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Players Actually run around trying to catch their enemies while on the attack and the faster your character stat is the faster he will run. There is one thing thats unique about Grandia II's battle aspect. You can see you enemies HP (up to 9999 that is) and what attack their thinking of doing! This puts some strategy into it!
Gameplay:
The Gameplay of Grandia II was great. You join a hero named Ryudo on a quest to defeat evil. Sound simple enough? Well not exactly. You will meet friends and foes, and both will be in your party at one point in time! The enemies in this game are to be reckoned with. If they see you they will come lunging at you, If you get caught up on they will go first in the Battle. If you sneak up on them its vise versa. After the battle you will collect Magic Coins and Special Coins. The Magic coins are what help to strengthen your Magic attacks that each character's "Mana egg" has. Special Coins help strength up Each character's own specific special Attack. For example Ryudo's attack called the 'Tensaiken Slash' with 1 star is pretty weak and takes a while to charge up. But if you use special coins to build it up to 5 Stars it will come out immediately taking no time to charge and will cause a lot more damage. You will also collect items that will make your character's stats higher.
Music:
The Music is what won me over on Grandia II. Its simply fantastic. A great soundtrack with the game that captures each character's emotions and personality. Not only that but I've never even heard a better Final Boss theme than this one!
Originality:
This game might not get all the points for originality because if you've played the first Grandia for the PlayStation, you'll notice a lot of character similarities.
Plot:
The Plot of this game is nothing special but it does have your little secret twist to it. Especially with one of the main characters, Millenia.
Replay Value:
This doesn't have much of a replay value. Once you end the game the second time you play, you'll find items on the ground that weren't there the first time but that's about it.
Sounds:
I gave this one another 10 because the voice acting in this game is so lifelike! They picked some very popular voice actors as well. They did a great job on catching each character's persona and emotions. The sound effects in this game are awesome. Do a Magic Spell and just look at the visuals and sound effects of it.
Visuals:
The Visual department of Grandia II was also something to remember it for. The world of Grandia II has some amazing effects. Very nicely colored textures and even some anime affects on it. The Character models could have used a bit of an upgrade though. Only one of them has a nose! But then we get to the visual effects which win it back over. Everything from your simple attacks to the Biggest attack like "Ba BOOM" was detailed so well its almost like you can touch it.
| Game Stats | |
|---|---|
| Genre | RPG |
| Platform | Dreamcast |
| Format | CD-ROM |
| # of Players | 1 |
| Released Jap | 08.03.2000 |
| Released US | 12.06.2000 |
| Released EU | 02.23.2001 |
| Aprox. Length | 50-60 hrs. |
| Reviewer Rankings | |
| Battle System | 10.0 |
| Gameplay | 8.0 |
| Music | 11.0 |
| Originality | 5.0 |
| Plot | 7.0 |
| Replay Value | 6.0 |
| Sound | 10.0 |
| Visuals | 9.0 |
| Difficulty | Medium |
| Overall | |
| 8.3 | |
Grandia II
By: Game ArtsReviewed By: Riptor
The Battle System is probably what made Grandia II a popular game on the Dreamcast. Players Were all lined up on a gauge called the "IP Gauge" {Initiative Points} When the player hits the Input section of the gauge near the end, the user inputs a command. ex: Run, Attack, Use Magic, etc. Then depending on what you selected the Character moves up toward the end of that gauge then performs his attack. Standard 2 hit combo attacks take no time at all to Charge but a powerful Magic attack will take a while if you haven't made that magic attack stronger.Players Actually run around trying to catch their enemies while on the attack and the faster your character stat is the faster he will run. There is one thing thats unique about Grandia II's battle aspect. You can see you enemies HP (up to 9999 that is) and what attack their thinking of doing! This puts some strategy into it!
Gameplay:
The Gameplay of Grandia II was great. You join a hero named Ryudo on a quest to defeat evil. Sound simple enough? Well not exactly. You will meet friends and foes, and both will be in your party at one point in time! The enemies in this game are to be reckoned with. If they see you they will come lunging at you, If you get caught up on they will go first in the Battle. If you sneak up on them its vise versa. After the battle you will collect Magic Coins and Special Coins. The Magic coins are what help to strengthen your Magic attacks that each character's "Mana egg" has. Special Coins help strength up Each character's own specific special Attack. For example Ryudo's attack called the 'Tensaiken Slash' with 1 star is pretty weak and takes a while to charge up. But if you use special coins to build it up to 5 Stars it will come out immediately taking no time to charge and will cause a lot more damage. You will also collect items that will make your character's stats higher.
Music:
The Music is what won me over on Grandia II. Its simply fantastic. A great soundtrack with the game that captures each character's emotions and personality. Not only that but I've never even heard a better Final Boss theme than this one!
Originality:
This game might not get all the points for originality because if you've played the first Grandia for the PlayStation, you'll notice a lot of character similarities.
Plot:
The Plot of this game is nothing special but it does have your little secret twist to it. Especially with one of the main characters, Millenia.
Replay Value:
This doesn't have much of a replay value. Once you end the game the second time you play, you'll find items on the ground that weren't there the first time but that's about it.
Sounds:
I gave this one another 10 because the voice acting in this game is so lifelike! They picked some very popular voice actors as well. They did a great job on catching each character's persona and emotions. The sound effects in this game are awesome. Do a Magic Spell and just look at the visuals and sound effects of it.
Visuals:
The Visual department of Grandia II was also something to remember it for. The world of Grandia II has some amazing effects. Very nicely colored textures and even some anime affects on it. The Character models could have used a bit of an upgrade though. Only one of them has a nose! But then we get to the visual effects which win it back over. Everything from your simple attacks to the Biggest attack like "Ba BOOM" was detailed so well its almost like you can touch it.
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