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Grandia | 
 enlarge | From: Game Arts
Category: Video Games
Buy Used: $42.95
New (5) Used (18) Collectible (1) from $42.95
Rating:  47 reviews
Sales Rank: 8518
Format: Ntsc
Platforms: Playstation, Windows 98
ESRB: Everyone
Media: Video Game
Operating System: Windows 98
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 4.9 x 0.9
UPC: 711719445722
EAN: 0711719445722
ASIN: B000034DBS
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: 2 Game Discs Only In New Case With Original Cover Art, No Instructions, Fully Guaranteed, Fast Shipping !
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| Editorial Reviews:
Editorial Review
If you can put up with the cutesy graphics, Grandia is one of the longest, most compelling, and most character-driven role-playing games you'll ever spin in your PlayStation. By the time we finished this massive quest, we really cared about the game's characters. (By comparison, our interest in Final Fantasy VII was focusing more on getting from one transition movie scene to the next). The main story line is standard role-playing fare. The powerful General Baal has plans to unleash something of a Pandora's box on the world, and you can guess whose job it is to stop him. Grandia provides a world packed with colorful characters who are fun to talk to, and the unconventional combat system lets players pick and choose their fights. The characters in your party grow, as do their magical skills and weapons, meaning there's always some new accomplishment just around the corner that keeps players adventuring long into the night. Role-playing fans should be overjoyed that this conversion from the Sega Saturn classic was made, as it provides weeks of solid adventuring that never becomes a chore. --T. Byrl Baker Pros: - An entertaining adventure with loads of interesting characters
- Characters, weapons, and spells all improve with experience
Cons: - Quirky, cutesy graphics won't appeal to everybody
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| Customer Reviews: Read 42 more reviews...
 What's so Grand about this game anyway? June 30, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'm rather baffled by all the positive reviews for this game. I bought it a couple months ago after reading all the good reviews and thinking this game must be a shining gem that has withstood the test of time. Well, now I'm rethinking that assumption... No doubt many people will disagree with me, but on with the review!
Graphics (6/10): Sigh. Everything is pixelated. I'm not sure whether the graphics for this game were considered good when the game was released or not. On the bright side, the character designs are good as well as the towns. The dungeons are another matter, but more on that later.
Music (6/10): I still can't figure out why people claim this game has a great soundtrack. I've even heard people claim that Grandia's music is some of their most favorite of all time. I wonder if Grandia is the only RPG they've ever played? Anyway, the majority of the tracks weren't too bad. Unfortuneately, I remember some pretty bad ones. There's one jungle where the "music" seems to only be ambient jungle wildlife sounds, which got annoying after the 50th bird call. Unlike others, I found the Gumbo song to be one of the most annoying village themes ever. It's okay right at first, but then starts to grate on your nerves the longer you stay in the village. One more thing-the voice acting deserves mention. It's bad. I rank it as the worst voiceing I've ever heard in a game. It sounds like they literally pulled people off the street and offered them $10 to read off some lines. Terrible.
Characters (7/10): The characters are interesting at first, until you realize that everyone's the same. All possess the same plucky, happy-go-lucky adventurer personality. I have nothing against light-hearted games, but everyone really did seem to have the exact same personality; there was just no balance to the party. Speaking of party, there was a high rate of people joining and then permanently leaving, this (or something else?) really meant that no one really got any siginificant character development. Most everyone had no back story of interest (or at all) and were not well developed.
Story (5/10): Here's where Grandia really starts to "sag in the saddle", so to speak. The first 1/4 of the game and the last 1/4 are interesting and engaging. I really enjoyed the start in Parm; rummaging through people's houses, reading Justin's diary for some amusing stories, and laughing at the way any alcoholic references were changed to "coffee". Man, those were good times. Unfortunately, it all goes downhill from there. The middle of the game becomes a neverending series of filler events. The first couple "villages in need" or "musty old ruins to explore" didn't bother me at all, but after that, I started to feel like I was stuck on the wheel of karma or something. It just got really repetitive, until I just knew the next village I came to would have to be saved by me from some disaster. Well, what I refer to as the "main" story picked about the last quarter of the game, but it wasn't nearly original or interesting enough to make up for the huge amount of filler crap in the middle. By then, only my sheer will power kept me playing to the end.
Battle System (8/10): Nothing really wrong with the battle system. It's a variant of turn-based, with a small bar in the corner indicating who will go next. While the bar does let you see when you're characters will go, I didn't really find it all that useful. What keeps this section from a perfect score is the abilities-and how you level them up. Using them over and over again strengthens your magic, but not how you'd expect. SPEED increases, not strength. I found this very frustrating and pointless. The speed doesn't really increase enough to make much difference- and leveling spells takes forever.
Gameplay (4/10): Was the rotating camera really necessary? I've played games with rotating camera angles (like Xenogears) that worked just fine, but in this game it doesn't. The problem lies in dungeon navigation. If the graphics had been better, or if there had been better dungeon design, perhaps navigation wouldn't be so confusing. It's really hard to tell where you are because the dungeon design is so bland and repetitive; there are usually no landmarks with which to navigate, with the result that I actually wound up back at the entrance thinking it was the exit. On another note, something else that bothered me was the fact that even by the end of the game, you couldn't really return to much of anywhere you had been previously. I kept expecting be able to return to Parm eventually, but no such luck.
*NOTE: This part's an extremely important part--the game is glitchy. It would freeze randomly, forcing me to reset and start over. The cds themselves were in good condition with almost no scratches of any kind, and I've heard this same complaint before, which leads me to believe the glitches are a flaw of the game design. This is a huge turnoff--this added in extra frustration to an already boring game. This flaw knocks points off the score.
Overall (4/10): Note this score is not an average, it's my subjective overall score. I must say, given the flaws of this game, I'd never play it again. It's too bad really, it could've been a decent game if the makers had cut out the middle of the "plot" and fixed the glitches. I really wouldn't recommend this to anyone unless they absolutely have played every other good RPG out there and are just dying for something else to play. Even then, it may be better to just replay an old favorite instead.
 Classic RPG Game That Doesn't Get Old Playing It! August 12, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Reviewed for Big Boss Games by: T.R.C.
You start out as a boy named Justin. He dreams of becoming an adventurer just like his dad. Justin has a childhood friend and cousin named Sue. Sue has a great pet named Puffy, that Justin's Dad found on one of his many adventures. As you start your adventures you will meet tons of funny and interesting people. Like Feena, a fellow adventurer, Guido, a wise, if enigmatic bunny rabbit, Gadwin, the masterful warrior, Milda, an Amazonian that likes using her body instead her head, Rapp, a hot blooded young man with a bad attitude and a host of other cast members that make this game a joy to play.
The Story - 8/10: This Game starts out a bit slow till you are about 3 hours into the game. That is when this game starts to shine and keeps shining. You will laugh, Cry, get upset, and feel joy while playing this great game.
The Battle System - 7/10: This is your typical turn based battle system with a unique leveling system. You must use your attacks and magic over and over again because they gain experience with every use. Then that leads to new spells and attacks. You must also change your party's weapons, because each weapon type gains its own experience.
Game play - 9/10: The puzzles in this game were just hard enough to give you the feeling of accomplishment. I loved the mazes in this game because most of the dungeons had a 360-degree camera control, with a nice little compass to point you in the right direction. My advice is to use the compass if you get lost. (You will get lost at some point) This game has 50+ hours of game play.
Overall - 9/10: This game was a joy to play. It has it's ups and downs, like 40+ hours into the game you want it to be over, but the game's story keeps the plot twists coming and the game keeps you glued to your seat to find out what happens next.
If you want a great game this is one of the best RPG's for the Playstation.
P.S. Don't forget to get the strategy guide for this game. Grandia (Prima's Official Strategy Guide)
 Reminiscent of a lost childhood April 15, 2005
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
I am an RPG player to the core. I only play RPG's and I tend to randomly pick them off the shelf at game stores and buy them. I have played and seen my fair share of depressingly bad RPG's.
This is how I happened to come across Grandia in my younger years. I instantly fell in love with the game. I do not look for graphics in a game (although good graphics are a plus), so this game was perfect for me. The story was decidely lack of some really new ideas, and the battles could be teadious. I enjoyed the humour of the game. Even when faced with grave danger Justin is calm and cool, at least he tries to be, just like any younger teenage boy would be.
The battle system was easy to use, and understand. Plus, the leveling up of your weapons and magic added a little twist to getting stronger.
I would definitly advice younger teenage boys to play this game if they wish to play a fun and interesting RPG. The story is easy to understand, the fighting is smooth yet challanging, and the love is to a minimum (which any teenage boy would love, no pun intended).
So, take a chance and play the game. Have fun, and if you don't like it then you don't, but if you do. Well if you like it then you have a game to play when you get really bored.
The Theme of Adventure April 7, 2005
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I heard some many things about the original Grandia that I had to get a copy. Since it was the beginning of the series, I just had to see what started it all. I was impressed with this one despite it being really old. All three of the Grandias emphasize something grand in there stories:
Grandia 2: Story
Grandia Ex: Battle
Grandia 1: Adventure
This game has one of the most original themes I've ever known. This game is all about adventure and the places you visit come from a long list of destinations. The game itself started the unique IP gauge battle system and the most unique way of learning moves and spells: you have to have a certain numerical level to get a new technique. Some moves and magic have two or three required values, making this one interactive RPG that will mostly emphasize training. Once you get a new move, using it or its related statistic increases its power level and activation speed. Also, when a weapon or spell type levels up, you get a boost in the related parameter (for example: if Justin levels up his staff, he gets a bonus of 2 HP added on to his max total as well as 1 point more onto his Vitality). Not a bad system at all, a bit reminiscent of Saga Frontier 2's numerical value Arts system. Game Arts should have kept this on for the other two games. Maybe they might bring it back for the third one.
The music is a definite highlight of this game, considering the great Noriyuki Iwadare composed it. His town and battle themes are amazing, especially Disc 2's main battle theme (my favorite battle theme of all time). There are entertaining and sad themes too and a romantic one for all of us who want something a little heartfelt. The voice acting isn't really as bad as everyone says. Justin and Sue are pretty much right on the dot with their ages (14 and 8) while Guido's semi-Italian speech is really cute. Milda's southern girl accent is nice and burly and Rapp definitely sounds like a kid who has no manners at all.
The story seems a little closely related to Grandia Ex in terms of the Grandia world having elemental spirits residing in it as well as the story of an ancient civilization where man tasted the paradise of supreme knowledge. Not bad at all.
The game spans two discs and has three sidequests of great difficulty on the second disc. Unfortunately, they are very easy to miss and have some sweet rewards inside. Plus, after a certain point, you won't be able to go back and do them, so pay attention on the second disc.
The flaw with this game is that is clearly not meant for the PS2 (because of the constant data flow during battles and dungeons). If you still own a PS1, it will save you all the frustration of infrequent and unwelcome freezes (especially if you haven't saved in a while). Also, the music tracks on this Grandia are cut somewhat in comparison to the Saturn version, which has them all, so you might want to hunt down the OST (which is even rarer than the game these days). All and all, a great beginning game for a hopefully long running series in the future.
this is a great game June 17, 2004
2 out of 8 found this review helpful
it is a great game it's a fun and a long gameand if u think it's easy you think wrong i av completed the game three time and am not even bored and am doing it all over agen i wud by this games
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