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Pretty good for a port and even better for an RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 18
Date: April 26, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I still think its sad that people don't know of RPGs such as Grandia or Grandia II. I think its even sadder that people think the only good RPG out there is Final Fantasy when Grandia II is a gem.

Anyway, while the graphics lack a little (Its a port of the 1999 version on Dreamcast so I understand that), the plot/story is solid and the battle system is awesome, and character developement is very much perfect.

As said, graphics are good, but for the 1000th time. Its not the graphics but the story thats important, and not just what the story is but how it is told, and Grandia II does this very well. While the story is something I've seen before (but then again so was FFVII and I loved that...) it was played out to its full extent. And this time unlike most RPGs, the story focuses more on the characters rather than the enviroment that surrounds them, which helps character developement.

The battle system is unique and with the exception of the first Grandia and FFX, actually requires me to use strategy and think before I act, unlike most other RPGs that forces me to see how fast I can end a battle (hence more Final Fantasy). However, while the battle system is very good, if you exploit it, the game becomes very easy. In fact not once did I ever see the words "Game Over" or ever get a single character KO'd throughout the game.

The Characters actually shine with an Aura that makes them memorable characters much like in the first Grandia. Magic animation is beautiful and not to mention that each character gets there own skills, making them more unique than before.

Also, while it doesn't seem like much, I was disappointed after playing the first Grandia with how many spells were in this one. While 40 spells is indeed a lot, the first 80 spells the first Grandia had gave me more time to tweek with my characters stats. Not to mention that in this one everyone only has four moves. In the first one they had 12 each.

The music, while not as good as in the first Grandia, really sets the mood. Boss fight music (especially when fighting parts of Valmar) is very good, and I find myself humming the tunes.

Using moves is done by using SP and learning moves requires SC. This is like expeirience points only more like coins to learn and raise levels of the move.

Anyway, the game is extremely good and I happen to like Grandia more than Final Fantasy. Not because of battling, but because of freedome as well. You won't be wrong in choosing this game.

GrandiaII deserves a lot more credit than it has, a LOT MORE

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 12
Date: March 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is thee best game made for the PS2. It combines a great storyline/story with the most well thought out fighting system ever developed. With real-time fighting and deep'n'rich graphics, its no wonder It's Final Fantasy's first rival.

The battle system is great, as well as the ability to create your own players skills, magic, and moves, with coins and books. The Ready voices are quirky and fun to hear, as well as the dialouge, hilarious!!

But the thing that just blew me away was the nonstop action between fighting and story. For instance, I'm trapped in a tower, so the main charecter descides, "Well heck, I think I'll jump out the window on a rope with my princess by my side, while my eagle flies close behind me. Weeeeeeeee," I mean it doesnt get more exiting. Welll except when you enter a battle.

All in all, this game is a must have and you are missing the best game made of all time if you don't buy it. Buy it and you may never stop playing. "Are you game enough?"

Pre review based on Dreamcast

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: January 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I had an old dreamcast back in the day, and this game is the SOLE reason I had it! If you enjoy true RPG's, this is the game for you. If you like psuedo hackenslash-RPG's (Diablo2) move along. Otherwise, you should know this game has ncredible depth and luster, and the story is excellent! The end is very suprising, as you are led to think in so many different ways during the game that you cannot be certain until you see. And of course, I can only assume that Sony will upgrade the game for it's new platform as they have in the past (Anyone out there remember LUNAR when it was on Sega CD? heheh). I expect this will be the best competition for Final Fantasy's new release.

Ultimate RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: April 17, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Grandia 2 is THE ultimate RPG. Everything is great about it, the special effects, the battle system, the story, just everything. I loved Grandia on Playstation, but this game is twice as good. The only thing that is a little weird are the graphics, but it's typical Grandia style and the magic and special moves makes everything alright. If you want to buy an RPG, buy this game, you won't regret it

Grandia 2 is a grand game indeed.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 21, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Absolutely wonderful. I have never played a game that has tugged my heart strings with a plot like this outside of the Final Fantasy series. The graphics are not really all that good, but who needs it when you have a great battle system like Grandia 2. It is very refrshing to be able to sneak up on enemies like in Xenogears and the visual effects of spells are top-notch as well.
The story begins as Geohound Ryudo travels to Carbo Village to escort a Songstress of Granas to a holy ceremony at a near-by tower. Now, Ryudo is as cynical as a person can get; a heretic who hates both God (Granas in this game) and women. Elena is the songstress and she and Ryudo immediately take a disliking to each other. At the Ceremony, Elena is possessed by the Wings of Valmar (Valmar is the devil) that can take the form of a beautiful yet emotional girl named Millenia. Millenia could be able to take over Elena's body and soul at will! Ryudo and Elena begrudingly travel together to the St. Heim Papal State to speak to his Holiness Pope Zera. On the way, they team with a boy named Roan with a troubled past, a man-beast named Mareg who seeks the death of Ryudo's long-lost evil brother Melfice, and an Automata (android if you will) named Tio who seeks the meaning of being free and listens only to Mareg. They also defeat all of the parts of Valmar in unrealistic battles. Pope Zera suggests that Ryudo and his party find the sword Lord Granas used to defeat Valmar in The Battle of Good and Evil, the Granasbar, and destroy Valmar's heart with it. Along the way, Roan revela that he is a prince of the People of Darkness, Mareg gets his revenge on Melfice, Elena questions her faith in Lord Granas, and Ryudo discovers what it is like to live life to the fullest. I won't spoil the ending for those of you not yet finished. A solid buy with top-notch voice-acting and amazing plot.

Ubisoft gave it their all

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 17, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is a classic RPG. It has a great story with excellent characters. The powering up system it has is rare. The system is very in depth and lets you do what you want with your weapons, items, and characters. It doens't have the best graphics of todays standards, but is an excellent RPG that you must own. One more thing the game is fairly long and will take about 30 hours if you power up.

Grandia 2. The best RPG made for any system

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Grandia 2 is the best RPG ever made. This game was produced by Sega originaly, so you know the graphics and gameplay will be great. This game is also very addictve. I played for 3 and a half hours non stop and 15 hours in 3 days. The plot is very interesting and has a few turns that you would never expect. This game has everything you are looking for in an RPG. If you're looking for a great game, look no further because Grandia 2 is the game for you...

An old fashioned good RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 19, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I rented this game to see if it was any good and it turned out to be AUWSOME! It's one of the few recent rpgs that havent sacrificed control and plot for graphics.If you like the mario RPG for super nintendo(not the poor exuse for its sequel on n64), youl like this just as much. The only problem i found was that it takes less than a week of constant playing to beat and could have been a bit more challenging. I hope you all at least rent the game and maybe buy it.

Wow, not your average RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 19, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The odd thing about this game is that it is deceptively normal. The combat (at first glance), items, magic, health, armor, etc are pretty much Final Fantasy type. Then it gets interesting. When you fight you actually move to your opponents, and they to you. If you don't have enough Move points you'll have to strike next turn or use magic or a bow. Initiative is a free for all, and only by watching the bars can you tell who's going to strike when. You can disrupt an attack, too, if you're fast. Every gets power moves, which are separate from magic. This all makes the battles much more interesting than FF-style combat.

But then you start to see the story emerge. There's the hero, the nice girl, and an evil/naughty girl/demon. Except that the nice girl is a bossy religious type and the hero seemingly cares only for money, is anti-religious, and has a sarcastic wit. I'm actually writing down a lot of his lines because they're so funny. Not to mention the evil girl is really cool. The plot is interesting, and hasn't been too repititious, except for a slight tendency of some characters to emphasize you should live you life to the fullest, not be hateful, etc etc and all that warm, fuzzy stuff.

This game is very fun to play, whether you're talking to other characters or bashing monsters. I'll close with a quote by Ryudo, the main character: "I don't recall 'hunting down reawakening God of Evil' as being part of my job description."

The Grandia Legend

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: April 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I've played all three Grandias to date and this one has the best story (which people say FFX ripped off its story from). The long, difficult journey of Ryudo, Elena, Millenia, Roan, Mareg and Tio is a memorable one packed with sweet cinematics and awesome battles. The battles are made even more fun thanks to the power up system. Using special and magic coins to improve special attacks, magic and skill books makes for an RPG that relies heavily on preparation to ease the extreme difficulty of the bosses. Basically the more you power up, the better off your group will be.

Speaking of which, the original Grandia 2 on Dreamcast didn't have the cinematics that this version does. They're great eye-pleasing masterpieces. Some of the spells and special moves are also cinematized and man, do they rule! Only a few of the moves and magic in Grandia Extreme look this good. The voice acting is nice too and each character has the best suited man or woman for the job.

However, the game has its faults. This mostly comes from the lagging that happens due to the PS2 having to process such massive amounts of data in towns and dungeons. The text speed isn't much better. Just be advised of these problems or you might quit the game too soon because of them. I really don't mind the way everyone looks in the game with their simple "eyes only" faces (I draw like that myself!). The leveling up is fun and makes this Grandia the most entertaining of the three. If you want EVERYTHING including all the equipment, magic, books and items as well as intense power training, you're looking at over 40 hours of gameplay.

You won't hate this Grandia. It's a treasure among RPGs!

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