In the wake of the magical experience that is Skies of Arcadia I approached my still sealed copy of Grandia 2 with caution and a glint of doubt in my anticipating eye. Arcadia was such an experience, such a complete manifestation of what I believe a game should be, such a circle in a world of squares, such a glaringly skillful use of a new generation of hardware. More like an interactive novel than a traditional RPG, it kept you wanting more, it gave you what you wanted and more, complete environments, cool story, epic events and cool, non-cliche interplay between the characters (see my review).
When I bought Grandia 2, I put it to the side without opening it because I wanted to appreciate the splendor of Skies without an interuption. I even gave Shenmue a rest for a while (right around the time when you get the job by the docks). I wanted to concentrate on Skies. 50+ hours of bliss in a box.
So when it ended, I was filled with the most satisfying gaming experience I have ever had since the days of SNES and SEGA Genesis. I felt no desire for more or less....it was perfect.
Then I cracked open my copy Grandia 2. I stuck my nose inside the case quickly before the "new video game" smell could escape. I read the beautifully color printed text while marveling at the pictures on the case. I couldn't believe I would finally play the game that for almost two years I had been hearing about and anticipating.....it was in my Dreamcast and the door was shut.
My fear was that in the wake of Skies, it would not seem the same. Like eating headcheese after having filet mignon. I was optimistic though, thinking surely it would be just as good yet in another way.
Before I get on my soap box, I'd like to say I think it is a GREAT game. Definitely worth the purchase and worthy of all the praise it recieves but there are a few things about it that have not met my new standard for RPG greatness.
The Story
You are a wreckless, vulgar mercenary full of pessimism and insults who wanders the prairies with nothing but loot and weirdo bird with whom he has a love hate relationship. Once again, as is the flaw of nearly every RPG, the hero is an aloof, sword wielding, mysterious drifter type who has problems with relating to women. What's up with that?? Does anyone but me realize that every RPG features a male hero with an aloof attitude and a deep seeded awkwardness when it comes to women?
Our character, Ryudo (original name huh?) stumbles upon a job where he has to escort a mysterious young girl to a ceremony where she is obvioulsy very important. While waiting for her to finish the ceremony he hears screams and wierd things inside the temple and runs to her aid. Now, she is posessed by something evil and he has to begin a journey with her to figure out what happened. This is how it begins and it progresses from there. I don't want to ruin it but the game consists mostly of exploring a town, finding out what their problem is and eradicating it through some long dungeoun search.
The world is divided by good, Lord Granas, and bad, Valmar. Light and Darkness. The story, from beginning to end is very spiritual, very Earthy and personal. There are volumes of dialog and a lot of interaction between Ryudo and the rest of the crew-udo. I have found it (the story) to be slightly bland but it's not terrible.
Sound
The fact that a soundtrack to the game comes packed in with it, lead me to believe the in game music would be amazing but it didn't do very much for me. At some times it just seemed to circusy for the surroundings or not down-trodden enough for the scenery. It sounds a little tinny at times, but other times it is well orchestrated and appropriate.
The voice acting used during cut scenes sounds like something from a bible story cartoon. Too much feigned sincerity in the voices. Plus, Ryudo sounds like a confused 13 year old searching for an answer to the hardships of puberty, who covers up his inadequacies with foul language and a contempt for women. Anyway............
Gameplay
I don't really like the fact that you can't navigate the world map. Moving from town to town is no more complicated than moving a cursor over the name of the location. But once inside the graphics are lush, richly colored, beautifully displayed. I was a little discontent with the lack of first person perspective after the first person glory of Skies but it isn't the worst considering that most of the best classic RPG's didn't even have the option of changing the camera angle, like Grandia 2 does. You can instantly rotate the camera using the L or R buttons.
Exploring the town is just like any other RPG. The people you speak to have tons and tons to say. You have to hit them three times before you exhaust all of their script. They speak in fruitful sentences and colorful stories abound. It is not always essential to speak to them until they have nothing left to say but you find yourself doing it anyway because you don't want to miss anything. This can be annoying when you want to keep going but the person keeps going on and on.
There are small treasures around, beautiful houses and buildings, dark caves, dungeons. I was a little surprised in the plainess of the dungeons though. They didn't strike me as interesting or innovative in any way. I liked the use of switches and the smooth environments plus the use of lighting but it becomes very confusing when you have to move the camera around a lot in order to see your character. This makes it REALLY easy to get lost.
One improvement was the fact that you can see your enemies before you encounter them. This is one area in which Skies fell very short. In some instances you would be hit with a battle every couple of seconds which made it really hard to explore in hostile territory. In Grandia 2, you can always see your enemies, and even though you really can't avoid them sometimes, you can in others. This relieves a lot of the stress of the random battles. Unlike Saga Frontier, in which the same method of battle encounters was applied, Grandia 2 has a nicely designed 3D model of each enemy that looks very much like its battle counterpart.
In all other gameplay areas it is pretty much like any other RPG.
Graphics
The graphics are great, smooth, colorful and certainly a 128-bit upgrade from its 32-bit counterpart but I was still slightly disappointed in certain areas. First off, the cut scenes are grainy like a demo. There are too many moving pixels in them and they don't fit in smoothly with the rest of the game. Secondly, a lot of the in game graphics are simple and rough around the edges. Not entirely though. The shading, lighting, smoothness of rounded surfaces, gliding movements, colors and sharpness of environments is still above par. Like I said before the towns are richly detailed and artistic. When I compare it to Skies (and I really can't help doing that) I feel that many things were left out, I simply don't see the same level of attention to the creation of a complete environment.
The character designs is where this game graphically excels. Ryudo and Elena plus the other characters all have a very distinct outfit and appear to be very life like. The movements are fluid, the colors are accurate and the style is consistant. As far as originality goes, I would have to give this one to Skies again, Vyse and the rest of the pirates where not as highly detailed but nicely designed.
The Battle System
The battle system is another excel point for this game. At first it can be a bit confusing but it becomes operational pretty soon. Each character has a spot on the movement guage. When their icon reaches the Command point the game freezes and you can enter a command for them. Then their icon advances to the Act point and your command is carried out. As simple as that. There is a variety of weapons, amulets, items, spells, skills and armor that not too hard to figure out, especially not with the in-game tutorials that pop up here and there in the towns.
The battles are usually nice and quick and challenging enough to be very fun. In this department, they might have Skies tied, both running neck and neck. Skies has better spell, magic and special move displays while Grandia has a quicker battle transition and continuous fighting instead of long pauses while you choose commands. In Grandia the special move displays are short (which is good) but not nearly as pretty as those in Skies. In Skies, the lighting, design and intricacy of the special moves was enchanting. In Grandia, there is much less spark to them but they don't take up as much time. It's a trade off.
The battles are very exciting though. Very active, smooth, easy to understand and fun to watch. I like the strategy that's involved and the quick responses that are required.
Overall
I don't feel the electricity drawing me to this game that I felt when I first played Skies but it is a solid, next generation RPG. It's fast, clear, graphically superior and a much awaited addition to a steadfast series. I highly recommend it to anyone who owns a Dreamcast, I would just recommend you play Skies of Arcadia afterwards. Save the best for last.
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