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Grandia

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Date Created: 2010-09-08
Date Modified: 2010-09-08

General

Platform: PlayStation
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Amazon Link: Buy from Amazon.com

Description

If you can put up with the cutesy graphics, Grandia is one of the longest, most compelling, and most character-driven role-playing games you'll ever spin in your PlayStation. By the time we finished this massive quest, we really cared about the game's characters. (By comparison, our interest in Final Fantasy VII was focusing more on getting from one transition movie scene to the next).

The main story line is standard role-playing fare. The powerful General Baal has plans to unleash something of a Pandora's box on the world, and you can guess whose job it is to stop him. Grandia provides a world packed with colorful characters who are fun to talk to, and the unconventional combat system lets players pick and choose their fights. The characters in your party grow, as do their magical skills and weapons, meaning there's always some new accomplishment just around the corner that keeps players adventuring long into the night. Role-playing fans should be overjoyed that this conversion from the Sega Saturn classic was made, as it provides weeks of solid adventuring that never becomes a chore. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

  • An entertaining adventure with loads of interesting characters
  • Characters, weapons, and spells all improve with experience
Cons:
  • Quirky, cutesy graphics won't appeal to everybody