2024 was off to a great start when Granblue Fantasy: Relink launched, providing one of the more enjoyable gaming experiences I’ve had in recent memory. Coming from someone who bascially didn’t know that the IP existed in the first place, I praised the game for the simple fact that the story featured great characters, a beautiful world to explore, and a combat system that constantly provides you with endless ways to go about it. During a media tour in Japan, Granblue Fantasy: Relink game director Yasuyuki Kaji spoke on the development team’s goals when it came to bringing the franchise to modern platforms while dealing with the challenge of introducing it to a new audience.
“The IP has been around for a long time. We tried our best to accommodate new players, but we also didn’t want to forget the long-time fans. We have returning characters like Katalina who appeared in previous entries and anime. There are sprinkles of context in the different lore entries and even in the main dialogue itself and we hope that within time, both newcomers and fans will be able to understand the story together.”
Some of you would know that the initial gameplay reveal of Relink was all the way back in 2017. Given that it had a 7-year gap between that and the full release, we also asked about any significant changes they made.
“Nothing too significant. We made slight changes to the characters, mostly amounting to balancing, but other than that, the original vision that we had stayed the same.”
If you have played the game, all that focus in building the core roster of characters shined all throughout. One of the more impressive things about Relink is how distinct the experience can be from start to finish. This was a large focus for Kaji and his team.
“There are a ton of characters in the game. We really made it a point that each of them have a unique playstyle. The battle system changes significantly depending on who you use. There are also different dialogue options for each one. Your first playthrough can look night and day to your second or third. There’s always gonna be new skills, new character interactions, and gameplay opportunities to discover.”
As a final sendoff, we asked about any potential plans to link Relink to any of the other pieces of media in the franchise.
“The mobile game has a code that if you input in the PlayStation version, you’ll receive a platform exclusive costume. But other than that, there are no plans. But that could change in the future.”