Grandia is the complete Anime fan’s game. With bright colors, an action based plot with predictable mood plot segments, and character drawn faces with big googly eyes, it’s bound to appeal to any anime fan. There are even badly dubbed voices!

Yes, Grandia has all the elements of a stereotypical anime flick and that isn’t always a good thing. But it redeems itself completely by being a :

a) U.S.-released
b) RPG

Okay, y’see, Japan already has tons of anime RPGs. United States has almost none. Final Fantasy does not have an anime flavor to it, nor does Dragon Quest, Suikoden, or most of the other U.S. based RPGs with the exception of Xenogears, which is a very serious anime RPG. As a result, I’d say Grandia gets to be one of the first, lighthearted, anime-like RPGs for the Playstation market. I could be wrong, someone email me if that’s the case.

So here’s the breakdown:

Plot –

Grandia deals with an excited wannabe-adventurer/warrior kid called Justin. The dubbing ruins any attachment I could have for this orange punk fellow, because it makes him sound like a really, really over-hyped kid who’s been eating too many vitamins. That’s okay though, he still managed to captivate my heart. (Actually it’s probably because he’s the main character and I don’t have a choice). Anyhow the game starts off in the town of Parm with your standard introduction adventure. Unlike FF7 where you’re immediately hijacking stuff, Grandia starts off real light, with a simple quest to find four pieces of “legendary armor” which is really kid-stuff, i.e. the LEGENDARY SHIELD is just a pot pan, whoop-de-do. It’s a total treasure hunt, no battle involved. The quest however is a good way to get you used to the controls and looking around.

From there the plot takes off. You’ll meet up with Feena, a real adventurer, Gadwin a real legendary knight, basically people who you aspire to be but aren’t. You’ll do lots of adventuring quests, searching mines, deserts, graveyards, forests, etc. You quest is mainly to discover the secret of the mysterious Angelou civilization (the ultimate adventurer’s dream) but you get sidetracked a whole lot during the way.

It’s a good plot, flows very well and while being cheesy sometimes but doesn’t over do it. The ending I feel is a bit wacky and strange, but hey it’s anime so I couldn’t expect anything else. I warn the gamer however that there are some really weird creatures/environments as you get near Angelou. The plot is a bit on a breakdown, but still is enough to make it worthwhile.

Graphics –

Wow, wow and wow. I wish they made more games like this. Xenogears, if you’ve played it before, utilizes full 3-d environments that you can rotate. It’s like Chrono Trigger with a new dimension. Great hand-drawn graphics style, but not limited to a single perspective. Allows for really engaging scenes without using FMVs like Final Fantasy games. It’s very top-notch and I’m very surprised that Atlus could produce a game of this caliber.

It has a very cartoony feel to it however, which I think may not appeal to all gamers. I know some people who utterly despise anime for its cheap cartoony appeal. If you’re one of those types, stay away. However, if you aren’t and actually don’t mind a game that’s real light-hearted and colorful, go for Grandia.

Music –

Not that memorable to my ears now, but I remember it wasn’t bad. All fit with the mood of the environments, which is a pretty cheerful setting. Typical game music, I can’t really describe it too well, I would have to refer to previous Square games again. It’s like Xenogears + Chrono Trigger, if you can imagine such a combination.

Battle System –

This is a bit tough to describe. It’s like FF7, since it has time gauges, but it looks a whole lot like Star Ocean Second Story. Magic is divided up into three levels, and you have separate Magic Points for each level. That means if you cast a level 3 spell that uses 22 MP, you will still have 7/7 MP for level 1 spells. The more spells you use the stronger they get (ala Secret of Mana), and you will get more Level spells to go with them. You can get magic by purchasing elementals with mana eggs which are found throughout the game. If you get the proper combination of elementals for a character you can get very powerful Level 4 moves.

Unfortunately because the battle system isn’t really all that complicated, it makes for a really easy game. You don’t need to build levels at all, playing it straight through should be totally fine. There are save points before bosses as in most RPGs so if you die, you’ll have a chance to reload and fight them again. However dying is really difficult in itself, and I would expect most RPG gamers to have no problem with this game.

Another gripe would be the load time between battles. This is very discouraging since it makes you not want to encounter enemies. It takes approximately 10 seconds after a battle to load the overhead screen again. It’s a decent speed, but should have been faster. Load time is a crucial aspect of an RPG since you don’t want to be waiting a lot when fighting enemies, which often is the bulk of an RPG.

Bottom Line- 9.4/10,0

If you’re looking for a fun, simple RPG that takes approximately 40 hours to beat and can be played in one-hour increments (meaning save points are usually one per 30-1hr of gameplay), this is your game. It has a combination of outstanding music, battles, and intriguing characters that make it such a joy to play. There are no side quests or much replay value unfortunately, but one time is enough for this game, since it’s appeal is lost after a single time through. However for the first time through it’s truly an excellent game.

My advice is to borrow this game from a friend if possible or buy it if this really sounds like your type of game. Unfortunately it has a lack of secrets and is 40 hrs which is why I wouldn’t play it again, but for die-hard RPG fans, this may be an excellent addition to your collection.



Recommended: Yes