Grandia (video Game)
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''Grandia'' is a
role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...
, developed by
Game Arts is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Originally established in 1985 as a computer software company, it expanded into producing for a number of game console and handheld systems. Its President and CEO i ...
and published by
Entertainment Software Publishing (ESP) was a Japanese video game publisher headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. It was founded in 1997 as a publisher for games developed by the Game Developers Network (GD-NET). GD-NET, which included companies such as Treasure and Game Arts, was es ...
for the
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console as the first game in their ''
Grandia is a series of role-playing video games developed by Game Arts and published over the years by Entertainment Software Publishing, Sony Computer Entertainment, Ubisoft, Hudson Soft, Enix, Square Enix and GungHo Online Entertainment. Games in the ...
'' series. Released in Japan in 1997, the game was ported to the
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in 1999, with an English version of the game appearing on the platform in North America in the following September by
Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...
, and in Europe in 2000 by
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...
. The game was produced by much of the same staff who worked on the company's previous role-playing endeavor, the ''
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'' series, including producer Yoichi Miyagi and composer
Noriyuki Iwadare is a Japanese video game composer. Biography Iwadare was born in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. He began to compose video game music after years of being involved with university bands. He began composing for Toaplan, arranging thei ...
. ''Grandia''s combat mechanics have been carried over to future games within the franchise. The game has also spawned an expansion disk (''Grandia: Digital Museum'') and a spin-off title ('' Grandia: Parallel Trippers'') - both released exclusively in Japan. In celebration of the announcement of renewing development on ''
Grandia Online was a Japanese free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Game Arts and published by GungHo Online Entertainment for Microsoft Windows as part of their ''Grandia'' series. Although originally announced in 2004, the g ...
'', which acts as a
prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...
to ''Grandia'', the game was re-released on Sony's
PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
platform in Japan as a downloadable title on April 22, 2009 and in North America on February 25, 2010. It was re-released in Europe on November 10, 2010. A high-definition remaster of the game was released in North America and Europe on August 16, 2019, together with ''
Grandia II is a role-playing video game developed by Game Arts originally for the Dreamcast console as part of their ''Grandia'' series. Initially released in Japan in August 2000 by Game Arts, the game was later made available in English for North America ...
'', for
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; a
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version was released on October 15, 2019.
GungHo Online Entertainment is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. They are primarily known for hosting the Japanese server of ''Ragnarok Online'' (developed by its listed Korean subsidiary Gravity), as well as their development of ''Ragnarok DS'' for the Ninten ...
clarified that a Japanese release of the remasters will follow in the future. The game is set in a
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
world of emerging technology and exploration. A young boy named Justin inherits a magic stone that leads him on a journey around the world to uncover the mystery of a long-lost civilization. Along the way, he meets other adventurers who join him on his quest, which draws the attention of the militaristic Garlyle Forces who seek to uncover the secrets of the past as well. ''Grandia'' received a largely positive critical response during its original release, and was voted by readers of the Japanese magazine ''Famitsu'' as the 73rd greatest game of all time in a 2006 poll.


Gameplay

''Grandia's'' environments are depicted as three-dimensional maps, with characters represented by 2-D animated
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sprites. The camera is fully rotational and follows the party from an angled third-person perspective; it is often necessary to rotate the camera in order to see hidden items or passageways. ''Grandia'' features a rotational party roster. The
statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ''wikt:Statistik#German, Statistik'', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of ...
of each party member increase each time they gain a new
level Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights *Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *Canal pound or level *Regr ...
by defeating enemies and earning
experience point An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experi ...
s. Characters learn new abilities through the repeated use of weapons and spells. Once a particular weapon/magic spell is used a number of times in battle, its Skill Level is raised. Weapons are divided into different classes, including
sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
s, maces,
axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many for ...
s,
whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
s and knives. Each party member's potential abilities are listed on a Skill screen within the game's main menu, as well as the Skill requirements that must be met in order to learn them. The game encourages players to periodically switch between weapons. When a weapon or magic element levels up, permanent stat points are added to that character as well. For example, when a character's water skill levels up, they also receive +1 HP as well as +2 MP. Monsters in ''Grandia'' are visible on the field and wander around aimlessly until the party gets close. A battle begins once the monster touches a party member. If the player manages to sneak up on the enemy and make contact from the rear, they gain a preemptive strike and attack first. Likewise, if an enemy touches a party member from behind, they get the first strike. Combat is shown from a third-person overhead view. The IP bar at the bottom right corner of the screen displays a row of icons, which represent all party members and enemies on the screen. When an icon drifts to the midpoint of the IP Bar, that character can choose their next action. The IP Bar also shows the time it takes for enemies to attack; if the party manages to land a strike during the period where an enemy is preparing an attack, that enemy's attack is canceled.


Story


Characters

The story centers around , an aspiring adventurer from Parm. He lives with his mother, , in their home in the upstairs floor of their family-owned restaurant. Justin's father vanished years ago on an adventure, and his mother is worried that he will try to follow in her late husband's footsteps, yet Justin, a
romanticist Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
, insists that there are still uncharted parts of the world, despite general perception that the "End of the World" — an insurmountable stone wall found on a newly discovered continent — has closed the book on the age of adventuring. Other characters include , a friend from his town who acts as a surrogate sister to Justin; , a seasoned adventurer and Justin's idol; , a valiant knight who mentors Justin in the way of swordsmanship; , an ill-mannered youth from the village of Cafu; , a feral giantess who, despite her volatile nature, has a sweet side, particularly for her husband; , a traveling salesman and chieftain of a diminutive, rabbit-like clan called the Mogay; and , a mysterious woman who contacts Justin inside the Sult Ruins. She resides in an ancient space station and serves as a living database of an ancient civilization. The game's main antagonist is General , the calculating leader of the Garlyle Forces. Despite appearing to be involved in the excavation of ruins for purely
philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
reasons, he has his own agenda. His son and second-in-command is Colonel , a tactician who is well liked by his subordinates. Alongside him is his aide-de-camp, , a young soldier who has gained a special place in the military for reasons unknown. , , and are three female commanders who are each assigned their own squadrons. Despite their best efforts, they often bungle important missions, particularly if Justin happens to be involved. Each one of them has a crush on Colonel Mullen and outwardly show their jealousy of Leen as a result.


Plot

''Grandia'' is a set in a fantasy world where societies thrive in an era of increasing technological developments following the collapse of the ancient civilization centuries before. General Baal, leader of the militaristic Garlyle Forces, along with his son Colonel Mullen (Murren) and Mullen's love interest Lieutenant Leen, make their way to an archaeological site where treasures of the ancient people are believed to be resting. Justin, a young boy keen on adventure who lives in the port town of Parm just outside the dig site, travels to the area along with his friend Sue to investigate, as well as gather clues about an artifact left by Justin's missing father, the Spirit Stone. Slipping past the Garlyle soldiers into the ruins, Justin finds a holographic device that displays the image of a woman named Liete, who tells him that his stone holds great power, and he must travel far to the east in search of , the ancient city of knowledge, to learn of its true potential. Returning home, Justin avoids his mother and sneaks out to the docks early the next day to board a ship bound for the New World across the ocean while promising to become a great adventurer like his father. Aboard the ship, Justin discovers Sue has stowed away, and meets with another young adventurer named Feena, who joins the two in saving the vessel from a haunted ship that appears in a fog. After a long journey, they arrive in the town of New Parm only to have Feena become kidnapped by the Adventurer Society's President, who wants her as his wife. Stealing her away, the three travel to a nearby ruin where they once again meet Liete deep inside, who tells them that Alent lies further within the New World beyond a massive continent-spanning wall known as "The End of the World". The Garlyle Forces intercept the three as they travel farther, and question Justin on his ability to manipulate ancient machinery within the ruins. Escaping their capture aboard a military train, the three make their way to a village at the foot of the great wall, where it is revealed that Leen is Feena's long-lost sister. Resolving to continue their journey, the team make their way up the wall, setting up camps along the way before eventually reaching the top, gaining access to the remainder of the continent on the other side. Making their way through a forest, the three meet Gadwin, a beast-man and seasoned knight who sees potential in Justin and leads the three to the ancient Twin Towers in order to contact Liete again. After being intercepted by the Garlyle Forces once again, they make their escape, only for Sue to fall ill as they near another village. Fearing for her safety, Justin obtains a teleportation orb and lets Sue use it to return to Parm and continues onward with Gadwin and Feena to the bounds of the continent and yet another ocean. Justin then defeats Gadwin in a duel, the latter allowing Justin and Feena to have his boat, before leaving the party. Taking Gadwin's ship to another island, Justin and Feena begin to express their feelings for one another. Landing on a beach outside a beast-man village, the two meet Rapp, who asks them to help destroy a nearby tower that is emanating a dark energy and petrifying the land. Finding the tower to be controlled by the Garlyle Forces, the team meets with Milda, a beast-woman, inside and join her in destroying the source of the corruption, which turns out to be a plant-like creature known as "Gaia" being grown by Garlyle researchers under the orders of General Baal. After destroying the creature and taking a sample of its seeds, Justin is confronted by Leen who steals them back. Moving forward in search of Alent, the party meets a traveling merchant named Guido who leads them to his home town, where he acts as chieftain despite his young appearance, allowing them access to more ruins. It is here that Feena discovers innate magic powers that manifest in the form of wings when she is in trouble, and is promptly captured along with Justin's Spirit Stone by invading Garlyle soldiers and taken aboard Baal's flagship, the Grandeur. Baal reveals to her that he intends to revive a fully powered Gaia using the stone to take over the world and remake it to his own design. Justin, Rapp, and Guido manage to board the Grandeur and engage the Garlyle troops aboard before confronting Baal. Due to the self-destruct mechanism being activated by accident, the ship starts to fall apart, and Guido and Rapp end up getting separated from Justin, leaving him to face Baal alone. The general forces Justin to hand over the Spirit Stone by threatening Feena, but Baal keeps her hostage anyway. Justin therefore is forced to fight Baal, but learns during the fight that the madman had fused with Gaia. He knocks Justin off the burning ship, but Feena breaks free from Baal and dives after Justin. The Grandeur subsequently breaks apart in the air, apparently taking Baal and the Spirit Stone with it. After reuniting, the party finally reaches Alent. Here, Justin meets Liete in person, who reveals to him that his stone is actually an ancient artifact forged by the Icarians, a race of powerful sorcerers who lived during the Angelou era, and was a gift to the humans who lived at the time to use as they pleased to bring prosperity, but when they became corrupted by dark desires, it instead gave birth to Gaia, who nearly destroyed the world. The Icarians sacrificed themselves to save the planet and humanity, and enacted a spell that two of their kind would be born into the world should Gaia ever be revived, destined to also sacrifice themselves to save the world until the next revival in an endless loop. Realizing Feena and Leen are the current revival of the Icarians, Justin sets off to save them from the Gaia-fused Baal, who now faces mutiny among his troops, including his son Mullen. With Gaia proving more than a match for the entire Garlyle army, Leen accepts her destiny and sacrifices herself to lower his defenses. Although Mullen pleads with Feena to finish Gaia, Justin argues that the problem can't be solved with more sacrifice since Gaia will just revive later. Thus Gaia must be defeated outright to end the cycle. Though Gaia defeats the troops and spreads its corruption around the planet, Justin is able to sum up the courage to face the evil with help from his friends, and travels to the underground heart of Gaia itself to destroy it and the Spirit Stone once and for all. With Gaia defeated permanently, the world experiences a new age of peace. Leen is also restored to life with Gaia's destruction. In an epilogue ten years later, Sue, now a teenager, re-unites with Justin and Feena who arrive home after nearly a decade of adventure, with children in tow.


Development

''Grandia'' was developed by
Game Arts is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Originally established in 1985 as a computer software company, it expanded into producing for a number of game console and handheld systems. Its President and CEO i ...
over a period of more than two years beginning after the release of the company's previous role-playing video game title, '' Lunar: Eternal Blue'' for the
Sega Mega-CD The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan, ...
. The project, headed by producer Yoichi Miyaji and directors
Takeshi Miyaji was a Japanese video game developer who founded the development companies Game Arts (with his brother Yoichi Miyaji) and G-Mode. He was best known as the creator of the ''Silpheed'', ''GunGriffon'', ''Lunar'' and ''Grandia'' video game series. Hi ...
and Toshiaki Hontani, was also originally intended for the Mega-CD system, but was shifted to the
Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...
early in development due to Sega's abandoning the platform. According to a spokesman for Game Arts, ''Grandia'' was created as part of the company's on-going effort to "provide consumers with good games rather than try to follow market trends", opting instead to create a product that would tell a compelling story catering primarily to their existing fanbase. The game contains 20,000 frames of animation. The Saturn version was released in December 1997 exclusively in Japan, along with a special Limited Edition for those who pre-ordered the game between October 25 and November 30, 1997, which included a fold-out cloth map of the ''Grandia'' world, as well as a mini
radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
disc featuring voiced scenes from the game. In November 1998, ''Grandia'' was re-released in Japan as the ''Grandia Memorial Package'', which featured new instruction booklet artwork and a lower sales price. Sega of America had commented that they had no plans to bring an English version of the game to North American audiences on their system, which prompted an online petition originating on the role-playing game fansit
LunarNET
designed to alert the company of consumer interest. Despite gathering several hundred signatures in only a few days, as well as promotion from gaming website
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
, the Saturn version was never released internationally.
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,
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,
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,
Production I.G is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise, founded on December 15, 1987, by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. The letters I and G derive from the names of the company founders: producer Mitsuhisa Ish ...
, and Studio Junio all helped animate the game by being animation support, and the CG support. In March 1999, Game Arts's Japanese publisher ESP Software showcased a
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version of ''Grandia'' at that year's
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expo, along with confirmation that the game would be released in English for the first time in North America by
Sony Computer Entertainment America Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...
.
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, which had previously worked with Game Arts on bringing their ''Lunar'' games to the region, had expressed interest in publishing the game, but were ultimately unable to secure the rights. New features for the PlayStation version included support for the system's
DualShock The DualShock (originally Dual Shock; trademarked as DUALSHOCK or DUAL SHOCK; with the PlayStation 5 version named DualSense) is a line of gamepads with vibration-feedback and analog controls developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the Pla ...
analog control sticks and vibration function, as well as compatibility with Sony's Japanese-only
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peripheral, which allows players to download game data on a portable device for use in a special mini-game. Although the company had expressed interest in bringing the game to the PlayStation as early as 1998, technical problems originally prevented the title from being ported to the system. Game Arts was later able to release the game with a slight loss in
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and a marginal decrease in video effects the following June. The North American version was originally announced by Sony as a summer release during the 1999
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in
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, but was pushed back to the following October. ''Grandia'' was released for the PlayStation in Europe in 2000 by
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...
. Nearly ten years after ''Grandia''s release on the PlayStation, Game Arts announced in April 2009 that the game would be released as a downloadable title on Sony's
PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
service in Japan in celebration of the resuming development on the company's long-dormant ''
Grandia Online was a Japanese free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Game Arts and published by GungHo Online Entertainment for Microsoft Windows as part of their ''Grandia'' series. Although originally announced in 2004, the g ...
'' project.


Audio

The music for ''Grandia'' was written by
Noriyuki Iwadare is a Japanese video game composer. Biography Iwadare was born in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. He began to compose video game music after years of being involved with university bands. He began composing for Toaplan, arranging thei ...
, who had previously worked with Game Arts as composer for their ''Lunar'' series on the Sega CD. Iwadare was called upon to write the music due to his relationship with the company, and claims that his work on ''Grandia'' was "a turning point in my career", and described the music-making process as "very interesting". ''Grandia''s sound team utilized the latest technology available at the time to create the game's background themes, included the game's main theme, "Theme of Grandia", which was composed by Iwadare in just one night after looking at an illustration for the game. The music was recorded at
Skywalker Sound Skywalker Sound is the sound effects, sound editing, sound design, sound mixing and music recording division of Lucasfilm. Founded in 1975, the company's main facilities are located at George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch in Lucas Valley, near Nicasio, ...
with producer Tom Meyers. In addition to music, the game features voice acting during battles and certain story scenes, with the Japanese version featuring a number of
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
and
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
veteran actors. Two of the English version's main characters, Justin and Gadwin, were officially left uncredited. "It's the End" by Japanese rock group
L'Arc-en-Ciel L'Arc-en-Ciel ( French: 'The Rainbow', stylized as L'Arc~en~Ciel), also known as Laruku, is a Japanese rock band, formed in Osaka in 1991 by bassist tetsuya and vocalist hyde. Following the departure of original members hiro and pero, guitarist ...
, from the band's 1999 Album ''
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'', was used as the game's official commercial theme song during its re-release on the PlayStation. In December 1997, selected music tracks from the game were released in Japan on the ''Grandia Original Soundtrack'' by King Records across two discs, which were organized as "Orchestra Side" and "Synth Side" according to the type of instrument samples used to compose them. A follow-up album, ''Grandia Original Soundtrack II'', was made available in June 1998, containing an additional two discs of music not featured on the previous album. One year later, in June 1999, a compilation album entitled ''The Best of Grandia'' was released by Twofive Records containing some of Iwadare's favorite music from the game, including a never-before released track, "Pavane". Iwadare also produced a special arranged album called ''Vent: Grandia Arrange Version'', with "''vent''" () being the
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word for "wind", which Iwadare chose because it "carries the image of cool pleasant wind". The album was released in February 1998 by King Records and contains 12 arranged tracks, which Iwadare designed to be "an album, which people would listen at leisure on Sunday mornings".


Reception


Saturn version

''Grandia'' received near-universal acclaim during its original release in Japan, garnering a 9 out of 10 from both ''Sega Saturn Magazine'' and ''Saturn Fan'', as well as an 8.75 out of 10 from ''Weekly TV Gamer''. ''
Weekly Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both we ...
'' granted the game a 32 out of 40, earning it an editor's choice Gold Award. Despite not being released outside Japan,
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covered the Saturn version in a 1998 import review, claiming that Grandia "beats out ''
Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation console. It is the seventh main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Published in Japan by Square, it was released in other regions by Sony Computer Entertai ...
'' in all of the ways that matter," adding that the game was "not only longer, with a more engaging cast of characters, but it lacks the lulls that so many RPGs have because of these merits," awarding the game an Editor's Choice Award. ''
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine ''Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine'' (often abbreviated to ''OPM'') was a monthly video game magazine, published by Ziff Davis Media. It was a sister publication of ''Electronic Gaming Monthly''. The magazine focused exclusively on PlayStation ...
'' called the game "arguably the best RPG for Sega's Saturn console." The game earned an "Excellence Award" during the 1997
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as runner-up for
game of the year Game of the Year (GotY) is an award given by various award events and media publications to a video game that they feel represented the pinnacle of gaming that year. Events and ceremonies British Academy Games Awards (BAFTA Games Awards) ...
. ''
Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...
'' reviewed the Saturn version of the game, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "''Grandias design and innovation will be a benchmark for future RPGs in the 32-bit generation and beyond." It sold 181,219 units in its first week and would go on to sell 344,554 copies in Japan, becoming the 15th highest-selling game for the system in the region and the country's fourth highest-selling Saturn title of 1997; it ultimately sold over a million copies in Japan. In addition, North American imports of the game were higher than many other games in the genre at the time due to its positive overseas reception and cancellation of the English release on the platform. In 2006, readers of ''Famitsu'' voted the Saturn version the 73rd greatest game of all time during the magazine's Top 100 Favorite Games of All Time feature.


PlayStation version

The PlayStation version of ''Grandia'' met with similarly positive reception to the Saturn release, though sales remained lower than the original in Japan, selling approximately 97,460 copies in its first three weeks. It received an aggregate score of 86% on
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
and 89/100 on
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
. ''Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine'' named it as one of the "25 Games You Must Play in 1999", praising the title's colorful presentation and "innovative battle system" and "elegant character advancement system", yet found the game's English voice acting to be "depressingly awkward". GameSpot once again compared ''Grandia'' to
Square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length adj ...
's popular ''
Final Fantasy is a Japanese video game, Japanese science fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and ...
'' series, calling it "every bit as worthwhile as ''
Final Fantasy VIII is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation console. Released in 1999, it is the eighth main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Set on an unnamed fantasy world with science fiction elements, t ...
'', just in different ways," calling attention to its sound quality that is "as complete and detailed as it visuals", but finding fault in the game's translation and voice work that was declared "inexcusable by today's standards." ''
GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...
'' magazine felt that the game had aged during its two-year transition to the PlayStation, but that the game's presentation was still "amazingly detailed and well designed." The publication would cite the game's music as its major downfall, calling it "repetitive and annoying and will have the player reaching for the volume control", as well as the relatively low detail on enemy monsters when compared to the rest of the game, yet ultimately felt that "Grandia's puzzles, gorgeous locations, and solid story more than make up for its minor flaws."
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
, conversely, found the game's music to be "good", yet found its "overly simplistic tones and themes" to be a turn-off for some, yet adding that "you'd be selling the game short if you didn't push through and see the game to conclusion." "In 2000, IGN would rank ''Grandia'' 17th on its list of the top 25 PlayStation games of all time, calling it "Game Arts' magnum opus and probably their most historically significant project."
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
, in a 2007 retrospective, called the game "fantastic", praising the title's "vastly enjoyable battle system which few other games have rivaled, even in recent years". Francesca Reyes reviewed the PlayStation version of the game for ''
Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...
'', rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "Light-hearted, but incredibly involving, ''Grandia'' proves to be worth the wait."


Grandia: Digital Museum

is an extension of ''Grandia'', developed by
Game Arts is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Originally established in 1985 as a computer software company, it expanded into producing for a number of game console and handheld systems. Its President and CEO i ...
and published by ESP Software for the
Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...
. Released exclusively in Japan in May 1998, the game features character graphics, textures, and music lifted directly from its predecessor. Players can also swap save data between the core ''Grandia'' disc and the ''Digital Museum'' on the Saturn
memory card A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices. They allow adding memory to such devices using a card in a so ...
. The game's story is set sometime after the events of the original ''Grandia'', with the main characters Justin, Feena, and Sue being transported to a large museum created by the sorceress Liete made to honor their adventure during the first game. When most of the exhibits go missing, Liete uses her magic to transport the three to four separate dungeons each containing remnants of their previous journey to find and restore them to their proper place. As players progress through the game, bonus material becomes unlocked in the museum itself, which includes music files, artwork, and movie clips related to ''Grandia'', as well as minigames.


Gameplay


The Museum Itself

The following exhibits are found in the four dungeons: *Artwork and storyboards - Several pieces of rare artwork and
storyboards A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, in the ...
. Each one carries a small collection which can be viewed. *Character Portraits - The character portraits that pop up each time a character is speaking. *Sound Theatre - A collection of sound or
radio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...
s featuring the Grandia cast. *Grandia 1 saves - Allows the player to
download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote s ...
a save
file File or filing may refer to: Mechanical tools and processes * File (tool), a tool used to ''remove'' fine amounts of material from a workpiece **Filing (metalworking), a material removal process in manufacturing ** Nail file, a tool used to gent ...
for use in the full Grandia 1 game. *Bestiary - A library of all the monsters and their characteristics. *Arcade - An arcade with mini-games. Including games such as baseball,
archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...
, an
eating competition Competitive eating, or speed eating, is an activity in which participants compete against each other to eat large quantities of food, usually in a short time period. Contests are typically eight to ten minutes long, although some competitions c ...
, and a text-based game.


Reception

''Grandia: Digital Museum'' debuted as the fifth highest-selling game of the week during its launch in Japan, and would go on to sell approximately 32,226 copies in its first month.


HD Remaster release

''Grandia HD Remaster'' for PC was released on October 15, 2019. The remastered game used original PlayStation code, but combined with the details and effects from the Sega Saturn version to create a definitive version of the game. The remastered game features enhanced details to UI / sprites / texture art, visually enhanced original cinematic videos, widescreen support and customizable resolutions (PC only), Steam Trading Cards / Steam Achievements (PC only), Japanese and English Audio, and new language support (original English and Japanese plus French and German translations), gamepad and keyboard support with remappable controls (PC only). Full Japanese language support along with various fixes were released on March 25, 2020.


Notes


References


External links


Official SCEA website





Game Arts page
{{Authority control 1997 video games Cancelled Sega CD games Ubisoft games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation (console) games Role-playing video games Sega Saturn games Video games scored by Noriyuki Iwadare Video games developed in Japan Video games with 2.5D graphics Windows games Game Arts games Single-player video games Entertainment Software Publishing games