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[Prince of Space]

After seeing the overwhelming hype this game gets everywhere, I decided to give it a go. I'd been playing it on-and-off for the past month and finally wrapped it up last night. So, did it live up to the hype?

Nope.

Well, now that I've lost 3/4 of you, I may as well try and dig myself out of the hole and explain what I thought of it: The world itself and (some) of the characters were quite charming. I've never really cared for the overly saccharine "we-can-do-it-if-we-BELIEVE" characters, but Justin was a pretty tolerable protagonist. Feena(or as I like to call her, The Only Character With Any Sense in This Crazy, Mixed-Up World of Ours) takes the cake as best character in the game, and one of the few I really cared about. The scenes where he learns about...herself were all quite well done, and I really wanted to save her in the end.
Which is a lot more than I can say for OTHER characters. Seriously, who the FUCK's idea was Rapp? I understand a lot of the blame for the smarmy prick probably falls on Sony's horrid localization, but my GOD. After hearing him call me "Juss" for the 5th time, I was ready to rip his balls off and shove 'em up his ass so that when he shat, he'd shit all over his balls. Same goes for Milda and Guido.
I really enjoyed Mullen (or, The Only Other Character With Any Sense in This Crazy, Mixed-Up World of Ours) and Leen, and their constant "should I or should I?" battles when it came to the question of siding with Baal or Justin. I hated that Leen came back in the ending though.

As far as gameplay, the battle system really does take center stage here. It took a little getting used to at first, but it really made most battles pretty fun to play and offered some good opportunities for strategy in the game. Now if there was any modicum of challenge here, battles would've been absolutely perfect, but the game was WAY too easy. And I didn't even really start learning spells until well into disc 2.

I know it sounds like I full-on hated Grandia, but I didn't. Most of the characters were great -- it IS a GA game, after all -- and the battles made the game worth playing through. I mean, it could've been worse -- it could've been Final Fantasy VII.

So, how's Grandia II?

 

[Stryder]

Grandia II is more of the same, the characters you probably won't find as abrasive but in my opinion I remember them as being more generic than those within the first. Ahh, from what I can remember the battle system has a few tweaks which adds to the fun but again I think you'll probably find them a bit easy if you found them easy in the first. It's worth playing though, if you didn't feel ripped off by spending your time with G1 (which it seems you didn't) then give Grandia II a go, it's worth your time if you enjoyed the first.

 

[MrDaravon]

I've never really cared for the overly saccharine "we-can-do-it-if-we-BELIEVE"

This is why I played Grandia for a while then stopped. Also why I stopped playing Wild Arms 2 and 3, and any other number of games. That being said, I did like Grandia 2, and finished that one. Ryudo's a cynical bastard, and the gameplay's more polished than 1's (as far as I can remember at least). Sounds like you'd probably like 2 more than 1, I'd definetely give it a go.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

Grandia II is a major letdown compared to the first, in my opinion. However the battle system still rocks though mana eggs and crew suck shit. It also has connections to the first Grandia. So give it a whirl. DC though, PS2 version is broken shit and full of bugs.

It's really really sad, but I actually like the English VA (at least Justin, Mullen and Feena), but that's probably out of familiarity out of playing it so damn much.

 

[Dachande]

So, how's Grandia II?

Opinions vary. It doesn't feel as 'epic' as 1, and a lot of people didn't like that. The main character is a change - he doesn't go on and on and on and on and on and on about ADVENTURE!!!!! and he's a bit of an angstfest, but you might actually like that. I did.

The battle system is much improved and even better than before. Thankfully, the localisation is pretty good, and the dub is tolerable. Shit, it's even likable at times. Same voice director as MGS, so.

It still looks good today, as long as you get the DC version. I don't know what happened to the PS2 one, but it looks like someone took a giant shit all over it.

And no, thank god it's not FFVII.

 

[Prince of Space]

I also liked Feena's VA, and Justin had his moments, but the rest were laughable.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

Like I said, familiarity.

 

[Mejilan]

OOh! Grandia thread!!

So, I can't wait for my PSOne + LCD to arrive!

Edit - PS2 version of Grandia II isn't broken. It's got some visual bugs, particularly in combat, but nothing show-stopping. Now, playing Grandia I on a PS2... that's got some annoying near-fatal bugs.

Grandia II's gameplay is quite a bit refined over the original's. But from what I played of the original, I liked its story and characters more. More quintessentially Game-Artsy, if you will.

 

[pilonv1]

Grandia II has Millenia, which is enough reason to play it.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

Grandia II is also a hell of alot shorter. It really had potential, in my opinion to be nearly as good as Grandia... it just needed another year/year and a half more of development.

Mejilan: hope you get it soon! I'm playing Grandia RIGHT NOW AS WE SPEAK. Leck Mines whoo!

 

[WrathOfOtaibah]

Grandia II was just hitting its stride until boom, it ends. A bunch of new plot developments all at once. I still enjoyed the game a lot. I thought the soundtrack was exceptional.

I have Grandia Saturn on the way. Can't wait to get into it.

 

[Mejilan]

Thanks Dragona. I've got some surgery coming up Wed, and from there, I'm headed from NY to NJ, at the invitation of my aunt, who will be caring for me as I recover. I really hope that the PSOne arrives before Wed, so that I may pack up my DS, PSP, PSOne, and a slew of games for each (and a few books) for my stay in Jersey! I'd love to restart Grandia while there.

 

[Optimistic]

Grandia is incredibly overrated. It was like playing care bears in rpg form.

Sure, the battle system was nice, but the music was forgetable, most of the characters were shit, and the plot was only mildly interesting. The towns looked pretty nice graphically, though.

 

[Mejilan]

Die fool! The music was brilliant!

*Please don't die.

 

[Wellington]

So you guys basically wanted more angst? Here, this may be more up your alley:

 

[Mejilan]

I just finished that game two weeks ago. Please don't remind me.

Ever.

 

[TheDuce22]

Grandia II was just hitting its stride until boom, it ends.

What the hell? Grandia II could have ended about 5 hours earlier but they had to tack on a bunch of extra bosses, taking what was once a halfway decent story and transforming it into complete nonsense. They finished the job at the end when your characters suddenly take off and fly through outerspace without any kind of explination, this is after you kill pope who transformed into a giant butterfly. Oh and who can forget that horrible scene where all the people of the world start singing, it sucked when they did it in ghostbusters 2 and its even worse here.

 

[Prince of Space]

Thanks for the spoilers, buddy!

 

[Tsubaki]

So, how's Grandia II?

http://forums.gaming-age.com/showthread.php?goto=lastpost&t=60012


Your comments on Grandia are pretty reasonable. I don't think the game is perfect either, but nevertheless, I've not seen a RPG done better.

Just out of curiosity though, did you find the Tower special stage? If you're looking for a challenge, that special stage alone takes hours to traverse and the enemies are pretty freakin hard. Of course the downside to it is that it makes the rest of the game feel even easier. But that special stage caters specifically to those who love the game system, and want a place to exercise it.

 

[Mejilan]

How does one go about FINDING said Tower Special Stage?

 

[GDJustin]

Grandia rules.

Who plays RPGs for stories, seriously? It's all about developing the character and the ins and out of the actual gameplay for me. Maybe that's why I love Grandia and Nippon Ichi's games so much, but dislike more story-oriented RPGs like FF.

 

[jett]

Nearly the same reasons why I dislike the game, but I'll share one more: The game flatlines after you cross the end of the world. Seriously, I just lost all interest after that...I was expecting something really awesome at the other side...and wtf it feels like I travelled 60 billion years back in time. I just finished it because I really don't like to waste money, that and because a few saturnians kept telling me "it gets much better later on, really!"...10 hours later..."wait wait it gets better..."...I reach Liete's place(had to look her name up, didn't remember, heh).."WAIT, it gets better really!!". So, after a while I finish the game and I'm watching the credits waiting for this sunnavabtich to get fucking better.

I'm sure I might have enjoyed the game more if it weren't for all the uberhype surrounding it. I did like Grandia II a whole lot more, though.

 

[Prince of Space]

Just out of curiosity though, did you find the Tower special stage? If you're looking for a challenge, that special stage alone takes hours to traverse and the enemies are pretty freakin hard. Of course the downside to it is that it makes the rest of the game feel even easier. But that special stage caters specifically to those who love the game system, and want a place to exercise it.

No, that was the only stage I couldn't find. Though if it is as much of a challenge as you say, I'll look into it.

I didn't specifically play Grandia for its story -- it's common knowledge that Game Arts excells in character presentation moreso than overall plot depth. I played and enjoyed the game for its combat and, as Tsubaki pointed out in the other thread, its excellent character growth systems

 

[Amir0x]

Grandia II on PS2...please avoid that shit. It has awful, painful slowdown that just chugs the game down at the most awkward, irritating moments. You could be walking through a god-damned church with three people in it and the game will look like someone turned on the slow motion.

And visually, no no. Just avoid the PS2 version.

 

[Ironclad]

It's really really sad, but I actually like the English VA (at least Justin, Mullen and Feena), but that's probably out of familiarity out of playing it so damn much.

It's odd, but I actually enjoyed the English VA as well. I guess I could chalk it up to familiarity as well, but I remember enjoying it my first time through as well. The VA has its charms but the only character's voice who I really hated was Milda's but that is more due to the writing than the actual VA.

Grandia's story is definitely not its highpoint but it doesn't get in the way of the game as well. I liked the characters and it's really the battle system that shines. The battle system is definitely the greatest enjoyment the game has to offer. Grandia still stands as one of my favorite RPG's to this day. Grandia II was alright. As mentioned, it ends a bit too early and I actually didn't like the characters as much as the first one and I enjoyed Xtreme as well. Can't wait to play Grandia III.

 

[slayn]

I have only the vaguest memories of grandia 1 and 2 but I remember liking 2 quite a bit more. I also remember liking the main character of 2 a lot more with his attitude of:

'You need to save the world, the world needs you!'
'Fuck do I care?'

 

[Amir0x]

I have only the vaguest memories of grandia 1 and 2 but I remember liking 2 quite a bit more. I also remember liking the main character of 2 a lot more with his attitude of:

'You need to save the world, the world needs you!'
'Fuck do I care?'

Heh, I wish he actually did say 'Fuck do I care?' I would have loll'ed.

But yeah, his personality was like that earlier on. He was a Geodude with an attitude. He even says "I hate God and women!" It needs to be spelled out, of course.

 

[Optimistic]

So you guys basically wanted more angst? Here, this may be more up your alley:

Huh? That's some extremely fuzzy logic right there. I'm all for a light hearted rpg with engaging characters and an intriguing plot, but uh, Grandia didn't have these elements IMO. And neither does Prince of Perisia 2. I apologise if me not liking your rpg of choice makes you cry.

 

[Prince of Space]

So I finished Grandia II last night. In terms of a lot of things -- mainly plot and characters -- it's the polar opposite of Grandia, and I think that's what helps it work most of the time, but what makes it stumble at other times. IMO, the ideal scenario would marry Grandia II's plot with Grandia's characters.

I loved Ryudo for most of the game, until the AWESOME POWER OF HUMANITY took hold of him. I couldn't STAND Elena for the life of me. She was like Yuna, but annoying (I liked Yuna). Millenia was a great contrast and a much more likable character. I only wish she was a seperate entity for the entire game... Supporting cast (Roan, Tio, and Mareg) were pretty good too and INFINITELY preferable to the likes of Rapp, Milda, etc. -- even if Mareg went out like a puss and Roan sounded eerily like an old woman. Yet while I loved Ryudo and Millenia, they just can't hold a candle to the charm of Justin and Feena.

The story itself was quite intrigiuing, even if though fell into the "religion is bad, mmkay?" hole. The truth about Granas and Valmar, and the whole pick-up-the-pieces-to-become-a-god scenario was a nice twist on other narratives. I loved the little touches on how GII leads up to GI in the end as well.

Musically, the game's a mixed bag. I hated how there only seemed to be one dungeon theme throughout the entire game, but fighting all those enemies in the various dungeons let me experience what is, IMO, the best battle theme EVER. Seriously, this is Iwadare's best battle work since Lunar 2. I've had Fight!! Ver. 1 on loop this whole time.

In terms of gameplay, I finally understand the hype the battle system gets. This is Grandia refined -- the first time I've actually really enjoyed fighting in a turn-based RPG. I didn't like how certain things like the Mana Eggs and leveling up your magic were simplified, but you can't have it all, I guess. GII was also a little more of a challenge. GI was one of the easiest RPGs I've ever played, and while GII mostly retained that game's simplicity, certain battles like Valmar's Eye and Valmar's Core gave me a bit of a run for my money. I only hope Grandia III adds some real challenge so the battle system can be used to its full potential. The possibilities...

So which did I prefer? After careful consideration, I'll have to give the edge (oh so slightly) to Grandia II. Really, both games do things better and worse than the other (each one making you appreciate the other in some way), and that makes both an essential play for any RPG fan in my book. Good stuff.

 

[Tsubaki]

How does one go about FINDING said Tower Special Stage?

Oh, I never replied to this... but part of it is because that defeats the purpose. One of my favorite aspects of Grandia is its exploration aspect. The Tower stage is the only one that isn't a gimme in the game. And once you get there, it really is harder than the hardest Grandia or Grandia II has to offer.

But if you really would prefer to cheat, I'm sure any number of Grandia FAQs have directions to the entrance.

Prince of Peace:

I actually like the last battle theme (FIGHT!! Ver.4 ~ Saigo Sentou)of Grandia II most of all. Although FIGHT!! Ver. 1 ain't bad.

I also found Grandia II to be more difficult than Grandia on the whole aside from the last boss. Is that what you meant by "getting" the battle system? That on GII, it was harder so you were forced to use the mechanics?

I actually do like Grandia II, but not nearly as much as Grandia. It just felt like with Grandia they went the extra mile, and with G2, they settled.

 

[Ferrio]

PUFFY CHEER!

 

[dark10x]

Grandia I and II were both very easy, I thought (with II being the easiest to blow through). Xtreme and III were MUCH more difficult and really took advantage of the system.

 

[Prince of Space]

Good to know.

And yeah about "getting" the battle system. GII required a bit more strategy on my part.

 

[Koshiro]

I just finished playing through Grandia 2 for the third time actually, which says enough about what I think of it. Some of the ending is a little "wtf" sure, but it wraps everything up better than the majority of other games I've played, you know where the characters go from there and nothing is really left unexplained. Very satisfying game all round.

 

[Duderz]

I really hope Game Arts ports over Grandia to the DS, consdering the botched job SCEA did.

Anyone know exactly what stuff they censored (scenes between Justin and Feena, if I remember correctly) from the US version? Dragona?

 

[Mejilan]

PUFFY CHEER!

RAH RAH! RAH RAH! RAH RAH!

 

[Bebpo]

I really hope Game Arts ports over Grandia to the DS, consdering the botched job SCEA did.

Anyone know exactly what stuff they censored (scenes between Justin and Feena, if I remember correctly) from the US version? Dragona?

I'd rather have a PSP version since cutting out all the voice would be lame.

 

[Duderz]

Good point.

GET ON IT GAME ARTS.

 

[bionic77]

Grandia disc one is one of the greatest rpg experiences ever.

Grandia disc two is garbage though after the first disc.

Never played any of the other Grandias, but I like how they tried to do something different. Just wished they would have ended the game at the Wall.

 

[MetatronM]

Grandia disc one is one of the greatest rpg experiences ever.

Grandia disc two is garbage though after the first disc.

Never played any of the other Grandias, but I like how they tried to do something different. Just wished they would have ended the game at the Wall.

Blah. Grandia barely even got started until disc 2. A whole lot of nothing happened on disc one.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

I really hope Game Arts ports over Grandia to the DS, consdering the botched job SCEA did.

Anyone know exactly what stuff they censored (scenes between Justin and Feena, if I remember correctly) from the US version? Dragona?

Actually the only thing really cut out was that alcohol was referred to as "coffee", and even then, the context allowed most people to guess what they really meant. The actual translation of Grandia is actually really quite good compared to other localization attempts. I was honestly surprised at the quality of SCEA's effort. The real problem is the lack of direction for the VA, and the fact that the PSX had to load whir whir whir between voice samples, which kinda threw the pace off.

I'd love a DS or PSP remake, the DS would trade Voice (maybe not all that much with newer compression techniques, and larger card) for loadtimes and vice versa. I'd buy either in an instant.

 

[Mejilan]

Lunar and Grandia on one portable!!

Blech. I wouldn't say no to a PSP version, but we all know that if it were announced, it'd probably be an unaltered direct port of the PSOne game. One that probably wouldn't even come out here. A total DS remake, however... Count me in!

 

[dark10x]

Lunar and Grandia on one portable!!

Blech. I wouldn't say no to a PSP version, but we all know that if it were announced, it'd probably be an unaltered direct port of the PSOne game. One that probably wouldn't even come out here. A total DS remake, however... Count me in!

What an attitude... >_<

 

[Dragona Akehi]

What an attitude... >_<

Well he does have a point when he says it'd probably be a direct port: see BOFIII and Rockman Dash for PSP.


...Course on the DS it'd probably a direct port as well. (Minus some VA, possibly.)

 

[Mejilan]

Well, ideally, I'd like a TOTAL REMAKE for the PSP. Better graphics, better music, full voice, preferably using the Grandia III engine.

But come on. THAT wouldn't happen.

 

[jarrod]

Well, ideally, I'd like a TOTAL REMAKE for the PSP. Better graphics, better music, full voice, preferably using the Grandia III engine.

We would've gotten that for GameCube had Square Enix not sunk their talons into GameArts.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

We would've gotten that for GameCube had Square Enix not sunk their talons into GameArts.

Our only hope to properly relive Justin's adventure is on a portable now.

 

[bionic77]

Blah. Grandia barely even got started until disc 2. A whole lot of nothing happened on disc one.

I loved the atmosphere and the characters on disc one. All the new characters on disc two were horrible.

 

[madara]

After seeing the overwhelming hype this game gets everywhere, I decided to give it a go. I'd been playing it on-and-off for the past month and finally wrapped it up last night. So, did it live up to the hype?

Nope.

I feel sorry for you then. You have to factor in the game is quite abit older then when most people played it as well. Some folks can over look those things and not compare to last advances todays gaming. It does look like you can.

 

[john tv]

I enjoyed Grandia II a good deal. Actually finished it on Dreamcast, which was nice.

I've tried to play Grandia I several times, but I just can't deal with the horrid load times and hideous localization on the PS version. It'd be nice if they'd remake it someday for PSP or something (minus the loading and plus an entirely new voice cast), but aside from that, I don't see myself playing through it in this lifetime. Shame, cause it sounds like a good game. But some flaws are just too much for me to deal with.