I can't speak for the PC port, but I played this game on DC at release in, what, 2000? At any rate, I wrote a review back then going into how much I hate it, but it's too long for GOG. I should mention that I'm not a huge fan of Game Arts. I thought Lunar was OK and I just played a bit of 2. Never played the PS remakes. I played Grandia and thought it was pretty good, charming, fun combat, good average game. I've played Grandia III which was poorly received and rather enjoyed it. Maybe I'm not completely typical. So, why do I hate this game? So many reasons. The first thing you notice when you start the game is the great graphics (at least at the time), the second thing is the atrocious voice acting. Which can't be turned off. Or switched back to Japanese. Not only is it bad, but it seems cheaply done, like the sound studio was super low budget. Iwadare did the music for this game and all of the previous Game arts titles and I don't love his stuff, but overall the music is good and catchy and high quality. I wouldn't buy the soundtrack though (I actually have 2 mini soundtracks, one from Evolution and one that came with the game). So, voice acting sucks. Well, the story and characters suck too. Very shallow and annoying and unrealistic and the only real plot twists were so obvious they couldn't have made them any more obvious if they typed them out and displaying them at the bottom of the screen the whole game. Typical anti-religion story, very popular in Japanese games for some reason. I hate organized religion as much as the next organized religion hater, but the plot is worn out and wasn't very intriguing to begin with. Next, the game is long. Very long. Like, you will think it will never end. And just to make you extra miserable they toss in the once popular false ending. I think I actually cried I wasn't done. The game is so, so easy. Press A in every battle to win. No thought, no strategy, no fun. A huge disappointment, especially after Skies of Arcadia.
Just finished the game today. Didn't take too long, just over 10 hours. For the price and the fact that there are 6 perspectives to play through I think the length was about right. This is only part 1 of 3 parts, so the story is going to be continued in the next installment. I thought that the art and world were quite good. Animations were lacking in the environments, but everything looks nice. Music was also good, a lot better than I was expecting, honestly. This is a game you will play for its story and it's quite good. I was hooked from the beginning and played right through in 3 settings, quite rare for me these days! The characters were all more interesting than usual for the genre and the women were actually clothed! Battles are turn based and everything is very typical straight RPG stuff. I happen to love JRPGs so I was quite happy with all of the basic gameplay. Now, for a list of my negatives. I had a great time with the game, but I couldn't give it 5 stars for the following reasons: Too easy, even boss battles never challenged me Searchable areas glow, taking the fun out of discovery No ambient animations other than for water There were choices as promised, but very few overall and it seems I won't find out the consequences until the next game Quite a few grammatical errors and a town that supplies the region with wheat, but when you get there they say that they grow barley which they make into oats. Probably the weirdest grain related situation I've ever seen in a game :p I must warn that to me the game is really nothing like Grandia, Lunar, Suikoden, or Saga Frontier as stated in another review. Battle system is completely standard turn based command style with a 3 character party and while there are 6 characters to play as, the story merges almost within the first 10 minutes. I definitely recommend this game to fans of the genre. This is the first game in a long time that I really got into, I personally can't wait for the next one!
I would have given this game 3 stars back in the day, but as there are so many better options now, I'm dropping a star. I get that many people remember this game fondly and that that often influences a persons score of a game. There is no need to be objective when leaving a review on GOG and I respect that. I myself love plenty of games from the time of this game that others might have a hard time getting into these days. But, this isn't one of those games. This is a game I played during middle school (if I remember correctly) and I honestly never understood all of the fuss. I love these types of games, Roller Coaster Tycoon sucked away months of my life. This game is buggy, unattractive, hard on the ears, and just plain not fun to play. The interface isn't great and overall in the end there isn't a whole lot to do. I can't see how anyone who is being honest could claim that this game stands the test of time and is worth playing with options out there like Roller Coaster Tycoon. If you loved it as a child and want to re-experience it or if you really need to play every bullfrog game or see the beginning of a genre, then by all means pick this up at whatever price suits you. Personally, I'd wait for a sale. Myself? I'm going to choose to leave the painful memories behind me and pop in my copy of Roller Coaster Tycoon for a few quick hours of fun on a lazy Saturday morning.
