When Granblue Fantasy first launched in 2014, it saw instant success. The game is categorized as a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) with a turn-based battle system. Similar to Final Fantasy, Granblue Fantasy was initially only available on web browsers and as an iOS/Android app. The project was, in fact, spearheaded by two Final Fantasy collaborators: music composer Nobuo Uematsu and art director Hideo Minaba.

One of the largest differences in the franchises has been the lack of a recent release for Granblue Fantasy. Though the series' newest addition, Granblue Fantasy: Relink, was announced in 2016, it has yet to be released, and the complicated production history of the Granblue Fantasy franchise continues to present delays.

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A Short History of the Granblue Fantasy Franchise

Granblue Fantasy The Animation (2017)

Thanks to Uematsu and Minaba, Final Fantasy's influence can be felt in the Granblue Fantasy games. Granblue is a turn-based RPG that allows players to gain skills, upgrade weapons and abilities, and connect with other players through social networking. As of December 2019, the original mobile game had been downloaded over 25 million times in Japan alone.

The success of the game also curated an anime series in 2017, called Granblue Fantasy The Animation, with the second season airing in 2019. The success also generated a sequel game, titled Granblue Fantasy Versus, which was released in 2020. In comparison to Relink, this game was announced in December 2018 and released two years later. Developed by Arc System Works for the PlayStation 4 and Steam, the game was initially set to be released in 2019 but was postponed to the following year.

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Granblue Fantasy Relink's cast of characters

Granblue Fantasy: Relink was first announced in the summer of 2016 at the PlayStation Press Conference in Japan. The game was to be developed by Platinum Games, with Cygames handling the direction. It was to be released in 2018 with the target console being the PlayStation 4.

Initially, the programmers wanted a game that could also be played partially on a mobile device and that could interact with the console edition. The hope was that it could generate new additions to the PlayStation game if players also used the mobile version. The game was set to feature a co-op multiplayer mode with up to four players and a single-player mode with three generated AI characters.

All that's known about Relink's plot is that it will take place in the same universe as the first Granblue Fantasy but will occur in a new fantasy location or Skydom, as the in-game universe calls it. The announcement also confirmed that some characters from the original mobile app game will appear but did not specify exactly which ones.

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main character from granblue fantasy

Relink's gameplay was first shown in 2017 at the Granblue Fantasy Fest: an annual festival arranged by the team behind Granblue. At the time of the announcement, the game's official name had not yet been released. The final title, Granblue Fantasy: Relink, was revealed in December 2018, about a year after the initial announcement.

The game's development took a massive hit when, in February 2019, Platinum Games -- the company responsible for Relink's development -- announced it would no longer be participating in the project. The statement released by Platinum Games, once translated, states that its contract had ended with Cygames and that the remaining development would be solely Cygames' responsibility.

It was in 2021, three years after Platinum Games stepped away from the project, that Cygames announced a formal release date of 2022 for Relink. The announcement stated that it would be available worldwide on platforms such as Steam, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. It was then announced in 2022 that the game would be delayed once again to an unknown date in 2023.

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Granblue Fantasy

While the current release window is scheduled for 2023, Cygames has not yet offered an exact date. However, the 2022 to 2023 Granblue Fantasy Fest is to take place Jan. 20 to Jan. 22 in Odaiba, where developers have announced that there will be a playable version of Relink available for fans to experience and test out.

Many fans are concerned that after remaining in progress for seven years and counting, the graphics may appear dated upon the game's eventual release. However, many fans are hopeful that the wait will be worth it, believing that the company has been issuing delays to ensure that it releases a valuable, high-quality product.

It's unavoidable that over the last seven years, the initial excitement for the game has begun to dwindle. With the consistent setbacks, changes in development, and delays, it could also lead to a lackluster gaming experience. Other games that had various production issues, including Cyberpunk 2077 (2020), Fallout 76 (2018), and No Man's Sky (2016) suffered from notorious glitches once the games were released. This resulted in programmers issuing consistent major patches.

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Games like No Man's Sky have grown more favorable over the years due to these consistent improvements from developers. However, games that are plagued with issues during production, including bouncing from one production company to another, often struggle with consistency and reliability during their initial release.

While the production of Granblue Fantasy: Relink has been confusing and complicated, the future of Relink may still be bright. The feedback from fans who attend the Granblue Fantasy Fest in January will most likely be able to provide more insight into how the game looks, plays, and feels after a long, seven-year production process.