Growlanser wayfarer of time: Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time for PSP Reviews

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Score distribution:

1. Positive:

   8
   out of 8

2. Mixed:

   0
   out of 8

3. Negative:

   0
   out of 8

1. 
   This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
   

   Being a fan of the PlayStation 2 Growlanser games, I preordered WoT and got it some days before the official release date… since then, I have spent almost thirty hours on the game, and I have enjoyed it immensely. The mix between rts, rpg and Satoshi Urushihara’s art direction is wonderful, and the choices you make during the game have a deep impact upon the storyline’s progression. The story, yeah it has to be the best I have seen in a rpg in a long time, and other developers should look at it when trying to write up a war drama. I cannot thank Atlus enough for localizing this masterpiece. CollapseBeing a fan of the PlayStation 2 Growlanser games, I preordered WoT and got it some days before the official release date… since then, I have spent almost thirty hours on the game, and I have enjoyed it immensely. The mix between rts, rpg and Satoshi Urushihara’s art direction is wonderful, and the choices you make during the game have a deep impact upon the storyline’s progression. The story, yeah it has to be the best I have seen in a rpg in a long time, and other developers should look at it when trying to write up a war drama. I cannot thank Atlus enough for localizing this masterpiece. CollapseBeing a fan of the PlayStation 2 Growlanser games, I preordered WoT and got it some days before the official release date… since then, I have spent almost thirty hours on the game, and I have enjoyed it immensely. The mix between rts, rpg and Satoshi Urushihara’s art direction is wonderful, and the choices you make during the game have a deep impact upon the storyline’s progression. The story, yeah it has to be the best I have seen in a rpg in a long time, and other developers should look at it when trying to write up a war drama. I cannot thank Atlus enough for localizing this masterpiece. Collapse… Expand

2. Growlanser Wayfarer of Time is the last English entry into one of the most original jrpg franchises you will ever be able to play: its deepGrowlanser Wayfarer of Time is the last English entry into one of the most original jrpg franchises you will ever be able to play: its deep plot focuses on politics, war, famine and the mystery surrounding the angels and their struggle against humankind. While the story is indeed well written and really enjoyable and the characters are some of the best seen in the last years, the real greatness of this game is its battle system, a fantastic mix of real time battles, tactical combat and traditional explorations that will satisfy every kind of jrpg fan. With tons of choices during dialogues, you will be able to play the game countless times and witness different events, ranging from some characters’ deaths or survival to one of the three main plots to over 40 possible endings. This game is probably the best Japanese RPG on PSP alongside the Trails in the Sky series, and it’s a great swan song for this platform’s rpg lineup.… Expand

3. 
   




4. Great game. I suppose the bad critics were from people who played like one hour of the game and then moved on.

   To say it clearly. One ofGreat game. I suppose the bad critics were from people who played like one hour of the game and then moved on.

   To say it clearly. One of the best rpgs on the psp. Anyone who likes to have a party full of interesting characters (and romance options;) ), branching story lines, an epic story with some twists, will surely love this game.… Expand

5. growlancer is truly a fantastic game, every psp owner should buy it and enjoy one of the greatest experiences the j-rpg genre has providedgrowlancer is truly a fantastic game, every psp owner should buy it and enjoy one of the greatest experiences the j-rpg genre has provided this year. the battles are a fresh take on strategy combat, and are so enjoyable and deep you won’t be able to drop the game till your battery runs out, just like me. Urushiara’s art may not be for everyone, but it surely adds another layer of uniqueness to the game, helping it to stand out even more.… Expand

6. Being a fan of the PlayStation 2 Growlanser games, I preordered WoT and got it some days before the official release date… since then, IBeing a fan of the PlayStation 2 Growlanser games, I preordered WoT and got it some days before the official release date… since then, I have spent almost thirty hours on the game, and I have enjoyed it immensely. The mix between rts, rpg and Satoshi Urushihara’s art direction is wonderful, and the choices you make during the game have a deep impact upon the storyline’s progression. The story, yeah — it has to be the best I have seen in a rpg in a long time, and other developers should look at it when trying to write up a war drama. I cannot thank Atlus enough for localizing this masterpiece. … Expand

7. Sweet story, fluid gameplay, nice pacing. The strongest points are the intricate plot and varried lovely characters. One of the bestSweet story, fluid gameplay, nice pacing. The strongest points are the intricate plot and varried lovely characters. One of the best adventures out there.… Expand

8. This is the first time I played this series and I had my doubts… for the first 15 minutes that is. This game is awesome, almost flawless.This is the first time I played this series and I had my doubts… for the first 15 minutes that is. This game is awesome, almost flawless. The backgrounds are detailed, colorful and pump up the atmosphere, the characters personas are detailed to the max, the plot is… how should I say this. .. I started to play yesterday around 16:00 and it just sucked me in, I put down my precious around 01:00 and I was like… «duuude».
   The MC is like Charlie Chaplin, never gets in in any conversation, well not without us, players. I noticed around the second hour of playing that he only speaks when we make him so.
   The other thing is the Familiar… I poked around approx. half and hour loading the game again and again back at the familiar-constructing part, and it really is great. The body, the personality and the skills and perks depends on your answers only. Tie me up and call me Jebediah, but I loved this part of the game.
   The battle system is detailed and flexible, you need to observe the whole battlefield, count on every situation, I’m very satisfied with it and I should know it, I’m quite picky about this part as a Disgaea lover.
   The soundtrack is ok, nothing extraordinary, fits in the game perfectly. The cutscenes are beautiful, all the anime-fans will adore it as a gem on a crown. I can’t get enough of this game, I know I will not find my place in the world when I finish it… oh well, I’ll just start it over again after a little break.… Expand

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Essential Links

Wayfarer of Time – Destructoid

Everytime I put my PSP down, something comes out to make me pick it back up. And it’s usually an RPG. That said, I have no problems with new title releases late in the system’s life, especially when they’re as engaging as Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time. 

While I’ll admit that getting into a remake of a sequel of a series I’ve never played was a bit difficult at first, in the end it was totally worth charging my PSP back up this one last time.

Atlus, this is the last time, right?

Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time (PSP)
Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus 
Released: July 31, 2012 
MSRP: $29.99

Growlanser: The Wayfarer of Time is a PSP remake of a 2003 PS2 title and the fourth installment of the Growlanser series, though most gamers in the West are unlikely to have played any of the previous series titles. No matter, as Wayfarer stands nicely on its own. 

Wayfarer tells the story of a young, shiny-haired guy named Crevanille. He was a special orphan [aren’t they all? — Ed] that was taken in by a gang of mercenaries as a child, and as you’d expect from a role-playing game, grows up to be a mercenary himself. His mostly normal life of typical mercenary duties takes a sudden turn when angry Angels come out of the sky and begin blowing up everyone and everything. It turns out that those in the heavens are set on destroying mankind again, just as they did some 2,000 years ago.  After this attack, Crevanille swears to take out the Angels, though he’ll have to figure out how first. It seems that the traits that make him special might help him out with this task, though.

Before we go any farther, I want to tell those considering playing Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time to give it some time. As I said earlier, and in previous articles on the game, Wayfarer was a bit difficult to get into. After a sharp introduction and a good first impression, game’s story switches gears, dropping to a slow crawl. Its dull, shallow characters do little to pull in your interest, and the storytelling doesn’t help matters much. Worse yet, the battle system and equipment options have training limitations that make early encounters a bit boring.

But it does get better. The crap characters are washed away (in a fantastic way), and are soon replaced with much more interesting ones. The story also picks up in a big way with huge plot pivot points, numerous opportunities for party member deaths and visual novel-style dating-sim elements. Most importantly, the battles, the meat and potatoes of this strategy game, turn out to be fully engaging. I’d advise you to just try to enjoy the shiny character art and fancy cutscenes for that first hour or two to hold you over — it’s worth it.

Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time is a strategy RPG…wait, where are you going? Before you run away, know that those that dislike the slow, turn-based, grid-based combat of typical SRPG games might enjoy the changes in Wayfarer, as movement is completely free in these top-down style battles, and the turns are time-based instead of turn-based.

When you encounter an enemy, a menu pops up, letting you enter your desired command against the enemy. For example, for movement, you use a cursor to set up to four waypoints anywhere on the map, and your character will follow them over time. From here, time takes over, with the clearing of each party member’s (and enemy) time gauge determining what happens next. Once the cooldown-style gauge is cleared, the assigned command is executed, and will repeat until another one is issued (or needed). Movement, attacks, spellcasting and more keep the gauge filled, though, hindering the execution of your last command. The combination of all of these time-based elements makes for an RTS-like experience, and it makes what would normally be a pretty dull battle in a standard SRPG much more engaging.

Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time‘s equipment system also adds a neat twist to the standard SRPG methods with its equippable rings, which act as both your weapon and your armor (think Final Fantasy VII‘s Materia system). Each ring has three slots that let you equip spellstones to add abilities or change stats, with the power available to the ring growing as its wearer levels up. And even without spellstones, the rings have their own stat perks. Rings are found by defeating enemies and exploring, and spellstones can be bought or found, but the vast combination of powers to be uncovered are totally up to the player.

Those up for a stiff challenge will dig Wayfarer, as you’re almost always in over your head outside of standard field encounters. The four party members you have access to will be stretched to their limits in key battles, and all available advantages will have to be utilized in some of the grander ones. I quickly found that grinding up to a higher level was not the answer in failed key battles, and that only proper and exact strategy would see me succeeding. When you do win, it feels great, like you’ve achieved something nearly impossible. It’s a shame that the game does such a poor job at giving players the required victory conditions, though, as it has you playing many of the battles twice to learn what needs to be done.

The presentation of Wayfarer is a bit of a mixed bag. On the upside, the character art from Satoshi Urushihara is shiny and pleasing to the eye, and the animated cutscenes are top-notch. Some may be turned off by the super-anime, overly busty females and the off-the-wall, nonsensical costume mix of the main cast, but these could just as easily be selling points for others. 

Less impressive are the bland, old-looking overworld visuals and sometimes blurry backgrounds. And while there were only a few instances, the occasional slowdown might bug some. The musical score ranges from sufficient to a punch in the ear, with the short-looping battle theme being the worst of the tracks. 

Overall, while it sometimes loses focus, and at other time frustrates, Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time is an engaging, rewarding PSP SRPG. But, again, give it some time. There’s a big world, a solid story with crazy plot twists, some great key battles and hours of gameplay to be found here.