Customer Reviews

Grandia

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Gradia is a game recently ported to the playstation from the deceased sega saturn. A great game as far as RPG's are concerned. The game offers solid gameplay, a good plot, and most of all in-depth characterization. Something not found in the current RPG's. Although it may not offer as much "eye candy" as other games (like the current Final Fantasies) the game does go farther in terms of its plot and characterization. Something that appears to have been lost with all the new playstation role-playing games. The game offers a variety of challenges, and is probably by far one of the best RPG's since Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, and the even newer Xenogears.

This is simply just a wonderful game. I actually really like the way the story starts out, so laid back. It's just some kids having fun, mostly, and that really drew me in and held me tight. I get tired of the "run around and save the world, cause your a big shot" type of RPG. This one just makes you feel like you're part of a bigger picture, rather, in a living, breathing world. Bravo. Even the translation is excellent. (The voice acting isn't, though, at least not IMO. I wish it could be turned off. This is really the game's only flaw.) Another treat is that monster battles aren't random. They show up on screen so you have a chance to avoid them and also clear an area out and explore it without getting randomly attacked every 5 seconds, which really bugs me in other RPGs. I think this game was designed top to bottom for me. :-) I love it. I'm going to replay it again and again.

First off I'll say that I pretty much only spend my playing time on RPGs. With that in mind, let me dissect this game for the masses. In short, this game is wonderful. One of the better games I've played in a long time. The story and characters are engaging; you find yourself empathizing with them. The story stacks up to such classic RPGs as Lunar 1 and 2 and FFVII. The combat system was unique. The Active Time system used in Final Fantasy is very similar to this, but in Grandia, the game pauses while you input your battle selection. This way your character isn't standing there getting his you-know-what kicked while fumbling through the menus to choose. The battles take place in real time too. This is nice because it speeds up the fights. I generally don't like real-time, preferring turn based fights, due to the problem mentioned earlier of inputting commands. But with the pause in action to input commands it's a joy to use this battle system. Tied into this, the enemies are visible on the screen, so you can avoid them if you want. The experience system is a nice touch also. Unlike most RPGs that use expereince solely for the character, in Grandia you also accummulate experience for weapons and the four elemental aspects of magic (earth, water, wind, and fire). Increases in experience in these areas unlock new spells and techniques for the character to use. Each time a level in a weapon or spell goes up, two corresponding character stats increase as well. As a result, a character can be quite powerful without having to be level 99, which in yurn makes a charcters overall experience levels more difficult to obtain. Once you reach around level 30, you need upwards of 20,000 xp to raise in level. The only thing this game needs in a decent hintbook with maps of the game and the three bonus dungeons. The one that is published for it is simply a picture by picture walkthrough with no maps or secrets. So you're wonding, with all this praise, why the 4 stars? The game includes a couple animated cut scenes and some voice overs. But they seem to be haphazardly scattered through out the game. Some more animated cut-scenes would have set this game apart and put it over the top. The voice overs seem to come and go... being there when you don't expect them and absent when you do. Poor planning on this aspect. But overall a great game and a must buy.

Grandia is simply one of the Best games you can own for your PSX! The game is based around ADVENTURING rather than building monotonous levels. The character development is incredibly effective ( starting from childhood...) and the classical musical score beats all the PSX RPGs currently out on the market in my opinion. If you're looking for a good fix, and have tired of the Final Fantasy VIII style of gameplay. Buy Grandia today and you'll get 40+ hours of enjoyment! =)

If you're looking for kickarse characterization, _great_ gameplay and repeatrepeatrepeat value, and you don't mind slightly dated graphics, this game is for you! If you're more interested in graphics than the real meat of an RPG...well, go buy Final Fantasy 8. ^-^;; I got this right after I finished Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete and it more than fills the RPG hunger that Lunar leaves behind. 2 jam packed discs including character voiceovers, three continents worth of exploration, and a happy ending makes this game one of my prized favorites in my collection, which is now 15 games strong. If you enjoyed the battle system of Parasite Eve, Grandia's is reminiscent of that, except you control up to 4 players on the map at one time. There's a lot more room for dodging instead of standing in a row waiting to get thumped on. It's like a step forward and a step backwards at the same time: you step back into the good ol' glory days of the Final Fantasy series and forward into a new arena for the genre. The estimated time-to-beat quoted on the package is 80+ though I finished it (flying through) in just over 50 hours. The only one tiny thing I didn't like was the magic system; getting magic spells isn't that hard, but unfortunately the spells aren't nearly as powerful as one would think. Later on in the game I found myself relying more on special weapons attacks than magic.

The best way to sum up my feelings on my game is this: I rarely come across a video game that makes me want to come back to it every little chance I get, and this is one of them. Before it were Final Fantasy III, Crono Trigger and Final Fantasy VII. I am so addicted to this game that I actually think about it when not playing it! The characters are very well developed and lovable (Their faces are well-drawn too), and the plot is so much fun that you get lost in all the adventures. The battle system is very unusual, but not very complicated. In fact I prefer it! The only downside is the graphics, but the rest of the game makes up for it! This is a MUST BUY for RPG fans, especially those who like a good story!

Originally for the Sega Saturn, someone finally decided to bring this great game to the playstation console. Even though it was made a few years ago, but don't let it fool you, it is an equal and formiddable opponent for the Final Fantasy series, in more ways than one it is just as good if not better. Interesting battle system (the action menu reminds you of SNES Secret of Mana,) innovative magic system and great voice acting (something Final Fantasy lacks,) along with a solid storyline (ok...the adventurer theme might drag on a little, but then again, most RPG games are a self-discovery quest) delivers one great game that all RPG fan should get a taste of. I enjoyed this game a lot, and I hope you will too...I give it a score of 90 out of 100.

After about 70 hours of gameplay, I finished this game today. And as I look back I think this was a great game all-around. The animation and voice-over is a little cheesy, but you'll find yourself so engrossed in the story line, that you won't care. The graphics are mostly cartoon calibur, aside from a few great movie scenes.

The battle system is pretty basic. Enemies appear on screen as you walk through dungeons, giving you the opportunity to avoid annoying random encounters if you are fast enough. Fights are graphic-menu based, and the "view" function allows you to know the enemies' tactics so you can plan your strategies for each fight. Recovery points are all over the place, allowing you to feel free to use your magic and techniques without worrying about using up your MP.

The Magic is based on the elements of wind, water, fire and earth, and combinations of two. You can decided which elements you want your characters to learn as you go along, allowing you limited customization. There are also special techniques that combine weapon and magic skills that each character learns. Experience is earned on just about everything. Like most RPGs, your characters' levels increase with standard Experience Points, but your individual weapon and magic skills also earn experience points, which later earn you new techniques and spells.

The best thing about this game (and you'll read this about just about every RPG) is the story. The overall synopsis is not incredibly original - a young teen sets out on an adventure and ends up trying to save the world - but the characters he meets along the way are all very deep and emotional. You actually care what happens to them along the way, as you would the charaacters in a good book or movie. The story is very emotional, and you will be caught up in it from the start.

This is a great game that's fun to play. It has a gripping story that will guarentee some sort of emotional response if you have any sort of emotions at all. I liked just about everything about it, and I'd recommend it to any fan of Crono Trigger, Wild Arms, and of course the Final Fantasy Series.

Different theme then most RPG's these days. Based on a sense of adventure rather then the usual go out and save the world. Graphics have their own feel and are very good although they don't have the visual splendor that are found in Final Fantasy 7&8. What the game lacks in visual splendor it more then makes up for in character. I enjoyed Final Fantasy 8 greatly and to my surprise I enjoyed this game just as much. Don't pass this one up! Some of the best RPG's are missed due to very little exposure on T.V or magazines. 9.0 out of 10.0

I am an RPG player to the core. I only play RPG's and I tend to randomly pick them off the shelf at game stores and buy them. I have played and seen my fair share of depressingly bad RPG's.
This is how I happened to come across Grandia in my younger years. I instantly fell in love with the game. I do not look for graphics in a game (although good graphics are a plus), so this game was perfect for me. The story was decidely lack of some really new ideas, and the battles could be teadious. I enjoyed the humour of the game. Even when faced with grave danger Justin is calm and cool, at least he tries to be, just like any younger teenage boy would be.
The battle system was easy to use, and understand. Plus, the leveling up of your weapons and magic added a little twist to getting stronger.
I would definitly advice younger teenage boys to play this game if they wish to play a fun and interesting RPG. The story is easy to understand, the fighting is smooth yet challanging, and the love is to a minimum (which any teenage boy would love, no pun intended).
So, take a chance and play the game. Have fun, and if you don't like it then you don't, but if you do. Well if you like it then you have a game to play when you get really bored.