Grand Kingdom: Survival of the Fittest

Strategy JRPGs (Japanese Role Playing Games) are oftentimes a bit intimidating to learn, blending together a number of party management and battle systems that require some significant time to come to grips with.

- Erik Paolo Escueta

Needless to say, Grand Kingdom is no different by those standards. However, it does have some unique qualities that make it stand out from the usual crowd, like its 2D turn based combat, tabletop-style exploration, and online war sim multiplayer mode. Even the story lends itself well to the gameplay design, which should at least warrant a look not just from strategy fans, but also gamers with an interest in the fantasy genre.

Top of the world

Grand Kingdom takes place in the world of Resonail, where after the fall of the Uldein Empire, the remaining Four Great Nations now wage war to conquer everything in sight, employing mercenaries to do their dirty work on the front lines.

The main plot of the game revolves around you as you lead your mercenary group, the newest joiners of the renowned Guild, to prestige and fame. This is where the game starts to diverge your interests and becomes quite non-linear, as you’re beset with a variety of game modes and options right off the bat—or at least, as soon as you complete the tutorial quests.

Ultimately, you can choose to ally with a Great Nation or just do your own thing, which lets you run the game at your own pace and is a plus in my book. That said, if you want something a bit more on-rails, you won’t find that here.

Class acts