Granado Espada: How Does It Play In 2018?

Hey everyone, welcome and get ready for a bit of MMORPG history as we go through Granado Espada, a game that brought some unique features to the genre and manages to remain relevant today.

So, Granado Espada was originally released in South Korea in 2006 by developer IMC Games and gradually found its way into other territories. It earned a few awards including best graphics and it comes with one of the best soundtracks ever created for an MMO. Believe me, it may sound weird at first, considering the array of musical influences, but when you get used to the incredible diversity, you will find yourself shaking your head to the rhythm. There are over 200 tracks and you will discover a new song when you enter new regions for days and days. There is classical piano music, funk, techno… it’s nothing short of amazing.

But while a great soundtrack surely helps, it does not a good game make. So, it’s a good thing that Granado Espada includes a unique feature that, for the life of me, I can’t fathom why it wasn’t cloned to death by dozens of other MMOs: the multi-character control system. Instead of creating your character and moving it around like you do in 99% of MMORPGs, in Granado Espada you create three different characters and control them as a team. So, you can for example create a squad comprised of a fighter, a wizard and a musketeer, thus getting a balance for melee and long-range combat.

Character creation is extremely simple and straight to the point, but the joy of Granado Espada lies in the extra characters that you can recruit through quests. Gain the favor of someone and he or she will be able to join your family, waiting in the barracks for your call to action. Some characters are obtainable through cards which can be traded with other players, making for an interesting collect’em all aspect. There are over 170 characters to recruit.

The multi-character system is easy to use, with a point and click interface being the choice for movement, but there are tons of keyboard shortcuts to save some time. You can command your characters to attack enemies or hold, go solo or as a group, and change stance, among other things. Stances are very important, as they open up new skills, but these aren’t always easy to come by, as some of them may require specific equipment. However, in other cases such as with the Musketeer class, you can choose a standing shot or a kneeling shot, which will affect the efficiency in combat. This is also a game that requires a lot of time, so for once we’re not really bothered with the inclusion of an AFK mode, as it should give you some rest as your characters hunt and collect items without your help.

Since Granado Espada has been around for a few years already, it’s expected to feature a ton of content, and it truly does. With over 300 areas to explore and more than 3,000 quests, you really need to set some time aside if you want to devote yourself to this game. There will be a lot of walking during the first days, but as you begin setting warp points and using waypoints, you’ll manage to save some time and become more efficient at accomplishing quests. Learning about the world map and zone map is vital, as it will come in handy when you need to find a route to some objective.

Of course, don’t get me started on the number of weapons, armor and costumes that you can earn and purchase – it is said to be over 3,000 types, and judging by some of the pieces we got and others we managed to see, this medieval Europe-inspired setting is going to get quite diverse.

Now that I mention it, one of the highlights of Granado Espada is its original medieval Europe style, a choice that is barely used in MMORPGs - I remember the deeply flawed Bless Online and little else. This is definitely a refreshing change from the tired fantasy genre, with some locations offering interesting and credible architecture, as well as a cast of characters that perfectly fits the theme – that is, until you start using some of the more outlandish costumes.

Through our few hours of gameplay, we can say that we barely scratched the surface of Granado Espada – obviously, we don’t have 5,000 hours to spare as some players on Steam are showing, but we can tell that this is a huge game. It will take you a while to get to other features such as faction wars, colony wars and other kind of PvP content, but you’re bound to enjoy your journey there.

If there is one thing that we could criticize, it would be the English translation that is still a bit rough around the edges. Otherwise, for an old-school MMORPG such as Granado Espada, it’s quite impressive that it features one of the most unique mechanics ever seen in an MMORPG.

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