|
Grandia
Feb 2, 2006 22:34:55 GMT -5
Post by zitanix on Feb 2, 2006 22:34:55 GMT -5
Okay, this forum needs some life. Seeing as my favorite series is growing February 15th, I think it's be a good time to talk about it.
Grandia is awesome. The emphasis on exploration and the superb battle system are my favorite parts of the game, but the characters and story are also good(generally). I'm one of those people who really enjoyed Grandia Xtreme, so that basically sums up my priorities.
As soon as I get Grandia 3, I'll spout my opinions here. Right now, though, I'm loving the character designs--same artists that did Valkyrie Profile.
|
|
|
Grandia
Feb 2, 2006 23:26:04 GMT -5
Post by Arc on Feb 2, 2006 23:26:04 GMT -5
I've only played Grandia 2 (PSX version) all the way through, although I started Grandia Xtreme.
I really did enjoy Grandia 2, aside from the horrible lags later in the game. My only beef was that you couldn't return to earlier parts of the map, and that it sometimes too an eternity to get skill points (or whatever they were called) and money. I loved the story, and all the characters except Elena. I think I actually teared up a bit when Mareg left permanently. The first few battles are a little annoying, because you run out of stamina so fast, but after that, it's great. I do wish you could equip more than one Mana Egg on each person at a time, though.
I didn't really get very far in Grandia Xtreme. I think I got to the first drift or whatever it's called, where the enemies in previous dungeons level up. I really had no idea what I was doing, but it seemed interesting from the small bit I played. It's currently sitting gathering dust, because it seems like it takes a time commitment that I really don't have right now. XD I would like to run through it at least once, though.
|
|
|
Grandia
Feb 2, 2006 23:46:28 GMT -5
Post by zitanix on Feb 2, 2006 23:46:28 GMT -5
I played Grandia 2 for PS2 as well, and the glitches were terrible. The voices cut out at points and Roan turned completely white at least 4 times in battle. Despite the glitches, I still think it's my least favorite Grandia, simply because I hated Elena and the way you leveled abilities...not to say it's a bad game at all; I'd probably play G2 over half my game collection if I owned it.
To the best of my recollection, Xtreme has 6 elemental dungeons and 2 randomly generated dungeons with about 45 floors between them, as well as a 100-floor bonus dungeon once you finish the game. There's a ton of fighting, which amounted to about 30-40 hours of gameplay, but due to the incredible amount of customization between 8 characters, mana eggs, and skill books, I never got tired of the game. At the end of the bonus dungeon, Brandol was doing an area effect cancel attack with 4 hits and I think Evann had an 8+ combo attack.
|
|
¤ Jit ¤
I reached 500 posts! Yay!
hehehe Sty has a new Peon!
Posts: 622
|
Grandia
Feb 4, 2006 17:02:02 GMT -5
Post by ¤ Jit ¤ on Feb 4, 2006 17:02:02 GMT -5
I might actually have to try this one. I was tempted many times but it looked more plain than what it sounds hearing you two talk about it. Customization and whatnot is key. Definately going to check into it a bit when i get a chance.
By the way, i really hate when games have glitches and horrible translations and whatnot. FFTactics for PS is a good example of one that really makes me want to smack whoever did the translation work around for a few hours. Every day. For eternity. Its like they do a runthrough and dont even check it in some games. Horrid.
|
|
|
Grandia
Feb 16, 2006 1:12:38 GMT -5
Post by zitanix on Feb 16, 2006 1:12:38 GMT -5
So I played 8+ hours of Grandia 3 today. Here're first impressions: The story starts out with the main character, Yuki, working on a homebrew airplane. After he gets his latest model into the air, he meets mysterious girl/heroine Alfina, who he falls in love with immediately and pledges to help. The story isn't particularly new, but the translation's great and the characters are all really likeable. I think Yuki could be my favorite hero since Vyse from Skies of Arcadia.
The game uses two character models: one for cg scenes and another for towns/battles/etc. The cg models have very expressive faces which really bring out the characters' personalities, and the other models are detailed, if a little stiff. The character portraits, which are a little small, are goddamn beautiful. Seriously, the artists (From Valkyrie Profile, forget their names) are the best I've ever seen. Speaking of beautiful, there's usually one scene per dungeon that was designed to look spectacular. I've never seen landscapes this amazing in a console game before.
Gameplay. The towns are standard faire, while dungeons as usual show enemies on screen before a fight. Unlike previous Grandias, you have a slash mapped to the circle button, so if you hit an enemy on the map, they get stunned for a few seconds. Also, hitting square runs a search radar sort of like Wild Arms to see if there are any interactive environmental features--I suppose this is to keep the maps looking as natural and amazing as they do. You get to equip weapons, armor, boots, an accessory, a mana egg, and a skill book. You also have separate skill, magic, and special levels, which increase the amount of skills/magic you can equip or the maximum sp you have--points used for special attacks and are independent of mp. You buy and equip spells individually, and equipping a certain mana egg will improve your effectiveness with one or two of four elements (they got rid of the mixed elements, which makes me a little sad, though zap and the like are still around). Likewise, skills are bought and equipped individually, and skill books will increase your effectiveness with one or two of three skill types. You can also consume books and eggs to create new skills and spells if you don't need them anymore. Battles are mostly the same for Grandia: you have combo, critical, defend, item, magic, and special to choose from. The only difference now is that critical attacks occasionally pop the enemy into the air, from which another attack will do more damage and send them even higher. If you perform an "aerial finish" on an enemy, you have a better chance of getting more money or items from the defeated enemy.
Sound is above average. The music is pleasant, though not particularly memorable so far, and the voice actors are all professional and do well. No cheesy voices like in Grandia 1; the characters' speeches can evoke a decent amount of emotion.
Yeah, that's more than enough for now. I would definitely reccommend Grandia 3 to anyone with a soul.
|
|
|
Grandia
Feb 17, 2006 8:38:43 GMT -5
Post by Quezacoatl on Feb 17, 2006 8:38:43 GMT -5
I can't say as anyone has ever sold me on a game without having to try it out myself, BUT DAMN! Zit that was an awesome break down of the game, Ima go and get it soon I think! Thanx!
|
|
|
Grandia
Feb 17, 2006 17:12:07 GMT -5
Post by zitanix on Feb 17, 2006 17:12:07 GMT -5
Thanks, man. If I get one person to play the Grandia series and enjoy it, I'm happy.
New stuff: You get orbs throughout the game which change the flow of the fight dramatically, but you only get to use them once every 15 battles or so. I used it on a boss and they still managed to kill half my team before I put 'em down. And recently the game's been cranking up the difficulty and I love it. I've got 2 members in my party up to 6 hits per combo and one member who can do 5000 damage by casting a spell and I thought I was going to cruise through the game.
Also, I got a plane. Goddamn, this game's overworld reminds me a lot of Skies of Arcadia, minus the discoveries and thousands of random enemies. If you fly near certain landmarks like towns or islands, you can get a short description of the area, and occasionally intercept ham radio conversations. It really brings the world alive.
|
|
|
Grandia
Feb 17, 2006 18:42:28 GMT -5
Post by Arc on Feb 17, 2006 18:42:28 GMT -5
Seriously, the artists (From Valkyrie Profile, forget their names) are the best I've ever seen. That line right there made me drool. I must find and play this game. It sounds really interesting so far, and I loved the art from VP.
|
|
|
Grandia
Feb 17, 2006 23:11:20 GMT -5
Post by zitanix on Feb 17, 2006 23:11:20 GMT -5
It's like VP and Grandia, my two favorite games ever, had raunchy sex and had their baby murder God and eat his soul. Not really, but I absolutely love this game.
I got wrecked several times in the last dungeon. Example: I used invincible aura to protect myself from attacks and the enemy stole my magic and gave me status inflictions instead. At one point, I went to cast Resurrection, and had I not locked the enemy into a combo, he would've stolen the rest of my magic before I finished casting. I also have to watch out for enemies that lap me on the IP gauge. Some guy punched me in the face, ran across the battlefield, and cast zap before I even realized what he did.
...Anyway, yeah, tough game.
|
|
|
Grandia
Feb 19, 2006 0:04:10 GMT -5
Post by zitanix on Feb 19, 2006 0:04:10 GMT -5
It is finished. Hit about 30 hours.
Closing thoughts: While parts of the story seemed missing (particularly one antagonist) and others really could've benefitted from elaboration, I thought there were a few really poignant moments that I loved. As much as I loved the characters, I felt it was all over too soon and I wanted more--I guess overall that's a testament to good characters.
The difficulty tapered off towards the end, but there were still a few memorable battles, and they weren't only boss battles. One particular enemy auto-canceled about half of my special attacks and spells with a skill, and another basically flat-out murdered a character if he got a special attack off. The fights remained varied and entertaining throughout the game, and I can see myself playing through the game again just for the fights.
The music actually grew on me quite a bit. There are quite a few battle themes: disc 1, disc 2, verse, ambush, at least one boss theme, and final boss music, all of which were quite catchy. Also, the main theme, which originally sounded like a generic pop song, really got to me in the ending. The only song I can say I didn't like was the desert town, which is sad since you spend more time there than any other town.
Right, so in conclusion, Grandia 3 is the best PS2 game I've ever played. I'll need time to place it in the Grandia ranking, but right now it looks like it's second after Grandia 1.
|
|