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The Growlanser series is quite a success in the
US and Japan. Trading Figures, Soundtrack releases and even a
special edition of this release, Growlanser: Heritage
 of
War,
amongst others, are all regularly available abroad. However, here in
the UK, Growlanser: Heritage of War is in-fact the first
release that’s been published for sale on these shores. That honour
goes to Rising Star Games, a publisher whose reputation is going
from strength-to-strength amongst Core gamers, thanks largely to
titles such as
Valhalla Knights and Luminos Arc, and
updates in classics series including Bomberman and Harvest
Moon, as well as the forthcoming intriguing Role-Playing Game
Baroque.
Growlanser: Heritage of War features a unique
story, so no knowledge of previous titles is necessary. The game is
split into five distinct Chapters, each featuring unique characters
and plot development. The player begins as Seldous, an orphan whose
orphanage was destroyed through war. Seeking to bring an end to the
fighting between lands, and defend humankind against the deadly
Screaper, Seldous revives an ancient weapon called the “Admonisher”.
Bringing an end to the war by force, Seldous creates the Peace
Maintenance
 Brigade and keeps order for twenty years. However, with Seldous and his colleagues now growing old, it becomes the turn of
his son, Haschen, to control the warring lands.
The story in Growlanser: Heritage of War is
progressed mainly in the style of
Advance Wars: Dark Conflict,
in which slightly animated Sprites of each character fill one half
of the screen during their moment of speech, but is also progressed
with some fantastic animated sequences. The usual clichéd character
types appear – the lead as the all rounder, the delicate female
arriving shortly after as the healing unit and the butch, all-out
offensive unit next – and while some appear as deep as tissue paper,
others have genuinely motives fir their actions, adding more
credibility to the story than typical B-release Role-Playing Game
fodder.
The Battle System can be confusing at first - asking the playing to
control real-time movement and yet not individual attacks - however,
within just a few battles, the principles of a real-time battlefield
with a typical Role-Playing game statistics-based twist becomes
second nature, and allows for some devastating strategies. The
conflict between automated and manual
 controls for your Artificial
Intelligence party may take a little longer – the majority of the
first Chapter, in-fact – but once realised allows for adequate depth
and a variety of combat strategy. Plates further add to the
customisability of these strategies, working as an added layer of
the Levelling System.
Working much as expected, whereby the player gains Experience Points
by defeating enemies and completing Missions, the Levelling System
largely determines each character’s progression automatically. The
unique twist here, however, is the way in which special abilities
are earned. Equipping one of your party with an item may add a new
Skill Plate to that character and, in time, granting them a new
ability, either a Spell or a Knack. Keeping the Skill Plate activate
will continue to Level-Up the ability, whilst removing it will
freeze any progression. Inserting new Plates into the Ability Tree
of each character can help to Level-Up previous Knacks and unlock
new ones.
The title features beautiful hand-drawn backdrops for both interior
and exterior locations, some of which are truly stunning. However,
the lack of detail on the Character Models - although still more
than adequate for the PlayStation2 – when so few are presented
on-screen at any one time can be quite jarring. The animated
sequences are fantastic, and offer some of the most dynamic anime
seen in a PlayStation2 release in Europe. The soundtrack is
reminiscent of some lower budget SquareEnix titles, with harmlessly
repetitive tinkering in towns and quiet times, and up-tempo pacing
during combat sequences.
Growlanser: Heritage of War is not
 going to break any
records. For all its pleasant Role-Playing Game traditions and
remodelling, it’s a title that never attempts to breakaway from the
connotations of the genre. PlayStation2 owners having not yet
progressed onto the Current-Generation, or traditional Role-Playing
Game fanatics having exhausted the likes of Eternal Sonata
and Enchanted Arms, will find a rewarding experience in
Growlanser: Heritage of War, lasting over seventy hours. Those
without seventy hours to dedicate to a videogame, however, would do
better waiting for Rising Star’s forthcoming
Super Swing Golf and
Cradle of Rome releases.
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