Would-be wizard generals will get a chance to test outGrimGrimoirefor themselves today. Vanillaware and NIS America are releasing a demo forGrimGrimoire OnceMore, forPlayStationandNintendo Switch.
Set in a magical school,GrimGrimoire OnceMorefollows the very eventful early days of Lillet Blan. As things get bad, she’ll eventually have to put her schooling to use in the form of side-scrolling strategy warfare using familiars and grimoires.
OnceMoreis a remaster of Vanillaware’s originalGrimGrimoire, a 2007 PlayStation 2 strategy game. And it looks like the developer’s putting together a pretty solid list of improvements to the original experience.
An altered screen ratio and updated resolution help on the graphics side. Grand Magic spells, an added Skill Tree, and the Tactical Notebook all serve to offer more to do on the gameplay side of things, too. And a new Gallery features illustrations from Vanillaware staff, with over 90 images created forGrimGrimoireandOnceMore.
Cast a spell on you
This isn’t the first time Vanillaware’s brought forward one of its earlier hits to modern systems. The absolutely superbOdin Sphere Leifthrasirput the action-RPG back in the conversation. (Side note: I do hope that eventually gets a Switch or Steam port.)
Meanwhile,13 Sentinels: Aegis Rimmade a fairly big impact for Vanillaware. With that in mind, it’s neat to see them going back to the vault and pulling out a piece of the studio’s history that feels linked, if only by the strategy genre. Today’sGrimGrimoiredemo should give players an idea of just how it’s evolved over the years, and a taste of what’s to come from the remaster.
GrimGrimoire OnceMorehits PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch on May 26, 2025.
