Mediocre RPG   July 8, 2007

Grandia 2   July 5, 2007

Come on buddy, give the poor game a break   March 1, 2005

Get this game, especially since its cheap now.


Like an RPG buffet...   July 24, 2004
...mostly pretty good, more than you could possibly eat, and just a bit overcooked.
Probably the most noteworthy observation of Grandia II is that it fits on one disc! It's an incredibly expansive game, with voice-overs, some cinematic FMVs, and a stunning level of graphic detail that makes every doorknob, crate, or street lamp pop off the screen. Not an RPG enthusiast myself, I was hooked after a few hours and couldn't turn it off. I killed almost three days, playing for around 15 hours straight at one point (lucky I didn't burn up my Dreamcast), and finished in about 35 game hours, enjoying nearly every second.
Exploration is the main gameplay mechanic: each world is large and complete with an immeasurable number of NPCs, all of which will lend a wealth of conversation. The amount of text in this game alone could fill a short novel, and most of it is coherent and well-organized, no small feat for a Japanese-English translation. I regret rushing through the game so quickly, it's best played in short intervals over a few weeks, so that the intricacies of each new world can be explored and appreciated.
The combat system is a mixed blessing: the extreme complexity gives a player something to sink his teeth into as the game progresses, but requires a lot of manual study and hits pretty hard initially with its steep curve. Attack animations and just the sheer variety of maneuvers are pleasantly overwhelming, but be prepared to wait through some pretty long boss battles. Leveling-up against common enemies and sub-bosses is a breeze: it nearly becomes a tiresome annoyance after half the game. But boss battles are often unnecessarily difficult due to the radical variation of individual attacking appendages from one boss to another. Creatures with six or seven attack points will be awarded with almost twice as many turns as the player's party, while many super-bosses are relatively easy with only one or two offensive points. Otherwise, a great battle system.
Interaction with characters really builds a strong empathy for the NPCs, and that's the strongest hook an RPG can offer. The story is fairly typical Japanese RPG: a bizarre and often nonsensical tale of apocalyptic destruction, undercut by a budding love story, camaraderie, and good spot of well-aimed humor. The rant on religion (which apparently ends up as some sort of endorsement of atheism?) is excessively preachy and rather illogical, eventually deteriorating into an intellectual train wreck endorsing, as best I understand it, the truth and falsehood of both everyone's beliefs and no one's. I wouldn't spend time criticizing it if I hadn't been forced to A-button through every inane bit of text that all added up to a whole lot of nothing. Fortunately, the bonds between characters are the main focus of conversation, and the friendships you build are the true foundation of the game's theme.
This is one of the really great adventure games of this era. I can't imagine a gamer whom I couldn't recommend this to; well, maybe someone without a lot of time on their hands.



Diamond in the rough   March 19, 2004
  3 out of 4 found this review helpful

I must say, when I found this game buried in the used rack, I wasn't expecting all that much (having no previous experience with the original). But being a fan of RPG's (and searching for cheap Dreamcast games to add to my collection), I thought "why not"? And thank god I did.
After 5 minutes, I got the sense that this game was something unique. After 15, I was beginning to like it. And after 30, I was completely and utterly hooked. I recently finished the game, and I think it is a testament to how great the game is when I say that I nearly shed a tear at the game's close.
My only issue with the game was it's rather predictable and often-times cheesy plot. I found myself repeatedly guessing (correctly)not only what was about to happen, but what was to happen several plot points down the line. But this was dwarfed by all the things I adored about the game.
First and foremost, the writing. More specifically, the dialogue writing. This game sports some of the best writing I have ever seen period. Not just in a game. The dialogue worked fantastically with the plot and characters to greatly enhance the experience. On a similar note, the voice acting was first-rate. The interspersing of voice-acting and text-based dialogue was quite well-done and did much to draw me into the game. But I think the thing I liked most of all about the writing was that it had a great sense of humor. From Ryudo's constant sarcasm, to Millenia's innuendoes (see her Heel Crush attack for my favorite line), and everything in between, the writers are the unsung heroes of this title. I mean come on! How can you not love a character that yells out "Deep-fried goodness!" when casting a lightning spell? Hell, that still cracks me up.
The battle system was another element that rapidly drew me into the experience. The hybrid turn-based/real-time system is at the same time like and not like several other RPG battle systems I've seen. The 3-D battlefield that forces the characters to run around to hit their opponents is intriguing, especially the often-useful technique of Cancelling an opponents attack. If you choose the right attacks at the right time (and if you're lucky), it's possible to defeat some of the bosses without them getting a single attack off. Also, the special attacks and magic spells looked gorgeous. The graphic artists on this game should be commended as well. From anime-style cut-scenes to the battle animations to the characters and environments themselves, this game is a joy to look at.
I know I sort of covered this already with the voice acting, but this game not only looks great, it sounds great too. The music is downright incredible for a video game (especially for one that's 3+ years old). They give you an Audio CD with the game with all the music on it, which is really cool so you can revisit all the excellent tunes anytime you want (it's still in my car's CD player in fact).
Finally, the game is very accessible to gamers of all skill levels although it is on the slightly easy side for more-skilled ones. This is not a hindrance, I have found, as I can say, without any reservations whatsoever, that Grandia II is my favorite game of all time and will remain so for a very long time to come.