foxhound1022 wrote:I think I like Grandia ll just as much or even more than Skies of Arcadia.
Glad I'm not the only one. I've always loved Grandia II. I think it's the combat system that really engages me too, more so than perhaps Skies of Arcadia. The latter's combat is very simplistic and devoid of any real strategy. That said, both are amazing games and have their pluses and minuses.
I'm a huge fan too, just didn't have much to add to the discussion. The original (superior to the PSX) Grandia on the Saturn not being brought over is still a tragedy of gaming history, at least we weren't stuck with a PS2 Grandia II.
foxhound1022 wrote:I think I like Grandia ll just as much or even more than Skies of Arcadia.
Glad I'm not the only one. I've always loved Grandia II. I think it's the combat system that really engages me too, more so than perhaps Skies of Arcadia. The latter's combat is very simplistic and devoid of any real strategy. That said, both are amazing games and have their pluses and minuses.
I'm a huge fan too, just didn't have much to add to the discussion. The original (superior to the PSX) Grandia on the Saturn not being brought over is still a tragedy of gaming history, at least we weren't stuck with a PS2 Grandia II.
I have the original Grandia on the Saturn. I think it's possibly even better than Grandia II, but I've just never got around to completing it. I think it's the language barrier that makes it less accessible for me (I've still got pretty far though, with the aid of a translation guide). I agree, it's a shame we never got it in the rest of the world (other than the, inferior, PS1 version).
Actually, here in Europe we didn't get Grandia III, so I've never played it. What's it like?
Own: Mega Drive, Saturn, Dreamcast, Playstation 1, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, PS Vita, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Gamecube, Wii U, Game Boy Advance, DS, 3DS, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox, Xbox 360
Reprise wrote:
Actually, here in Europe we didn't get Grandia III, so I've never played it. What's it like?
You know, I have to be honest and say that I wasn't a huge fan of it. Believe it or not, it's a lot more like Skies of Arcadia than it is Grandia II. Without spoiling it, the plot is kind of bland and I don't know that I'd say it plagiarized Skies of Arcadia, but it definitely has a similar look and sky theme that felt kind of rehashed. One character is almost identical to Fina, even. Another criticism I have is that there is nothing extra to do in the game, and if it were a strategy RPG I'd be okay with that, but I expect more from a true 3D RPG in this era. The one thing I will say is that the difficulty level was quite good, most RPGs that get made now are incredibly easy; it requires you to anticipate your enemies attacks and counter them or else you will be dead quick.
So I guess I'd rate it 3/5, if it were a generic RPG I would have liked it better, but it doesn't live up to the Grandia name. If you've already played the heavy hitter PS2 rpgs, it may be worth a look, but you definitely didn't miss out on a classic.
Edit: Also, check out this clip. Almost makes you think you just bought Skies of Arcadia 2, no?
Reprise wrote:
Actually, here in Europe we didn't get Grandia III, so I've never played it. What's it like?
You know, I have to be honest and say that I wasn't a huge fan of it. Believe it or not, it's a lot more like Skies of Arcadia than it is Grandia II. Without spoiling it, the plot is kind of bland and I don't know that I'd say it plagiarized Skies of Arcadia, but it definitely has a similar look and sky theme that felt kind of rehashed. One character is almost identical to Fina, even. Another criticism I have is that there is nothing extra to do in the game, and if it were a strategy RPG I'd be okay with that, but I expect more from a true 3D RPG in this era. The one thing I will say is that the difficulty level was quite good, most RPGs that get made now are incredibly easy; it requires you to anticipate your enemies attacks and counter them or else you will be dead quick.
So I guess I'd rate it 3/5, if it were a generic RPG I would have liked it better, but it doesn't live up to the Grandia name. If you've already played the heavy hitter PS2 rpgs, it may be worth a look, but you definitely didn't miss out on a classic.
Edit: Also, check out this clip. Almost makes you think you just bought Skies of Arcadia 2, no?
Haha, oh wow, it's Fina! I can definitely see the Skies of Arcadia influence. Thanks for posting that. Grandia III is a game I wasn't even aware of, until a few years back when looking up the series online and then I noticed it wasn't released in my country. Sounds like we didn't really miss out on much though.
Off/On topic: I've decided to return to Skies of Arcadia today. I'm playing it right now and I will complete it one day! Haha
Own: Mega Drive, Saturn, Dreamcast, Playstation 1, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, PS Vita, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Gamecube, Wii U, Game Boy Advance, DS, 3DS, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox, Xbox 360
Beat Melfice in Grandia II tonight. At 21 hrs... am I safe to assume I'm at least halfway through now? After he was dead it triggered the longest cutscene ever. Funny thing, my wife was hanging out w/ me in the game room while I was playing, and during the cutscene she asked "are you playing a soap opera or something?"
Popped in NFL 2K for a bit. Damn good game, though I'm just getting used to the controls.
EDIT: My Patriots won our first game against The Jets 49-10.
noiseredux wrote:Beat Melfice in Grandia II tonight. At 21 hrs... am I safe to assume I'm at least halfway through now? After he was dead it triggered the longest cutscene ever. Funny thing, my wife was hanging out w/ me in the game room while I was playing, and during the cutscene she asked "are you playing a soap opera or something?"
Popped in NFL 2K for a bit. Damn good game, though I'm just getting used to the controls.
EDIT: My Patriots won our first game against The Jets 49-10.
My absolute favorite part of playing NFL2K was using the VMU to call plays without showing it to the opponent. It was mind blowing
The original (superior to the PSX) Grandia on the Saturn not being brought over is still a tragedy of gaming history, at least we weren't stuck with a PS2 Grandia II.
