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Game: Grandia
Composer: Noriyuki Iwadare
Platform: Sega Saturn, Playstation, Windows/Steam, Nintendo Switch
Extended to play atleast 30 minutes.
Grandia is a role-playing video game, developed by Game Arts and published by ESP Software for the Sega Saturn console as the first game in their Grandia series.
Released in Japan in 1997, the game was ported to the PlayStation in 1999, with an English version of the game appearing on the platform in North America in the following September by Sony Computer Entertainment, and in Europe in 2000 by Ubisoft.
A high-definition remaster of the game was released in North America and Europe on August 16, 2019, together with Grandia II, for Nintendo Switch; a Microsoft Windows version was released on October 15, 2019.
The game was produced by much of the same staff who worked on the company's previous role-playing endeavor, the Lunar series, including producer Yoichi Miyagi and composer Noriyuki Iwadare.
Since its release, Grandia has become notable for its combat mechanics which have been carried over to future games within the franchise, and has 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, which acts as a prequel to Grandia, the game was re-released on Sony's PlayStation Network 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.
The game is set in a 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 Japan's highly circulated Famitsu magazine as the 73rd greatest game of all time in a 2006 poll.
Grandia's environments are depicted as three-dimensional maps, with characters represented by 2-D animated bitmap 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 of each party member increase each time they gain a new level by defeating enemies and earning experience points.
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 swords, maces, axes, whips 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.
The story centers around Justin (ジャスティン Jasutin), an aspiring adventurer from Parm. He lives with his mother, Lilly (リリィ Riryi), 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, 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 Sue (スー Sū), a friend from his town who acts as a surrogate sister to Justin; Feena (フィーナ Fīna), a seasoned adventurer and Justin's idol; Gadwin (ガドイン Gadoin), a valiant knight who mentors Justin in the way of swordsmanship;
Rapp (ラップ Rappu), an ill-mannered youth from the village of Cafu; Milda (ミルダ Miruda), a feral giantess who, despite her volatile nature, has a sweet side, particularly for her husband; Guido (ギド Gido), a traveling salesman and chieftain of a diminutive, rabbit-like clan called the Mogay; and Liete (リエーテ Riēte), 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.
