Granblue Fantasy: how to install, play and transfer accounts in English

Granblue Fantasy is easily one of, if not the biggest mobile game in the world, boasting well over 18 million players to date. So when the developers finally decided to create an English version for international audiences last year, people were understandably enthusiastic. After all, this is a game known for its collaborations. Just in the last 18 months, we have had the pleasure of reuniting with characters from Street Fighter, Sakura Wars, Attack On Titan, Cardcaptor Sakura, and many more.

Sadly, Cygames still has no plans to actually release the game on western mobile storefronts (Google Play Store, iTunes, etc.). That means people who don't understand Japanese have to rely on some assistance in order to navigate through the different untranslated menus just to experience it properly. Fortunately, we hope to assuage your fears through this handy guide!

How to play Granblue Fantasy's English Release

So, you want to play Granblue Fantasy. Unfortunately, it's not as popular or as easily found in the West as in Japan, but players outside of Asia do have a few options - and it's worthwhile, considering the game has a near-perfect English translation. First off, you've got to decide if you're playing on PC or on mobile - and depending on which you plump for, the method of getting the Granblue Fantasy you use will differ slightly...

How to Play Granblue Fantasy on PC via Google Chrome or Apple Safari

Before we begin, I should note you can only play Granblue Fantasy via Google Chrome or an Apple Safari browser. I also recommend going through this process first to set up your account to begin as it's a whole lot easier than dealing with it through the mobile app. First things first, head over to http://granbluefantasy.jp/en/. Along the left side of the page, you'll see a bar that says "Links". Go ahead and click on that to pull out a drawer giving you links to the Chrome registration page.

Click the "Play Now!" banner at the top of this drawer to proceed. This will open up the game itself. From there, under "Set Language", go ahead and change it to English (if you prefer), clicking the "Save Changes" button below the drop-down box. Click "New Game" once that is done with.

This will guide you through the game's tutorial. Feel free to skip it if you'd like by clicking the Skip button at the bottom of the dialog box and clicking OK. However, I highly recommend newcomers having a go through it anyway. Not only will it teach you the ropes of Granblue Fantasy, but you'll also experience how amazing the production values are! I won't go into the Tutorial here as it's pretty self-explanatory. Of course, if you have any trouble, make sure to leave a comment and we will do our best to help!

Once you have gone through the tutorial, you'll come to the Link page. Click on the Mobage button on the far left. This will open up a new tab where you can create your Mobage account. Be sure to use Chrome's built-in translation function to make your life a lot easier if you can't read Japanese.

Now, enter your email address in the box at the bottom of the page and click the green button next to it to move on. You'll be presented with a box with a space to enter a code. Leave this tab open as you'll be sent a confirmation email, so go ahead and check your inbox. It may have gone to your spam box (don't take it out since Mobage loves sending email), so check it for a message from "[email protected]". Inside that email is a certification number. Copy it and enter it into the box from before.

Now you'll be able to set up your account properly. Be sure to rely on that Google Translate feature, as I mentioned. If you don't have access to that function, it just goes:

• Username
• Password
• Confirm Password
• Gender (Male or Female)
• Birth Year / Month / Day
• Check box if you want to keep your birthday hidden
• Password Secret Question
• Secret Answer
• Check box to accept terms and conditions (should already be checked)

After you have submitted the form by clicking the green button at the bottom, you'll be presented with yet another box. Only this time, you're done! Click the green button to enter the game. You'll be logged in using the username and password you chose during the registration process. Make sure to write this information down just in case. 

After clicking that green button, you'll be taken to a page that mentions something like "Service Link Issues". This is completely normal as it happens every time you make a new account, so don't be caught off guard if you see it. Just click the brown Cancel button at the bottom to proceed. You'll head back to the main menu where you originally began, so you can go ahead and click the Start button to continue on with the tutorial. You'll go back to the Link page where you want to click Mobage yet again. This will link up your accounts (bypassing the service link issue we had before) and send you to the homepage. You can either decide to go ahead with the browser version or use the mobile release instead - they both use the same login information.

Downloading Granblue Fantasy on Mobile: QooApp & APK Download on Android or the Japanese iOS Store

This acts the same way as the PC version does. After all, Granblue Fantasy is a browser game, so that only makes sense, right? In fact, you could just play the game entirely through your Google Chrome mobile browser with the Data Saver feature on. It's the most optimized way to play it and you won't hurt your bandwidth in the end compared to using the native Granblue Fantasy app. If you'd rather use the app directly, however, that's possible too - but you're going to have to follow a few additional steps, which we'll detail below. 

On an Apple device, this can be a little tricky. You'll need to create a Japanese iTunes account. I recommend hitting up this very useful guide on how to create a Japanese iTunes account, and then find yourself the iOS version of Granblue Fantasy on the store. Download it, and the same broad account guidelines that we've outlined here will apply on iOS devices. 

If you have an Android phone, you've two options. One is to find and install an Android APK for Granblue Fantasy - that is, the raw installation file for the game, side-loaded onto your phone without the official app store. That's less safe and more difficult than the alternative, however - and here, we're going to detail the alternative step-by-step.

For the first step, you'll need to go ahead and download a handy piece of software called QooApp by visiting this link and clicking on the blue button below the logo. Since it's an unsigned app that isn't technically approved through Google, you won't be able to get it through the Play Store, but if you install a genuine version of it you'll be quite safe - just be sure to double and triple check what you're downloading and installing. And only download it from the official site.

QooApp is a handy little app indeed since it allows you to download a lot of different Japanese games despite living in a different region. Once QooApp is installed go ahead and open it, and you'll want to - you guessed it - search for Granblue Fantasy. Download the app from here just like you would on the regular Google Play Store.

To do this, you may have to give the app some additional permissions including the installation of apps from unknown sources. As we said earlier, don't worry too much about the legitimacy as a lot of people use QooApp (including yours truly) without any worries - just be sure to keep an eye on what you're installing and double, triple check if you're unsure of an app's origin. For grabbing a popular game like Granblue Fantasy this is perfect, however.

After you have installed Granblue Fantasy, you have a decision to make. If you have already created an account using the PC version and have your Chrome profile synced to your phone, go ahead and launch the app, Whether you're on Android or iOS, you'll be presented with the same screen as shown above. Whatever you do, DON'T click the blue button! That's only to be used if you are just starting.

Instead, click the gray box right below it. This will open up a web browser. you'll see a page that says something the lines of, "You are trying to login to "Granblue Fantasy" with (blank)'s account. Do you allow it?" with an orange bar below it. Go ahead and click that button to proceed to link your account.

If you haven't already registered an account, don't launch the app because registering an account through the app is a confusing mess, and you don't need that kind of stress. Instead, go to http://sp.mbga.jp on your phone's browser. On the top right corner, you'll see a button that says "Log In". Go ahead and click that, and you'll be presented with a screen.

At the very bottom, click on the gray button to register an account. On the next page, enter a valid email address in the top text bar and click the orange button below it to confirm. You'll be sent a confirmation email containing a code you'll want to put in the box. From there, you'll be taken to the account registration page with the same layout as before:

• Username
• Password
• Confirm Password
• Gender (Male or Female)
• Birth Year / Month / Day
• Check box if you want to keep your birthday hidden
• Password Secret Question
• Secret Answer
• Check box to accept terms and conditions (should already be checked)

Hit that orange button at the bottom to proceed. You'll end up on a new page with an orange and green button, so go ahead and hit the orange button once more. Congratulations - you have set up a new account! Now, go ahead and launch the app and follow the instructions from the "you have a decision to make" paragraph. From there, you should be all good to go! Everything will be automatically synced so you can take your progress wherever you may roam.

As a note, you won't be able to easily log off from your account in Granblue Fantasy. You'll have to uninstall the game completely to start all over if you decide to change your information or reroll. Don't want to? Be sure to check out our next topic!

Transferring/Linking an Account in Granblue Fantasy

Say you decided to buy yourself a new phone or you'd like to try out your party on a browser instead. This is where things can be a little complicated, but just follow along and I'll show you how it's done! I had to recently deal with this myself, so you won't have to struggle like I did on something that should be simple.

First, we'll share how you can link your account to your social media accounts so you don't even have to bother with remembering the email address you signed up with or your username and password. After you launch the app and before you click the Home button, scroll down to the very bottom and click "mobage" on the bottom left. When the new window opens up, click the picture of a person on the middle tab at the bottom of the page. Now, at the top near your adorable avatar, click the down arrow on the far right, followed by the Gear icon.

On the new page, about four buttons down, you should see something that says "SNS". Click that and press the orange button to open up a new browser. Click the blue button again, and you'll be presented with four options to link your account to: Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Yahoo. Choose whichever account you want to sync up with, and the site will have you log into it. 

And there you go! If you ever get a new phone or tablet and want to access your account, go ahead and visit that http://sp.mbga.jp page we shared before and log in using your social media account. This will make your life a heck of a lot easier, so I highly recommend linking your Granblue Fantasy account to your social media accounts immediately so you can avoid the headaches.

Hope you found this guide informative! If there are any other guides you would like to see from us, be sure to share in the comments below!