I am one of those people who bought the original Grandia, put
countless hours into it, and then couldn’t get past disc 2 until my 5th try. Why not? The main reason was the poor translation and voice acting. Nonetheless, I couldn’t wait for Grandia II to arrive. And boy is it a good game.
First of all, the battle system is amazing. It has an IP gauge so you know when you and your enemies will attack next. You can choose either a combo, critical hit, spells etc. The clicker about it is you have to THINK about when to use one. If an enemy is halfway through on the gauge, don’t waste time with a spell, put a critical hit to slow him down. The battle system is very engaging because of this.
Then we have the graphics. What are they like? Well, first of all, the spell effects are amazing. They combine in-game graphics with video. This creates an awesome effect. When you’re in a town, you have some interaction that’s pretty cool. In the first village, Carbo, there are light fixtures everywhere. You can hit them, and they move around. Even the little light fixtures are very detailed.
Now, the translation…it’s like a dream come true! Everyone has a different way of talking. They really do. Ryudo, the main character, has an attitude like some street punk guy with intelligence. This makes him very witty, albeit extremely rude to whoever is around him. Then we have the voices.Ryudo is LEONARDO THE NINJA TURTLE! It’s the coolest thing ever! If you’re not familiar with the turtles, I’m going to kill you. But, if not, he’s also Kanada from Akira.
What about the story? Well, it’s extremely linear. A town has people who have a problem, you go to a dungeon, beat a part of Valmar, the big bad guy, people thank you then your on way to the next town. About half-way through, you get to a town without this and then the game’s story takes a good turn to
something else I won’t mention. Nonetheless, the characters are great and they make the run through amazing. And plus, the battle system doesn’t get boring unless you pile 6 hours at once into it. And then, it only seems alittle boring. Not really boring.
Now for the music. The music to Grandia II is actually pretty nice. It has a good flow, beat and rhythm. Grandia II comes with a music cd on the platinum edition, however most the better tracks, or I believe better tracks, are available only on napster and such.
So is it the cash? It depends. Do you like Good vs. Evil stories that take place in a medireview fantasy world? And do you like linear stories? Do you love awesome battle systems? Trust me, get the game solely forthe battle system and the fact Ryudo is a ninja turtle. You’ll be happy. Iguarantee it.*� � � *all guarantees arefictional.
Rating:�
-Richard Clark ‘Itay’ |
