Granblue Fantasy is a Japanese role-playing video game developed by Cygames for Android, iOS and web browsers, which first released in Japan in March 2014. The game reunites music composer Nobuo Uematsu and art director Hideo Minaba, who previously collaborated on Final Fantasy V (1992), VI (1994), and IX (2000) and Lost Odyssey (2007).
Gameplay
The game plays as a role-playing video game with turn-based battles. The game also contains summons and a class system that alters the main character's move-set and growth. Characters gain levels and abilities by accruing experience; by collecting certain materials, some character may earn an extra star (which is called "FLB" or full limit break). Summons and weapons equipped also confer characters with bonuses on attack power and HP. The characters themselves are gained either via quests (the main story quests or special event quests) or by using in-game currency to roll and receive random crystal fragments, which may contain special weapons that add specific characters to the party. Characters, summons, and weapons are ranked (from best to worst) as SSR, SR, R, or N; each is also of type wind, water, fire, earth, light, or darkness. It is recommended to use a superior element in battle (for example using water against fire type opponents) as there are several benefits in doing so like increasing your team's damage output. There are even some levels that even penalize the player for not using the superior element. Voice actors provide voices for all of the characters in battle, and for much of the main and event story lines including tie-in/collaboration's characters and stories.
Plot
Act 1: Girl in Blue
The Captain (Japanese: 団長, Danchō) (the player character, either Gran (Male) or Djeeta (Female) by default) and their winged companion Vyrn are relaxing in the town of Zinkenstill, when they spot an Erste Empire airship in the sky nearby. The Captain inadvertently comes to the rescue of a girl named Lyria and an Imperial Officer named Katalina as they try to escape from the Empire. However, the Captain suffers a mortal wound during the fight, forcing Lyria to merge her soul with them in order to bring them back from the brink of death. Lyria then uses her power to summon a giant monster called Proto-Bahamut, driving the Empire's forces away. With the Captain and Katalina's fates now tied to Lyria, the three of them decide to head to the island of Estalucia, both to escape from the Empire and possibly find clues about the Captain's estranged father.
Despite escaping, Katalina's poor piloting skills cause them to crash-land elsewhere in the Port Breeze Archipelago. The trio look for a working airship and a pilot to steer it. They end up meeting Rackam, an odd helmsman working on an airship that has been broken for years. However, the Empire follows them to the island as well, looking to recapture Lyria. The three eventually manage to convince Rackam to help them fight off the Imperial soldiers chasing them, and in return help him finish repairing his airship, the Grandcypher, to make it skyworthy.
As the Captain travels across the skies, gathering up more allies on their journey and fighting Primal Beasts, creatures created by those many years ago, the crew find themselves slowly dragged into a plot involving the mysterious Black Knight, the doll-like Orchis, and the history that the Empire seeks to keep secret while they pursue Lyria.
Act 2: Dawning Sky
After thwarted Freesia's ambitions and collected the remaining Skydom Map Pieces, with the completed Phantagrande Skydom Map, they manage to break thru the miasma of the Grim Basin, but due to Loki's manipulation the Grandcypher crew were separated. The destination they have arrived was the unified kingdom that was destroyed ten years ago, it was the Nalhegrande Skydom. As the Main characters and Katalina have safety gathered in one place, they had met a young man named Cain on Melkmaar Island where they had drifted to.
Act 3: Wayfaring Astral
After preventing The True King from taking over the Nalhe Great Wall, the Grandcypher Crew went to chase after the Main Character who had fallen from the collapsing island who had rescued Alliah.
Development
Uematsu worked on eleven tracks for the game, with Tsutomu Narita doing nine others, and Minaba drawing roughly 100 potential character designs. The game also contains voice overs from Hiroaki Hirata as Rackam, who previously worked on Final Fantasy XII and Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.