Review

Grandia II

By Bro Buzz
February 23, 2004 16:31 PM PST
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Ubi Soft saw Grandia on the PlayStation, and decided Grandia II could do better on the Dreamcast?it does!

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Grandia II's topnotch gameplay helps propel the Dreamcast along a path to RPG fame. This game's solidly-built and features stunning visuals, dead-on controls, and a innovative combat system.

The tale centers on Ryudo, a wandering sword-for-hire, who thinks he's making easy money by escorting a young priestess to a religious ceremony. Soon they become the focal point of an epic struggle between good and evil, told in part through spectacular cinemas and melodramatic dialogue.

The excellent controls make managing your heroic quartet a breeze. With the crisp inventory system, you can easily flip through recovery items or attack items, change weapons and armor, and swap magic between characters, too. The ingenious combat system is similar to that of Grandia for the PlayStation. It combines real-time and turn-based combat with a premium on strategy and tactics. Grandia II is one grand game. If you're looking to fight your way through far-out fantasy, the adventure begins here.

GRAPHICS 5.0
Wow! Grandia II mixes anime-style stills, awesome CG story sequences, and tight party-travel gameplay looks. Special moves and magic attacks fire up mind-blowing visuals, and there's a vast menagerie of beasts and monsters.

SOUND 4.5
Cool background noise and sound effects create add lush atmosphere to the fantasy landscape. The occasional character voices are well-acted, adding emotion and drama to the dialogue. The music's imaginative in some spots, not bad in others.

CONTROL 5.0
These controls are cool! The inventory system enables you to easily read character power levels or to check gear and magic at glance. The on-target combat system wheels and deals special moves, regular combo attacks, or magic with ease.

FUN 5.0
This is classic RPG fun, updated for 2000. There are no branching pathways or mulitiple endings, but if you're looking for a rip-roaring adventure, you can't go wrong.