#29

Grandia (Originally released in 1999 on the PS1.)

Grandia is one of those games I had heard whispers of, so when I laid my eyes on a copy of the playstation version of the game I had to give it a try and see what all the fuss was about. The game had apparently sold pretty well on the Saturn in Japan, so when it was ported over it gathered quite a buzz...at least around the rpg community!

Grandia deals with an aspect in rpgs that most do not. The main character, Justin is a pure hearted, young spirited, adventurer. The main theme of this game is traveling into the unknown. Justin has a passion for exploration and when he is given his chance, he sets off and decides to travel the world and see sights that no eyes have ever seen. The main goal for young Justin is to journey past the end of the world, which in this game is represented by a wall that scales far beyond the clouds. Justin believes there is plenty of the world that has yet to be discovered and he will not let one measly wall stop him from exploring it all.

The game also has one of the best supporting cast ever. Everyone is fleshed out and has tons of development. Characters like Rapp, and Feena or the strong willed Gadwin are just a couple of names that join Justin on his adventures during the game. The villains all have strong cases for their actions and even the less important characters you come across in your journeys have interesting stories and personalities. Game Arts went out of their way to make sure everyone of importance in this game left a lasting impression.

The battle system is impressive as well. The game has an active time battle system. Everyone in the fight is listed in order of fastest to slowest. They are all in a line, and when someone reaches the end of the line it marks their turn. When your characters get a turn, you have a couple different options. Every move you select has a charge time. Depending on what you choose, and your characters mastery of what you are selecting that chanrge time can be instant or slow. Regular attacks are your normal average powered attacks.  Selecting a critical attack will allow you to cancel enemies current turns if they are in that small charge time period. Critical attacks are less powerful then regular attacks, so you will only want to use them if you can reach the enemy in time to cancel their attack. You also have special attacks and spells that work off of a leveling system. The more you use each and every spell and skill the faster you are able to cast them in battles. You also get more spells and skills when you meet certain requirements. Leveling two spells high enough could allow you to master a new spell that combines both. The battle system is fast and fun, so you won't get bored with it because its always challenging. You could in essence cancel the enemies turns from start to finish without so much as letting them take one turn.

Grandia offers a breath of fresh air. The game takes a light hearted approach, and tells the tale of group of people traveling to the ends of the world to see sights like none before them has ever seen. The cast is great, the story is wonderful, the battles are enjoyable. I now see why this game was gathering such a buzz in Japan. It was a buzz well deserved.