Grandia

Few titles over the past year have generated more excitement than Game Arts' mammoth RPG, "Grandia." In the aftermath of Square's almighty "Final Fantasy VII," Saturn owners immediately looked to see if there was something that could match that caliber of gaming prowess. Soon Game Arts, makers of the excellent Lunar RPG series and Gun Griffon, stepped into the limelight and announced "Grandia." It was immediately hyped by various magazines and gamers as the Saturn's "Final Fantasy VII - killer," being 'bigger, badder, and just more game.' Interestingly, Game Arts themselves weren't spreading this hype - they were just out to make the ultimate RPG for the Saturn, and in the end, that is exactly what they achieved. What "Grandia" is is truly the Greatest RPG for the Sega Saturn, bar none. Witness Saturn's Highest Power as you traverse across some of the most refreshing and diverse locales ever to grace an RPG! With the perfect combination of gorgeous 3D environments, great 2D animated sprite characters, phenomenal voice acting and a story to die for, "Grandia" is arguably the greatest game on the Saturn ever!

Surprisingly, "Grandia" never generated the sales numbers or hype that accompanied it's closest rival "Final Fantasy VII" - in Japan, sales of "Grandia" currently are 'only' about ~330,000+ copies (which is pretty good), and buzz on the Internet has been minimal as well (although it is currently the #2 most popular game this week in Japan, according to Famitsu's readers poll). It is surprising because this is the one game that every Saturn owner (who can understand some Japanese ^^;) should experience - "Phenomenal" is an understatement.

The most immediate aspect that stands out is the graphical quality of it all - starting with a fully 3D polygonal world - the opening sequence where the camera pans around over your hometown (all in glorious 3D) is simply breathtaking. I must preface this by saying that this is the first game that 'underwhelmingly overwhelmed' me. It's not the bad-ass, in-your-face, slick, pre-rendered CG work that FFVII has - instead, Grandia's true 3D environments grow on you. Every section of the towns and most dungeons are so full of _life_ and _energy_, and are so vibrant, that sometimes it can be overlooked by those expecting to see the 'other' type of environments: the super-detailed CG backdrops that accompany games like FFVII. To explain, while the towns and dungeons are all made up of polygons, Game Arts has managed to maintain a very 'Anime'-esque quality about it all. The textures that adorn the buildings, structures, and environments all contain a 'warmth' and 'vibrancy' that can only be described as 'Anime'-like. Ambient animations further add life to the towns, as birds fly around the cities, smoke rises from the chimneys of various houses, etc. Furthermore, nearly everything can be 'searched' in some way. If you walk into a townsperson's home, you can search their stoves, and the pots and pans on there will _move_ as you search them! It's these little touches that further add to the overall beauty and subtle grandeur of "Grandia." The characters themselves are 2D, hand-drawn sprites - which is perfectly suited for this game. They are all animated very well, and still express the whole range of emotions that would otherwise be lost if it was in 3D. Spells and weapon effects are all done very well being mixtures of 2D sprites and 3D polygons.

The music is perhaps the least outstanding aspect of "Grandia." Done by the same composer who did the Lunar series, it is definitely solid and fits the game appropriately, being made up of symphonic orchestra-type compositions (PCM), and even some really diverse 'ethnic' jungle rhythms (for the jungle dungeons of course). But after hearing Nobuo Uematsu's excellence that is his Final Fantasy compositions, it's just kind of hard to appreciate this. Again, there are actually a few pieces that are really outstanding and overall the entire set of music is good. But aurally, it is the _Voice_ that really makes "Grandia" shine. The game is just filled with voice nearly everywhere. All major cut scenes and important events are not only displayed by written text, but also excellently acted out by some of Japan's best _seiyuu_, such as Noriko Hidaka (Akane (Ranma ½)), Kikuko Inoue (Belldandy (Oh My Goddess!)), Yumi Touma (Deedlit (Record of Lodoss War), Urd (Oh My Goddess!)), and Aya Hisakawa (Skuld (Oh My Goddess!)). Every character says something when they attack or cast a spell - bringing a much more energetic and interesting feel to the battles, as opposed to every other RPG out there (including FFVII). And every spell they cast is accompanied by different sayings as well! Again, this is one more great aspect of a great game.

The overall Gameplay is also a step above all other RPG's - yes, not since the excellent "Chrono Trigger" do we get a True RPG that allows you to _see_ the monsters on screen before you fight. For all those of you who got sick of taking 'two steps and battle, take another two steps and battle, etc.' "Grandia" shows all the monsters on the screen, allowing for you to be prepared for battle first, or to _dodge_ battles altogether (by running around the creature). The dungeons themselves gain the greatest benefit with the true 3D aspect - as with the towns, you can rotate the camera (a full 360 degrees if you want) around to see the layout of the dungeons and what's coming up ahead. Combined with the fact that you can see the monsters _before_ you fight, what you get is the first time 'dungeons' are totally enjoyable and interesting to roam around. Since you can see creatures before they attack you, you can take your time walking around the environments, exploring and looking and just 'taking your time' if you want. No more worrying about getting into random encounters all the time. Furthermore, most of "Grandia" is actually 'out of doors' in very nice diverse environments, such as wild Savannas, tropical island locales, and some amazing Jungle dungeons. Since it's all 3D (with some 2D sprites), you can spend hours just rotating the camera and marveling at it all - it's that good. Bushes rustle as you walk by, rope bridges creak and move as you cross them. Never once did I get sick and tired of dungeons or exploring.

Lastly, it is perhaps the Storyline and overall Feel that is the heart of "Grandia." Seeing their track record with "Lunar: The Silver Star Story" it comes as no surprise that "Grandia" would have any less of a great story. While I could only understand about ~40% of what was going on, I did get the overall main storyline, and it is amazing. No spoilers, but expect to see strong influences from Anime classics such as Miyazaki's "Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind," and "Laputa: Castle in the Sky." The ending alone is about ~10-15 minutes long and provides excellent closure (FYI: For those who are playing it, make sure you watch _past_ the End Credits - there's another whole story sequence!). Amazing.

"Grandia" is truly a wonderful RPG that deserves to be played and experienced by all who can - unfortunately, you need to have a high understanding of Japanese to play this game. The decision by Sega America to bring "Shining Force III part 1" to the US and not "Grandia" is one that I am sad to see (well, I'm happy they're bringing _some_ RPG out). Ultimately, I see RPG's going off in two directions now - the 'Square route' of beautiful, super-detailed pre-rendered CG backdrops and look (ala FFVII, Saga Frontier, Parasite Eve), and Game Arts route of fully 3D environments while maintaining the Anime-esque 'feel' of the classic RPG's (ala "Grandia"). Folks, this is only their _first_ attempt on these next generation consoles! I can't wait to see what "Grandia 2" or "Lunar 3" looks like on the Katana - hopefully when those come out, someone smart enough in the US will bring them over. Until then, enjoy Saturn's ultimate Greatness that sits atop the platform along with "NiGHTS" and "Sakura Taisen": Game Arts' "Grandia."

Final Scores (out of a perfect 10):

Graphics: 9.3
=============
+ Gorgeous true 3D environments very 'alive' and 'anime'-like.
+ Great texture work to maintain this vibrancy.
+ Well animated 2D hand-drawn character sprites.
+ Some really cool spell effects.
+ Great mechanical and world designs - reminiscent of "Nausicaa" and "Laputa."
+ Great CG/Anime Movies - combining CG with traditional 2D
hand-drawn, cel Anime.
- Pixellization can occur (noticeable) during some spells.
- Slight pixellization when zooming in on some characters.
- Constricted color palette on certain spells (seems to be 4 / 8-Bit color palettes).
- Noticeable slowdown in certain geometry-intensive areas.
- Poor compression on the CG/Anime movies.

Sound/Music: 9.5
=============
+ Solid, competent 'standard' RPG orchestral arrangements.
+ Diverse range of tunes, from orchestral to 'ethnic' tunes.
+ Excellent Voice Acting by some of the best _seiyuu_ in Japan adds
a great emotional touch to the game. - Lack of truly godly tunes, ala Uematsu-san's work.

Gameplay: 9.6
=============
+ Free control of camera in a 3D environment - rotate and examine to your heart's content.
+ You can see the creatures on the battlefield before your battles, thus you can avoid encounters as well.
+ Beautiful, well laid out towns and 'dungeons.'
+ Overall magical and amazing feel - like you're playing an RPG in the world of a Miyazaki film.
+ Awesome story and great ending.

=============
OVERALL: 9.7
=============
"One of the All-Time Greatest Games for the Sega Saturn."

Ken Lee (klee@interplay.com)