Grandia  

by Sony Computer Entertainment  Reviewed by: Chad Foster  

Overview

When Grandia was released for the Saturn in Japan people were ecstatic. Now two years later PSX RPG fans get to see what the fuss is all about. Although Final Fantasy VII edges it out in the technology department (mainly better graphics) Grandia still has a lot to offer. Game Arts, the small company with the cool Lunar series did a great job of putting a large and complex world together where players can get immersed.

In the far eastern corner of the Messina Continent lies the small port town of Parm. This once-sleepy village is coming to life in the throes of a booming industrial revolution. Young Justin yearns for adventures, so before long, Justin and his friend Sue hike out to explore the Sult Ruins, a forsaken place north of Parm. Soon they’re on a rollicking journey that leads to the ultimate goal of stopping General Baal and the Garlyle army.

Gameplay

Grandia’s gameplay is some of the best I’ve seen for RPGs. The battle system is quasi-real time, with a time gauge that determines who or what gets to attack. When you enter the command, the distance to the enemy, and the time they have to do it, the game determines if the command is actually carried out or not. The more powerful commands take a longer amount of time (therefore you have to wait longer between each one) than the weaker ones, so this gives a nice twist to most standard RPGs. Although the time is always flowing I still consider it quasi-real time because, all in all, the fighting still feels like it is turn-based. Not a big deal unless you absolutely hate turn based games. Enemies and items are visible on dungeon maps so you don’t get as many random battles as other games (very nice as some other games wear thin when it seems like all you do is battle). If you’re not feeling feisty or don’t feel that your party is up to snuff then you can usually avoid a fight, although you can’t hide forever otherwise your party won’t ever grow stronger. One other cool thing is that if you’re ambushed you have less time than normal to react first which is fairly realistic. Even though the characters aren’t as customizable as some other games, I found myself more involved molding each one so I don’t necessarily think this is a hindrance.

Grandia’s magic and skills system is pretty neat. The characters don’t have magic at first but that doesn’t last long as you’ll soon find mana eggs. The mana eggs can then be hatched at stores to give a character some magic and skills that can be leveled up to gain advanced forms of magic or more strength. When you repeatedly cast a particular spell, the character becomes more skillful and more spells become available. Characters can also master various weapons and when mastered they get more attacks to play with. The number of spells and attacks is staggering and varies with characters, which keeps you involved.

Graphics & Audio

The graphics are pretty good even if they are two years old. The towns and areas are presented in an overhead 3D perspective and have a rich look that is artistically detailed. When you use the L & R buttons the environment rotates letting you search out those items that might be currently hidden. When you do this however, the challenging thing is to not get confused as to where you’re at. The environments are also pretty interactive with buildings you can enter and objects you can mess around with after you press the action button. The only negative things I can say about Grandia are the occasional drops of frame-rate when you’re in a graphics intensive area and some of the bland dungeon designs.

The environment and battle sounds are above average and enrich the game. The part needing work are the voices which, depending on the character, are either monotonous or squeaky and irritating. Another gripe was that there is a lot of talking and no way to skip over it; I don’t think it would be too much to ask to skip over or speed up a conversation by hitting a button.

Bottom Line

If you’re an RPG fan then this is a must have. If you’re more of a jock-playing or hack and slash type of gamer then I suggest renting this to see if RPGs are for you. Game Arts did a great job with this one and hopefully they have a sequel in the works.

Review Posted On 15 December 1999.