lot of text explaining things which are often readily apparrent. Forget about doing things on your own initiative until further into the game. It won't let you.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I'm only guessing on this...but the art style between Grim Grimoire and Odin Sphere is too similar. They were also made by the same company (Vanillaware). If I was to guess and I am. I would say that Grim Grimoire is actually Vanillaware's first title and Odin Sphere their second. This would explain how quickly Grim Grimoire was released...because it was basically already done. it would also explain the similar art, but more simplistic gameplay and animation you spoke of. After Vanilla saw the success of Odin Sphere, they likely just went ahead and released Grim Grimoire figuring it could do worse and they still would have made their money from Odin Sphere alone.

 

As for the map...you're correct in that it never changes background wise. However, the layout and size of the map...does. Buy the time you in the later missions you will be working on map sizes 4x larger than you are now, with enemies all around you and you having to play "defend the base while I gather resources" for much of the beginning of the missions until you can build up a large enough army to start taking on the AI controlled units one by one.

 

I've finished the game now but haven't gone back to do the bonus trial missions. I did do the first one and it handed my butt to me on a platter?! I want to finish Odin Sphere and Indy Emporer's Temple first before getting back to Grim Grimoire.

 

For those not finding it...I'm surprised to say, that I actually saw not one..but 4 copies of this game at one of the local area Wal-Marts here in Tulsa?! Odin Sphere appears to be the one that is most difficult to find now.