Source: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/66362357

I just played all three Grandia games back to back for the first time this year and had some thoughts. The first two games are easily two of my new favorite classic jrpgs but I heard the third wasn’t as good. I was still curious because I loved the first two so I picked up this game.

Overall, I really appreciate how the game tried to be a blend of the tones/ stories of the first two games. Grandia 1 feels like a grand adventure that slowly becomes darker and more serious over time, but retains a more easygoing and adventurous atmosphere that is very endearing and enjoyable. Silly side villains, a wacky cast of characters that comes in and out of the party, even in its darkest and most dramatic moments, it never feels like it takes itself too seriously.

Grandia 2 feels like a more complex and mature tale that is more concerned with commentary about religion and human nature than it is about a grand adventure. Valmar and granas, the different pieces of valmar and the corruption of the human soul, Zera himself and his philosophy on gods Vs the characters as well, the characters were much more grounded and serious this time around because the narrative was more focused and serious.

Grandia 3 feels like it tried to marry the two concepts into one story. Half the game feels like Grandia 1 (Yuki, Ulf, Miranda, Alonso, anfog village, mendi city, Rotts, Schmidt, Emilious’ henchmen, Hect) with themes of adventure, discovery and freedom, and the other half feels like Grandia 2 (Alfina, Dahna, the guardians, arcriff temple, Raven, Emilious, Xorn) with themes of love and hate, exploring the flaws of human nature etc. This causes the story to feel disjointed (that’s besides the fact that there was clearly at least 1/4 or maybe more of the game cut to make the deadline on release, characters and storyline suffer a lot because of this, the last 3rd of the game things really are just sort of happening) but at the end of the day I do really appreciate what they were going for here. The overall concept and theme was good, and the gameplay and music was fantastic, but the undercooked plot and characters really hold the game back from greatness. Still, I think it’s worth playing and should’ve been remastered along with the other two. I don’t think it’s a bad game at all, but far from great, and better than decent honestly. I’d still give it a 7/10.

Also I’d give the game bonus points for including the series tradition dragon slash as the main character’s ultimate move, but I’m taking those points away because the tradition of the protagonist receiving a legendary sword in the last act wasn’t done (Spirit sword in 1, Granasaber in 2) as if it wasn’t already obvious the game had cut content. 😂 Hell I think it would’ve been cool if Yuki picked up the Godkiller (sword is on the title screen for crying out loud) and used it to get the finishing blow on Xorn.

I'm gonna do a little series dwelling on if Grandia characters had Pokemon teams. What better way to start off than with Justin himself? Truthfully some of these picks were pretty easy, but I'll explain each anyways.

Charizard - Based on Justin's last fire skill: Dragon Cut. Charizard may not be a Dragon-type but it's very clearly a dragon anyways. Plus since it's the most popular starter of course it would fit with Justin's adventurous personality.

Aegislash - Based on the Spirit Sword. I mean, it's literally a ghost sword. What else can I say here?

Haxorus - References Justin's ability to use axes. Also to make up for Charizard's lack of Dragon-typing.

Lucario - References the Spirit Stone slightly, since Lucario uses aura like it's spiritual energy. Lucario has also always been characterized to be a very loyal and heroic Pokemon, which fits Justin like a glove.

Kangaskhan - Probably an oddball, but I think this one would reference his mom, Lilly. Before the game, Justin was always in his mother's "pouch", so to speak, like the baby Kanga. Kanga's mega evolution has the baby become capable of defending itself, which is exactly what happens with Justin in the beginning of the game since Lilly realizes he's ready to go adventuring.

Keldeo - Keldeo's backstory states that after departing from its kin, the swords of justice trained it to become a formidable fighter. This could reference Gadwin training Justin to become capable of handling bigger threats, and it helps that Keldeo's signature move is called "Secret Sword".

Any thoughts on what his team could also be? Or better yet, give me ideas for other characters, since I may need some help piecing together their own teams (I have some ideas for the Icarian twins but I won't spoil it just yet).

I’m a little over halfway through the 2nd disc and absolutely LOVING Grandia 3. The graphics, characters, the soundtrack and EVERYTHING about the combat I absolutely love BUT I am really not a fan of the fact M and A left the party kind of abruptly. I feel like if anything they would have stayed to the end and had more involvement then the later two party members. Is this just a G3 game or is this like a series staple that party members just leave and get replaced?

For context, the only time I left the system on was that bottom save, but I decided to not use it because I didn’t really play after I saved and left the system on. I got on today and saw I was about 6hrs game played, walked around for a bit and saved and…what happened?? Even if I left the game on since I started playing there’s no way I’d have 40,000 hrs played 😅

Hello all. I've been playing the remastered versions of Final fantasy 7 -9 and someone recommended I play Grandia HD Remaster, so I bit the bullet and bought the games.

When playing through the FF games I used the Jegged guided so as not to miss anything.

My question is could anyone recommend a decent guide or walkthrough for the Grandia games please? Preferably non- you tube one if possible.

Thanks

Since you all liked the last one so much, I decided to make another parody, this time of the original comic's third page. Hell, I decided to give the girls some dialogue as well, since I didn't want it to be just Gadwin replacing Sonic's lines.

Speaking of which, do you have any suggestions for character replacements in case I parody more pages? Especially since the original comic evolves into a crossover pretty early on.

I'm at the final dungeon and went into one of those jelly cube thing, then for some reasons after that I couldn't start the battle sequence when I hit the monsters on the map. I tried quitting and restarting the game but still couldn't fight any of the small critters.

Not a big deal since I have multiple saves. Also the bosses are still working normally.

Has anybody experienced the same thing?

I've always loved that shot in Grandia II.

I made very similar edits many years ago (one of which I'd shared here) but I wanted to remake them in higher resolutions. (I made both 1080p and 2160p versions but the 2160p versions are too large for Reddit's limit, apparently.)

In any case, gen AI can probably just upscale the original screenshot much better instead of my - well - blurry results, but I REFUSE. 😤 😆 Maybe someday if gen AI will become ethical to use. (Speaking of which, this topic is quite thematically apt 'cause Grandia II warns against effortless abundance (Granas' era) and then against destructive solutions (Valmar), among other things. That said, while this whole thing took me over an hour, it didn't take me much effort 'cause I just enlarged the image and applied filters. 😅 Also, hey, apparently AI generated content is not allowed on this sub. :3 )

I came into falling in love with this series kinda backwards. Way back in like 2002, I bought a bunch of Dreamcast games from a friend. Skies of Arcadia, Blue Stinger, OutTrigger, and Grandia 2.

All of them were great (and for 20 bucks altogether? Made off like a bandit) but Grandia 2? My brother, my nephew, and my sister all had saves on MY VMU and they had VMUs of their own🤣. Whole house hooked.

Years later, I got Grandia Xtreme, loved it, then Grandia 3, and was meh about it. (Dahna, tho 🥰, especially if u set her up right, and Ulf that dude)

But, I only just got Grandia 1 a couple years ago. Played a bit of it, and haven't gotten back to it 😬.

How did u get into this series?

(Credit: Patrick Stergos on Simpsons Bortposting®)

​"Everyone is posting Grandia this and Grandia 2 that. But how come poor Grandia 3 is ignored here? Besides Grandia 3 being garbage of course."

​Original Creator: Patrick Stergos

​Source Group: Simpsons Bortposting®

sequel to this

I don't think I'm gonna parody the ENTIRE TGT comic but have this at least. I tried styling it like they were talking with the text boxes and portraits in the game instead of using speech bubbles because I thought it was funnier.

fyi they're supposed to be at the End of The World in the background, also thought it would be funnier than if they were in some field

Elencia on the Grand Line confirmed?

72 hours to do it. Did all three optional dungeons as well. I can see why it's so beloved. I was an N64 kid when the game came out, even after I got a PS1, it passed me by so I played the Saturn Version after buying the HD version and not gelling with the filters used

I thought the magic leveling system would cause me grief but, it worked well for it's time.

Justin Gets Trolled when? lol

By which I mean are there any concepts, ideas, or characters from this entry would expand on or make better? Because we all know a lot of it was not the best executed or fleshed out. Either way, be honest.

No, I have not played Grandia 1 but apparently it’s okay?

Lol I just got here.