The Granstream Saga

by THQ

Product Features

• Variety of puzzles
• 3-d rendered characters and environment

Product Details

• ASIN: B00002STPI
• Item Weight: 5 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,378 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

GameSpot Review

You know you've got it bad when you need to cut chunks off your home to slow it from sinking into the sea. That's the predicament facing Eon, the hero of Granstream Saga, whom you must help discover a means to save his floating homeland and its neighboring continents from a deadly descent into the ocean far below. But good graphics and an intriguing premise aren't quite enough to make Granstream Saga succeed. This hack-and-slash action/role-playing game is pleasant, but it just doesn't live up to its ambition and ends up feeling small and empty.

Granstream Saga looks fantastic at first: The fully polygonal environments are colorful and detailed, the frame rate is smooth, and brilliant special effects light up the screen. But further inspection reveals an inconsistency in the game's appearance. The slick frame rate bogs drastically at times and comes at the cost of texture mapping, as the characters you'll meet are all faceless and plain looking. Otherwise, the animation in the game runs from plain to bad, and the overhead perspective is very close to the player character, such that things can start to feel claustrophobic since you see so little onscreen at any given time. Yet altogether, Granstream Saga is one of the better-looking PlayStation RPGs in recent memory, especially when you consider its frequent use of high-quality full-motion anime cutscenes, which move the story along during key plot points.

There isn't much sound to speak of in the game, and what little exists is appropriate but forgettable. You hear speech only during the cutscenes, and it's about as good as you can expect from English-dubbed anime. The soundtrack, meanwhile, consists of booming and resonant fantasy themes that correspond perfectly to whichever setting you may find yourself exploring. It's not the most memorable soundtrack you'll ever hear, but the music in Granstream Saga is perhaps its most impressive aesthetic achievement.

Apparently, the designers sought to take a number of familiar gameplay elements and modify them such that the result feels familiar, yet uniquely different in most respects. It casts many conventional (read: cliche) plot elements aside and offers a rather compelling and unique story that progresses in a less than predictable manner. Unfortunately, it's not quite as daring an achievement as it might have been. Between the typical hero, who looks ripped right out of Falcom's classic Ys series, and his potential love interests whom you'll spot a mile away, the game may end up feeling a little too typical for role-playing veterans.

Of course, the plot is only half the story with Granstream Saga; you'll have to battle a great deal before you complete the game. You'll usually spot your enemies wandering around the various locations you'll visit. You can sneak around them occasionally, but if they chase you down, you'll find yourself wielding a blade and shield in a one-on-one fight to the death. Battles look pretty exciting at first; you can block, attack, and maneuver around quickly and precisely, as though you were playing a top-notch action game. But unlike a top-notch action game, Granstream Saga leaves you with few fighting options. What you need to do is ride the block button, waiting for the enemy's inevitable attack. After you deflect it, you counter with your own. Soon enough, the fighting in Granstream Saga starts to feel like following directions rather than anything creative and spontaneous. Sure, the enemy will occasionally deliver a slow yet indefensible attack, and you'll gather a few magic spells and special moves, but the action-based combat never quite satisfies. Worse still, certain enemies are difficult and time-consuming to defeat, such that the game might alienate the more pensive role-playing gamer. At the same time, those with well-honed reflexes will find the combat repetitive. It doesn't help that enemies reappear each time you enter an area.

Granstream Saga, at its core, is your typical Zelda-style RPG, focusing on combat, puzzle solving, and story elements rather than inventory management, shopping, and other minutiae. Add to that the low-hanging camera, and you get a game that feels insignificant and hardly as epic as its story suggests. Still, it's a solid game that will soothe the hard-core role-playing gamer's endless craving, but better alternatives exist for the more casual player. --Greg Kasavin
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.

Manufacturer Description

Assume the role of the young warrior Eon Granstream's only hope to prevent its continents from plunging into the sea. Embark on a grand and challenging adventure - collaborate with beautiful air pirates consult wise sages and battle the diabolical minions of the Imperial Wizardry. Only you clever mind skillful sword and powerful magic can rescue the world of Granstream from the brink of doom.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Game, October 23, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Granstream Saga (Video Game)

Granstream Saga is a good game. It's easy, It allowed me to relax. Yes it has an intresting plot, and nice replay value, its battle format is one of the best, its graphics are up to my standards, and the animated sequenses are cool. However this game is very linear, its two short. The programers used up all the space on vidios and grapics. If you hate spending all your time gaining exp., than this it's worth it. If you like a really long and epic adventure than I can't recommend it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Real time Fighting a plus in the RPG enviroment., November 16, 1999

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: The Granstream Saga (Video Game)

A really good looking game, with an excellent fighting and spell system. an easy learning curve with enough surprises to keep even the die hard RPG fan interested, but simple enough to make an new RPG player an experienced one after completing the game.

I found some aspects of the game confusing, and the lack of any real facial features on the characters made me feel odd, the game looks and plays very well.

be prepaired to save alot. get ready for an interesting story line with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. the graphics are solid, and easy on the eyes.

the core of the game is saving sinking continents, buy folding space and moving around finding ancient items. very good game play.

down side, you might need a game guide to finish the game. other than that, it's awsome, I recommend it.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good rpg, May 2, 2000

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: The Granstream Saga (Video Game)

I have never played such an Rpg such as this one, no having to buy weapons and armor it's great! Granstream saga is nothing short of remarkable, a boy with a magic artifact that can turn ordinary pieces of metal into armor and weapons, you just can't beat that. If your looking for a good rpg than granstream saga is for you!