The most classic depiction is Charon of the River Styx, note Early sources have him ply the River Acheron instead. And also that Advocat is kicking around somewhere in the mortal world, being a completely suave bastard.An old archetype, the ferryman is a character (and sometimes Deus ex Machina) who acts as a guide or aid to another character, allowing them to travel over near-impossible obstacles to reach (or at least help reach) a specific destination. Said theory also leads me to think that "the Demon King" which the adventurers see chained in Hell is actually Grimlet, still bound by the banishment Lillet suckered him into. I've since been unable to shake the suspicion that the Amazon, the Fighter, and the Wizard (all white-haired humans) are descended from Gwendolyn and Oswald (likewise), while the Sorceress is descended from Lillet, and the Elf from Gaff. On a side note, after learning that GrimGrimoire, Odin Sphere, and Dragon's Crown are supposedly all set in the same world, I took a closer look at the protagonists. To give an idea of just how much I liked the story: after finishing the walkthrough, I went and read Dezo's GrimGrimoire stories. Even Gaff and Amoretta's Grimalkin familiar do something meaningful. They had just the right balance where everybody contributed something to the main plot, and still got to develop as an individual in his or her own right besides no one was reduced to the status of quest-giver, damsel in distress, or deadweight. It's remarkably deep for a story that (from one point of view) only takes place over five days, and there wasn't a single character I disliked. I have not had the opportunity to play this game, and that probably won't change for Various Reasons, but I did marathon a video walkthrough a while back to see what the story was like. Maybe a Skull Mage can effectively counter a Dragon, but why would you ever bother with the finicky thing, or Charons, or futile waves of Phantoms, or a complicated mix of them all, when you can just use a single Grimalkin to put a Dragon or two to sleep and then send another Dragon or two to kill them? By the time Necromancy comes available, you've got many MUCH more familiar (pardon the pun) options and strategies to use, and nothing ever forces or encourages you to really explore what Necromancy can do. Well, maybe there isn't actually a situation where you are limited to Sorcery, but you learn that right after Glamour and before Necromancy. All of the other three disciplines, at one time or another, are the only ones you can use for a battle, whether you've just started with Glamour, or in one situation find yourself unable to use anything but Alchemy. Necromancy also gets the least love in the game in one other respect. Plus, hands down the most effective counter to a Dragon is another Sorcery familiar - the Grimalkin, with its one-sure-hit sleep-spell! The developers sure goofed there. Maybe using a Charon loaded with sacrifices would be more effective, but I hate the "sacrifice minions" strategy. Sending a horde of Phantoms against a single Dragon is just asking for a lot of dead ( re-dead) ghosts, thanks to a Dragon's toughness and ability to spew fire ALL AROUND IT. It doesn't help that Necromancy doesn't seem to be the effective counter to Sorcery that the game claims it is. My brother favored Sorcery, with the philosophy that "Dragons Beat EVERYTHING!" No, I think Glamour magic is my favorite, at least for the style and flavor, with Alchemy being second-place. He's also got some lovely Lyrical Nanoha, Phantasy Star (Classic and Online), MaiHiME, and Kannazuki no Miko stories, among others. (The price also informed my standards for what future games should cost, which is part of why I turned my nose up at those new-fangled PS3 games that demanded at least $60 dollars but couldn't offer nearly as good an experience.)Īnyway, anyone looking for good stories to read should head on over to DezoPenguin's pages at or ArchiveOfOurOwn, where his works form the embarrassing majority of GrimGrimoire fanfiction. It was only $20, but the feeling of freedom and power was uplifting. It was impulsive and spontaneous and made with money I'd earned from my own job. Because of him, I made GrimGrimoire the first game I ever purchased. I may or may not have first learned about GrimGrimoire from TvTropes, or perhaps I first saw the game and read the back of its cover in a store many years ago, back when PS2 titles still occupied retail stores and back-covers actually told you more about what the game was about.īut I owe a lot of gratitude to DezoPenguin, whose fanfiction really introduced me to the joy of this game and its story.
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