The Grandia Series

Beethoven4567 · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 1:25 pm Post subject: The Grandia Series

Hi. I would like to hear your opinions about the Grandia series and how they compare to Suikoden and Final Fantasy. Anyway how come Game Arts is not making Grandia 3 yet?
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Blackjack · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 1:35 pm Post subject:

They're pretty good.

There are three games in the series (Actually, I think there are four, but one is a sidestory type thing to the first one that never made it overseas): Grandia, Grandia Two, and Grandia XTREME (God I wish I was kidding).

Grandia: Rather typical coming of age type story. Starts out with Justin who wants to become a great adventurer and see what's beyond "The End of the World" which is a giant wall. Ends with Justin saving the world. Quite entertaining and with a good amount of humor and seriousness. Pretty decent music. Unfortunately, you'll need a PlayStation to play it, as the game won't run on the PS2.

Grandia 2: Features the worst character assassination ever. Watch the Geo-Hound (Mercenery) Ryudo go from sarcastic, battle hardened, and hated simply for being a Geo-Hound to soppy, sweet and kind, all thanks to the POWER OF LUV. The first three quarters or so is awesome. The last bit? Not quite so much. A good time to stop playing is right after Tio joins you. But up to then? Hilarious. "Well, well. Look what the slavish devotion to sanctimonious bloodshed dragged in. What brings you here, or did I answer myself?" Is probably my favorite quote in any video game, ever.

Grandia XTREME!!11!1!!!!one! : I have no idea, as I've never played it.
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Beethoven4567 · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 2:01 pm Post subject:

Oh yeah sorry to say but what i meant wasn't Grandia Xtreme but another new Grandia in the series( i wouldn't count Xtreme as part of the main series since it doesn't have '3' in its title and it is a dungeon crawler with little to no storyline at all ).

Anyway i've played and finished Grandia Xtreme. 90% of the game i spent on levelling up and it is a true dungeon crawler with a crappy storyline. My main character, Evann is at Level 113( you can level up your characters to Level 250 ) and i stopped playing the game after i've beaten Quanlee and abandoned my quest of beating the optional boss, Xenothlee out of boredom. Anyway, for those that hate dungeon crawlers, i don't recommend playing this game since fighting battles and levelling up make up most of your time and the storyline is only secondary and nearly non-existent.
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Blackjack · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 2:12 pm Post subject:

I wouldn't be suprised if there was never a true third one. They never really sold all that well, and XTREME especially sold poorly (Maybe because they only released, like, twelve copies of it).

I know XTREME (I can't not write it in all caps :D ) was a dungeon crawler, actually, but I didn't want to write anything about it since I had never played it, so I was weary of giving out the wrong information. I actually looked for it a while ago, and couldn't find it. I'm rather intrigued by a dungeon crawling Grandia, since the stories of the previous games weren't exactly shining, and it was all about the battles for me anyway. What can I say? I enjoy killing everything on screen before they even have a chance to attack. Tio is very good for that in the second one. Too bad she's laden with the ridiculous "What is this thing you call love" crap that all kick ass robot characters get saddled with. :roll:
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Beethoven4567 · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 2:25 pm Post subject:

Grandia Xtreme sold poorly because not many people like dungeon crawlers (except me) and the game was not properly advertised. Anyway regarding the Grandia series my favorite Grandia is 2 since it has the most kickass female character ever-Millenia. I like Millenia's cheerful personality and her voice acting is cool too. I also liked Grandia II's religious themes and the Valmar/Granas storyline intrigued me. The scene in the Granas Cathedral was breathtaking and spectacular, and i liked the song A Deus. That song gives me some kind of warm and soothing feeling like what one would feel when seeking help and salvation from Divine Powers.
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"In war there is no substitute for victory"

Blackjack · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 2:33 pm Post subject:

I like Millenia for two reasons.

1: That was beautiful, you guys!

2: DEEP FRIED GOODNESS!

Grandia 2 is by far my favorite between the two that I've played. Even though I ended up disliking most of the playable characters (Mareg, Roan, Tio [Just for the "What is this thing you call love" bit. I hate that], and, sadly, Ryudo) by the end of the game. I think it's because of the fact that for the most part, Ryudo is not your typical hero, and Elena, while being overwhelmingly magic oriented, is not a weak little girl and can and will hold her own against Ryudo. I enjoyed how the halfway point of the game (Arriving at the curch) is where most games would have ended. But I feel that, overall, the game really lost coherence towards the end.

Actually, I remember feeling the same way about the first one, too...
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Can your science explain why it rains?

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Arcana · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 3:24 pm Post subject:

The first one didn't really lose that much coherence. A lot of people I know didn't even get halfway because they were sick of the cutesy "Let's explore the world!" plot that apparently, to them, went nowhere and was totally insignificant.

Strange how everyone seems to bash the Grandia Xtreme game for having a lack of story. Story versus Gameplay - which is really more important?

That said, I don't know if Grandia Xtreme's battle system was actually any good because I've never played it.
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Blackjack · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 3:35 pm Post subject:

The last bit of Grandia did way too much character swapping in my opinion. I mean there were, what? Three (I think) different characters in the fourth person slot just in disc two. Two of them were completely random. And it also fell victim to the "Look! Everyone that's ever joined you is back! Even if they were all the way on the other side of the world!" plot device. That bugs me. ^_^; Especially when one of the characters is literally on the other side of the world and left your party because "she's too exhausted to travel."

Anyway, I remember feeling the plot jumped around a bit too much. I liked the "Explore the World" stuff, and then all of a sudden people were other people's sister, and people were dying, and people were actually the last member of ancient races and people weren't dead anymore, but then they totally were, and now there's a giant plant we have to kill.

So long as Grandia XTREME's battle system is the same as the previous Grandia's (Is that right? Or should it be Grandias'? Oh well.) and had similar humor as the second one, then that game would probably be my favorite. Really wish it was possible to find. :)
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Can your science explain why it rains?

YES. YES IT CAN.

"Life is not a having and a getting, but a being and a becoming." -- Myrna Loy

Axiose · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 3:38 pm Post subject:

Blackjack · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 3:46 pm Post subject:

Doo-Lally? That, King Fliktor, is one awesome word.

Grandia 2 gets really soppy towards the end. I replay it a good bit, and can never get farther than the island with the giant crabs right after you get Tio, because of all the sap. It was like that on the Dreamcast version too.

Poor Ryudo. Such a good character. So wronged throughout the game.
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Can your science explain why it rains?

YES. YES IT CAN.

"Life is not a having and a getting, but a being and a becoming." -- Myrna Loy

Sage · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2005 1:55 am Post subject:

I've played through Grandia II and played partway through (ok, still at the beginning) of Xtreme. My brother has the first one and I might play it, but Suikoden IV is taking all my time right now...maybe later. Anyway, I liked Millenia and Mareg, but everyone else got on my nerves after a while. I like Xtreme's gameplay, but I don't want to level up for 4 hours to play 2 minutes, and I think that's the way this one is shaping up to be so I'll probably avoid that one for a while. Overall, I like them though.
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Jurhael · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2005 9:37 pm Post subject:

Grandia sticks out because of a unique battle sysstem and the first one had adorable characters. Justin was the sweetest, and Feena was fabulous! Grandia in general was a wonderful game, but disposable compared to Suikoden, Final Fantasy and Ultima.

It holds its own just fine, but I'm not a diehard fan. Grandia 2 failed to impresss me. Oh well.
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Benit149 · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2005 10:49 pm Post subject:

Well I will admit that Grandia II bore one of my most personally shocking spoilers in gaming history about (highlight for spoiler) Granas being killed in the battle against Valmar instead of being extremely exhausted. I did NOT expect that one coming, and I was genuinely surprised. Sadly, Ryudo has the same problem as Squall from FFVIII: tough and badass before, but after the girl arrives, he's softer than a pillow. Good grief. :roll:

Grandia's battle system helps stand it out from the rest. It's still turn-based, but it's based upon your speed on the gauge rather than some predetermined order, and stuff like magic and critical hits can affect your position on the gauge, which is different. I'm more towards the first Grandia's system of magic rather than the second Grandia's, although the limited number of Mana Eggs you get in G1 drive some crazy. Especially if they put most of them on Sue. :evil: That happened to my friend when she played G1.

On the same token, has anyone obtained Feena's ultimate spell? It's the one where she must master Wind and Water magic at level 99 each. I've gotten it before: it's useful, but to a degree. Still, I like the (highlight for potential spoiler) choir-esque SFX made whenever she casts Icarian spells.

Storyline wise, I was amazed at the contrast between the happy go-lucky Justin's adventure's while heading east, compared to Ryudo's dark and mellowing journey to the Church with Elena. The only time the first Grandia got dark for me was when (highlight) everyone abandoned Justin near the end because he let Feena leave with Mullen to go kill Gaia alone, and Justin was running around in the rain by himself. I knew things would brighten up for him, but wow. A temporary lapse in judgement, and suddenly you're a basket case. Good thing Guido didn't abandon him.

I think Grandia can keep its own, despite its lack of publicity. It has things that other RPGs don't offer, like the battle system and contrast between storylines in the two games. Unfortunately, Grandia borrows ideas, like everyone else does, and it gets hurt for it. For me, I won't be selling my Grandia copies anytime soon.

I never played Extreme, and from the bad reviews, it doesn't look like I will be soon.
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Lunarblade · Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2005 6:05 pm Post subject:

I absolutely loved Grandia and Grandia II...I bought Grandia XTREME, played it for an hour, then turned off my PS2 in disgust.

I absolutely loved EVERYTHING about the Grandia games: the music, graphics, storyline, characters, battles, everything. My favorite is Grandia I, even though I prefer Ryudo over Justin. Plus, Feena >>>>> all the female characters in Grandia II. So what if some of the plot details don't make so much sense...it was heartwarming to see all my old members again.

My favorite quote, for some reason, is:
Justin: "...I guess it's about 60% fixed. Well, that's a passing grade on a quiz, right?"
Sue: "...I don't think that's the idea, Justin..."
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kagematsuri · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 6:34 am Post subject:

I did play Grandia 1 first, but never finished it. It wasn't bad, but Sue really starts to grate after a while and the plot was taking forever to unfold. I made it across the cliffs and found the knight guy, but that was it. I'd like to finish it someday though.

Grandia 2 is one of my favorite RPGs simply because of Ryudo. Sure, he winds up pretty whipped, but at the beginning he's such a sarcastic jerk to everyone. And it's not that he's just not nice, he is well and truly mean to Elena and some of the NPCs and even purposely scares children. I love it. But of course, the stupid Sue shows up and nearly ruined the game for me. I like Melfice and Millenia (though not so much towards the end) alot too, but then the cool Melfice battle was ruined by the horribly sappy scenes that followed. *sigh*

Interesting note: Millenia's voice actress is Ariel from The Little Mermaid.
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