➤ Grandia HD Collection, the review 🎮

In the late 90s, shortly after the release of Final Fantasy VII, a kind of gold rush erupted, although it would be more accurate to call it JRPG fever. It almost felt like every Japanese developer wanted to reinvent the genre, in an attempt to break through as Square Enix did with its first 32-bit Final Fantasy. Grandia it made its debut at that time, in 1997, and on SEGA's Saturn, but it took two years for GameArts to decide to bring it to PlayStation and, thus, to the rest of the world. GameArts, a few years earlier, had carved out a place in the hearts of RPGs with its splendid Lunar: The Silver Star, and Grandia, in many respects, could be considered the spiritual heir to a way of doing JRPG that today practically does not exists more. This is why this is important Grandia HD Collection, which although it is not a real "collection", proposing only the first two titles of the series, allows the new generations to get their hands on two real ageless pearls.

Grandia

Grandia belongs to a more innocent era and reflects a very different storytelling than the standards we have been accustomed to in the last ten, fifteen years. Today the protagonist of a JRPG is not such if he does not have some complex, if he is not a lone wolf who has to overcome a great trauma or a hero predestined to save the world. Justin, the protagonist of Grandia, is different: he is a teenager who loves exploring ancient ruins in the company of his friend Sue, imitating his father, a disappeared adventurer who left him with a loving and protective mother. When Justin comes across the relic of an ancient civilization, a hologram that spurs him to set out in search of clues to the past of a world in full industrial evolution, the journey begins in the most adventurous way possible, because there is also a force military in search of the same artifacts, albeit with much less academic purposes. Grandia is a 'adventure full of multifaceted and charismatic characters, but the young protagonists are the absolute stars.

It is impossible not to become attached to this band of heroes, also because Grandia - exactly as Lunar did some time ago - employs a stratagem that is now rarely seen in modern JRPGs and constantly changes the formation of the party, adding or removing certain characters with the development of the intertwining which is, therefore, more than ever a driving force. Grandia is indeed quite a title linear: Completes in about thirty hours and there are no side missions or optional assignments, mostly you explore intricate cities or dungeons in search of chests and collectibles as you move from the starting point to the ending point. The system of combat it keeps the player's interest always at the maximum, however, also because there are no random battles but enemies wandering around the map. Once the fight is triggered, it takes place in turns in another screen and pits our heroes against the various enemies.

The dynamic that distinguishes it, however, is an indicator that scans the order of actions in real time: when a character or an enemy prepares a special attack or spell, a short period of preparation follows during which it can be slowed down or interrupted. completely. Halfway betweenActive Time Battle of Final Fantasy VII and a turn-based strategy in which you have to think not only about who to attack, but also how and when, Grandia's combat system still remains fresh and fun today. It lacks a bit in the development of spells and abilities, it must be said, since a certain grind of uses is required to evolve each attack into its most powerful version. Despite this, Grandia is a JRPG who has not aged at all, in its naivety, even if the operation of remastering did not completely convince us. GungHo, unlike what was previously stated, did not bring the Saturn version to the Switch, but the PlayStation one, lacking in terms of effects and some animations. This is not a dramatic lack, but it would have been better to take this opportunity to offer the best possible version of the game.

The developer then applied a kind of "smooth" filter like that of emulators to raise the resolution in general: in doing so, the original beauty of pixel art was lost, but the locations and polygonal backdrops have gained in cleanliness and sharpness. On balance, however, Grandia is very pleasant to see and play both on the small screen and on the TV, net of some visual or sound glitches that occasionally sneak into games: apart from that, we appreciated the uploads very fast and the artistic direction, inspired and full of color, fits perfectly with the light-hearted atmosphere of the adventure. It is also possible to change the dialogue track from mediocre English to the original Japanese version, while on the extraordinary soundtrack of Noriyuki Iwadare there is little to say: today he is perhaps a not very famous composer, but at the time he wrote some of the best videogame soundtracks, and that of Grandia is one of them.

Grandia II

Iwadare also composed the music for the sequel, Grandia II, and although they are a little less incisive than those of the first chapter, it is thanks to them that some passages of a story that is all in all predictable have remained with us for twenty years. Grandia II comes out on Dreamcast in 2000, shortly thereafter it also arrives on PlayStation II in a much inferior version from a technical point of view. Later, the GameArts title was also brought back to PC in a remastered version that does more justice to the art direction and liveliness of a new world to be explored. Grandia II, in fact, is a stand-alone title, completely disconnected from Justin's adventures, a bit like it happens in most Final Fantasy or Tales of. For the occasion, GameArts decided to take a different path than usual, telling a darker and more adult story than those of the previous Grandia or the Lunar.

The protagonist in this case is called Ryudo and he is a Geohound, practically a mercenary who travels far and wide with his inseparable Skye hawk. Unlike Justin, Ryudo is a much more cynical and lonely guy who doesn't tell them and rarely thinks about the consequences. Granas Church will hire Ryudo to escort Elena, a kind of young priestess who has been possessed by a fragment of the soul of Valmar, an ancient demon whose awakening could cause a catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions. During the journey, however, Ryudo will discover that the young woman is not the only victim of this possession and that things are not exactly as they told her: the two will be joined by some very picturesque characters who will have to join forces to save the world. by Valmar and by those who intend to exploit his enormous powers.

More mature in many respects, Grandia II is a JRPG that explores the meaning of sacrifice and that constantly tests a very well characterized cast, in which each character must come to terms with their worldview, accepting the usual truth that does not exist. only black or white, but rather many shades of gray. The plot is therefore less lighthearted than that of Grandia, but just as much memorable, also because it maintains the same story-driven approach, without too many deviations from a linear path that leads the player from start to finish in about thirty hours. GameArts has not particularly tweaked the combat system, which remains exactly that of the first Grandia with some small differences in the management of special attacks, bonuses and spells: these are learned thanks to specific books that can be equipped to party members to customize their roles and skills. With a little bit of strategy, in short, it is possible to complete without the slightest difficulty a title that, to be honest, is already quite simple on its own.

As for the remastering, the Switch version is a further revision of the one already released on PC. In this case, however, there are some criticisms to make. GungHo did a decent job: unlike the previous Grandia, Grandia II is completely polygonal, but the character models and scenarios are rich in detail that the new resolution brings out to great effect. However, we are talking about a title from nineteen years ago, so we should not expect miracles or perfect proportions, to which GameArts had preferred a vaguely super deformed style that however does not clash at all with the often goliardic and cartoonish narrative. The problem is rather the uncertain frame rate, especially if you play in portable mode: in this case, fighting against many enemies at the same time occurs slowdowns sensitive that do not affect the gameplay but still give a little annoyance. At the time of writing this review, GungHo hasn't rolled out targeted updates yet, but hope is the last to die.

Comment

Tested version Nintendo Switch Digital Delivery Steam, Nintendo eShop Price 39,99 € Resources4Gaming.com

7.7

Readers (1)

8.3

Your vote

Even today, twenty years later, the first two Grandia entertain and excite like few other JRPGs. They are two brilliant titles, accompanied by an Iwadare in a state of grace and embellished with a combat system that has not aged even a little. GungHo has done a more than decent job with his remastering work, but some technical problems detract from the value of a Collection which, to be truly such, should also have included Grandia III and Grandia Xtreme. If you don't like the genre and have never played them, in short, you have the opportunity to fix it.