GrimGrimoire OnceMore | PS4

Long before Harry Potter, and the wizarding world was ever a thing there existed Vanillaware's, "GrimGrimoire". A PS2 era tower defense and resource management game centered around a student named Lillet Blan, and a school for magicians known as the Silver Star. Much Like Harry Potter's own misadventures, Lillet Blan also found herself as the chosen one amidst a sinister plot to resurrect the infamous school's Archmage, and his army of demons.

Lillet enters the school as a fledgling apprentice eager to learn, and do right by her brothers. She meets her would be teachers at Silver Star, and in turn begins her studies of grimoires, and the ability to summon familiars of varying types using mana. First meeting with the elder headmaster then a devil, a cursed beast, and a necromancy professor before butting heads with the unleashed Archmage himself. Setting into motion a groundhogs' day worth of repeated encounters slowly helping Lillet and her trusted acquaintances find out the who, what, when, where, and why of the perplexing situation. Enabling Lillet to grow in power as she does what needs to be done to save the day.

Sporting the same artistic flair as other games under the Vanillaware banner, 'GrimGrimoire' sets itself apart from their more traditional action RPG metroidvanias. It starts off heavy handed with a fully voiced story told by key characters through their conversations regarding schooling at Silver Star, and Silver Star's shadowed past. 

Almost immediately Lillet's skills are put to task as she learns to harness the power of the grimoires, mana, and familiars. Spellcasting that all stems from four base classes of magic including that of Glamour, Necromancy, Sorcery, and Alchemy. A contrasting group of magic powers and elemental allegiances that when put to use can counter the others in a sort of effectiveness hierarchy. Each allowing for the farming of mana, the building of sanctuaries, the summoning of familiars, and the placing of talismans for defense. Learning these things Lillet is able to put them to use to figure out who set the Archmage free, and in turn, stop him before he even starts.

To begin with the game holds your hand through a series of tutorials as Lillet is taught the mechanics of each grimoire. Starting off with how to create a sanctuary from a mana crystal, and then how to farm mana in order to summon familiars which in turn will do your bidding. Be it for farming mana, placing talismans, fighting, or defending. Within these daily tutorials, and beyond you'll find that each of the four grimoires come complete with their own unique ways of harvesting mana as well as their own unique familiars. Something that must be carefully managed, and selected as you utilize the limited magic in your possession to stop waves of demons from destroying your troupes as well as your mana crystal sanctuaries. 

At your beckon call is the ability to fast forward time to speedup familiar progress. That, and the ability to select and direct individual familiars or collective groups of them for the tasks that need to be attended. This includes surviving waves of enemies, destroying enemy crystals before they destroy yours, or killing off waves of enemies in a timely fashion. Keeping in mind, while doing so, the hierarchal chain of effectiveness that gives some familiars alignment advantages over others. 

Each wave based tower defense session, like the tower-like structure of Silver Star, is a layered ordeal with placement of grimoire summoning pools, mana crystals, and familiars being the key to success. It's all about strategy involving resource and troupe management. Both of which are a limited commodity. Thus rewarding the effective strategy of the player, through proper resource management, with a tallied rating and respective title that takes in account familiar numbers, deaths, and mana that were collected throughout the timed session. That and the time it took to complete the task at hand. Objectives themselves differ, ever so slightly. Giving way to wave base challenges, defensive ordeals, and all out battles against enemies using the same methods of magic as you. 

What's New ...

New to this remastered version are more powerful Grand Magic spells, a new skill tree with performance boosts, and updates to the overall look of the game. Fleshing the story out even more through a tactical notebook that let's you learn about Lillet's surrounding world, and the things within it. Making it more than just a simple remaster, but instead a vast improvement upon the base game. With an art gallery tacked on as well. Rewarding the player with new Vanillaware masterpieces related to GrimGrimoire for every strategically won skirmish.

The Verdict ...

I had never played GrimGrimoire back when I owned a PS2, but I did know of it's existence. That being said I had no idea it was a tower defense game with a story that seems like it could have easily been the inspiration for the Harry Potter books. The similarities in storytelling are quite uncanny by comparison, and even the characters involved such as the house elf that accompanies Lillet points towards some possible inspiration going on between thee two creations. That being said, GrimGrimoire OnceMore is definitely it's own unique experience. It explores witchcraft, and wizardry through a more traditional lens. With a slightly darker overtone. While it does have the whimsy and seemingly innocent artistic allure of Vanillaware's signature design it still harbors a more mature take on magic, and other relationship specific encounters. 

Gameplay-wise it's an experience that takes some getting used to. Thankfully the mechanics have quick access shortcuts that make micro-managing everything a more doable undertaking. The true challenge lies with understanding the grimoire counters, and the hierarchy of effectiveness between the four magic classes. Once you learn the functions of the grimoires in relation to the mana crystal and summoning pools it's not so hard to deal with. As far as story goes it's an interesting premise with a plot twist to discover. Getting to know the key characters, and their curious quirks makes the adventure in between all the more enjoyable. I personally liked GrimGrimoire OnceMore, and hope that you at least try it out. If it sells well enough we might actually get a Muramasa remake, and I'd love that more than anything!!!