Hiya, I'm GreenSlime and it was requested that I do a review for Grandia 2. Unfortunately I haven't completed my playthrough of Grandia 2 yet but I did complete the first game and, hey, I at least got the notes for that.
I'm currently working on a spite project and in my attempts to better my understanding of the craft I've been trying to figure out what makes these games tick, how they work, and how they could be improved upon which is why this is a more critical than average review--there's a lot I like about the game but my purpose is not really about what I like so much as what did and didn't work, IMO.
Now this review is going to contain SPOILERS. I know it's tagged, but just mentioning it again here that if you've yet to play the game and you're worried about being spoiled that this is the point of no return. SPOILERS. You've been warned.
Speaking of the point of no return, I also know that Grandia is a bit of an JRPG darling to some and I am going to be harsh in some areas. I need to be because I'm hoping people will read what I have to say and tell me exactly where I'm being off base and why. At the same time I understand that my desire there isn't worth your mental well-being so if you think it'll be an issue for you, I completely understand, this is probably where you should click away.
So lets get started, shall we?
Combat.
Now I've only completed the original Grandia twice. Once way way when ago. And once just recently. Before this latest playthrough? The one thing about Grandia that I keenly remembered enjoying was the game's battle system--and to be fair the entire series does have a unique and interesting battle system.
Like most turn-based JRPGs? Sure you have basic attacks and the defend command but Grandia took those concepts and put a unique spin on them. Sure a combat encounter starts like most other encounters in JRPGs: On one side of the arena you have your enemies and on the opposing side you have your allies. But then things radically change here in Grandia. Your characters actually have to run up and position themselves to attack enemies. You can even make it so characters can stand in the way of an enemy and their target making it so the enemy eventually runs out of MOV and has their action wasted.
Speaking of wasting enemy actions?
You have two kinds of basic attacks: Combo and critical. Combo is a series of--usually--two consecutive strikes that deal a bit more damage than a critical strike. A critical strik
... keep reading on reddit β‘There are three ways to play Grandia: Saturn, PSX, and the HD Remaster.
The Saturn version is the original.
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Includes the best graphical features and the least graphical bugs. All of the textures are placed accurately; nothing is stretched out of place.
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English is only playable via fan translation.
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The state of Saturn emulation is inadequate compared to other consoles. Upscaling is possible but leads to crashes due to incompatibility issues.
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The FMVs in this version are also extremely compressed.
PSX Version:
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Lots of graphical downgrades. There is a lack of shadow to certain objects. Some textures are stretched, warped, and misshapen. The ground textures in certain areas, like the starting city of Parm, appear to be randomized. Battle textures on PSX are a blurry mess. Spirites do not have two sides, but are instead mirrored. Grandia fans have documented more of these graphical downgrades.
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Small amount of graphical upgrades, like magic effects.
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The most emulator-friendly version.
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Undub fan-patch is available for Japanese audio.
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FMVs are less compressed than the Saturn version.
The HD Remaster:
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Offers widescreen support, dual language support, and improved FMVs.
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Spruced up port of the PSX version, NOT Saturn, thus carrying over most of its graphical errors.
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In-battle textures seem to be upgraded from PSX.
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60 FPS Menus
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The syncing of the Japanese voices and the (uglier) English text is slightly mistimed compared to the translation patch of the Saturn version and the 'undub' of the PSX version. (Somehow, the Saturn/PSX English script is nearly perfectly timed with Japanese voices.)
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Many reports of framerate dips and crashes on PC. I noticed that even turning the camera feels much less smooth in this version than the PSX/Saturn.
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I have seen fewer complaints of performance over the Switch version. However, the HD Remaster also forces a filter over the pixels that cannot be toggled. PC players can remove it, but Switch players cannot.
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No 'speed up function' found in most other JRPG remasters. Cheat Engine can solve this on PC, but Switch players are out of luck.
As you can see, every version of Grandia has pros and cons. It's sad that we'll probably never see an 'ultimate' port of Grandia based on the Saturn version. The only Saturn emulator that offers resolution upscaling has basically been discontinued, otherwise that would probably be the best version, lacking only in FMV quality.
Items for sale listed below. All game discs are in great to mint condition and the games are complete with manuals and most have other original inserts. A couple of cases could use a case swap but none are in terrible shape. Valkyrie Profile is in 100% mint shape.
Here's a link to an image of the games. Prices listed below that with shipping included in the lower 48 and deals negotiable on multiple items.
https://i.imgur.com/zhx5kEA.jpg
PS1 Games
- Final Fantasy IX - $27
- Final Fantasy IX - $27
- Final Fantasy Tactics - $32
- Grandia - $85 (Gallery 1, Gallery 2)
- Resident Evil 2 - $55
- Valkyrie Profile - $425 (Gallery)
- Yu-Gi-Oh: Forbidden Memories - $37 (Gallery)
Ask questions if you have any.
Hey all you people with great taste in JRPGs!!!!
I'm playing through Grandia for the first time EVER (in 2021 ikr), and I think I'm near the end of the game... If any of you wanna relive this AMAZING game's ending portion (but I have no idea what it's gonna be like) and chat with me about why this game is so great, along with other nerdy stuff, come by my stream tonight starting around 9:30pm-10pm Eastern Time!!!
UPDATE: I actually didn't finish Grandia tn... LMAO the finale is a BIT longer than I thought (plus I need to grind in order to beat Gaia... damn) - so stay tuned if you're interested because I'll be finishing it on Monday night (hopefully) :D
https://www.twitch.tv/hoyeezus
https://preview.redd.it/4by1db2w3b771.jpg?width=460&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a89d86b7c02e62ed1bff5219793ef239508ba35
(Not many people stream this game on Twitch, so I thought I'd post here to let the TRUE fans know about this rare opportunity)
Hopefully I meet some cool fans!! (who will probably roast me for having only 2 types of magic on Rapp... whoops haha I missed some mana eggs)
Hello all!
I have had a Silverstone Grandia 09 since about 2011 that I have used as a media center gaming PC.
I've recently upgraded the internals, and the GPUs are much bigger now adays. This is not my picture, but illustrates the problem well:
The clearance between the GPU and the top of the case is only a centimeter or two. The GPU ends up just blowing hot air on the top of the case. I have the case decked out with 3X noctua 120mm intake on the sides and 2X noctua 80mm exhaust fans above the CPU. The CPU has a Noctua C14 cooler that blows up and into the top of the case.
The lid to the case is a black piece of sheet metal that only has a small amount of perforations above the last 1/3rd of the GPU. I was thinking it would help alot if the perforations were the entire length of the GPU so the GPU was blowing most of the hot air directly out the top. Also, the C14 blows up, so ideally there were perforations for the CPU cooler to blow directly up as well. There is about 10 inchs of clearance above the case before the next shelf, so plenty of room to blow air (there is also no back to the media center so air can blow out the back along the wall)
I was thinking about trying to drill holes in the lid using a drill press. Does anyone have any experience with this type of modification? Trying to determine what I am getting myself into.
Incredible game.
The character designs are the cutest i have ever seen. OST is an absolute joy to listen to. The town areas are full of life (tons of stuff to interact with). The sound effects for random objects are cute and satisfying. There's a button to zoom in. NPC dialogue is really great and dynamic, party members often reply and even after small advancements in the story they can change. Talking to Garlyle soldiers is just hilarious. The bright colors, emotive sprites, and super cute portraits create a whimsical experience.
The combat is quite enjoyable. Evading and cancelling make fights play out so differently. The fact that taking damage stunts your IP gain makes it very feast or famine. When I started using the ruination knife and chain gem on rapp bosses almost couldn't move. Deciding between healing/buffing or attacking is genuinely difficult. Buff is good but making them have less chances to act is also good (cold was a strong spell). By that same ticket if your party gets hit with an aoe and their IP hiccups it gives a chance for another boss part/enemy to combo you. My primary gameplay complaint is the dungeons can be frustrating. The last part of the final dungeon was an awful tube maze.
The nudge that pushed me to play this was Feena being voiced by my all time favorite voice actress, Noriko Hidaka (I uploaded some of her music here, check it out). It took me over 4 months to finish disc 1. When I saw this scene at the end of it, I finished the game less than a week afterwards. The development of Justin and Feena's relationship is uplifting and adorable. The other party members are also great. I wish I could have gotten them all permanently at one point, though. Sucks when half the party is unavailable during much of the game. >!You barely got time to play with Guido.!< I also wish that just a few more scenes were voiced. A couple farewell scenes come to mind.
The plot starts off so small but grows into something massive. I am partial to this type of story. Especially BFT (big fucking tree) endings. Very happy I got the chance to play it.
Right now it is something flutey, Iβm pretty sure from the part with the three-eyed girl. Itβs so nostalgic and I always enjoy it when this happens. Anyone else?
And I'm not talking about the Grandia 2 PC port. That port looks like ass. Grandia 2 needs to be played on a Dreamcast or Redream, it looks gorgeous.
In any event, I fired up some Grandia 2 over the weekend and it hit me with a wave of nostalgia. The game is so charming, so gorgeous for the time. For severals years after it was still one of the best looking RPGs of the generation. While comparing the graphics of a PS1 game to a DC game is unfair. Comparatively the graphics in Grandia 2 were more cutting edge and memorable.
The combat was virtually the same. It's similar to the combat in FF6 where you have an action bar that fills up. But the zoom in zoom out of the camera in Grandia 1 was nauseating. Although the combat in Grandia 2 was more interesting to look at with better UI.
The real comparison here is in the story. God, the story in Grandia 1 is so bad. Justin and Lilly are so boring. They're just some random preteens and Justin says, "I want to go on an adventure!" And Lilly is all like, "Me too Justin, you're my best friend!" I'm not even joking. He's just some random kid in a random town who keeps saying, "I like adventure!", "I want to go on an -adventure-!", "Let's look for -adventure-!" The dialogue and story is so boring and uninspired. They put as little effort into as they possibly could.
Then you have Grandia 2 with Ryudo who's introduced as a badass bounty hunter with a talking eagle. He grabs onto the Eagle's legs and flies around. Fucking mint. Then you have Elena who's a prudish nun that Ryudo has to protect. Inevitable conflict ensues. Elena has something happen where this badass hot chick with big boobs takes over her body and kicks a bunch of ass. Most of the time you just want Millenia there, because Elena is such a damn buzz kill.
The other characters are equally cool. They're given a much more comprehensive story than you'd see in a game like FFX. Mareg is kinda like Kimarhi, but instead of mentioning his backstory one, Grandia 2 gives you a quest to go through and uncover more and more of the backstory on each character. This really makes the characters come alive. A lot like they did in FF6 for the characters there.
Just about finished with suikoden 2. Cannot get my hands on 5 so I'm done with the franchise for now. Next up is xenogears, breathe of fire, chrono trigger, and grandia. Now on ps3 I can get grandia 1 and 3 for 15 bucks. On switch I can get the hd for 40. So is it actually worth it to spend a little more for hd or are the changes minimal and it wont matter at all? Is it only graphical or are there major QOL changes? Thanks guys
Appareantly there s the Grandia Hd Collection on sale at 20 β¬ on the eshop so i was wondering if it was worth it? In every rpg list i seem to stumble upon this title even tho i know nothing about it, is it any good and is it a good porting for the switch? Should i wait to drop even more?
#New Units
Name | Wiki | Rarity | C.F. | TMR | STMR
:---:|:---:|:---:|:--:|:--:|:--:|:--|:
Tio & Mareg| Link | NV | [BS] [Tag] | Ancient Suit [Clothes] +40 ATK, +40 DEF, +40 SPR, +50% EQ ATK w/ DW (TDW), +10% physical evasion | Earthen Axe [Axe] +200 ATK, Earth Element, (50% Acc, Var: 1.1x~1.9x), +50% LB damage|
Selene | Link | NV | [CWA] [AR] | Selene's Circlet [Accessory] +50 MAG, +50 SPR, +25% EQ MAG w/ DW (TDW), +25 EQ SPR w/ DW (TDW)| High Priestess Sceptre (Staff) +180 MAG, +180 SPR, +25% EQ MAG w/ DW (TDW), +25 EQ SPR w/ DW (TDW), Selene only: +50% evoke damage
#Old Units
Name | Wiki | Rarity | C.F. | TMR | STMR
:---:|:---:|:---:|:--:|:--:|:--:|:--|:
Ryudo| Link | 5β
-NV | [SR] [AR] [Extreme Nova] | (Ryudo only) Granasaber [2H Greatsword] +165 ATK +205 ATK, (DmgVar 1.2-1.6x, Acc+50%), 5% MP per Turn | (Unstackable) Belief in Humanity [Materia] +40% LB Damage +50% LB Damage, (25% Acc) +100% EQ ATK w/ DH (TDH), +40% ATK +50% ATK
Elena | Link | 5-7β
| [QK] [FLD] [CWA] | Silk Hair Band [Hat] +2 DEF, +50 SPR, +30% Water/Earth Resist| Priestess Robe (Robe) +68 DEF/68 SPR, +20% HP/MP & +100% All Ailment Resists
Millenia | Link | 5-7β
| [CW] [CWA] [BS] | (Unstackable) The Wings of Valmar (Materia) +50% MAG, +50% Dark Resist, +25% Mag Damage vs Humans +50% Mag damage vs Humans | Exorcism Bow (Bow) +105 ATK, +180 MAG +200 MAG,
I loved the fact you not only got stats for levelling up but for also using different weapons/magic.
Are there any other RPGs out there that are similar?
Used to be able to play the game fine but now I'm running into an issue where no matter what settings I choose the game just doesn't launch. When running in fullscreen the game just doesn't display anything and just shows my desktop, when running windowed the game window just shows up as a white box. Anybody had this issue and managed to fix it or is it a known bug/issue that gungho are looking to fix?
Iβm a big final fantasy person and iβm not used to Grandia. Any advice on how to succeed and not miss really important stuff?
Anyone here know a good quality strategy to kill this thing? Justin and Feena are levels 19 and 18 respectively. Do I need to grind? Not really a fun fight here.
I find that with older RPGs, if i played them as a kid revisiting them feels like coming home, but if I never played them I sometimes have a hard time getting into them. For example, I love Wild Arms but canβt get into Legend of Dragoon.
I see a lot of consistent praise for Grandia, especially Grandia 2, but Iβm nervous to take the plunge. I tend to like a game with minimal grinding and good pacing versus something very dialogue heavy.
Someone sent me this picture of some of the characters in beachwear from the Seagull Barβs Holiday artbook. What do you think?
https://preview.redd.it/1wbq9iydegw61.jpg?width=1471&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d7335ea218659f099255a331f4c0514f0004e9b8
I've been playing with the idea of making a significant overhaul mod. I figured out yesterday how to create new mana eggs and new spells, and I know how to modify the majority of stats, abilities, items etc. I have thoughts on what I would want to see, but I wanted to reach out to the community and ask you. What would you want to see changed that would make you come back and give the game another try? I put the spoiler tag so people can freely discuss endgame changes.
I need to play the first one to understand the story?
Witch came first
He passed away from kidney cancer.
In these interviews there is some information about his participation in the game (1, 2). He designed the towns of the game. The cloth map that was included in some copies of the Saturn version was also drawn by him.
His old website has some artwork (1, 2, 3). I believe that a a lot of the artwork in Grandia Digital Museum is his, but I'm not sure.
Noriyuki Iwadare, Grandia's composer, replied the tweet announcing his death. I don't know japanese, but the Google translate gives "eh? You're kidding, right? Please say it as a joke. I don't believe it. Please laugh as usual and share some interesting ideas." π’
I'm trying to play Grandia (the english patched version) on a Samsung Tab S5e using the Yaba Sanshiro emulator and although the game runs perfectly while in-game (~60fps), the FMVs (intro movies, etc...) run horribly (~45fps) with the audio stuttering. I tried setting the sound time sync to real time instead of CPU time but after 10s there's a loud static. Any ideas on how to improve the FMVs or is that just the way they are on a real saturn too?
So why does everyone like Grandia I more exactly?
Before jumping into the series I read up a lot through Reddit/Gamefaqs posts... and it seems to be the consensus that Grandia I is best, followed by II, and III and extreme aren't even worth playing
Well, just finished II, and I think I liked it better than 1. I liked 1 a lot, but II definitely hit me more in the feels, and had some good twists and turns
1 thing I didnt get: Were Granas and Valmar regular people? That scene with the male autonoma, who said this was the lab they worked in together.. gave me xenoblade chronicles 1/2 vibes, where these Gods were normal humans meddling in a lab. It was very unclear, in fact, there were a ton of moments that seemed intentionally vague, and I might add annoyingly.
Overall great games, I am definitely going to play III, and I feel like I will enjoy it as well.
Items for sale listed below. All game discs are in great to mint condition and the games are complete with manuals and most have other original inserts. A couple of cases could use a case swap but none are in terrible shape. Valkyrie Profile and Grandia are in 100% mint shape. Prices do NOT include shipping (unless you buy them all.)
Here's a link to an image of the games. Games are priced as marked, or take the whole lot for $575 $550 shipped anywhere in the continental USA.
https://i.imgur.com/zhx5kEA.jpg
PS1 Games
- Final Fantasy IX - $20
- Final Fantasy IX - $20
Final Fantasy Tactics - $25- SOLD- Grandia (100% GEM MINT) - $75 (Gallery 1, Gallery 2)
- Resident Evil 2 - $55
- Valkyrie Profile (100% GEM MINT) - $425 (Gallery)
Ask questions if you have any.
