Grand Chase M is a free-to-play, online social RPG on mobile devices based on the PC MMORPG, Grand Chase. It features colorful 3D anime graphics, many Grand Chase Heroes and Monsters to collect, automated combat with skills to use, many stages and continents to explore, and a world based on Grand Chase.

Grand Chase M is a 3D online hero-collecting social RPG published by Actoz Games. Experience the new mobile version of the PC MMORPG, Grand Chase. Assemble your party of up to 5 Chasers and collect over 100 Heroes and monsters, including Elesis, Lire, Arme, Lass, Ronan, and more. See your favorite Heroes in full 3D with colorful, flashy skills and effects. Battle through 6 continents and hundreds of stages. Grow and promote your Heroes to make them more powerful. Level up and unlock new skills. Enhance hundreds of different weapons, armors, rings, and necklaces. Participate in the PVP Arena, Raids, the Wizard’s Labryinth, and the Dimension Crack. Defeat your foes with strategic streamlined combat where choosing and positioning your Heroes are key. Relive the adventures of Grand Chase with the same great music, lore, and artwork.

Full Review

Grand Chase M Review

By, Herman Y.

Grand Chase M is a free-to-play, online social RPG co-developed by KOG and Davinci Games and published by Actoz Games. Grand Chase M is the mobile version of the once popular PC MMORPG, Grand Chase, which shut down on April 15, 2015. Grand Chase M was co-developed by the same developers of Grand Chase (KOG) but the game itself is very different. Although Grand Chase M will bring great nostalgia to previous Grand Chase players, those expecting a similar game will be greatly disappointed. Grand Chase M takes place in the Grand Chase universe, with the same characters, artwork, and music, but the gameplay was completely redesigned for a more casual gaming experience. Grand Chase M is essentially a hero-collecting, social RPG, very similar to the popular mobile games, Hello Hero and Heroes Charge, but with Grand Chase characters and levels. Despite the uninspired gameplay, the game does feel very polished and can still provide an entertaining experience for both Grand Chase fans and new players.

The World of Grand Chase on Mobile Devices

Upon starting the game, fans of the PC MMORPG, Grand Chase, will immediately recognize the familiar music and characters. Grand Chase M features the same soundtracks from the PC version, from the main menu screen to the in-game levels, as well as the same character artworks. It all feels very familiar and yet so different. The game is also stage-based like the PC version, with the same continents and stage names, and there are a lot of stages to go through with different difficulty levels for each. There are two large differences from the PC version though. The combat gameplay is completely different and the game is not exactly a MMORPG. Grand Chase M takes the standard hero-collecting formula seen in so many Korean mobile RPGs and combines it with a somewhat automated battle system that takes away all of the action combat and co-op partying seen in the original game.

Collectible Grand Chase Heroes

Grand Chase M features all (or it will eventually feature all) of the characters seen in the original Grand Chase, such as Elesis, Ronan, Lass, Ryan, and Amy, now as collectable Heroes. Players begin the game with the familiar three starter Heroes: Elesis, the brave fiery warrior, Lire, the Elven peace-loving archer, and Arme, the cute cheerful magician. These Heroes start off as one-star Heroes and can eventually be evolved into six-star heroes. Every playable Hero and monster can be potentially summoned via the randomized Draw system, which requires Gems (premium currency), or obtained from completing certain stages. Each Hero has a different element and role in battle (Tank, Healer, Mage, Archer) and certain elements are stronger than other elements. Each Hero also has various skills that are useful for different situations so having multiple Heroes can be useful depending on the stages. You play as a commander and you can have a party of up to 5 Heroes. You can also choose which heroes you want in your party as well as arrange their positions (2 Heroes in front and 3 Heroes in the back). Random monsters can also be obtained from completing stages and can also be added to the party.

A Completely Different Combat Experience

One of the most appealing features of the PC MMORPG, Grand Chase, was its side-scrolling and platforming based action combat. KOG and Davinci Games decided to go in a completely different direction with Grand Chase M. In Grand Chase M, players fight through stages consisting of 2-3 waves of enemies. Instead of controlling only one character, players control their entire 5-man party at once. However, it isn’t as complicated as it sounds because the Heroes automatically attack by themselves. Players can only decide when to use skills for their various Heroes. This gameplay formula is seen in a lot of other hero-collecting, social RPGs such as Hello Hero and Heroes Charge, and provides a somewhat automated and casual gameplay experience. Those expecting Grand Chase-styled action combat will be greatly disappointed while more casual gamers will find it somewhat interesting. It is still interesting watching the characters attack and choosing when to use skills. In additional to two active skills, each Hero also has a Vitality Gauge that fills up throughout combat and when it is full, players can activate a special attack for a lot of damage. When multiple Heroes’ Vitality Gauges are full, players can execute a combined Chase attack that does high damage and also gives attack buffs. Each wave goes by fairly quickly and the combat is rather action-packed to watch.

3D Graphics and Flashy Skills

The graphics and artwork in Grand Chase M are high quality and visually appealing. Unlike its 2D PC counterpart, the character models in Grand Chase M are fully in 3d, which gives characters a more lively appearance and resembles the designs in Elsword Online. The backgrounds are also in 3d although the game retains a side-scrolling camera angle. The characters are detailed with a cute anime style and the designs look very colorful and well designed. The animations are smooth and the attacks, skills, and effects are very bright and flashy. Every character has unique attack sounds and the sounds are impactful and add to the overall experience. Each stage background is also varied, although they occasionally repeat.

Fighting Through the Stages

Grand Chase M has a total of 6 continents and each continent has 10 stages with 3 different difficulties, for a total of 180 stages. The 5th and 10th stage of each continent involves a Boss battle and advances the game’s storyline, which is very light and not a large part of the game. Each stage features 2-3 waves of enemies: 2 waves for normal levels and 3 waves for Boss levels. Players have to defeat a couple of enemies in each wave, and each stage can be completed in about 1-5 minutes depending on the difficulty. Stages go by fairly quickly and there is also an “Auto” feature that makes characters automatically attack and use skills on their own, which essentially allows the game to play itself. The combat gives the game a somewhat automated (can also be completely automated with the “Auto” feature) and casual feel. Completing each stage gives gold and experience and possibly equipment, Heroes, and materials.

Powering up Your Heroes

Growing and promoting Heroes plays a large part of Grand Chase M. In addition to gaining experience from fighting in stages, Heroes can also be grown (upgraded) by sacrificing other Heroes to level them up. The sacrificed Heroes will most likely be the monster Heroes, such as wolves and goblins, that players can collect from completing stages, rather than Human Heroes. Leveling up Heroes increases their stats such as attack power and can unlock certain level-restricted skills. The max level for Heroes depends on their star-ranking and upon reaching max level, players are given the option to promote (evolve) their Heroes. Promoting Heroes will add another star to their rank (6 stars is the max) which gives them better stats, changes their appearance, and gives them some new skills. Attribute Essences are required to evolve Heroes and can be obtained from Daily Dungeons.

Heroes can also be powered up with equipment. Heroes can wear four different types of equipment: Weapon, Armor, Necklace, and Ring. Equipment can be obtained from completing dungeons as well as from quests. Quests in Grand Chase M are more like achievements rather than actual quests, such as killing a certain number of monsters, completing certain levels, and upgrading Heroes a number of times. Like Heroes, equipment can also be obtained from randomized Draws with Gems. Equipment can also be enhanced, which increases their stats, with certain materials gained from completing stages or by sacrificing other equipment. With lots of Heroes to collect, it is important to collect a lot of equipment to keep them all properly equipped.

Other Modes

In addition to the main stage mode, there are also some other modes that are unlocked after completing certain continents. These modes include Dimension Crack, Raids, Arena, and Wizard’s Labyrinth. Dimension Crack is a single player survival mode in which players fight waves of monsters coming out of a “dimension crack” (giant portal) and try to go as far as possible without dying. Raids involve fighting a powerful Boss dragon named Berkas with limited attempts to defeat him. Berkas retains his lowered health after each battle, but players are only given two attempts per hour. Arena is Grand Chase M’s PVP system in which players fight against other players’ parties in typical automated combat and watch as the two parties battle it out. Wizard’s Labyrinth is a survival mode similar to Dimension Crack except it is tower-based, meaning players advance up a tower by conquering floors, and can choose between 5 elemental labyrinths to go through. Each labyrinth has many floors and each floor consists of 2 waves and a boss battle. All of these additional game modes have a ranking and leaderboard which adds some social element and competitiveness to them.

Cash Shop/In-App Purchases (IAP)

The In-App Purchases in Grand Chase M are similar to those of other hero-collecting games and features the common Gacha system. Players can use Gems (premium currency) to draw random Heroes, equipment, and Cards, and purchase AP and SP potions (stamina for missions and PVP) and in-game gold. The Heroes drawn are random Heroes between 3-5 stars and can include both Human and Monster Heroes. The Equipment and Cards drawn are random weapons, armors, rings, or necklaces between 3-6 stars and random equipment upgrade Cards between 3-6 stars. Like all Gacha gambling systems, 3-star Heroes or equipment are most common and higher rank Heroes/items are much harder to obtain. AP and SP potions are useful in replenishing mission stamina to play more stages and PVP stamina to play more PVP matches. These potions allow players to level or farm longer without their energy running out and to improve their ranks in PVP by being able to play more matches. Finally, in-game gold can be purchased which is used for upgrading skills and Heroes. The In-App Purchases are not required to progress in the game but offer advantages such as potentially obtaining rare and high-ranked Heroes and equipment, being able to play longer without stamina running out, and reducing time spent farming and grinding. Luckily, the game offers one free Hero, Equipment, and Card draw every day as well as useful freebies for logging in every day.

Final Verdict – Good

Fans of the original PC Grand Chase expecting a similar game will be greatly disappointed with Grand Chase M due to its automated combat and lack of multiplayer aspects. However, Grand Chase M is still a very polished casual game with appealing graphics, fun hero and equipment-collecting elements, lots of stages and content, and interesting combat sequences. Players knowing what to expect will find Grand Chase M to be a fairly entertaining game.