Board 8 > Does Grandia hold up?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've never played it, and the HD collection is on sale on Switch. I recall these being mentioned as good PS1 JRPGs, are they still fun today? Story, gameplay, I know absolutely nothing about the series.

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I just played through Grandia II last month and quite enjoyed myself. A bit dated in some ways but overall very charming. Loved the battle system.

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Last time I tried re-playing Grandia 1 I didn't make it very far. It's really the map/exploration/camera stuff that holds it back.

Haven't tried playing Grandia 2 since my first playthrough

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Well, it's pretty light hearted and whimsical, going on and on about how amazing it is to go on an adventure. The feeling of discovery and going to new unexplored lands is fun at first, but it does get a bit of a drag eventually since it's a long game (~60 hours) and it's like oh there's still yet another region to go.

The battle system is similar to FF ATB, but with an element of movement/positioning and some attacks can delay enemy turns. Though since it's about the same difficulty as FF, it's not really all that more strategic about it.

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I always used to like Grandia II more than Grandia but after replaying both about 3 years ago, I feel the opposite.

Grandia has this great sense of adventure and mystery, kinda like Skies of Arcadia. It has a very nice battle system and the story in 1 is so so much better than 2. Worth a try I'd say at aleast.

one of the best main themes of any jrpg

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I think its kinda boring, but it definitely "holds up" in a lot of ways. I can see why it would have been pretty big back then.

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Hm interesting responses, thanks all.

Crispy you seem to have encyclopedic knowledge on all RPGs lol, whenever I ask about one you have a helpful detailed explanation ready to go!

ninkendo posted...

one of the best main themes of any jrpg

Just gave it a listen, it is indeed good.

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andylt posted...

I recall these being mentioned as good PS1 JRPGs,

Btw Grandia is the only PS1 game. The sequels are PS2

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also, I definitely think they're worth a playthrough if you haven't, even if they don't "hold up" technically

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Great games. Grandia 2 improves battle system greatly and music is excellent in both cases. First Grandia does have a "charm" to it I suppose. In any case, I enjoyed them both

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Grandia I/II were actually Saturn/Dreamcast games originally.

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I misread this as 'Does Grandma hold up?'

Carry on.

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