"While not even close to being a bad game, it is a step down from its predecessor"

The original Grandia was renowned for its amazing and innovative battle system and experience system. Grandia 2 does have some of the same features, but it seems to be a more watered out battle system. Of course, while I am going to rant about how they changed the system, they also improved other aspects of the game, so its more balanced then before.

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Story

Grandia 2 is set in a completely different world then the original game. Seems they want to take on a more...Final Fantasy approach with the series. This game is also very deep in its religious overtones. So if you are easily offended by the overtones, or just don't like a game with that, you won't like Grandia 2.

Grandia 2 starts you off as the wise-talking Ryudo, a type of mercenary. Ryudo, is, simply put, one of the best video game heroes you will ever see. He just has this awesome attitude that screams: BADASS! He also has some of the best quotes in video game history. You just have to see it to believe it.

Other then that, you are set into a world that seems to completely mock Ryudo. The main character is a female the complete opposite of everything Ryudo is and stand for. And some other characters seem there just to torment him. They each have their own personalities, so the character development is deep, and very good. Each character has things to learn, see, and backgrounds they need to admit and accept. This game has better character development then most games.

As good as the ally character development is, the enemies are not developed as well. And you don't even see the main enemies until the very end of the game. But I guess it does add quite a few plot twists..and thats never a bad thing.

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Technical

Lets just say from a technical perspective, Grandia 2 rules all. It has beautiful graphics, and some great sounds.

To start, you just need to see these characters. The characters in the game look better then their respective character designs. They have a lot of detail, especially in the clothes. You can see the details in Mellenia's lacy skirt. You can see the holes, and the entire pattern, its really amazing. And in Elena's hair, you can see where the braid/bun begins and ends. There is just a whole lot of detail in the character models, both in and out of battle.

As for the normal graphics, they are also well detailed. While they don't watch the characters, they are widely varied, and work well with the game. You can go from an arid desert, to a lush forest, to a mechanical area, and even to the internal organs of some creatures! There are a lot of different areas you can go, and you will go before you beat this game. Sadly, in forest areas and the like, the leaves dont rustle, and the entire area is not very interactive. But its lovely nonetheless.

In battle, the spells are a mixed bag of love-it-or-hate-it. Some spells are done in normal, in-game graphics, while others are done in awesome CG. The longer spells are all done this way. They are good looking, but it also adds a certain style to the game that people may not like.

As for the music, well I would have to say its decent, or slightly above average. There are a whole lot of tracks, but the each seem to follow the same type of pattern. You get the same feeling from all the town and dungeon tracks, so its kinda annoying.

Now the sound effects and voice acting are a completely different story. The voice acting, compared to a lot of games (namely, the original Grandia) is a godsend. Seriously, it is so much better that you wont have to have the game on mute anymore. The voices are great, and each fit each character well. Ryudo has an extremely sarcastic voice, and Elena has a quiet, small voice like her own personality, and Millenia sounds perfect for her flirtatious attitude.

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Gameplay

Grandia 2's gameplay does not change dramatically from its predecessors. First off, this is an RPG...if you didn't know that then you damned better finish reading this review. Grandia 2 also seems to be a bit more...dungeon crawlery then most RPG's. I mean that it has more dungeons then most games. Technically, that is not a bad thing.

Also like its predecessor, the game is very linear. There is no world map, other then moving the cursor over the next area and clicking to enter. So if you like world maps (I know I do) you may be a tad annoyed at the map system. Also like the last game, you can not go back to some places after a certain point. This is a HUGE fault.

Dungeons in Grandia 2 are long. Most of them are at least 3 screens, and have at least one big maze or trap area. In some of the later dungeons, the entire dungeon may be a maze. This is actually a good thing, as most games don't have this type of play. And the puzzles *gasp* actually make sense. The puzzles aren't really puzzles, but they are like press a button open a door, and find your way back and go through the door. But they are actually sane, and you can see the use for them.

Normally, in Grandia 2 the system is non-random encounters. That means that there is a limited number of enemies on each screen, unless you leave and come back. That also means you can attack enemies when they have their backs turned for an advantage in battle. Since we all hate excessive random encounters, we all just have to celebrate for a sane game here. Even better, is the entire field system. Basically, if the enemies are turned away from you, and you run into them before they turn red, then you will have an advantage in the battle. But if you are running from the enemies and they attack you from behind they will have the advantage over you.

Sadly, the games' controls feel a bit stiff. Its not too bad, but sometimes it is hard to move in the direction you want to go. The Dreamcast controller does not work with this game at all. Not that the controls are bad, they just don't work the way you want most of the time.

Now the battle system is luckily, still the best part of the game. It had kept all of Grandia's amazing features, and changed some others, for better and for worse. Sadly, much of the time it is the latter.

In battle, there is a bar in the bottom right corner of the screen that tells you who will go next. Depending on the characters' speed, they will progress to the right (and to the area where they make their battle commands) faster. Each character and enemy is on this same line. When they make their commands, there was a few choices. You can either attack normally, with 2 attacks, or make one weaker critical attack. The critical attack can cancel out the command an enemy is about to do. They can also use skills, and spells. Depending on the ''level'' of the spell the spell of skill can be cast faster, with less chance of taking damage and more chance of killing the enemies of before they kill you.

Sadly, the spell and skill ''levels'' have been totally changed. And for the worse. You now use Tokens to level skills and spells up. You get these tokens out of battle. And each level you level a spell up makes it go faster. It is really a boring way to do things. While it is better then a normal RPG it is a major step downwards in the series.

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Sadly, Grandia 2 is yet another overhyped game. it is nowhere near bad, but it still is a huge step down for the series. If you loved Grandia, be prepared for something worse, but not horrible. But if you havent played the original, or did and didnt like it, give this game a go, and you will love it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/07/03, Updated 07/07/03