Grand Kingdom is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Monochrome Corporation for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. It was published by Spike Chunsoft in Japan in 2015, and NIS America in the West in 2016. Following a mercenary group in the employ of different nations formed in the wake of a collapsed empire, the player engages in turn-based combat while navigating paths on maps similar to a board game. Online competitive asynchronous multiplayer where chosen teams of characters fight for a chosen nation was originally featured, but this ended as servers were shut down by 2019 in the West and 2022 in Japan.
Grand Kingdom began development in 2011 under director Tomohiko Deguchi, a former Vanillaware staff member, using similar design and aesthetic concepts to Grand Knights History (2011). The asynchronous multiplayer was developed to prove its viability in Japan, allowing a casual time investment from players. Manga artist Chizu Hashii designed the characters, who was asked to avoid moe design traits. The music was composed by a team from Basiscape, including Mitsuhiro Kaneda and Masaharu Iwata; it was one of Iwata's last original projects for Basiscape before leaving in 2017.
The game was announced in June 2015, when development was around 65% complete. Single-player downloadable content was released in Japan featuring scenarios around the nations and new player units between 2015 and 2016, all of which were bundled into the Western release. Reception was generally positive, with praise going to its gameplay and art design, though its audio saw some mixed response, and critics were generally indifferent to its narrative.
Gameplay Grand Kingdom is a tactical role-playing video game (RPG) in which players take on the role of a mercenary commander, who forms squads of fighters to complete missions for the four warring nations of Resonail. The game opens with the player naming the player character and mercenary group. The game is divided between single-player missions and the multiplayer-focused War mode. The single-player missions are split between "Campaign" missions which advance the main story, "Single" quests given by Resonail's nations, "Versus" which pits the player against AI-controlled parties created by other players, and "Travel" where players can freely explore areas. Between missions, the player can equip and customize their party using equipment and special gems at the Guild or shops in each nation's capital.
During mission gameplay, the player party is represented as a chess piece on a board game-like map, with pathways displayed in a grid pattern. With the exception of "Travel", every mission has a turn limit, with movement or passing taking up a turn. Enemies are also displayed as chess pieces, moving when the player moves or passes, with some moving on particular routes. Maps include treasure chests, short cuts and hidden paths to different areas of the map. Special events which can be triggered including siege weapons to help the player and traps which must be dealt with in ways that may take varying numbers of turns. Additionally random events can be triggered, leading to extra battles or allowing players to acquire new treasure.
Combat system
Combat uses a turn-based battle system. Units, together with additional objects such as barricades and traps, are positioned on one of three different horizontal lanes, which impact their ability to move and act. The turn order is displayed on a timeline at the bottom of the battle screen. During their turn, a unit's movement and attack duration are tied to separate action meters. Units attack using standard attacks and unique skills, and can defend if some action gauge remains at the end of a turn. Attacks are tied to button prompts, with proper timing and different button combinations raising damage and adding effects including stunning an enemy or shifting their position on the battlefield. Moves can be undone as long as the controlled unit took no damage prior to performing the action.
Rather than the player character taking a direct role, the player commands a team of up to six soldiers, each assigned a character class which dictates their abilities and statistics. There are seventeen classes which can be unlocked and hired for squads, with more powerful units becoming available as quests are completed. Classes are divided into four types; Melee, Ranged, Magic and "Special" classes with unique actions. Character classes have respective strengths and weaknesses; Melee classes are strong against Ranged, Ranged against Magic, and Magic against Melee. Performing well in battle builds up the Assist Gauge, which allows another unit to finish off an enemy unit near death by expending part of the Assist Gauge.
Unit health is not fully restored at the end of battle, with health recovered outside healing spells and items dependant on the number and effectiveness of assist attacks. Party units can be hit by friendly fire if they are in close proximity to an enemy unit. If battle is triggered near an allied siege weapon, the enemy party will be bombarded by it. The player loses five turns if defeated in battle. If the turn limit is reached, the mission is failed and in most scenarios the player reaches a game over. A quest's difficulty influences how many turns there are per mission, with higher difficulties allowing less turns but granting more in-game currency and experience points to raise unit levels. Efficient runs reward experience point boosts.
The War mode pitted players aligned with different nations against each other in battles through asynchronous multiplayer. Conditions surrounding the battle were defined by voting on the "Royal Order", a representation of the nation's overall battle strategy. Equipment could only be bought from the shops and trading posts of a party's chosen nation. A player could be involved until the campaign ends in victory for either side, or take part in the campaign to strengthen their side before leaving early. Each War lasted approximately one day in real-time. The player could also send up to six squads of AI-controlled units on missions. A currency called Royals could be earned through participation in the War mode, allowing special weapons and accessories to be purchased from shops loyal to of Resonail's nations. During online battles, monsters called Guardian Beasts could be summoned into battle using a Royal Order, with its defeat requiring multiple player parties working together. There was online cross-play support for PlayStation 4 (PS4) and PlayStation Vita players. The online functions were shut down in October 2019 in the West, and March 2022 in Japan.
Synopsis Setting and characters Grand Kingdom is set on the continent of Resonail. Originally dominated by the Uldein Empire, the Empire's collapse one hundred years before led to the creation of four nations now in a constant state of war. The nations are Landerth, rich in natural resources and led by Queen Gladius Ringland; Valkyr, a land dominated by a tribal warrior culture led by their strongest warrior Graham Berngarde; Fiel, a forest-bound nation for those displaced by and tired of war protected by Queen Precia Teller; and Magion led by Julius Wiseman, a barren land whose people are the most powerful magicians on the continent. Due to the constant battles between the nations, mercenaries have become a necessity for leading and forming armies, with mercenary bands organised by the independent Guild.
The lead character is a mercenary brought into the Guild. They are assisted by fellow mercenary Flint Poker, and the organizer Lilia Sforza, daughter of the Guild leader Godfrey. The mercenary's main rival is Weiss, leader of Guild's top mercenary squad the White Wolves. The main scenario's antagonists are remnants of Uld, who seek to reclaim Resonail for themselves; they are led by Teterva, who uses the timid Corona for her own ends.
Plot After the mercenary and Flint are recruited into the Guild, they are tested by Godfrey and upon passing form a new squad with Lillia as field assistant. The squad quickly proves its worth in combat, entering into a rivalry with Weiss's White Wolves. The mercenary's squad becomes involved in the Guild's fight against remnants of Uld, with one attack by Teterva succeeding in stealing Godfrey's sword Tyrbrand. At an ancient fortress, Teterva and her granddaughter Corona break one of the magical seals of Tyrbrand, intending to release demons onto Resonail. The squad attempt to reclaim Tyrbrand, but Weiss interferes in an attempt to fight and defeat them, and in the fortress's collapse the Uldiens escape and Weiss is left for dead. Corona, who despises Teterva's cause, steals Tyrbrand and saves Weiss, who in turn encourages her to stand up for herself and takes her in, though she later returns to Teterva with Tyrbrand to keep him safe. The Guild continue fighting the Uld and a growing number of demons released, with Godfrey revealing that Teterva is trying to release the Animus, a group of four demonic gods controlled by the Uldein Empire before it collapsed.
Teterva, sacrificing the rest of her people to hold back the Guild, breaks the final seal of Tyrbrand, allowing the Animus to return. The Guild's squads are decimated when they try to fight the Animus, but Godfrey successfully calls on the four nations to unite their armies under the Guild before instructing the mercenary to kill Corona, as her magic renders the Animus invincible. When the mercenary confronts Teterva and Corona, Weiss intervenes and urges Corona to return to them. She does so, revealing that she can also remove the Animus's protection. The mercenary's squad defeats the Animus, and an unhinged and cornered Teterva leaps to her death from a cliff. Weiss takes Corona in as his field assistant. Godfrey then retires from leading the Guild, leading to Weiss and the mercenary duelling for the position; the mercenary wins, becoming leader of the Guild.
Additional campaigns follow the mercenary unit on missions supporting the four nations of Resonail, unlocked after the main story is cleared. In Landerth, which is currently in conflict with Magion, the mercenaries serve Queen Gladius and protect her younger brother who is determined to prove himself a worthy successor. In Valkyr, the mercenaries end up supporting the dying warrior Silva, who spends his final days challenging his leader Graham in a ceremonial duel despite the protests of his adopted daughter Kiara. In Fiel, the group must train the soldiers of the nation, weaning them off their reliance on the predictions of their queen Precia as they are attacked by the forces of Landerth. In Magion, the group support efforts by Julius's sister Medea in bringing acceptance for non-magical "mundanes" in the nation, ending up in conflict with a magic supremacy group.
Development Tomohiko Deguchi, a former staff member at Vanillaware who was level designer for Muramasa: The Demon Blade (2009) and directed 2011's Grand Knights History, founded independent developer Monochrome Corporation that same year so he could pursue his own projects. After establishing Monochrome, Deguchi shopped game concepts around multiple publishers. Deguchi ending up meeting Kazuhiro Watanabe, a friend of his also from Vanillaware and now producer at Spike Chunsoft. Having previously agreed to work together if Deguchi ever went independent, they decided to collaborate. Grand Kingdom was chosen as the project had been in a planned state since their initial meeting, and Watanabe wanted to work on an RPG. Watanabe had also played and enjoyed Grand Knights History.