Grandia

"This game is the complete and utter jam"

Grandia; a game that was hyped by many (including many of my friends who had played it and Gamefan (RIP) my favorite magazine) as the one of the greatest rpgs of all time. I had heard much about this game but had never really been interested in it. Until one day after acquiring some Christmas money I decided to head to the mall and get a game. I had planned on getting Xenogears but I could not find it so instead I saw a lone copy of Grandia which piqued my interest. I grabbed it and went to the cash register to pay for my newest game. And boy am I ever glad I did.

Quite simply Grandia is the best game I have ever played. (It even surpassed FF6) The feel of Grandia, the theme , the story, the characters everything is excellent! Sure Grandia may not have the best graphics or the best music but still, the things listed above more than make up for that, and in spades as well! I could just sum this up right now by saying that this game is the best game of all time and you should run out and buy it. But I won't I'll go a little more in depth.

Graphics: 6

Alright I won't lie the graphics are crap. The only saving grace for the graphics is the well drawn character portraits and the fact that most environments are rotatable 360 degrees which is nice. There are barely any cutscenes to speak of so if you like your RPG'S like movies you may not like this game but for people like me raised on old school RPG'S this is not a problem.

Music: 8

There are a few tracks in Grandia that are excellent, sadly the rest are all to forgettable. Its been about 7 months since I last played Grandia and I can't remember much of the music except the battle theme, main theme and a few others. The rest have gone from my mind. Which is not to say that the music in Grandia is bad. It's not, it's just forgettable.

Story: 10

Grandia's story is excellent, although it's very happy and upbeat so if your someone who is big on gloom and doom storylines then I don't think you'll like it. Grandia's story revolves around Justin. Justin and his best friend Sue get to go on an adventure to explore some old ruins. When they're there they meet an astral projection of Liete the ancient being who tells them she can explain to Justin the purpose of the memento he got from his father, the spirit stone, if he makes his way to where she is physically located. Justin is intrigued and decides to set out on the quest. Along the way he makes friends, meets enemies, explores new lands, and even falls in love before getting involved in a quest to save the world. The plot is great and very well paced out. One thing I loved about Grandia was the way the topic of saving the world didn't come up until you had played for quite a while. Justin and his friends aren't traveling on a quest to save the world, or even get revenge they are simply traveling for the thrill of adventure and discovery. The story is very original and not very cliche at all although some might try to tell you other wise. The characters devolp well throughout the story with there actions seeming very believable. The relationships they form over time are also, for the most part, very believable, adding a lot to the story. There are allot of them too, from Gadwin the chivalrous hermit like knight, to Guido the crafty merchant (I'm not even going to ask about his name.) the characters are broad in there roles and no one character seems to be like any other. By the time you finish the game there will have been many points where you'll find yourself inexplicably smiling from the game. The characters really add to The Story of Grandia which is, by far, one of the best stories I have ever read in a RPG.

Gameplay: 10

Grandia's gameplay is very linear. The flow of the game basically goes
Town ------ Path to dungeon ------ Dungeon ----- Path to town ------ Town, Repeat.
This is can be boring for some people but the storyline is so good that you'll want to go through the monotony just to get on with the story. This would drag down the score for gameplay if it where not for two things: The Skill and Magic system, and The Battle system. First off the skill and magic system is one of the best ever seen. It actually requires the use of the weapon or type of magic you want to develop the skill for. The system is a lot of fun and it can be fun fighting with new weapons to see what the combo of levels on your weapons will make now. Now as for the battle system, well what can I say about the battle system except that is the greatest battle system of all time! Say what you want about Grandia but no one can deny that it's battle system is excellent. When you fight in Grandia there is one long time bar on which characters icons run across. When an icon reaches com you input a command. The command then (goes according to the speed of the attack your using) to att. When it reaches this your command is excuted. But the catch is while your doing this your enemys are doing it to. And if they hit you while your getting ready to attack, your icon can be stalled or even cancelled. On the plus side you can do the same to them to. This adds a depth of strategy to fighting unsurpassed by any game I have ever played, as you actually have to think you can't just mindlessly choose commands and expect them to work. The battle system combined with the skill system equals a game where you want to level up to see your new skills and enjoy the battles.

Replay Value : 10

In my opinion Grandia is like a good book (a REALLY good book) in that once your finished with it you'll put it down, and move on to other things but a couple of years down the line you'll just suddenly remember all the great things about it and will have a craving for it. I have yet to replay it but I am going to as soon as I finish the game i'm on right now. I'm actually anticipating playing it agian thats how dang good this game is.

Overall: 10

This game is the pinnacle of all RPG's if you have not played it yet I suggest you do so immediatly. If you have to donate a limb to play this game it's worth it, this game is the complete and utter jam. No other game even comes close. Some might claim that FF6, or Chrono Trigger, or even Xenogears is the best, but they would be wrong this game is the greatest Game, not RPG but Game of all time!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/02/01, Updated 07/02/01