Grandia 3 by Square-Enix!!!

[drwily008]

VERY exited about this one!

Dude, when in the hell are companies going to realize that the people who play these kind of RPG's (i.e. NOT mainstream) have a system besides the PS2. If they put this out on the XBOX or Gamecube it would sell better. The fans who own all of those systems are dying for a new RPG to play. And when you bring a game like this out on a system like PS2 it gets lost in the crap that that system churns out like butter.

This is not saying all games that come out on PS2 are crap. It's just that the great sleeper hits are overlooked on the shelves because they have to look through 100 different sub-par racing and 989 studios games to find it!

[Cirrus]

This is not saying all games that come out on PS2 are crap. It's just that the great sleeper hits are overlooked on the shelves because they have to look through 100 different sub-par racing and 989 studios games to find it!

Not to mention a TON of mediocre RPGs! Very good point!

[EnemyZero]

i fell in love with grandia 2 , and then i played one after and i enjoyed it just as much, and yes i agree, if you have a DC dont even ... think about buying the ps2 version of 2...xtreme stunk as well....i SO cant wait for this, since its not a port maybe things will begood! looking forward to more news

[GaijinPunch]

More info:
http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~japangam...opic.php?t=630

[drwily008]

Hey GaijinPunch have you heard anything new on this game? I found this thread and it resparked my interest. Since you've got the info on the Japanese scene, I wondered if you heard anything else?

[tylerwillis]

Didn't see this thread originally... sweet, I loved G2. Greatest RPG battle system.

To comment though - I don't think the PS2 G2 has "extra" content. I believe that they just redid some of the ingame scenes into CG for the PS2 version. Everything else is identical - heck, I own both versions of the strategy guide and they are identical except for the cover.

But to reiterate - buy the DC version. Period. It's not expensive (nor as rare as the PS2 version seems to be) - it's well worth it.

Here's to hoping NA will see Grandia III!

[FurinkanianFrood]

Grandia 1 was mediocre

The PS version a bit inferior to begin with and then the translation got botched.

The Grandia on Saturn was one of the greatest RPG's ever.

I didn't think the PS version was messed up enough for people to consider it mediocre.... It's still better than anything Square ever did on the system.

lukewarm on the Grandia series

Blasphemy...... x_x

i have been pretty dissapointed when it comes to square enix's games

Neither Square or Enix has been involved with anything remotely decent since DQ7.

The PS2 version of Grandia 2 is weak. The DC version is really nice. If you don't have a DC sell yer dumb PS2 and get one......

Extreme is...... extremely offensive. I almost sold my PS2 at that point (as opposed to later) because it looked like (and it was) a harbinger of things to come.

Grandia 3 looks much, much better than extreme, possibly even good, but:

1. Gamearts lost their freakin minds at some point not too long ago based on some of their more recent stuff......
2. With Squeenix in charge I wouldn't be surprised if it was but a highly polished turd along the lines of Squeenix PS2 junk.
3. The character designs are kind of naff IMHO. The girl looks like she really needs to eat something. Elves (I guess she is an elf) are usually thin but jeez. At least she doesn't look entirely out of place like those dudes from Wonder 3 would look in a Grandia game. (Wonder 3 is nice of course, they would just look really incredibly deranged in a modern RPG don't you think?)

It may prove me wrong in some respects though. It may very well be worthwhile if you have the system (I'm the only one who got rid of mine it seems.... I got tired of being disappointed with almost every single game I thought would be worth a damn for 3 years or so......)

It won't hold a candle to the previous games though. Like I said, Gamearts is on something these days, and even if they weren't Squeenix would mess up the game somehow.

These days Squeenix is like F'ing Pack-in-video with a hyper-inflated budget IMO.

It's like every series I liked on previous consoles went to hell in a handbasket on PS2.....

I'm still a big Gamearts fan overall. I would still like to see this game turn out well. I want Gamearts to get better again, but the prognosis is a tad bleak IMO.

At least they didn't go completely to pot like some of my other favorite developers **cough* Taito ***.

[Frankie23]

I have to say that I agree with the 2 > 1 camp. I fell in love with the combat system of the first one, which kept me motivated to get through the game, in spite of the mediocre plot and dialogue. The second game, however, rocked my world. I've not played the PS2 port, but the Dreamcast original holds a special place in my collection. Gotta love that soundtrack CD too.

[FurinkanianFrood]

I have to say that I agree with the 2 > 1 camp.

Going only by the US releases 2 >> 1. Otherwise I think they are about even.

The story in 2 is better but something about 1 is just.... cheerful. I like the light-heartedness. I like 1 a bit more for that reason. Like I said though, the translation was pretty naff.

The overall emotional character of a game is extremely important to me. Grandia 2 was excellent in that respect but the first one made me feel.... happy when I played it....

So did 2 though....

[FurinkanianFrood]

I have to say that I agree with the 2 > 1 camp.

Going only by the US releases 2 >> 1. Otherwise I think they are about even.

The story in 2 is better but something about 1 is just.... cheerful. I like the light-heartedness. I like 1 a bit more for that reason. Like I said though, the translation was pretty naff.

The overall emotional character of a game is extremely important to me. Grandia 2 was excellent in that respect but the first one made me feel.... happy when I played it....

So did 2 though....

Kind of like Cotton Boomerang or Kiki Kaikai or Fray CD or something cute like that almost.

[FurinkanianFrood]

I have to say that I agree with the 2 > 1 camp.

Going only by the US releases 2 >> 1. Otherwise I think they are about even.

The story in 2 is better but something about 1 is just.... cheerful. I like the light-heartedness. I like 1 a bit more for that reason. Like I said though, the translation was pretty naff.

The overall emotional character of a game is extremely important to me. Grandia 2 was excellent in that respect but the first one made me feel.... happy when I played it....

So did 2 though....

But with the first Grandia it's kind of like Cotton Boomerang or Kiki Kaikai or Fray CD or something cute like that almost. Except with an awesome RPG battle system spliced in.

Grandia 2 has the absolute pinnacle of RPG battle systems though IMO.

[lendelin]

Great news, on second thought: ANOTHER PS2 RPG I have to put on my must-have list?

The PS2 game library for RPGs is as good as the for the PS1 in the meantime.

Great that Game Arts developes it, and good that the director of Grandia 2 is in charge, and even better that the character design is in the hands of the character designer of Valkyrie Profile.

The article states that there will be atmospheric differences compared to the first two installments. What that means, we don't know yet.

Strange that I didn't read anything about it in American game mags.

[lendelin]

Dude, when in the hell are companies going to realize that the people who play these kind of RPG's (i.e. NOT mainstream) have a system besides the PS2. If they put this out on the XBOX or Gamecube it would sell better. The fans who own all of those systems are dying for a new RPG to play.

That's the privilege of THE dominant market leader with the most systems out there by far.

How many RPG enthusiasts are GC or Xbox eclusive owners? My guess is a very low percentage. The title wouldn't sell better on GC or Xbox.

A developer/publisher can sell many more games on the PS2 in particular for niche titles. While Nintendo had to make an effort to get Tales of Symphonia, the PS2 gets Shining Tears, Growlanser Generations, Fulmetal Alchimist, Ys, and many others almost automatically; and the upcoming Atelier Iris and Tales of Legendia will be on the PS2 as well.

Nothing spells love or hate for a system behind those decisions of publishers, it is profit and survival in a competitive market. That's why I don't praise systems, I praise individual games and game offerings for a system.

[InsaneDavid]

hopefully this new game will at least offer some sort of challenge compared to G2

I have to agree, the original Grandia is my all time favorite RPG and the sequels were huge letdowns compared to it in my opinion.

I agree with wise I thought Grandia 1 was decent at best but Grandia2 on Dreamcast was a very good RPG nice clean graphics a good story (not the best but still good) and controlled perfectly on the DC wich the game was originally made for.

Grandia II had THE most anticlimactic ending in RPG history, it was just kinda "game is over... that's it." Also there was NO challenge compared to the original and pretty much anyone could easily go through the game without dying once. Also the battle system took a step backward from Grandia to Grandia II, it's like they wanted to dumb it down so stats would no longer build based upon time with specific weapons.

You have to remember that Grandia was the Saturn's Final Fantasy VII. The original Grandia had a strange watercolorish beauty to its sprites and an interesting storyline. Grandia II wasn't a bad game, it just lost something with the move to 100% polygons and again, I just couldn't get into the story as much as the original. Also I was pissed that they didn't pick things up at least in the same world as the first.

Grandia 1 was mediocre

The PS version a bit inferior to begin with and then the translation got botched.

The Grandia on Saturn was one of the greatest RPG's ever.

I didn't think the PS version was messed up enough for people to consider it mediocre.... It's still better than anything Square ever did on the system.

lukewarm on the Grandia series

Blasphemy...... x_x

Grandia 3 looks much, much better than extreme, possibly even good, but:

1. Gamearts lost their freakin minds at some point not too long ago based on some of their more recent stuff......
2. With Squeenix in charge I wouldn't be surprised if it was but a highly polished turd along the lines of Squeenix PS2 junk.
3. The character designs are kind of naff IMHO. The girl looks like she really needs to eat something. Elves (I guess she is an elf) are usually thin but jeez. At least she doesn't look entirely out of place like those dudes from Wonder 3 would look in a Grandia game. (Wonder 3 is nice of course, they would just look really incredibly deranged in a modern RPG don't you think?)

It may prove me wrong in some respects though. It may very well be worthwhile if you have the system (I'm the only one who got rid of mine it seems.... I got tired of being disappointed with almost every single game I thought would be worth a damn for 3 years or so......)

It won't hold a candle to the previous games though. Like I said, Gamearts is on something these days, and even if they weren't Squeenix would mess up the game somehow.

These days Squeenix is like F'ing Pack-in-video with a hyper-inflated budget IMO.

It's like every series I liked on previous consoles went to hell in a handbasket on PS2.....

I'm still a big Gamearts fan overall. I would still like to see this game turn out well. I want Gamearts to get better again, but the prognosis is a tad bleak IMO.

At least they didn't go completely to pot like some of my other favorite developers **cough* Taito ***.

You sir, get the award for best post I've read in weeks - 100 meseta.

[SoulBlazer]

I don't see what was so great about the post myself.

People forget almost every major company no longer actually MAKES any games. They just PUBLISH them.

GameArts is the company behind making Grandia 3. All SquareEnix is going to do is translate the game and sell it here in the States. Any other company could do that and it would'nt change the game one bit (assuming the translation is done well, and almost every US company can do a good translation these days). But with a major company like SquareEnix behind the publishing, you KNOW you're going to hear about the game all over the place.

I was a big fan of the first two Grandia games and I hope this one is just as fun.

[InsaneDavid]

I don't see what was so great about the post myself.

It was great because the original Grandia finally got some respect and so forth...

[CasualCoreGamer]

Finally, after thinking that there would never be another installment of the series, this news kicks my ass. Knowing that it's still developed by GameArts & that the battle system is intact (as well as Square/Enix doing the translation/distribution), I know this is going to be some primo product. Platform designation means nothing to me. It could be an X Box exclusive and I'd still be all over it like a cheap date. I haven't been this excited for a release since RE4.

[Lemmy Kilmister]

hopefully this new game will at least offer some sort of challenge compared to G2

I have to agree, the original Grandia is my all time favorite RPG and the sequels were huge letdowns compared to it in my opinion.

And I thought I was the only person to think Grandia 2 sucked compared to the original game.

[WanganRunner]

I've only ever played Grandia 2, on the DC, just finished it in fact.

I really liked it, I think the graphics lend themselves more to the DC than to the PS2, I like the DC's inherent shininess paired with the game's bright colors.

Isn't Grandia Xtreme just the PS2 port of Grandia 2? Am I missing something here?

I really need to grab a copy of Grandia 1

EDIT: Just checked ebay, realized that Xtreme is indeed an entirely different game. I shall now procure it immediately. w00t.

[tylerwillis]

Grandia II is a direct port of Grandia II. <-- That's not sarcasm, I promise.

Grandia Xtreme is a complete different game - it's a side-story of sorts that feels different from the the first two games. I think most fans regard it as a let-down compared to the previous incarnations.

[Rugal]

http://www.square-enix.co.jp/grandia3/

Website has updates.....looks awesome.

Found these images (sorry if already posted)

http://dynamic5.gamespy.com/~grandia...?game=3&page=1

[Promophile]

Grandia 1 was mediocre, but Grandia 2 was INCREDIBLE. I hope this one turns out to be as good.

For me its the exact opposite. 1 was Incredible and 2 was boring.

[Cirrus]

Grandia 1 was mediocre, but Grandia 2 was INCREDIBLE. I hope this one turns out to be as good.

For me its the exact opposite. 1 was Incredible and 2 was boring.

I agree, big time. 2 seemed very slow and steady, 1 had more interesting characters that I actually cared about.

Here is a nice shot from G3:



Had to bring some pictures into this!

[Lemmy Kilmister]

http://www.square-enix.co.jp/grandia3/

Website has updates.....looks awesome.

Found these images (sorry if already posted)

http://dynamic5.gamespy.com/~grandia...?game=3&page=1

Man is this game starting to look good. Thanks alot for the new screen shot pics, Rugal.

For me its the exact opposite. 1 was Incredible and 2 was boring.

I agree, big time. 2 seemed very slow and steady, 1 had more interesting characters that I actually cared about.

I agree. Not only was the second Grandia weaker gameplay wise but it was also a hell of alot shorter. I believe it only took me 18 hours to finish.

[tylerwillis]

I think no matter the differing opinions on the first two... we're all excited about the third.

Thanks for the pic! That's awesome.

For the record, I fall into the "preferred II to I, but loved both" category.