Already pre-ordered and hoping that this is more enjoyable that Gungnir was.
I thought Gungnir was decent, but honestly I had no idea what to expect there being a dept. heaven title and all.... however decent as it was, and enjoyable as Agarest 2 is proving to be for me, the Growlanser titles have (at least thus far) all proven to be more then just a cut above the rest so to speak IMO..... while I have no experience with Riviera, I can't honestly say I feel like any dept. heaven game could hold a candle to the Growlanser franchise.... not even on the same playing field if you ask me......
In truth, I can't really imagine for the life of me why Growlanser hasn't fostered a rep amongst players as being a titan of the genre.... much in the way the FFTactics and the Ogre Battles have managed to acquire such respect across the board. By that, what I am saying is I could go on to name a number of tactical/strategy oriented RPG's that were good, arguably great titles in some respects... vandal hearts, Jeanne D' Arc, Wild Arms XF, various NIS titles and some select PSP choices to name few that come to mind as quality.. but Growlanser trumps all these to me in the sense that NOTHING about Growlanser was really typical or mediocre, while none of the content or mechanic ever stretched too far into left field for its own good.
In short, the Growlanser titles to me, particularly 3 and 5 just didn't have any shortcomings I felt I had to overlook.... Great cast of characters, stunning artwork, large wide and epic narratives, kick-ass combat systems that I never grew weary of right up til the final boss battles, awesome soundtracks and the best blends of standard RPG real time movement and exploration coupled with tactical battle mechanics I have had the pleasure of experiencing. Might I add, that is another thing I'd love to see more of in new titles... that is, more blending of some of your traditional JRPG elements in SRPGS.... I hate how completely menu driven some of these games can be.. Let me walk around a town for goodness sake!!-LoL...... And last but certainly not least.... I love side quests and optional stuff... who doesn't?.... but when it is ALL post game content, or grindtastic it gets stale after awhile (I am looking at you NIS....)..... whilst Growlanser's in game non-linearity and side questing all pertained (in some respects, very signifigantly) to the main narrative and adventure.... this is the type of stuff that begs me for a 2nd play-through somewhere down the road or at least demands grandios amounts of my time and attention during my experience with the title. And believe you me, 2nd play-throughs are not something I usually ever consider.
After this post, I think I am gonna quit my job as a tattoo artist and become a full time "Growlanser PR Man"..... these games deserve more people singing their praise....
