Grandia II

[MasterAkumaMatata]

One of the most beautiful games I've ever played and enjoyed for the Dreamcast. The realtime rendering of the beautiful towns and being able to rotate your view around was simply amazing when I first played this game. I really liked the battle system, and it was the first of its kind that I've experienced. The character design and music was top notch as well. For those of you who have played this game for the Dreamcast, please let us know what you thought. Like? Dislike? Confused? :lol:

BTW, this game is best played in VGA. :thumbs-up: :cheers

 

[Stephen_Ri]

Great game, especially the battle system. As you said, great through VGA. One fault, depending on how you look at it, is the lack of puzzles and any problem solving skills; I happen to like a game with few puzzles, but this game always told you where to go next. I'm playing the original Grandia now and it's a little too tedious for my tastes, but it's still a great game with similar elements. Character development was better on Grandia 2. One mild complaint is the use of videos rather than 3d rendered motion on some of the spells; I seem to remember getting impatient while constantly skipping these. The fact that these issues are really not serious testifies the game's quality. One of my favorite RPG's. Is there another Grandia planned?

 

[racketboy]

I'm not much of a puzzle guy when it comes to RPGs.

#1 priority is battle and Grandia 2 delivers with an innovative battle system.

#2 is story. Grandia 2 was ok, but not outstanding.

I still think Skies of Arcadia is a better overall RPG, but Grandia 2 is still exceptional.

 

[Des-ROW]

One of the best RPGs ever created, featuring the BEST battle system ever.

 

[it290]

Pretty good game; I don't think it deserves all the praise it gets, but it was still quite enjoyable. The plot, while not stellar, did pick up quite a bit towards the end (although it was a bit predictable). I enjoyed the battle system as much as anyone else, but the main problem I had was that the game was just too easy. I don't think I really died at all throughout the entire game, and I didn't go out of my way to level up or anything -- in fact, I avoided quite a few battles. Also, I thought they could have done a much better job on the video encoding (quality was quite shoddy; the game should have gone on two discs). Voice acting-- meh, but you can't really expect too much.

Still, all in all, I'll probably play this before I play Skies again, although I enjoyed Skies more the first time through.

 

[Shitface]

Hey, I saw Garandia 1 at gamestop complete for $17 used for playstation. Is that a good price for the first one? Cause i loved the second one and would like to play the original.

 

[axelblazeadam]

Good timing for this GOTW, I just completed the game yesterday.

I'd agree with most of the points made about it already, The battle system and the lack of random battles is definitely the games strong point. The plot is decent if predictable at times and I loved the music.

On the bad side the game is far too easy, particularly the poor excuse for a final boss and the of lack sub quests is disappointing.

I probably just prefer Skies of Arcadia but if SOA had this games battle system it would be the best RPG ever.

 

[E Nice]

Liked the battle system as well. Good graphics and music but story seemed like it was cliched on purpose. It also had a strong anti-religious theme to it. My other complaint would be about Tio. I would like to have seen more struggle going on with her after Mareg's death. They didn't give her enough time or story to develop. She simply did at the end and it seemed rushed.

 

[gameboy900]

Originally posted by Stephen_Ri@Feb 8, 2004 @ 11:49 PM

Is there another Grandia planned?

Grandia Xtreme (basically 3) came out on PS2 over a year ago. I haven't played it but it supposedly is similar in gameplay to 2.

 

[Des-ROW]

The character design is so horrible I didn't even touch it.

 

[Dud]

I played this game on dreamcast, and it was fantastic. Defintely the best turn-based battle system ever.

I tried Grandia Xtreme yesterday...

 

[Daniel Eriksson]

Grandia 2 Rules! I love that game! Indeed one of the best battle systems ever, a good story and cool caracters. Oh, and the graphics are the best of its kind. Btw, how does vga improve it? I have the game both on my Dc and my Pc but there isn any special difference. (Ecept that I have 28" on my tv and 17" on my computer...)

 

[reX dart: eskimo spy]

Originally posted by mountaindud@Feb 9, 2004 @ 05:11 PM

I played this game on dreamcast, and it was fantastic. Defintely the best turn-based battle system ever.

I tried Grandia Xtreme yesterday...

Whoa, it was that bad?

I haven't played Grandia II, but I am considering getting it. I do enjoy roles and the games played therein.

 

[Dud]

Originally posted by reX dart: eskimo spy@Feb 9, 2004 @ 08:27 PM

Whoa, it was that bad?

I haven't played Grandia II, but I am considering getting it. I do enjoy roles and the games played therein.

Grandia - definitely recommended

Grandia II - more highly recommended

Grandia Xtreme - Skip it. Nothing is improved. They got rid of the technicolor save cones! You can only save at the armory, so if you didn't level enough you will go half-way or all the way through a dungeon, get killed by the boss and start over. The characters are boring, I could care less what happens. I'm not going to waste my time with this (I hear it takes a long time to finish) when I've got like 20 other games to play.

 

[Resident_Lurker]

The battle system was excellent. I actually wanted to go into battle and try to get rid of all the baddies I could.

The graphics were nice and clean, and each town had its own distinct style. The music wasn't terrible either.

 

[Butane Bob]

Fantastic Battle system but the elementary storyline, characters and boring linear gameplay ruined it for me.

Shitface - the original grandia is much better, pick it up if you can find it.

 

[Stephen_Ri]

Daniel Eriksson, unless you're in the UK and have it hooked up to a PAL TV with RGB, VGA should be a vast improvement. Everything is sharp and detailed compared to a fuzzier interlaced image. But if you didn't notice any difference, I suppose it can't hurt if you play on the larger screen.

 

[TheMrCul]

In every way I preferred Grandia II to Skies of Arcadia. I hated skies. As soon as you took 3 steps forward, a random battle would appear out of nowhere blocking your progress. At least in Grandia I could avoid the monsters because I could see them.

I liked it so much that it is now one of my 3 all time favourite games:

Landstalker (Mega Drive)

Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn)

Grandia II (Dreamcast)

Shenmue II and Eternal Darkness should fit in there somewhere but...

 

[racketboy]

Originally posted by TheMrCul@Feb 13, 2004 @ 06:40 AM

In every way I preferred Grandia II to Skies of Arcadia. I hated skies.

Blasphamy!

 

[Des-ROW]

Originally posted by TheMrCul@Feb 13, 2004 @ 01:40 AM

In every way I preferred Grandia II to Skies of Arcadia.

I agree.