
<MAP NAME="boxmap-p8"><AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="14, 200, 103, 207" HREF="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" ><AREA COORDS="0,0,10000,10000" HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/thearmchairem-20" ></MAP><img src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/rcm/120x240.gif" width="120" height="240" border="0" usemap="#boxmap-p8" alt="Shop at Amazon.com">	Platform PC Genre RPG Publisher Ubi Soft Developer Games Arts ESRB T (Teen) Released February 2002

- Good localization - Colorful Graphics - Unique combat system

- Cliché plot - Interface not adapted to PC strengths - Zero replay value

Review: Grandia Xtreme (Playstation 2) Review: Kingdom Hearts (Playstation 2) Review: Final Fantasy X (Playstation 2)
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Grandia 2

Score: 7.5 / 10

I have never been a huge fan of console RPG’s. I cut my teeth on the pen and-paper RPG’s of the 1970’s and early 80’s (D & D, Tunnels and Trolls, Call of Cthulhu, Gamma World, etc) and their immediate computer-based spin-offs on the Commodore 64, Apple 2e, and IBM pc’s. While I have fond memories of computer RPG’s such as the Bard’s Tale series, Might and Magic 1-3, Phantasie 1-3, and, especially Wasteland, by the time RPG’s hit home consoles with any force, I was in college and out of touch with the videogame scene for a few years. When I returned, in the Genesis- SNES- PC Engine era, I found that RPG’s abounded, but I was extremely disappointed to discover that they were adventure games more than true Role Playing Games. The main problem was how tremendously linear the majority of the releases were. Players controlled a single character around a world map and decided which creature to attack in the combat phase, but, otherwise, the games were scripted and controlled down to the smallest detail and options to alter the basic plotline were non-existent. They did such a poor job of approximating the open-ended game play of pen-and-paper RPG’s that I basically gave the genre up as far as console gaming went and returned to the PC for my role-playing fix.

Skip ahead a decade or so later and my PC-centered gaming caused me to completely missed the resurgence of console RPG’s led by the movement of the Final Fantasy series onto the PSX (and, more importantly maybe, a cd-rom format that allowed lots of pretty cut-scenes). I missed out on it completely until my brother loaned me a little game called Grandia. I had heard of Grandia earlier because I imported a ton of Saturn games over the years and the guys at the import places pushed the Japanese version of the game on me regularly. I had no interest in playing a role-playing game in a language I didn’t speak nor understand – even vaguely. That seemed too much like work. So, when my brother beat the PSX version of the game and brought it by saying it was one of the best RPG’s he had ever played, I decided to give it a try. I played no other videogame for the next two weeks. Grandia was no more open-ended than other console RPG’s, but the story grabbed me from the beginning and I felt compelled to play on. Though it still struck me as more of an adventure game than what I thought of as an RPG, I enjoyed the game thoroughly.

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Enter Grandia 2 for the PC, a sequel to Grandia in name only. Not only does Grandia 2 feature an all-new cast of characters, the combat engine has changed dramatically (for the better). Grandia 2 survives the transition from the Dreamcast to the PC in much better shape than the recent PS2 Grandia 2, but porting the game to the PC means it has to compete with much deeper games with much better graphics. Is it worth the purchase price?

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In Grandia 2 players take on the role of Ryudo, a cynical young Geo-Hound (read: mercenary) who has been hired to guard an uptight young woman who holds the key to keeping the world from being taken over by the dark side. Yeah, I know. Same old, same old. But, the characters are likeable and the voice acting and localization is above average. The story unfolds logically and is easy-to-follow, and it is good enough to keep most players moving along, though some PC gamers, spoiled by games like Baldur’s Gate and Planescape: Torment, will probably find the whole thing a bit childish and derivative.

“Childish” and “derivative” could also be used to describe the graphics. Grandia 2 uses a very cartoon-like color palette and manga-like character design. Textures are low rez and the characters use a small number of polygons. All in all, the game shows its console roots and can’t compare to most PC RPG’s. The PC version of Grandia 2 does, however, run at a much higher resolution than either the DC or PS2 version and, because of that, is the best looking of the three versions.

The one place Grandia 2 really separates itself from its console brethren is with the deep and intelligent combat system. Though the system is turn-based, timing, combos, and counters all play a roll in how combat is resolved. The player can decide whether to go for the big-hit, called a Combo attack in the game, which simply does a lot of damage, or a Critical attack, which does less damage, but moves the attacked creature back on the time-bar. If things are timed right, critical attacks can cancel a creature’s attack completely. Learning when to go for the big combo and when to attempt a cancel can make the difference between a tough battle and an impossible one. Story aside, the combat system is what kept me playing Grandia 2 after it became clear that otherwise it was a fairly typical Japanese RPG.

I feel it is important that before I get on with the final scoring, I mention that there have been many reports of bugs when playing Grandia 2 with Windows XP. Supposedly lock-ups and graphical flaws run rampant, but I only encountered one small bug throughout my playing the game. The opening full-motion video played perfectly when I first booted the game up, but never played correctly again. Luckily, the cut-scenes within the game are done in-engine, and I never encountered the problem again.

I will now, with the God-like ability bestowed on writers, divide the world into three distinct groups: fans of console RPG’s who own a Dreamcast , fans of console RPG’s that do not own a Dreamcast, and fans of PC RPG’s who think console RPG’s are watered-down tripe (yummy!). The first group of fans will be better off buying Grandia 2 for their DC’s as the PC version only offers the mild graphical upgrade – besides, the game was designed with the DC in mind. The second group should buy Grandia 2 now without reservation, as it is a fine example of the genre that is worth the money for the combat system alone. People in the third group should probably stay away. At worst, Grandia 2 will simply confirm their suspicions about console RPG’s. At best, it would provide a light-hearted diversion while waiting for Icewind Dale 2 and Neverwinter Nights.

- Tolen Dante