Lost Classics: Grandia II (Dreamcast, PC, PS2)

Throughout its limited lifespan, the Dreamcast didn’t have too many RPGs that made it over to American shores. However, the few it did have were classics. Grandia II was definitely one of them, and even after the premature death of Sega’s system it lived on through PC and Playstation 2 ports (although those two were a bit rough around the edges with the PC version containing several bugs and glitches). While it’s your standard Japanese RPG for the most part, Grandia II’s story, gameplay, and monsters help set this game apart from its peers. While it’s no Final Fantasy 7, genre fans will want to add this game to their collection.

The main character of Grandia II is named Ryudo. He is a Geohound, which is a mercenary of sorts. Aided by his talking hawk Skye, Ryudo takes various missions in order to pay his bills. One day, he takes a job in order to escort a songstress to a tower. However, things go horribly wrong, and you are slowly thrust into a war between two gods. You’ll meet several friends throughout your journey, and you’ll battle against several bizarre looking enemies. As a matter of fact, the bosses in this game have some of the coolest designs ever seen in an RPG. Most of the bosses represent a missing body part of a dark god.

The battle system is pretty unique. Characters can move around in real time, and the order in which they can preform an action is determined by an action queue. Different actions take up more time for your character to ‘recharge’, and characters and enemies can preform ‘cancel’ attacks to cause their opponents wait time to be longer. Strangely, the battle music is reminiscent of ABC football telecasts. I remember playing the game, and my dad couldn’t figure out weather I was playing a video game or watching the Cleveland Browns. This game has some pretty good voice acting for a Japanese RPG. While it isn’t exactly academy award material, it was miles above previous Japanese-to-English dubbing in RPGs at the time. The game has some pretty good music as well. The Dreamcast game even included a soundtrack CD to listen to.

Grandia II is a must have for any RPG fan, especially those who still own a Dreamcast. No one is going to confuse it for Mass Effect, but at the very least, its story and characters will serve as an excellent way to pass the time until the next big RPG comes out.