Grandia HD Collection Switch Review - STILL WORTH PLAYING?
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 24 июл 2024
- The Grandia JRPG franchise started on the Sega Saturn back in 1997. This HD collection includes the first two games in the series. Are they worth playing today? Find out in our Grandia HD Collection Nintendo Switch Review...
#GrandiaHDCollection #NintendoSwitch #SwitchUp
==== WE ARE GIVING AWAY OUR NEXT FREE SWITCH GAME RIGHT AT THE START OF EACH MONTH! ====
====== Subscribers have a 1/50,601 chance!
=========== Patrons have a 1/95 chance lol!
(Join them from $1 a month - / switchupgaming )
==== Join us on Discord right now for tons of great gaming chat and competitions - / discord
====== Drop us an email - info@switchupgaming.com
=========== Follow us on Twitter - @SwitchupG
===== MORE GREAT SWITCHUP VIDEOS =====
Most Recent Upcoming Games List -
• 10 NEW Nintendo Switch...
Most Recent Review - Sniper Elite III
• Sniper Elite 3: Ultima...
HUGE Releases
Hollow Knight • Hollow Knight Nintendo...
Cadence of Hyrule: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfjFs...
Fortnite • Fortnite Nintendo Swit...
Civilisation VI • Civilization VI Switch...
Buying Guides - www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLbzM...
Physical games - www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Yr-L...
We started SwitchUp as we just didn’t find what we were looking for in what was already out there. There are some brilliant creators - but we enjoyed a more retro format like the old gaming magazines. Scoring 5 sections out of 20 to give a percentage score like the good old days! Hopefully, you enjoyed our more unusual style. We’ll always try and cover any new Nintendo Switch games, Top Nintendo Switch games or Upcoming releases as best we can.
For all things Switch all the time, keep it SwitchUp!
Mark and Glen 
Игры
Hey SwitchUp Family! Thanks to Jace for this awesome written review - he did a great job! Mark
Great review Jace! Sounds like they put as much love into this remaster as they could have.
The reason i have a switch is to play this amazing rpgs that i didnt could back in the day.
Exactly that! Mark
Yeah, the Switch is getting jam packed with these games that were easily missed back in the day, especially if (like me) you did not have the original systems they were released on! I am loving it!
I was just thinking the same thing. The Switch gets criticism for having so many ports of old games but then if you crunch the numbers, a 20 year old would have only been born when a game came out in 1999. So it gives a new generation an opportunity to play some of these, still great, games. I fear that these with soon be the only examples of games without micro transactions.
Herr Mayhem I’m so glad the switch gets these old games. I’ve never played grandia but I must say it’s a gem. Maybe my fav jrpg!!
You should get a vita too! You'll get access to even more!
Would love to see a full remake for the first Grandia like Square did for Trials Of Mana
Grandia 3 on the PS2 was pretty awesome. I wish that would have been a part of the collection, too.
Is grandia 3 not in this collection?
That is correct. It's only the first two games.@@segagirladventurespico
@@ryangurnett568 oh ok it’s hard to find this collection either way I just was curious. I did see grandia 3 at the retro store with no manual I might just pick it up. Nicer with manual. Thank you :)
Honestly it is all great. I spent so much time on this back in the day especially the second game! Great job guys! I really want chrono trigger
Chrono Trigger yes please!
Fun facts about Grandia II (which I ended almost 2 decades ago):
The English voice acting features many great voice actors from both Metal Gear Solid 1 and 2, such as Cam Clarke, Paul Eiding or Kim Mai Guest... But there's a unique voice actress here: Jodi Benson. The Little Mermaid Ariel, as the mysterious Millenia.
One of the creatures in this game, the Carro, was designed by none other than Atsuko Nishida... As in the designer of many fan favorite Pokémon such as Pikachu or Sylveon.
So yeah, want a JRPG with the Little Mermaid's voice and designs by the maker of Pikachu done in the early 2000s? There.
*Gaps* Been playing Grandia 2 for 20 years now and I never looked at the credits to see that Millenia's VA was Jodi Benson! Thinking about it yeah I can hear hints of her in it, although the voice is definitely deeper lol.
Strangely feeling the first one more than the second, looks a bit nicer. Getting Mario RPG vibes, music sound good too. Hope they do a breath of fire collection one day. No random battles is always a good thing, thanks guys
Cheers Andrew! Mark
I liked one more than two, so you're not alone there! Breath of Fire collection would be great!
Congratulations on reaching 50,000+ subs...Super Awesome😎 😎👍👍
Got mine on sale I think for $15.00, I'm not sure but I'm actually happy to be able to play it despite playing demos of it for the original PlayStation
I got this on my Switch List wishlist waiting for a sale. It looks like a great time. QoL improvements like those seen on Final Fantasy would be nice, but being as I haven't played this series ever, experiencing the games as they were at release isn't a bad thing. I think the QoL improvements on the FF series are almost necessary as it would be tough to go through those games a second time at the original pace.
Yeah it does help being new to these, as I didn't feel overly fatigued by the battles. And luckily, grinding is kept to a minimum unless you really want to unlock more spells. In terms of level grinding, it was never necessary to get through the story.
Having never played any of this series and being a fan ofJRPG's I am very much looking forward to giving this a play through. Nice one Jace.
Thanks! You'll have to let me know how you find it.
@@jglover8 One of the luxuries of having a large backlog is you can wait for a sale on games you are exited to play. I will let you know how I get on.
@@duncanbowie1043 So, have you played it?
classic JRPG needs to be remastered on switch IMO : suikoden 1 & 2, wild arms, chrono cross, legend of dragoon
You're not going to see Wild Arms and Legend of Dragoon on Switch. Those games belong to Sony.
Chrono cross dropped recently :)
👏👏
Suikoden 1 & 2 coming as well lol
My 1st JRPG was Grandia II & ever since I fall inlove with turn based battle. Not to mention the story was superb
Never played the first game, but I had the second one (I believe) on the Dreamcast, and it's still my favorite RPG ever. Absolutely loved the combat system, and also the fact that I don't remember ever having to grind in it in order to get powerful enough for a new area.
As you said, I think the collection is a bit pricey right now, but once it goes on sale I'm definitely picking this up!
Yeah there is very little grind in either game, unless in the first you want to power up your spells. You don't need to in order to progress, so it's totally player's choice. It's a great series!
Great review Jace! I have to admit I picked these up day one and still have yet to play them. I think after Ni No Kuni, I'll start up Grandia.
Thanks! Let me know how you find them. I need to start Ni No Kuni myself.
Grandia 2 was originally on Dreamcast.
Get your nerd facts right, fellas!
Haha, good man. Fair enough. Glen
Thanks for setting the record straight! PS2 release was 2002, Dreamcast was the 2000 release.
Jace Glover yup
Indeed, I had the DC version, it's top notch! :D
@@gameshack1985 I still have it :D
Well written review here Jace looks great but with so many jrpgs on switch probably best waiting on that sale.
Thanks Rich! Yeah I'd say you're just fine waiting for a sale on this one.
SwitchUp is the source for my gaming fix.
Grandia II originally launched for the Sega Dreamcast, hitting NA shelves on December 5, 2000. It was not ported to the Sony PS2 until January 2002.
Grand video mate! Keep up the great work eh!
Thanks!
Grandia 2 may be my favorite battle system in 25 years of playing JRPG’s
Cheers for the review Jace Glover. Good work!
Thanks!
It's on sale for 50% off and since the review I think they updated the game and squashed bugs. I'm convinced to buy, thanks.
I played these games about half a decade ago, the first one as a PSN PS1 classic on PSP, and the second one on PC after I found it second hand. I felt that the reviewers opinions on these games mirrored my own. I think that the visual enhancements that they've made look alright, but personally, I'd be happy to replay the versions I already have rather than purchase them anew.
Even though I'm a huge JRPG fan I've I've somehow never heard of this. Glad you guys reviewed it I'll have to check it out!
Yeah I had missed this as well since I did not have the original systems (was a Nintendo kid). Having these oldie but goodie games coming out again on the Switch has been a true blessing!
Yes, without even watching the review, haha. But Grandia 1 has always been tied for number 1 game to me since it released.
The first Grandia is definitely special. I don't think I've ever gotten the sense of adventure from an RPG the way Grandia has done it. What is the game it's tied with at 1?
“You can tell that he’s actually...a bird” lmao that had be cracking up 😂
Pretty stupid thing to say when the original model is nowhere near as bad as he claims.
Grandia, is one of my favourite JRPG from the PS1 era, due to its more streamlined and linear Story it was much more
accesable to my ten(ish) year old mind, compared to the more complex FF7.
Now the only Game left to port to the Switch would be the Legend of Dragoon :)
Would LOVE to see a Legend of Dragoon re-release!
Pretty sure Legend of Dragoon is a Sony property, it will never come to Switch. We have better chance of seeing a remaster one the PS5 honestly.
Thanks Mark for this amazing review.. never played GRANDIA.. looks pretty interesting
Thanks Craig! It's an oldie but worth a look at if you like JRPG's.
Jace Glover no problem,
Surprised burn doesn't show area of effect 2:52 in Grandia 1. 4:27 thanks for stating the cancel is broken in the 1st. Didn't know if done well, bosses can be stopped from attacking.
Yeah the burn spell is interesting because it has a tiny radius visually but actually hits a little bit outside of that area. It's only really used early on anyways as you quickly unlock better spells that hit everything all the time (or at least much bigger areas).
I’d just downloaded this one predominantly for Grandia 2 and because my older digital version I have on PSP was a tad glitchy of which I lost my save file.. The graphics and sound look ridiculously dated however the gameplay is top notch and more than makes up for it..
The story is generic and somewhat campy but still was put together well enough you don’t mind it.. I would like a remake at some point tbh The series definitely belongs in any classical rpg enthusiasts library..
Question for a Switch Lite user like myself! As of now are there any noticeable issues with both Grandia's (Specifically 2) I should be aware of with current patch's in place! Would love to here thoughts, just anyone who has it and is still playing on Switch as I got it recently on a sale for 20 dollars and I'd like to be aware of anything to take note of (I save every time I come across a save point in practice for any RPG I play because of fear of power outages! They rarely happen, but I'd hate to make alot of progress just to lose it all! Same with game crashes when I was playing Stranger of Sword City on my Switch Lite the other day because you can only save at the HQ, so if it crashes on the field after grinding for hours, it's the equalivent of just getting a game over! Lose all your progress, hence I would love to know what to expect as I'm currently playing Three Hopes in preparation to picking up Xenoblade 3 in the following Week! So I don't have the time to check it fully for myself! So any tips from anyone playing would be helpful and you have my thanks)
I’d love to have some more rare Saturn games ported to Switch, like Panzer Dragoon, Nights Into Dreams, or Magic Knight Rayearth. It feels like I missed a whole generation of excellent 32 bit classics due to the unfortunate bomb of the Saturn in the United States. I think I would have loved these if I had the chance to play them. Original discs for the Saturn are very rare and expensive on eBay, and many are slowly dying due to time, wear, and data rot.
I missed pretty much all of the Saturn and Dreamcast games as well, so it is great seeing a lot of these brought over. Panzer Dragoon is getting a beautiful looking remake though! Can't wait to play that one.
Great review! But for us who wants the physical copy of the game waiting for a sale isn't really and option . Glad i bougth it as soon as it was release now the prices are insane.
outstanding job Jace and Mark!
Thanks CP!
And Glen did the video! Triple threat match!
First ;) I have played all of the grandia games! They are fantastic ^-^ I highly recommend. Thanks Jace for a great review, and thanks glen and mark for creating the rest of the video :D
Beat me! :(
Specty Cyborg I’m sure you’ll beat me next time
I'm just hoping we get at least Grandia 3 on the Switch now that I've gotten to see 1 and 2! Thanks for watching!
Jace Glover anytime brother! I look forward to your next review ●ᴥ●
@@jglover8 They should make a new 3 and pretend the original never existed.
As someone who owns the original Saturn import as well as the ps1 version and tu DC and PS2 and grandia 3 and a translated physical copy of Time tripers for Gameboy. This is one of the major reasons I finally bought a switch. While I could go back and play my original copies. This way o can still enjoy them and keep my originals safe on my shelf.
Now of only a switch physical edition came out. I'd double dip and buy a physical too then. Lol
Just so you don't miss out, a physical version is available now for preorder at Limited Run Games
@@ramsesjfg7668 yup. I ordered my copies soon as the item went live yesterday morning. Thank you
Was waiting for this review. Epic one. Thank u guys!!!
Cheers mate! Mark
Happy to help! Thanks for watching!
Grandia 2 for the Dreamcast is what got me into playing RPGs in the first place.
The amazing Cam Clarke played Ryudo while Paul Eiding played Skye! Great voices in the game.
Uhm... Millenia is played by Jodi Benson.
You know... Ariel?
A little correction. Grandia II came out to the Dreamcast, and was later ported to the PS2. Also, I can't see that they have made much improvement on Grandia II from the Dreamcast version, even Skye look the same in my book. Perhaps the game was simplified a bit for the PS2?
I am glad you mentioned this fact because I was about to mention it myself since I do have the original Grandia II game for the Dreamcast. I am still hopeful that Sega will one day make Skies of Arcadia: Legends remaster for the Switch. I never played Legends on the gamecube, but I did play the original Dreamcast version.
I love these games, but will wait on a sale. I can't wait
I rented the first at blockbuster and never managed to finish it because it closed down soon after. I have some work to do!
Also worth noting that grandia 2 was also on dreamcast. Was a great title.
and pc as well.
Still $28 on sale in the US Switch ship. Love grandia's OST and want to play part one again, but don't want to pay that much as I don't have a desire to play grandia 2
I can't wait to play this again but not the 2nd one. I don't mind grinding at all.
Best part of the review: "If you watch the old footage, egofriend sky, he is a small squarehead sitting on top of a rectangle body. In the HD version you can tell he is actually a bird" lmao
My only major complaint. The camera never stops moving! It’s always panning and zooming and spinning. I guess I’m lucky I don’t suffer from motion sickness, but sometimes my eyes feel strained trying to watch a simple battle.
During the overworld segments, that's my fault as I'm trying to look for items. I never really thought about it during battles, but now that you mention it you're right! Sorry about that!
It’s not your fault. I’ve played the game, it’s just how it’s designed.
Yeah I was interested in trying this game but the camera zooming in and out during battles bothers me.
9:01 if you hade heard this DA DAN DA sound from a speaker....you would have thought it was a club banger/hit lol We need more individuality in music :) stands out more.
Sorry to comment this in this vídeo but any thoughts about the Doraemon story of seasons?
A great pick or a "Cash grab"
They need to remaster the shining force games from Sega Genesis 🤔
Grandia is always worth playing. I have both the original PlayStation version and the Switch HD version.
It's on sale right now for £17.99 and I'm tempted
I want to pick this up but boy I got DQ XI and Ni no kuni go deal with. Not even counting the copy I ordered off play asia of DQ 1/2/3 and the upcoming Baldur's gate 1/2,Planescape/Icewind Dale, and Witcher 3.
It's absolutely nuts how many massive RPG's released just in September/October! And still more to come soon!
Thanks for the review.
Turn based combat looks like it inspired combat in Child of Light.
Yes, it has inspired many games since. It's great how well the system stands up to this day.
I bit too rich for my already tapped-out blood. Maybe if it goes on a good sale at some point. Even then, I wont have time to play it... Damn being an adult!!
Yes, I hear you there! Too many good games coming too fast with too little time!
@@jglover8 The struggle is real. Thanks for the good review!
Ain't played the 2nd yet still even tho it's really old. But I got the new remaster. It's a great game to me. Well worth the couple bucks.
7:38 Original Grandia II on DC and PS2 had 3D char models, not 2D sprites.
Hello 👋...who won the divinity original sin 2 giveaway??
It's going in my next list video (should be out today) Mark
SwitchUp thank you for your hard work Mr.Mark.All your efforts are appreciated
Great review!
Thanks!
I keep hearing about Grandia running poorly on the Switch HD Collection. Are the Steam ports better or is it a game issue?
I totally agree with Mark here on the value front. Nobody can knock the the quality of the original content, they are classics, but apart from the adoption of widescreen, too little has been done. After GungHo ridiculed several requests for a physical release on their Twitter account, I refuse to give them a penny for their overpriced digital cash grab.
Yep, it's unfortunate they didn't put a bit more into these. Personally, I'm glad to have gotten the chance to review them. I would not have bought them myself, but had never played the originals and so it was great to get to experience them as they are solid games.
I never played these back in the day. I will most likely wait for a sale.
Yep, sale is the way to go I think.
Grandia 2 dreamcast my favorite rpg of all time
I haven't heard of these games but so far the first game's graphic caught my attention it just too bad seeing a beautifully well made sprites get smeared a bit by the blurriness.
Yeah I agree and wish they had used a different method instead of the smoothing filter.
NoNeedToWorry the second one is really good and story is about a following a religion blindly when it is evil at its core. The characters are good and the combat is fun and its challenging
Love Grandia II and I is great because my name is Justin 😂 and there’s 4 grandia games not including online 1-3 and xtreme
there was a gbc japan only game.
Although I loved the fighting system and how nice the engine looked in Grandia II, neither characters, world building, story or pivotal story points were nowhere close the first Grandia game. Grandia is one of the hidden gems of the 90's and should honestly be considered a classic, just like FFVII... It has aged somewhat worse with the simple 3D environments. and I absolutely hate the xBRZ filter smacked on top of the beutiful sprite-work in the "remaster". But all in all, the first game is something people need to experience. It's just such a good game.
wish it be on ps5 on old games if yet i be get it
grandia 2 was so engrossing for some reason. thats all I remember about it
I've seen a pretty good split between people who prefer 2 vs 1. I myself felt 1 sucked me in more and didn't like the characters in 2 near as much.
Jace Glover I only played 2 and that was when it came out. im 31 now so I guess was around 12 or 13 atm? not sure but yet I vaguely remember the game its self. just really enjoying it
I enjoyed both but that feeling of wonder and thirst for adventure in 1 made a lasting impression on me. Hell, it’s impacted how I approach my real life
Tbh I just only wanna play Grandia one
These games were great in their time(and my favorite too) , but for now, I recommend waiting for discount.
Yeah I agree since they didn't really do much except give it a new coat of paint.
It's 30% off now. Should I get this or FFX and X-2 for 50% off?
@@Rustyhound-Cartoons I'd say X and X-2
@@jglover8 Alright, it's cheaper and seems like it has a bigger focus on story or characters so I'll go with FF X and X-2. Thanks for the help and quick reply!
@@Rustyhound-Cartoons enjoy, they are both solid games!
This is illegal. You guys keep tingling my nostalgia boner.
I found Grandia 2 as a good game. Sadly, I played Breath of Fire 3 before this and it will always be 1st place in my heart.
Haha, whoops! Sorry not sorry ;)
Why does the screen shake so much? I'd love to play this, but all that shaking is making me dizzy just in this review.
I love Grandia 1 but 40€ 2 years after release for 2 games that are just emulated without any noticable improvements is just way too much.
Would've copped it if it was a trilogy putting grandia 3 on it.
Yes
Unfortunately it's the ps1 version and not the Sega but it's still a lot of fun.
Yep, still a solid game. The combat system holds up great to this day!
@@jglover8 i also enjoy that you have to grind some weak spells to get stronger ones of the same element. Didn't feel to grindy to me.
@@BlindGardener I agree it's not too grindy compared to a lot of RPG's, including the FF games where you get stuck at bosses until you grind levels, but I still preferred the method in 2 more.
Bit misleading to say 6 or 7 games in the franchise. Can't really count a gameboy game and a closed mmo.
The only 2 titles missing were Grandia extreme and Grandia 3, wich might have rights problems with square enix. Maybe they were planning a second collection.
It seems they could hardly handle these two as it was.
Really liked your review structure though.
Really the only games we got was Grandia 1, 2, Xtreme and 3! It's likely stupid reasoning like why in the Handsome Collection we got Borderlands 2 and Pre-Sequel, but not 1 till the collection that came out on the Switch later gave all three (likely cause they couldn't get away with that same reasoning when they successfully ported it all three to the Switch!) Frankly this would be a complete collection if they called it the "Grandia HD Trilogy" with all three MAIN games as Xtreme was a Spin-off more then a main line! Otherwise it should have been in their as "Collection!" But seeing how they cut corners, I don't even want to guess how they'd mess up Xtreme and 3! (Especially with 2! After the PS2 disaster, I have to wonder if 2 was by design a game that would be fucked up if anyone remastering or porting it outside the Dreamcast tried to be lazy with it at any point! If so then it just goes to show how the previous remasters of 2 along with current are pathetically lazy! Likely more so because of the reasoning of "we can patch it later" seeing how patching is far easier like they hold people will always have a secured online connection to get the fucking patch! It's why I lean towards games that are solid without patches! Yeah they'll crash and have problems, but their stable enough that the patch only lowers the rate of crashing by well, example is without patch, it crashes every 4 hours of non-stop gaming! While with it it crashes every 5 hours! AT least I can predict the time table and not be solely dependent on online connection to fix the game! I refuse to own buggy mess of games physical! And if I get em digital, I'll get them on a mega sale. Because I'm assured to get the patches when I redownload the game in the future, but then I tend to wait patiently for Digital Sales to Digital only games anyway so it's no big!)
OOf i am NOT liking these smeared out pixels in the first one Big Yikes
Yeah there are areas where the smoothing filter did not do the game favors. I agree with you there.
I believe wings have a major role in this game story that showing a character that sprout out their wings is a spoiler IMO.
Its really not a problem when you just start the game but it'll start bugging you out in the middle of story when you start to know the nature of that wings.
Reminds me of the Secret of Mana
Yep I can see some similarities. I think I might prefer Grandia 1 over Secret of Mana, but SoM over Grandia 2.
Controlls 18, really? Speaking of Grandia 1, exploring is such a pain with this awful cam and missing minimap
I didn't feel it that difficult to explore as most of the maps are fairly small. If it had been all one big connected world instead of segmented areas I would have had a much bigger issue.
Love the game.
But you should do a bit more research before making a review.
6 or 7 games in the franchise? Did you just open Wikipedia and read some titles without understanding anything?
There are only 5 (including the GBA game.) Rest of the items listed on Wikipedia include a cancelled mmo and some art gallery feature.
Grandia 2 is better than ff9 in almost every way. Fight me.
I certainly like the combat system more, but I like the story in FF9 better.
@@jglover8 for sure, FF9 has an incredible world and soundtrack
Everybody who actually tries it end up thinking that Grandia had the greatest battle system of all time!
Still want my Grandia III Remake. I know that it wasn't the best game in the series but still.
Grandia 2 was first release on Dreamcast not PS2. The PS 2 port of it was terrible.
I hope he listend to his mistake
Camera moves and zoom in out make me nausea :(
Hafta skip tis one as Ghostbusters Remastered is just around the corner *Sighh*
That one looks really good. Can't wait to hear Glen's thoughts on it!
Just two miserable games included and they dare to call it a
¨collection¨, *sigh*. Look at the Contra collection with its like 9
games, that's a collection, not this overpriced bullshit!!
I adore the first one but the second one is unbelievably average!
I agree the first one is a great deal better than the second overall with more memorable characters and story, but the combat in the second is a bit more refined which I appreciate.
Your kidding right? The first one was so generic you could have played any other rpg that has little kids saveing the world and mistake it for grandia 1.
@@AnarickTheDevil I'll agree to disagree with you on this, I think the original had character that the sequel lacked.