Game Review--Growlanser II: The Sense of Justice

This was my first foray into the world of Growlanser and it needs to be said that this is one of those series in which I get the impression that it would have been better to play the first one first. Growlanser I being, however, unreleased in the west, and as I cannot speak or read Japanese, Growlanser II was the next logical entry point for me. By no means a bad game, Growlanser II--like many other JRPG franchises--will appeal to a niche audience. The story is not particularly strong, the world not particularly memorable, the music standard 90s RPG fare, etc. And if you aren't an RPG fan at all, this game will do absolutely nothing for you. However, if you are a fan of character-centric games, strategic real-time combat and dating sim elements, The Sense of Justice might be worth checking out. I certainly enjoyed it.

In terms of story, there is not much to Growlanser II (although it needs to be said that when it came out--2001--RPGs were just emerging from a decade of lackluster stories). Wein Cruz, the protagonist, and a series of companions must defeat a series of threats to their homeland of Rolandia and the world in which they live. Some are purely political threats, others more fantastical, but none particularly memorable. There is also quite a lot of reference to events of the first game and characters from that game even reprise their roles. In fact, although the bulk of the game takes place after the events of Growlanser I, the beginning of The Sense of Justice even takes place concurrently with its predecessor. For someone unable to play the first game, this made things a little confusing for me at times. However, ultimately it wasn't too much of a problem, for a couple reasons: 1) the plot was not deep enough for ties to the first game to have any huge effect and 2) the characters were plenty well fleshed out and really drove the game on their own.

The world of Growlanser II is traversable on the world map, and as he ventures from town to town or event to event, Wein can recruit a series of characters to fight with him. Many join your party as part of the story, but there are also some recruitable hidden characters. Almost all of the characters are pretty well fleshed out. Wein can interact with them one-on-one during events within towns or he can interact with the party as a whole via cut-scenes, but either way, one area in which Growlanser II does not struggle is its characters. There is even a dating sim element for the female characters that can allow Wein to pursue a romantic storyline assuming certain qualifications (each character has a relationship meter that fills based on responses in conversation or story action). Ultimately the romantic plot feels a little rushed and awkward, but it was interesting that it was present in a fairly old game. Though the story is short, and the plot itself forgettable, the characters will stay with you after you put the game down.

Growlanser II's ring system

The gameplay is really where the Growlanser series makes its mark though. Of course, the characters prepare for battle by putting on their armor, headgear, etc. in standard RPG fashion. However, each character also has access to a ring weapon slot. Ring weapons have 3 slots with ratings from 0 to 9 (thus, the best ring would theoretically have a rating of 9-9-9). Characters can place gems in each of these slots, as long as the level of the gem is less than the level of the slot. So in a 1-0-0 ring, only a level 1 gem could be equipped in the first slot, while nothing could be equipped in the second or third. Its a system that takes some getting used to, but no more than in many other solid RPGs. Combat itself is made up of story events and random encounter and takes place upon a square map. However, rather than being turn-based and taking place on a grid, movement is free and combat is half real-time. And by that I mean that once you select the actions for your characters, they continue until either the focus of their action is complete (ie. killing an enemy) or you bring up the menu to change their action. Actions take place according to a battle gauge, as well, rather than being turn-based. So, quicker characters whose gauges fill faster can get off more hits, etc. It's a system that eventually become more popularized in games like Final Fantasy XII, but it was interesting to find it here and for RPG fans who find the turn-based system outdated, this will certainly be a breath of fresh air.

Babe choices....

A uniformly negative aspect of the game was sound. The music is not terrible; its just forgettable and feels as if it was drawn straight from a greatest hits collection of 90s RPG battle music. The real knock on the sound is the voice acting. Some of the voices are bad by virtue of their pitch or sound, a la Hope from Final Fantasy XIII, but my main problem with the voice acting was the delivery. Its abundantly clear that the actors were reading from a script, as there is rarely any emotion that doesn't sound completely fake. However, given the budget restrictions that I'm sure affected first the game itself and then its localization, this is no surprise and I didn't really hold it against the game during my playtime.

Ultimately, Growlanser II: The Sense of Justice only takes around 15 hours to beat. It's got interesting combat and characters that are mostly successful in dragging along a lackluster plot. RPGs are already a somewhat niche genre in today's market and the Growlanser games will only appeal to an even smaller subset of that niche. However, I enjoyed my time with the game and gamers who enjoy some of the things I went into above will too.

Status: Recommended provisionally

Currently playing: Animal Crossing-New Leaf; Luigi's Mansion 2; Xenoblade Chronicles

Reviews in the Works: Shin Megami Tensei-Devil Survivor Overclocked; Fallen Enchantress