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COOLER ACTION-PACKED RPG but lacks fun!!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I remember the first Grandia. It had SOO MUCH FUN and ADVENTURE!!! The characters could crawl inside the air ducks, fly in the sky to get to the evil skyship, runing on a railroad, escaping from the big explotion of the skyship, hiding in a boat, breaking a fast runing train so the bad guys couldn't get them, sailing alone in the sea, escaping from prision, climbing a gigantic wall and spying from the roofs.
BUT the game had bad graphics, stupid characters, terrible voice acting, so so powers and a very childist style.

This game improved the graphics to 3D, the powers were SOOO COOOL and very well animated like Final fantasy 7, the characters are even COOLER like Chrono Trigger but not like Akira Toriyama style and the voices were SOO MUCH BETTER.
BUT this game doesn't have to much fun and adventure like the first Grandia.

Just imagine the RPG Chrono Trigger with good 3D graphics, predictable story and without cool fun adventure. This game concentrate only on the action! but is one of the BEST ACTION-PACKED RPGS I EVER PLAYED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Adios.

Ideal for RPG beginers

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have passed this game playing it when I can. Took me about a month and there are a few things that I noticed in this game that kepted me from enjoying it.

First, the compass within the game is useless. If there is a logical way to understand it then I'm at a loss. I bought a used copy and so there were no manual associated with this game but a compass is a compass and I had a hard time knowing where I was heading and where I already was.

Second, the game lags a lot. Walk into a town and you will notice a lot of eye candy but then you start to walk around and your running speed is that of a normal walk. The camera angles in towns and dungeons were also very restrictive, not allowing me to see what is on the other side of the street because a tall building was blocking my view of what is underneath it.

Third, I would like to mention that this game is very easy. There is no need to draw out maps or anything and hardly any needs to fear exploration. This is because there is about 2 save points that allows free restoration in each location. One is at the start and the other is right before a hard part. What smart players are going to do is clear the whole map and then go for a heal before meeting the boss. There is no need to be efficient about your magic since you can easily restore it.

The game, I believe was made for beginners. There is an auto-fight command but there is very little need for it since there is little need to level your characters up. The only use for this auto-fight command that I can think of is if you wish to accumulate a lot of money to buy the best set of armor that the current town sells to stay within level of the monsters (or if you didn't find the 500 gold treasure box within the map.

Good game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 19, 2008
Author: Amazon User

From what I've experienced in this game, it is rather a great game despite the slightly aging graphics. What holds you on for more is the actual storyline which can give you a good 30-35 hours of gameplay.

It may be a port from the Dreamcast version but it still holds up rather well storywise like Final Fantasy 7.

One of the best Grandia games ever!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 17, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I thought Grandia was a blast, but Grandia 2 proves the same fun as the first one. The main characer is a hoot, and the other characters are just as enjoyable.

I enjoyed the mana egg system in this game, instead of running around looking for them, like you did in the first game, you get one that you can power up and learn new spells. :D

The story is great, it's dinamic and keeps you in tune with the game. The theme around it was unique too, making this game the best, so far, in the series!

With a dinamic story, rememberable characters, and fun magic,talents,abilities level up system this game is sure to be a wonderful sucessor to Grandia.

This game is almost perfect!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Grandia 2 is a fun game! I really did enjoy playing it. There are a few flaws that keep it from a perfect score; however, it is still an excellent and enjoyable experience overall. Let's begin the review!

Graphics (8/10): The graphics are somewhat similar to FF7 in that your characters are composed of simpler shapes and only have eyes on their faces (no mouths, folks!) However, the graphical world of Grandia 2 looks a lot smoother than FF7's and is less pixelated. Some people may not enjoy the simple graphical design after having seen more realistic looking games, but it didn't perturb me one bit, the graphics are bright and colorful. If you need further information about what this game actually looks like, just take a gander at some screen shots. Note, there are some graphical glitches from time to time, but they do not affect gameplay in any real way.

Music (7/10): Hmmm... is is just me or is the same song used for every dungeon? Why yes! Well, aside from the lack of variety, the music isn't too bad. It's nothing to run out and buy the soundtrack for, but it's not so annoying as to make your ears bleed. Also, the game features voice acting during some (but not all) dialogue. The voice acting is decent, and there was no one whose voice I really hated.

Characters (10/10): Yes, I know these characters are basically stereotypes; you've got the innocent, naive female character, the tough-acting mercenary, the strong, noble beast-man, etc. Even though I realized I had seen all this before, they didn't feel like stereotypes to me. The fresh interesting dialogue really made me fall in love with these characters. There was never a point in which I said, "gee, these people bore me". Personally, I think Ryudo steals the show. I know some people won't like his pessimism and sarcastic wit, but personally, I found his comments to be really funny.

Story (9/10): You start the game as a cold-hearted mercenary who takes a job escorting a young naive girl to a tower to perform a religious ceremony. Along the way, ancient evil is released and you discover the truth behind the ruling religion, etc. Sound familiar? Just like the characters, the story, too, has been done before. However, I still felt that the story was very interesting and entertaining, even if you may have an idea of what's going to happen next. Grandia 2 does a good job of re-telling this archetypal RPG story, such that it feels fresh and interesting. Plus, for an "already-done" plotline, at least it's more interesting than most.

Battle System (10/10): Grandia 2' battle system is more complex than your average turn-based affair. You actually have to factor in things such as range of spells/attacks and timing of attacks. There is a small bar at the bottom of the screen that tells when you or the enemy will take their turn, if you do certain attacks and hit the enemy while they are in the red section of the bar, it will cancel their attack, forcing them to wait longer to get off a move. This works in reverse, too, of course. This system really adds more depth to the gameplay. Another plus to the battle system is that your characters will move around on the screen during battle, eliminating the "let's all line up and attack" feel of other turn-based games (by the way, I'm not bothered by attacking in lines, but others may enjoy getting away from that). Also, because you move around and spells and attacks have ranges, factoring in how close you are to the enemy and how bunched together the enemies are (which means you can hit them all with one spell) is important. Overall, I found the battle system to be fun and interesting.

Gameplay (7/10): This is a bit of a catch-all category for me. Let's see... I really enjoyed the "meal conversations". This is where the character's are further developed by allowing you to choose people to talk to while having dinner. I feel this aspect really does enhance character development. On another note, the linearity of the game really hampers it. You can't ever backtrack to previous places past the last two places you visited. Even if there is no logical reason you couldn't return to the first town you were in (not like it was destroyed or anything) the game never allows you to. In fact, you don't have free travel even by the time you get to the end of the game. That, and the fact that the world map is a point and click to the next place sort of deal, might turn people off. There's also a disturbing lack of sidequests and mini-games available. I recall there only being one side dungeon and one minigame. Hmmm... The menus and controls are fine, and other than the points I've already mentioned, there's really nothing else that's note-worthy.

Overall (8/10): NOTE this score is not an average, it's my subjective overall score. Personally, I derived great enjoyment out of this game despite its flaws. It would have a perfect score if it weren't for the lack of sidequests and the linearity. Whether you not these limitations will prevent your enjoyment of the game is a matter of your own personal preferences, but I found the overall Grandia 2 experience to be worthwhile.

this is not the dc version!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 6
Date: January 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Stay away from this game! It is not the same beautiful fun game that came out on the Dreamcast. It suffers from a bloched rush job syndrome. The beautiful graphics are now gone. The really cool looking spell animations are also missing from this version. Also slowdown is a majior problem. Get this for DC.

Just like the PSX Version

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 6
Date: February 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I just brought this game and what first hit me was that it is
just like the PSX version. The graphics are a bit "softer" and rounder but other than that it's gameplay and style is not much off. I am bout 1/4 of the way through (2hrs) and just brought the strategy guide. From looking through the guide this game doe snot seem to have much to offer in length or replay.

I brought this looking for something like FFX (graphic, gameplay, and storywise) and it does not even come close. Still it's not a bad game, I'd wait till the price drops some before buying it though.

a game of mediatory

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 4
Date: April 03, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is one that strived for the middle of the road and got there. There is no really great aspect of the game as well as there is no real hinderance. It tells the story of a mercenary that is cought up with the church, therefore needing to save the world but never quite makes you really get involved in the game. All in all it is simply a good diversion from what you do not want to do in the first place.

Final Fantasy this ain't

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 6
Date: May 28, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Well, where do I begin? I've played many RPG's in my gaming life, but i have never come across one so unimpressive and disappointing as Grandia II. Yes, I understand that this is a port from an older version, but that's no excuse for the mundane audio and visual aspects of what could have been a decent game. This game clearly does not utilize the full potential of what the PS2 can accomplish. The voice-acting where horribly done, and the graphics appear like the lowly N64 could've pulled it off. The story wasn't that great either, and this is a key aspect in creating a good rpg. The battle system however, worked fairly well. It provides a nice change from the average "stand still, attack, move back to position, wash, rinse, repeat." It did, however, move a bit too slow for me. All in all, you're better of with the Final Fantasy series. This one's a rental.

Very Disappointing

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: June 09, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game with the hope that maybe it would be something close to the first, but I was sorely mistaken.

I've played a ton of RPG's in the past, and most are always decent. I also played the original Grandia for the PS One (Great Game). The original blew my mind with its well-written plot, and Battle system. But this second installment of Grandia just stunk. It was like someone dug through the garbage and just put together something. The Graphics made me feel like i was play N64 or something. The battle system made the game worth continue play. But it got so easy as the game progresses that you no longer care much the battle system. The game was so short you couldn't appreciate the skills and magic. I mean after playing for a while I found the game all u need to do is set the AI. I hope that the later installments of the game are better made and that more thought goes into to plot like the orginal.

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