Title: Grandia
Platform: PlayStation
Developer: Game Arts
Playtime: approx. 68 hours (last save 67 hours, 36 minutes, 38 seconds)
My earliest memory of Grandia was some time shortly after its release, with none other than my bro for infinity: Kainr. We had been awake for three consecutive days. Having completed Final Fantasy VIII one night, and having visited our local arcade the next day for some very surreal games of CarnEvil (complete with random drunk dude providing us with gameplay "tips").. By the time we got around to him showing me Grandia, I was pretty much tripping from sleep deprivation. I barely managed to make it through the introduction, and part of the first town.. before I promptly lost consciousness with the controller in-hand. "Bro, wake up" I kept hearing, but it was no use. Curse my frail mortal form, and its need for sleep.. I may have borrowed the game at some point, but didn't get much further then either.
Fast forward about twelve or thirteen years to present day. Grandia is no longer a rare, hard to find game. One which could easily be seen on Ebay for ridiculous prices. One thing I am quite grateful to modern gaming for, is the ability to download classics such as this for around $5. I have to say, technology can be pretty amazing some times.
The game itself is like an ancient shrine, paying homage to a lost age. Grandia is pretty much an archetype of late 90s JRPGs, from what I would consider the golden age of that genre. It's 2d, the battle music rocks, it's long, the translation isn't perfect, the voice acting: even less so. What makes it such an endearing experience, for me at least, is simply the nostalgic atmosphere playing the game creates. The story is fairly standard fare for a JRPG. The usual locales and settings make their appearances, and the gameplay doesn't deviate much from the classic RPG formula. Rather than trying to fix what isn't broken, Grandia sticks to what works. That isn't to say the systems are overly bland, just that nothing's ruined by gimmicky design. This is a straight-up, oldschool RPG that doesn't fuck around. Thank you Game Arts for that.
One of my most favorite aspects of the game is how well realized the world is. For a late PS1 title, the game boasts an impressive amount of detailed environments. There is quite a large population of NPCs, which you can speak to repeatedly to hear different things. The dialogue isn't super great, but kudos to the developers for writing as much text as they did. Within many of the indoor areas, there is also little interactive elements. We're not talking particle physics, but I get a kick out of knocking tiny, low-polygon objects over. I'm weird like that.
The music and cinematics are excellent. The anime styling is excellent. The intricate 2d sprites are excellent. The adventure is excellent. This game is fucking excellent.
On to the next.
