Grandia
Reviewed by CB007
Graphics
Grandia has very nice graphics, and it looks different from
most RPG's . If you've played Breath Of Fire 3, or Final
Fantasy Tactics, you have a fairly good idea of what you can
expect. Towns and Dungeons each have a look all their own.
Graphics are bright, colorful, easy to see, and very
detailed. By using the L1 Button, the R1 Button, or the
Right Analog Stick, you can rotate the Camera completely in
most areas. This makes it easy to see behind things, and to
get around dungeons. You are able to see enemies before you
fight them, much like in Chrono Trigger. Because of this,
you are able to avoid many of them, if you want to.
Battle Graphics are pretty good, too. They are setup on a
fairly open battle field. Spell Effects look incredible, and
are probably the best feature in the game in terms of visual
effects. Each spell has a different, colorful display. The
more powerful the spell, the better it looks on screen. The
best comparison I can make is to FF Tactics. Enemies are
pretty detailed, but the characters don't look all that great.
There is no overworld, just a map screen. It doesn't sound
like a great idea, but it's done well in the game, and it's
an improvement, if anything.
Game Play
The Combo attack is what most players will use most often.
By selecting this command, a character will attack an enemy
twice in one turn. The Critical attack does less damage than
the Combo attack, but it will sometimes cancel the attack
that your enemy was going to perform. This command is
particularly useful against bosses. Each character can also
chose from their unique Special Moves, or from the Magic
Spells that they have learned. Some spells and attacks will
work on every enemy, some will work on 1 enemy, and some
will work on enemies on a certain part of the screen. Any
character can select from their own personal inventory of
items that can be used in battle. Any character can use the
Run command to escape from battle.
Battles themselves are menu based, but come very close to
being Live-Action. After you give a character a command, he
will either do it immediately, or may need to wait a few
seconds to cast a spell or use a special attack. During this
charge time, they are vulnerable to enemy attack, and can
sometimes have their attacks cancelled out if hit during
this time. Everything moves at a very fast pace, and battles
are not remotely tedious. It's a lot of fun to build up your
attacks and magic, because of this.
As you progress a little into the game, you will find
several items called 'Mana Eggs'. By trading in these
eggs, you can purchase an elemental for your character.
There are 4 different elementals in Grandia. Those are
Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water. You gain skill points as you
cast spells in various elements, and can eventually combine
magic to form more powerful attacks.
Just like the magic, Weapons gain levels, too. Also, like
magic, they can gain levels up to 99. For example, if Justin
fights with a Sword for a long time, he will gain 's word
Levels'. If he fights with an Axe, he will gain 'Axe
Levels' Powerful combinations can be learned after gaining
enough weapon levels. Also, some attacks utilize both Magic
and Weapons.
Story
The first three or four hours of the game are very, very
slow. The characters don't really seem at all interesting.
It's a shame, because it might stop some people from wanting
to continue playing. After you get past the beginning,
things keep improving thoughout the entire game. You learn
more and more about the characters, and begin to feel really
interested in what's going to happen next. There is a lot of
humor, as well as suspense, and a love story, in part.
Music
The game's music is pretty good. Nothing all that
rememberable, but it's not bad at all. The battle music
grows on you after a while, and it changes completely when
you reach the second disc. Each town seems to have a
different musical theme, as well.
There is a lot of Voice Acting in the game. Whenever a
character casts a spell, they will say something. The
character that deals the final blow in a battle will also
speak. There is some voice acting during important points in
the story, but not too often. Some of the characters sound
pretty bad, and some sound pretty good. You even get used to
the bad ones after a little while, though. I really think it
adds something to the game, overall.
Final Thoughts
This is a game that I bought, expecting it to be average.
That's not how it turned out at all, though. I spent more
time playing Grandia each day than I have with a game in a
long while. This really is a remarkable RPG. As soon as you
get past the slow beginning, things just keep getting better
and better. This is definately worth a purchase for RPG fans.
Overall: 9 out of 10
