Grandia II
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| Grandia II | |
| Missing image G2dcboxart.jpg Grandia II Dreamcast box art | |
| Developer(s) | Game Arts |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Release date(s) | 2000 (DC), 2002 (PS2, PC) |
| Genre | Role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) |
| Platform(s) | Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, PC |
Grandia II is a video game in the Grandia series made by Game Arts. It was published by Enix in Japan with an English translation and porting to Windows PCs done by Ubisoft. The game was originally released for the Sega Dreamcast in 2000, but got ported to both the Sony PlayStation 2 and the PC in 2002. The game itself is a Japanese style anime-RPG incorporating high-quality (for that time) 3D graphics, voice-overs and music. It was to have been the premier RPG for the Dreamcast. Many still believe that it holds this position, and it is rarely challenged within its genre. In addition to the story and battle system, this is notably because of its impressive musical score, written by the acclaimed Noriyuki Iwadare.
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Storyline
The story focuses around Ryudo, a Geohound (a kind of mercenary), along with his talking bird, Skye. Together they accepted a mission from the church, being a bodyguard to Elena, a Songstress of Granas, on her way to Garmia Tower. At Garmia Tower however, the plot thickens and Ryudo and Elena find themself traveling all over the world they're trying to save, along with new friends and new enemies.
The story is preceded by a war between two gods, 10,000 years before the current events. In this war, Valmar, the god of darkness, battles Granas, the god of light, along with their followers. This war devastates the planet and Granas' sword tears a series of giant cliffs over the face of the planet called the Granacliffs as it falls from the sky. In legend, Granas defeated Valmar, but had not destroyed him. Parts of Valmar's body, his essence, are stored all over the world in seals maintained by the church of Granas while Granas sleeps, regaining strength.
Characters
Ryudo
- Name: Ryudo
- Age: 17
- Occupation: Geohound (mercenary)
Ryudo is the main protagonist of the game. Initially rude, cold-hearted and unfeeling toward people, he later on comes to terms with the cause of his bitter behavior. Always found together with his talking bird, Skye and even though they spend most of the time mocking eachother, they really can't live without eachother. As the game starts, Ryudo just finished a mission as Geohound and is preparing for some time off, only to find a new job instead, by the church of Granas. This new job involves bodyguarding a young Songstress of Granas called Elena on her way to Garmia tower for a ceremony to strengthen a magical seal. At Garmia tower however, the plot thickens and soon Ryudo finds himself again hired by the church to bodyguard Elena on her way to the Granas cathedral, at which point she joins the party.
Elena
- Name: Elena
- Age: 17
- Occupation: Songstress of Granas
Elena starts out on a trip to Garmia tower along with her bodyguard, Ryudo. Shy, mild-mannered, polite and caring, she's the exact opposite of Ryudo and early on in the game, the two often clash as Ryudo continually mocks Elena's behavior, believes and attitude toward the world, which is pure innocence bordering on naive. She can be said to fall under the requisite Mary Sue archetype seen so often in RPG's. As they travel together and meet up with others, Ryudo's behavior changes and Elena's religious views and naivety grow milder, allowing the two to get along better. Later on in the game she meets her alter-ego (quite literally), Millenia, who is a part of Valmar taken human form. A very devout girl, yet extremely insecure, dedicating her whole life to praise of Granas through song and prayer.
Millenia
- Name: Millenia
- Age: Unknown, appears to be in her late teens. Presumed 17.
- Occupation: None
Millenia is somewhat a mystery. Initially, it is unknown where she is from though it is evident she is part of Valmar's body which has escaped and apparently taken human form after the failure of the ceremony at Garmia tower. Without provocation, she attacks the village where Ryudo and Elena are resting before making another trip. Her personality is brash, immature, self-confident to the point of arrogance and seductive yet someone who managed to look past all that realizes she's also got the innocence and caring attitude of a little girl. An attitude not quite what one would expect from a part of the god of darkness.
Roan
- Name: Roan
- Age: 13
- Occupation: Unknown. Presumed none.
Roan is a kid that Ryudo, Elena and Millenia encounter along the way to the Granas cathedral. Having lost a precious memento from his departed mother to a horde of monsters who invaded a town he was visiting. He asked Ryudo for help, who in his own crude fashion told Roan he was already busy. Shortly after, Roan leaves to search for his medal on his own and after word gets out he's missing, Millenia volunteers herself and Ryudo to find Roan, which they do. From that point on, Roan travels with the party. Roan shows an understanding far beyond his age, yet he still approaches allot of common things with boyish curiosity and surprisingly good manners.
Mareg
- Name: Mareg
- Age: Late 30s. Exact age unknown.
- Occupation: Warrior
A beast-man Ryudo, Elena and Roan encounter along the way to the Granas cathedral. Initially mistakes Ryudo for someone else who attacked is village and in blind rage attacks the party. Later on, the party meets up with Mareg again and after some formal introductions, Mareg joins. He explains the reason for the attack was vengeance on the demon-man Melfice who attack his village, Nanan and that the smell of Ryudo was nearly identical to the smell of Melfice. Physically impressive, wielding a huge halberd and being of great height, he's also the philosopher of the party, reminding everyone of possible dangers, risks and counteractions. His tribe also has an extremely keen sense of smell, allowing Mareg to smell certain things miles away. Usually calm, passive and open-minded, though his lust for vengeance brings out the worst of him at times.
Tio
- Name: Tio
- Age: At least 10,000 years old.
- Occupation: Automata
Tio is an automata, a forgotten remnant from the war between Granas and Valmar 10,000 years ago. Laying dormant under a castle for 10,000 years and being infused with a part of Valmar for safe-keeping, Ryudo and his party encounter her during and expedition into the hidden automata factory. Initially hostile because ordered to attack intruders, her ordeal with fighting the party as apart of Valmar knocked her systems offline for a while, at which Mareg brings her to the above world. After lingering around and being told to be free several times, Mareg develops sympathy for Tio, who currently lacks any sort of feeling or emotion. Tio's personality initially simply does not exist: She's an automata and personalities are not encoded into war machines. Over the course of the game however, she develops a motherly personality due to being with the party.
Battle system
Grandia II sports a refreshing battle system which is more tactical than what is usual on computer RPGs, especially those developed by Japanese companies. Apart from the usual real-time yet turn-based battle system as is known from the Final Fantasy series, the game also supports limited movement during the battle. Characters run around, strike their opponent and run somewhere else. With some good (or bad) timing, either the player or the computer can "cancel" a move, causing a character's or monster's time to strike to be lengthened or if acting out a move, canceling it entirely. The battle system is generally considered one of the games' strongest points.
Glitches
The PC and PlayStation 2 ports both suffered from inhibiting glitches that led to generally poor reception and preference for the original Dreamcast version. On the PlayStation 2, the game suffers from transparency issues; some parts of the game animate slowly and some textures flicker. On the PC and PlayStation 2 version it is possible for the first fight with Millena to break. This is known as the Millenia Zap! bug.
External Links
- Grandia II info at rpgamer.com (http://www.rpgamer.com/games/grandia/grand2/grand2.html)