Grandia II - Part 10/10 - Sega Dreamcast - グランディアII ~ Butterfly Out!
3Grandia II ended up being quite a bit shorter than the first Grandia. But was it as good as the first?
Ultimately, I don't think so, even though I still quite liked the game. Ryudo, the main character, is not immediately likable. As his personality develops throughout the game, his shell starts to crack, but he's pretty rough. Elena and Millenia make the best opposites. Two people sharing the same "body", one a "good girl" with a mission she cannot deviate from, the other a "bad girl" that ends up falling for the good guys. It's interesting to watch this play out. Roan and Mareg are much more standard party members, out for revenge or knowledge, and although their roles in the game are important, they don't feel as fleshed out as much as the others. As for Tio, her graphic design is great, but her machine body developing a "heart" is a little cliché, let's be honest. Still, with all the other side characters, such as Melfice and Aira, Grandia II's story took us on a nice ride, equally peppered with humorous moments and emotional moments.
The graphics are nice, and they are, again, standard for the era. I personally prefer the sprite-based work of the original over the polygons of the sequel, but Grandia II's graphics have their own charm. One of the game's strong points in that regard is that they are very colorful. The music, on the other hand, was just OK. There are a few standout tunes for me here and there (ganbareeeeee!), but overall I can't say it's a soundtrack I'd run out to buy to listen to in my car.
The battle system hasn't changed, and that's a good thing. The battles are just as fun as they were in the first game, but they can be just as slow, too. You can avoid them if you want, but I made sure I fought all enemies everywhere, so I leveled up enough to progress the story without too many hurdles. The final boss is a joke, though.
Once again, the original version for the Sega Dreamcast is the superior one, as apparently the PS2 port is quite laggy. Even the current modern HD ports are quite glitchy, I've heard.
I was afraid to start Grandia II because of how long I thought the game was going to be, but it ended up being an adventure I enjoyed quite a bit. Maybe not as much as the first game, but it's definitely somewhere up there in the great ocean of JRPGs. The next game in the series to play would be the Japanese Game Boy Color exclusive -- Grandia: Parallel Trippers.
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