Grandia II Anniversary Edition

Grandia II Anniversary Edition for PC is a remastered version of the classical jRPG which was initially developed with the Dreamcast home console in mind. Both the original and the enhanced edition were created by Game Arts in cooperation with SkyBox Labs, a studio that specializes in remasters and is known for Age of Mythology: Extended Edition and Rise of Nations: Extended Edition.

Plot

The action of Grandia II Anniversary Edition is set in a magic-filled fantasy land. Thosands of years ago, it was the place when Granas, the god of light, battled the god of darkness, Valmar. Their conflict almost drove the entire planet to its doom, but, in the end, Valmar was defeated and his body disintegrated into many fragments. After this event, the Church of Granas was founded and led the human civilization to prosperity and dynamic development.

The campaign tells of a mercenary named Ryoudo who is hired to protect a young priestess, Elena, on her way to a religious ceremony. During the celebrations, a mass murder occurs, committed by unknown forces and the duo is forced to flee. This is how the grand adventure begins. In its course, the heroes will discover that the official history, both of the Church of Granas and the entire world, is far from the truth. While at it, they also get to save the world. Moreover, they will be reinforced by a numerous group of other heroes that join them throughout the campaign.

Mechanics

Grandia II Anniversary Edition is a classical Japanese RPG for PC. In the game, we explore the world, have conversations, perform quests, develop heroes, and, obviously, fight. Combat uses a hybrid system in which actions are done in turns but each one gives us only a brief time to issue commands. The game also allows to move around the battlefield, letting us, for example, attack the enemy from behind or dodge incoming attacks. The key to victory is to combine strikes into combos and to skillfully use abilities and spells that all characters possesses.

Game modes

Grandia II Anniversary Edition is meant for single player only and has no multiplayer mode. Content-wise, the production remains faithful to the original for Dreamcast, the only exception being the ultra-difficult mode designed for veterans who look for a real challenge.

Technical aspects

Grandia II Anniversary Edition for PC offers typically Japanese in style, fully three-dimensional graphics. The 2000’s original came out for Dreamcast, so while creating the new version for PC, the developers significantly enhanced the graphics by introducing distinctly sharper textures and much more advanced system of lighting and shadowing.

Moreover, Grandia II Anniversary Edition lets the player chose between English and the original Japanese character voices. The developers heavily revamped the controls so that they work equally well on keyboards and gamepads.

Last updated on December 5, 2016