Grandia II

"A must have RPG...even if you have SOA."

The original Grandia on the PSX was a refreshing change of pace from the Final Fantasy games that combined a peerless battle system with a long rewarding quest. In it’s day it was ahead of its time in regards to graphics and gameplay. In many respects, the sequel had to live up to the standards set by the first game (despite Grandia being on a 32-bit system and nearly 5 years old). Whilst not as groundbreaking as Grandia, I am happy to say that Grandia II meets all expectations and is a great showcase for the 128-bit generation (particularly the DC).

Gameplay: Grandia II centres on the adventures of Ryudo, Elena/Millenia, Roan, Tio & Mareg and their quest to stop the rise of Valmar and his attempts to consume the world. The fellowship invariably travels from village to village in search of traces of Valmar to rid the world of his evil but their efforts are hampered by Millenia whose prime directive (as the Wings of Valmar and the dark side of Elena) is to consume each piece of Valmar they encounter. Sounds strange? Well it is, but if you suspend belief the story is palatable.

Grandia II focuses more on character interaction and dialogue and depending on your mood you’ll either enjoy it or hate it. Some sections of the game are taken up entirely in talk and without the option to speed up the text, spending 15 minutes reading what your characters have to say can get tedious. The characters are well thought out if a little cliched. Ryudo subscribes to the Cloud Stryfe school of angst, he is constantly moody for the better part of the game. Mareg is the philosopher of the group who is prone to musing on all aspects of life and the divine at every opportunity. Elena is innocence personified and thoroughly conflicted over her quest to rid the world of Valmar and the fact she is possessed by a piece of the Dark God in the form of Millenia. Roan and Tio play supporting roles but aren’t particularly memorable.

Where Grandia II shines is its battle system. Described by many to be the best battle system to date in an RPG I’m inclined to agree with them. It combines the best elements of the turn based and action based battle systems. Each character and enemy is represented on an Action Bar and the speed with which they move across this bar is determined by the amount of Initiative Points they may have. Once the character (represented by an icon on the Action Bar) reaches COM they can accept commands and once the character reaches the end of the Act portion of the Bar the command is then executed. Commands can be cancelled by Critical Attacks and strong magic attacks, setting a character or enemy back on the Bar. Sounds complicated? It isn’t. Once you try it, all other battle systems pale in comparison. 8/10

Graphics: Perhaps Grandia II strongest suite. The graphics are phenomenal, the best I’ve seen in an RPG thus far. Everything is so detailed, from the characters and the environments to the magic and special attacks. Special note must be made of the textures, because of them the game resonates with life. Grass looks like grass, stone walls look like stone wall and the characters, well, they have to be seen to be believed. One of the best looking games out there. 10/10

Sounds: The character voices are quite well done. Ryudo tends to whine a little but it never gets too annoying. Mareg’s voice seems a little over done, the rasp sounds forced and unnnatural.The background music is also suitably well done, but for me they weren’t as memorable as some of the tunes in SOA. Still very well done though. 9/10

Longevity: For an RPG, Grandia II is somewhat short. It only comes on one GD-ROM and at best will provide 25-30 hours of gameplay. However, in parts the game is difficult so expect to repeat sections of the game. As with all RPG’s, there isn’t much replay value. But once is enough and you’ll no doubt enjoy the experience. 8/10

Pros:
+ Fantastic looking game
+ One of the best RPG’s you’ll ever play
+ The battle system is well thought out and very intuitive
+ You’ll be hard pressed to find a better game, regardless of genre

Cons:
- Boring storyline (what hurts the game the most0
- A little bit too short
- Can get repetitive
- Small problems hold it back from being truly great

Final Word: This is a must-have game. Whilst not as epic as SOA, Grandia II has certain charm that makes it AAA. If you have a DC (or even a PS2), you must have a copy of Grandia II. It’s that simple.

Overall: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/14/02, Updated 02/14/02