GRANDIA II HD Remaster

Oh? You want my opinion? Fine. Try not to look so desperate. This game has everything a respectable adventure needs: ancient gods, forbidden powers, pathetic humans making terrible decisions, and—most importantly—me. Yes. Millenia. You're welcome. The combat system? Excellent. Fast, tactical, satisfying. Cancel an enemy's attack at exactly the right moment and watch them stand there looking stupid. Delicious. The music? Gorgeous. The world? Charming. The story? Apparently something about saving humanity from Valmar. I wasn't really listening. Ryudo spends half the game pretending he doesn't care about anyone. Elena spends half the game telling everyone what Lord Granas would think. Roan is doing political homework. Mareg says something incredibly wise every seventeen minutes and then refuses to elaborate. And Skye? Honestly, the bird might be the most emotionally stable member of the party. Meanwhile, I arrive, improve every scene by approximately 600%, flirt with Ryudo directly in front of Elena, refuse to explain myself, cause several theological emergencies, and leave. You're welcome. Again. The funniest part is watching Ryudo attempt to maintain his brooding m…

I first played Grandia II when I was very young, and now, more than twenty years later, replaying it was a surprisingly meaningful experience. Ryudo is easy to inhabit because he's the classic wandering hero: competent enough to survive on his own, skeptical of authority, emotionally guarded, but gradually revealed to care much more deeply than he lets on. The Ryudo/Elena/Millenia dynamic is the most distinctive part of the game! Elena is a church-girl stereotype: sheltered, proper, and compassionate, while the other, possessed half of her, Millenia, is the intense seductress type: spontaneous, seductive, passionate, and unpredictable. With expressive portraits, charming and distinctive music, partial voice acting, a traveling-party structure, and shared meals with the party, Grandia II often feels like inhabiting a late-90s/early-2000s shonen anime adventure with your friends, where you are the main character. I consider the game's linear structure and simple towns and dungeons to be strengths, because they make exploration intuitive and help the adventure stay immersive. The combat, however, can be slow and animation-heavy. I eventually modified my save file so battles became qu…

The game was amazing This remaster is pretty trash tho so I'm glad they included the anniversary edition that you can switch to (that's also the only one that works on the steam deck, the actual remaster soft locks and freezes on the revive animation) The story and characters are really good; it's such a shame this game released on a failed console basically. The UI is great too, also the level designs are so creative; especially the more obscure and creepy ones. The enemy designs are also great (and horrifying). I wouldn't recommend playing this game on hard tho cause some bosses are ridiculously hard and you can't switch difficulty mid game. The thing that's the most amazing in this game to me probably is the music; there are so much great tracks.

Doesnt take anything away from the original and just builds on it!

Loved the hand painted textures. Combat is not too hard.

I enjoyed this better than the first game. The story has more serious tone than the first game, the ability progression is better in my opinion (Special & Magic Coin is better than grinding the skill for level up).