GRANDIA 2

The game is the sequel to the huge hit Grandia 1 that was released a few years back. Like the Final Fantasy games, it actually bears no resemblance nor does it require that you know anything about the first game.

Install & Graphics Setup

The game comes on 2 CD's. One is the install disc and one is the play disc containing the FMV and level data. The game only has the one install option that weighs in at 822 meg on your hard drive. The graphics can be set from the default of 640x480 up to a max of 1024x768 in 32 bit color so the game looks a lot prettier than it did originally on the Dreamcast.

Storyline

The story concerns Ryudo, a strange looking spiky haired bodyguard with a talking hawk on his shoulder. Think of him as Boba Fett meets Long John Silver and you will see where I am coming from :) The story starts with a terribly grainy FMV showing a meteor heading from outer space and hitting a planet. Next, you meet the hero Ryudo, a very likable chap with that cool hawk perched on his shoulder who he often talks to, and guess what, it talks back. This is a Japanese RPG after all what did you expect.

Ryudo is a seasoned bounty hunter who is always looking out for a new mission. So when, at the start of the game, he finds a note tied to a tree saying something about a far away town and a girl, he knows that he has to take the job. The journey takes him across the land with the Princess Elena. He seems to like her, but doesn't want to show it. She happens to be cursed with some horrible disease, so that makes an interesting story on its own. I won't give any more of the story away. Suffice it to say the story is the factor that will make you want to play Grandia 2 right through to the end. The script is well written and the English translation is much better than some games from Japan (Master of Unlocking anyone?)

Combat

If you have played any of the Final Fantasy games, the combat system will be instantly recognizable. It's a turn based system that is accessed by your action button. You choose either a physical attack or a magic attack and then the enemy does their thing and so on. This is a very tactical engine and is not unlike FF8 with its timed limit breaks. You get into a lot of these battles as you roam the land. Unlike a lot of games where you encounter the same battle over and over, Grandia 2 offers random battles to make it more fun and more interesting.

Graphics & Sounds

The look of the game is actually quite lovely when you crank up the settings and have AA on in your graphics card options. The designs are very Anime inspired and look a treat. The camera is a floaty affair that hovers just above and behind Ryudo's head. It dynamically moves when an object of interest is in view to draw your attention to it. The battle camera zooms and pans around the arena adding a feeling in danger and action during the heat of a battle, which certainly is a great addition. The FMV sequences are terrible though, there are not many of them but what there are look horrible and blocky. I think they actually used the Dreamcast video and didn't optimize it for the higher resolution of a PC. I've played the game on the Dreamcast and the FMV looked 100 times better.

The sound is Superb. The music is in the style of Squaresoft's Final Fantasy 7 with lots of different melody's ranging from happy to sad. The game also uses voices for the characters, but not all the time, which is a shame. When they do speak they sound great. When they are not speaking the game reverts to speech balloons to convey their messages.

More Gameplay

The areas in the game feel very small for a reason. They actually are very small. The floating camera gives the illusion of crawling around in a box, when in fact you are on a massive quest that covers great distances. This isn't really a flaw, but if you expect adventure on a epic scale like in Skies of Arcadia or Final Fantasy X you will be disappointed. Not that this quest is short, it certainly isn't. It's huge. You will get 40-50 hours of Gameplay, at least, not to mention numerous side quests.

Conclusion

It's a love it or hate it game in my opinion for the RPG fanatics out there. There are not many true form Japanese RPG's available on the PC so it might alienate some of the more traditional role players. If you give the game a chance, you will find a nice story and some great game mechanics. It will also appeal to a younger RPG audience because it's not gruesome or adult in any way. One to pick up for the kids, or the big kid of the house, that's for sure.