I missed GrimGrimoire the first time around. I have no idea why. Maybe it was because it was a niche title. Maybe it’s because NIS America games are usually only found in dedicated game stores and, even then, can be hard to find. All I know is I didn’t get the initial opportunity to play it, and always regretted that. Thankfully, NIS America decided to release it as a download via the PlayStation Store as a PS2 Classics.

While GrimGrimoire is definitely a niche title, it’s gorgeous art, fantasy setting and smooth gameplay make it the sort of game anyone can appreciate. Especially since each level has multiple difficulty options so even those new to strategy games can help novice mage Lillet survive her adventure…

In this week’s Important Importables, we’re going to look at one of my favorite Japanese video game developers, Vanillaware. The company may not be one of the most prolific developers out there, but they do make some of the most gorgeous video games available.

In a way, that works out better for us today! We’ll take a brief look at Vanillaware, and then another quick peek at all five games Vanillaware has created so far…