"An Xtreme disappointment"

Well I see a new game in the Grandia series, one of the best RPGs series of all time, and to top it off, it's published by Enix one of the best RPG publisher's of all time, I don't even bother to check I fork my cash right over... *HITS SELF ON HEAD WITH HAMMER*

  Gameplay - 8/10
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If you call combat gameplay, this game has it. It uses the tried and true Grandia engine, but adds a couple hiccups. We're back to using skills to level them up instead of spending points, and magic is only ''leveled up'' by combining eggs, meaning that magic tends to be unimpressive and weak compared to the skills. Instead of a nice easy to read action bar, you get this cluttered circle, that even on the largest setting is hardly adequate. You can't do practically anything to your party outside of town, which leads for tedium, and the dungeons are long. Therefore despite the good engine - 8-/10

Story - 3/10
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What's that?! Oh yea, humanity has messed with the elemental forces of nature and now the planet is on the brink of destruction... gee where have I seen that before? Oh yea, every 2 bit role-playing game ever produced. Add to this barely existent character development and well... 3/10

Graphics - 5/10
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Blocky textures, slow jerky camera movement, enemies that fade into the combat backgrounds, and people with slabs of meat for limbs that use their telekinetic powers to levitate items in scenes. The fmvs are decent but nothing special, the standard graphics are just pathetic for a current game. The spell effects don't even make up for it, as they are lackluster and boring.

Sound - 6/10
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After the rocking soundtrack to Grandia 2 I was expecting better, much better. The music obviously tries to imitate Grandia 2 in style and instruments, but it's just a poor attempt. It's boring, and even annoying at times.

The voices are great, honestly. Too bad the lines are read with little emotion, and in combat vocals are paused (dramatically)?.

I will cut you --------------------- in two!

Replayability - 6/10
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Well, there is bonus stuff to unlock, and if you've played the game through you probably like the combat enough for more. In my opinion there's not much reason to replay, the scenes are dull and detract from the only good point of the game, combat, so why start over and go through them a second time?

Buy or Rent
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If you feel like playing marathon sessions, or renting it for weeks, save a few dollars. Otherwise, if you want to play it, borrow it or buy it, it's a long game.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 10/12/02, Updated 10/12/02