Grandia II

THE BAD:
Long and extremely boring battle system.
Childish Graphics.
Terrible Music.

SUMMARY:
When I seen the trailer for this game on the internet I could not wait to play Grandia 2 but when I did I was very dissapionted. I have read reviews on PS2 game console magazines saying that the best part of the game is the battle system. But believe me it is the worst thing about the game. Mainly because it takes so long to win the battles even when you are up against the weakest enemies it takes about 4 minutes and 7 minutes to defeat average enemies and about 25 minutes for the games bosses. The problem is that it is mainly an old shcool RPG. I guess the only thing good I can say about the game is that the story aint all that bad but it didnt make me want to play this game. I dont think many people will like this old school game but that is my opinion so I would recommend renting this game at your local video store to see what you think about it before purchasing the game.

THE BAD:
Compared to other PS2 games, the worst graphics this side of finger painting.

SUMMARY:
Grandia 2
First of all...- *sigh* Another Dreamcast port to PS2? I bet that’s what you’re thinking. Well, whether or not you like to admit it, Grandia 2 is a good game. It’s DAMN good. Now that it’s on Playstation 2, you have no excuse to miss out on this wonderful gaming experience, unless you don’t have a PS2. If that’s the case then buy a Dreamcast for 40 bucks and Grandia 2 for another 15. You WILL play this game and enjoy it, damnit. Look into my EVIL eyes.

Visuals- 5.5 While these aren’t the best graphics in the world, they’re pretty average. Some of the spells and items use CGs, which make them look pretty but for some odd reason, SOME of the story CGs look like complete ass(when Mareg sacrifices his life to save you). It may just be my copy or something, I guess. The environments and backdrops are stuck in mediocre town.

Sound- 7.5 Well, the music is of traditional RPGs, which is pretty basic and average but some of the tunes stay in your head and you’ll be whistling some of them without even knowing it. The voice acting, while laughable at certain times, is pretty good most of the time.

Battle System- 11.0 Grandia has by far, THE BEST BATTLE SYSTEM OF ALL TIME. The battles are not exactly turn based. The battles revolve around an Action Bar. There are 3 sections of the action bar, a standby section, an action selection section, and an action execution section. How you approach the enemy determines where on the bar you are. Surprising the enemy will result in your party starting off close to the action selection section with your enemies in the standby section. Being surprised results in your party being in the standby section with your enemies in the AS section. Anything else and you and your enemies will be on middle ground. Your ACT stat alters how fast you move up the action bar. There are spells and items which also increase your ACT speed and decrease your enemy’s. I’m getting to detailed in this. Anyways, the battle system’s GREAT. This is where the game really shines. It’s so good, it excedes my 10.0 scale.

Gripes- 1. Why didn’t they update the graphics?
2. Some of the spells and items have lengthy CG sequences, which while pretty at first, gets quite annoying after a while.
3. The laughable voiceacting sometimes.
4. the fact that no one appreciates, this game because of Final Fantasy!! Not that FF is bad but, jeez, that game hogs all the spotlight.


Final Note: Please note that the graphics and sound are the only thing that takes from the score of this wonderful game, BUY IT!!!
(5.5+7.5+11.0)/3=8.0 Wahoo!

THE BAD:
Not much to be honest... apart from the magic animations the graphics are quite pathetic if i say so myself.. their just a bit outdated but you'll forget all about the bad graphics very very fast
- the menu at the beginning dosent look to good.. thats how picky i have to be people.

SUMMARY:
It's a great game and it is so worth buying. You should definitely pick this game up for sure. Im sure you'll enjoy it as much as I did just give it a chance. Just give it a chance.

THE BAD:
Gameplay sometimes slows, during battle some characters lose their color and turn all gray/white

SUMMARY:
It is a very thourough RPG and worth at least thirty dollars. I haven't played many PS2 RPGs, but I have many PSX ones and this is an excellent game for RPG fans. Its battle system is realtime because your moves depend on how far you are away from your opponent, the speeds of you and your opponent and what time you input your fighting command. The system is something you must experience for yourself along with the amazing animations for the magic spells and special skills. I found myself leveling up for hours just to see the next magic sequence. They are truly to die for. A very good game, not the best but it is almot there. I would recommend this for most everyone out there.

THE BAD:
The dubbing was only in certain parts of the game, it was a little short I felt

SUMMARY:
All I can say is this is a great rpg and it has very little in the way of bad points. It has a great story characters and battle system. I recommend you go buy it now if you haven't already done so.

THE BAD:
theme, characters, music, voice acting, graphics

SUMMARY:
Overall, this was a pretty bad game. Almost a joke, really.
Ascetics: The characters are two-dimensional stock characters, with personalities and looks that you'll recognize from a thousand RPGs you've conquered in the past with a lack of flair that has devastating results on the game as a whole. (The only one original in the least was Tio.) The plot, too, is rather trite--and not for those who cannot appreciate sap at its sweetest, like me. The central theme appeals to the human heart, of which I have none. (It concentrates on love, compassion, faith, etc, etc, etc...) The ending was kinda cool, not plot-wise, but in the fact that you take control of a character and walk around to see the effects of your victory over evil.
Gameplay: The customization is definitely a plus. You can choose each member of your party's abilities and magic due to skill books and mana eggs! And, as the crown jewel of the Grandia series, the combat system does not disappoint.
However, the bad outweighs the good. I don't recommend it.

THE BAD:
The game is pretty short, and a tad on the easy side.
Some glitches in the graphics and spelling.

SUMMARY:
This game is awesome, despite it's few problems.
It took me about 20 hours to fully beat, but it doesn't have too much replay value.
I do think this ranks among the top greatest RPGs of all time, though.

THE BAD:
Camera angles need a little adjustments.Sometimes it becomes diffucult to see where your enemies are in battle.

SUMMARY:
This is the first Grandia game that I have tried.And I must say,Im impressed.Not only were the visual effects tempting,but the battle system is very addicting and makes leveling up fun.Though there are many downsides.For one,I would have liked that terrain would be a factor.For instance,in certain regions you would have to hop over gaps,or climb up a rock wall to reach your foe.

The character designs are pretty standard to me.Hero swordsman,heroine White Mage.But the other three had a partially unique form.Especially Tio,because RPG's such as Grandia don't often tend to have robot type alliances to control.

Music was very fitting to most scenes.The only piece that was annoying,which is the battle music that you listin to when suprised by enemies,didn't come up often anyway.

The plot was also very straightford.Travel to a big city,gather pieces of evil,come back.And when you factor that there is no real "World Map",side trips are at a minimum.


Don't get me wrong,I enjoyed this game very much.The battles,music,and characters were especially well done.It's just that the plot is bland,and no sidequests to attempt make this game have little replay value.

THE BAD:
Minor slow downs of the party members in towns and dungeons but gameplay still remains the same.

SUMMARY:
The good thing about it, is that the gameplay and battle system is easy to learn, and resembles the orginal Grandia in many ways. The characters are fun,lovable and you can't help but love them. I found that Millenia is my favorite becuase of her personality. ^_~ Ryudo had a good attitude about things, Zera is creepy and an evil pope. Elena's a good healer. Roan is just plain adorable, Tio is searching for the meaning of a "heart" and Mareg is much like Gadwin and Milda of Grandia, wise, caring and a good fighter. I felt safe with him in my party. I found myself liking Grandia alot and Grandia 2 is a great, must have PS2 game. I'm very glad that Grandia 2 is on the Sony Playstation 2.