No.12

Growlanser VI: Precarious World 8.5/10

I knew I had to do this, but not on gamefaqs where you can't give a 2nd digit score(otherwise it would end up being 9, and I'm gonna get bashed) and where spoilers are a no-no ^^
That aside, this is really my favorite Growlanser.

Story: 9/10
Takes place after Growlanser V, separated into 2 main continents(one that which G5 took place in). Very interesting from start to end, especially events having to do with those in 5, the nostalgic value is overwhelming, goosebumps(I adore the characters in V). You play as a man named Merklich(best Growlanser main character design as yet imo) who worked for a company named Monopolis. The pace the plot goes is very even, the entire story is really full of depth. I know some people who like thinking very very deep -e.g being those who made the Chrono or Star Ocean series timeline- who will be able to come up with a few points on certain loopholes. But overall, the storyline is really great and it really surprised me that they can come up with such an excellent plot sequel link to Growlanser V in just a year or so.

P/S + trivia: I'm not 100% sure on that, but now I understand why is there a difference between the first mission of the JPN GV and the US one. I replayed the JPN for the 3rd time and realized that Rush's speech is different from the US(instead of saying he will hold off the screepers, he said something like  "c...can we really fight these things...?" and he indeed tried to run off to the bottom screen). So that led me to believe that they changed it in the US version to fit the plot of GVI(because that mutant screeper who is protecting Zeonsilt when we went to rescue him in GVI is Rush)


Gameplay: 8/10
They improved a lot from GV. Battles are faster, characters are faster, making everything more intense and engaging. Instead of accessories, we equip gems instead. Gems can be stacked to increase levels of various bonuses(such as increasing mgc defense), and one can try out different combinations. It's not that wonderful, but it provides more customization for a character along with the skill plate system. No more of half levels when the flow is not flowing through the plates. This time round, there are 2 active flows(one from the weapon and one from the armor, if the armor and weapon belongs to the same "color", common sense: the flow is combined into 1). Max level of skills are still LV 9, but you can only get 1 plate of each skill. In other words, e.g: you can only get 1 Fire Arrow plate in the entire game, and once the max level for the plate is reached(the usual LV 5), the level is fixed even if no flow is passing through it. However, if a flow is passing through a LV 5 Fire Arrow, the level increases by 1 = LV 6, meaning if both active flows are passing through that, it will become LV 7. The only way to get a skill to LV 9 is to get a rare special item to replicate a desired plate. Nevertheless, the plate system is more balanced as compared to GV's and probably easier to understand for some.

Graphics: 7/10
Nothing much has been changed, still the 3D as in GV. Perhaps things have been polished up a lil bit, but don't expect much difference. Still I was never bothered with it as when I was with GV. Urushihara's artwork is so pretty(he's a genius, up till now I have seen a few anime drawings on par as his, but none that is better, whoever complained about his artwork is either 1: don't know what is anime or 2:don't know what is good anime illustration). The cutscenes are very beautifully done, most parts of which I believe Satoshi himself personally supervised since it is easy to recognize whether did he or not(e.g: the scene showing from the side view during Zeonsilt's ending anime scene is obviously not done by Urushihara).


Music/sounds: 8/10
Just as the story took place on 2 different continents, so is the music. Half of the tunes should be familiar to those who have played GV. The music for this game falls under the category of "I'll have to give it some time before I like it". As for voice-acting, great as usual. Returning voice-actors for GV as well since returning characters are there.

Characters: 9/10
Character designs are marvelous, and each one has their own distinct personality. As with almost all Growlanser games, part of the main focus is on interaction and character development.

Replay: 8/10
I have only replayed the full game once, but perhaps over 10 times of reload because I need the information for doing a faq. Other than that though, because it's not necessary to replay the entire game to get the character endings, one will probably only replay it for missables or if he/she needs to go through the plot again to clear up doubts in terms of the connection to GV. There are optional stuff, but all can be done in 1 play through. The replay value do exist for those who love this game a lot(like me), but for others, most likely once is sufficient. The new game+ though lets you bring over ALL equipment(apart from the strongest ones) as well as ALL gems and ALL skills learnt, in other words, skills like Inferno that can only be gotten via late game equipment are brought over immediately to the new game. Due to that though, replay is ever more possible and faster.

Overall: Very good game, not perfect, but it's more than enough for me.
Cons: No improvement to graphics, not enough air time for Gyaricke.