I loved this game, played it twice on Dreamcast. Loved it. Loved the big plot twist, as I had been raised in church/religion at that time and the implications were "sacriligious" and controversial and I couldn't get enough of it LOL! EDIT: I loved the music... great battle tunes
@@adcraziness1501 the music was incredible!And as most of us now know, if it’s a jrpg, and the church shows up, 9 times outta 10 they are up to some shady shit lol
About the ending: according to interviews with the writers, Ryudo, Elena and Millenia are officially a polycule by the end of the game! He's dating both of them, and Elena and Millenia view each other as equals in that ♡
@@gamebreak6395 Right? It's implied by some of the things they say (like Elena describing a special bond between the three of them) but can still fly under the radar haha. I remember being absolutely mindblown by the idea when I first played it as a teen and then getting so excited and happy about it!
Based Ryudo getting both Icarian twins for himself. I wish Justin did the same but then he probably would've ended up with way too many kids to support
Awesome review! I've played Grandia 1 probably 1000 times, if not more, since 2000. Sadly, it wasn't until the HD Remasters were announced that I even discovered 2 and 3 existed but I love both of them! I hope we get a new Grandia one day... but the way games are today I'm pretty sure it would end up being Grandia in name only.
A new Grandia would be incredible. I was thinking that with all these HD-2D games coming out perhaps a new Grandia could be done in that style too? Even though I really loved the 3D look of 2 and 3 as well And thanks for watching the video
I honestly wonder why an indie dev hasnt made an rpg with a battle system highly inspired by this series. The battle system in these games were in my personal opinion the absolute best. Far as turn taker rpg games go. As a kid and even today rpg games that stretch longer than say 20ish hours I get extremely bored on. Even if im into the story eventually there's a grindy moment or two and i just tire out on it. This series gave battles that extra bit of spice I needed. All titles a 3d battlefield (excluding x never played x) and they added the ability to see the turn board and ability to alter it (cancel attacks or slow an enemy on the bar down) from one to two to three the battle system only improved. Honestly hope someone makes a new rpg with this battle system!
23:51 Mareg = Original Uncle iroh. We didn't get that much screen time with Mareg and roan as we do tio and Mareg. But you'll see roan and Mareg have the beginnings of a nice friendship so it makes sense that roan and tio get along if ya think about it ^_^ Lol no mention on Skye as a character even though his and Ryudo relationship is decent and then you go to mention villains! Lol jk good stuff
just finished the game for the Nth time and each time I do I try and find a review of it I have never seen before. first played it back on the Dreamcast been one of my fav JRPGs ever since. played Chrono Trigger the for the first time that year as well was a good year for me. and now I have both on Steam and I even have Chrono Trigger on my iPhone(it is not a great port but hey it's something to play on long journeys that is not full of ads) Anyway always glad to find this game getting some love. And as a Englishman Sarcasm and Cynicism is way of life so I loved Ryudo's quips and jabs sure he is an arsehole but he is an Honest arsehole and I can respect that. Yeah I agree that to normal JRPG player will find this game easy even on hard. I have found that is mostly because of their instinct to grind and this game is paced so well that all you need to do is fight all enemies you see on your way and not leave the area go back to respawn enemies and grind it a few times as would be their normal routine. And you will be just at the right level to keep the fights interesting. And you only need to grind a little in the Raul Hills special Combat stage late in the game to max out whatever skill/magic you like the most.
Oh man, this deserves more views! Grandia is amazing, and great to see it being discussed. I give a slight edge to the original, as it created a unique feeling of almost Ghibli-esque of wonder and exploration that no other game has. But love Grandia II almost as much. But if I ever manage to make a game, it'd amuse me to no end to subvert the "evil-religious-organization" trope and have them turn out to actually be good. :D The music is outstanding and still on my phone... although probably more from G1. I love the "Perfect Victory" theme (and very idea of having a special version,) "Deck Swabbing" and "The Three Young Women."
Haha thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. After thinking about it more, I am inclined to agree I would have to give the edge to Grandia 1. It's story and ending are just so god damn incredible. Even to think about it at length puts a smile on my face. I also have the music on my phone. I listen to it on a regular basis when I'm out running around. And I love your mentions of "Deck Swabbing" and "The Three Young Women" both those tracks are fantastic!
I'm replaying thorugh Grandia II right now for the 4th time. I always had two theories about the ending. 1) Ryudo in the end chose Elena because he kisses Elena in the Birthplace of the Gods, not Millenia or 2) He chose neither. For my own personal headcanon I would prefer no.1, however for what would be better on game's theme and symbolism I would prefer no.2. There's some sort of "ID-Ego-SuperEgo" theme going on with the protagonists in the game. Millenia is effectively Elena's ID taking physical form. This is what Valmar does to a person: it makes thier ID/shadow take full control. Elena on the other hand represenst the Super Ego, given her devotion to the rules and regulation of the society/church. Elena/Millenia were able to coexist because of Ryudo stopping the completion of the ritual early on and sticking with them until the end. I believe Ryudo represents the "Ego/mediator" who listens to both sides equally to create balance. Therefore, it would make sense that he wouldn't prefer one over the other at the end. During this playthrough (where I'm trying to talk to EVERY SINGLE NPC MULTIPLE TIMES OVER) I've been noticing some symbolism I didn't see the other times. Here's some food for thought: At Granas cathedral, Millenia appears in one short cutscene in a room shaped like a question mark. Now why would the cathedral of Granas have a room shaped like that, and why would she decide to appear in that room specifically?
Also my favorite RPG :O I played it back then on the PC for the first time, I was still a little boy who could not speak English (Not my native language) and so has "beaten" through the game :D At Valmar's "eyes" was usually the end xD I played it again some years later and now I was able to read the texts. Did not take long and there it was played through several times and is my favorite JRPG since then. For this I thank my father again and again, since he had bought it for me :D I loved the whole party, but Mareek was also my favorite character and I really mourned him when that happened in the game. Even today (in the video, for example) I still get tears in my eyes. The duo of Tio and Mareek and the resulting "group ionamics" is just wonderful :) I would like to see a real remake of the 2nd Grandia part, similar to the FF7 remake. But the remaster is enough for me too :) Have it already played over 20x through xD
Grandia II is such a great game, I had a really great time playing through it again with the remaster. Mareg and TIo's relationship is one of my favorites in the whole JRPG genre to this day, and it always puts a smile on my face to think about :) And it's always great to meet another Grandia fan! It truly is one of the gems of the JRPG genre, and I would love a true Grandia IV one day
I played both versons dreamcast was the first, and when i saw it for PS2 i was completely disappointed, the game was great, the story didn't change, it was the same game through and through but what in the world happened with the in-game graphics (more like to be truthful the battle graphics) on the PS2, absolutely love this game the characters hit just right, no one was annoying including enemies this game had a lot of heart and some of the most emotional stories I've seen in awhile, I'm hiping the PS4/5 release looks closer to the Dreamcast, heck but I'll take it no matter how it is, i have it on the switch as well lol game over all 9/10 for me but honestly 10/10
I loved this game, played it twice on Dreamcast. Loved it. Loved the big plot twist, as I had been raised in church/religion at that time and the implications were "sacriligious" and controversial and I couldn't get enough of it LOL! EDIT: I loved the music... great battle tunes
@@adcraziness1501 the music was incredible!And as most of us now know, if it’s a jrpg, and the church shows up, 9 times outta 10 they are up to some shady shit lol
About the ending: according to interviews with the writers, Ryudo, Elena and Millenia are officially a polycule by the end of the game! He's dating both of them, and Elena and Millenia view each other as equals in that ♡
Thanks for this! Never knew that!
@@gamebreak6395 Right? It's implied by some of the things they say (like Elena describing a special bond between the three of them) but can still fly under the radar haha. I remember being absolutely mindblown by the idea when I first played it as a teen and then getting so excited and happy about it!
Based Ryudo getting both Icarian twins for himself.
I wish Justin did the same but then he probably would've ended up with way too many kids to support
I love this game definitely in my top five of all times
@@rh8560 You got good taste
Awesome review! I've played Grandia 1 probably 1000 times, if not more, since 2000. Sadly, it wasn't until the HD Remasters were announced that I even discovered 2 and 3 existed but I love both of them! I hope we get a new Grandia one day... but the way games are today I'm pretty sure it would end up being Grandia in name only.
A new Grandia would be incredible. I was thinking that with all these HD-2D games coming out perhaps a new Grandia could be done in that style too? Even though I really loved the 3D look of 2 and 3 as well
And thanks for watching the video
I honestly wonder why an indie dev hasnt made an rpg with a battle system highly inspired by this series. The battle system in these games were in my personal opinion the absolute best. Far as turn taker rpg games go. As a kid and even today rpg games that stretch longer than say 20ish hours I get extremely bored on. Even if im into the story eventually there's a grindy moment or two and i just tire out on it. This series gave battles that extra bit of spice I needed. All titles a 3d battlefield (excluding x never played x) and they added the ability to see the turn board and ability to alter it (cancel attacks or slow an enemy on the bar down) from one to two to three the battle system only improved. Honestly hope someone makes a new rpg with this battle system!
23:51 Mareg = Original Uncle iroh. We didn't get that much screen time with Mareg and roan as we do tio and Mareg. But you'll see roan and Mareg have the beginnings of a nice friendship so it makes sense that roan and tio get along if ya think about it ^_^
Lol no mention on Skye as a character even though his and Ryudo relationship is decent and then you go to mention villains! Lol jk good stuff
@@theshotgundog I agree about the battle system. It’s a large part of why I will always replay these games. It’s so damn fun
just finished the game for the Nth time and each time I do I try and find a review of it I have never seen before.
first played it back on the Dreamcast been one of my fav JRPGs ever since.
played Chrono Trigger the for the first time that year as well was a good year for me.
and now I have both on Steam and I even have Chrono Trigger on my iPhone(it is not a great port but hey it's something to play on long journeys that is not full of ads)
Anyway always glad to find this game getting some love.
And as a Englishman Sarcasm and Cynicism is way of life so I loved Ryudo's quips and jabs sure he is an arsehole but he is an Honest arsehole and I can respect that.
Yeah I agree that to normal JRPG player will find this game easy even on hard. I have found that is mostly because of their instinct to grind and this game is paced so well that all you need to do is fight all enemies you see on your way and not leave the area go back to respawn enemies and grind it a few times as would be their normal routine. And you will be just at the right level to keep the fights interesting. And you only need to grind a little in the Raul Hills special Combat stage late in the game to max out whatever skill/magic you like the most.
Oh man, this deserves more views! Grandia is amazing, and great to see it being discussed. I give a slight edge to the original, as it created a unique feeling of almost Ghibli-esque of wonder and exploration that no other game has. But love Grandia II almost as much. But if I ever manage to make a game, it'd amuse me to no end to subvert the "evil-religious-organization" trope and have them turn out to actually be good. :D The music is outstanding and still on my phone... although probably more from G1. I love the "Perfect Victory" theme (and very idea of having a special version,) "Deck Swabbing" and "The Three Young Women."
Haha thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. After thinking about it more, I am inclined to agree I would have to give the edge to Grandia 1. It's story and ending are just so god damn incredible. Even to think about it at length puts a smile on my face.
I also have the music on my phone. I listen to it on a regular basis when I'm out running around. And I love your mentions of "Deck Swabbing" and "The Three Young Women" both those tracks are fantastic!
I'm replaying thorugh Grandia II right now for the 4th time. I always had two theories about the ending. 1) Ryudo in the end chose Elena because he kisses Elena in the Birthplace of the Gods, not Millenia or 2) He chose neither.
For my own personal headcanon I would prefer no.1, however for what would be better on game's theme and symbolism I would prefer no.2.
There's some sort of "ID-Ego-SuperEgo" theme going on with the protagonists in the game. Millenia is effectively Elena's ID taking physical form. This is what Valmar does to a person: it makes thier ID/shadow take full control. Elena on the other hand represenst the Super Ego, given her devotion to the rules and regulation of the society/church.
Elena/Millenia were able to coexist because of Ryudo stopping the completion of the ritual early on and sticking with them until the end. I believe Ryudo represents the "Ego/mediator" who listens to both sides equally to create balance. Therefore, it would make sense that he wouldn't prefer one over the other at the end.
During this playthrough (where I'm trying to talk to EVERY SINGLE NPC MULTIPLE TIMES OVER) I've been noticing some symbolism I didn't see the other times.
Here's some food for thought: At Granas cathedral, Millenia appears in one short cutscene in a room shaped like a question mark. Now why would the cathedral of Granas have a room shaped like that, and why would she decide to appear in that room specifically?
Also my favorite RPG :O
I played it back then on the PC for the first time, I was still a little boy who could not speak English (Not my native language) and so has "beaten" through the game :D
At Valmar's "eyes" was usually the end xD
I played it again some years later and now I was able to read the texts. Did not take long and there it was played through several times and is my favorite JRPG since then. For this I thank my father again and again, since he had bought it for me :D
I loved the whole party, but Mareek was also my favorite character and I really mourned him when that happened in the game. Even today (in the video, for example) I still get tears in my eyes. The duo of Tio and Mareek and the resulting "group ionamics" is just wonderful :)
I would like to see a real remake of the 2nd Grandia part, similar to the FF7 remake. But the remaster is enough for me too :)
Have it already played over 20x through xD
Grandia II is such a great game, I had a really great time playing through it again with the remaster.
Mareg and TIo's relationship is one of my favorites in the whole JRPG genre to this day, and it always puts a smile on my face to think about :)
And it's always great to meet another Grandia fan! It truly is one of the gems of the JRPG genre, and I would love a true Grandia IV one day
@@gamebreak6395 poor mareg
@@cosettapessa6417 Rest in peace...
Really good review. Thanks for making this tribute videos
My pleasure, thank you so much for watching :)
Awesome review dude, my favorite Grandia game and in my Top 10 JRPGs of all time.
Thank you very much! It is without question one of the greatest of all time :)
I played both versons dreamcast was the first, and when i saw it for PS2 i was completely disappointed, the game was great, the story didn't change, it was the same game through and through but what in the world happened with the in-game graphics (more like to be truthful the battle graphics) on the PS2, absolutely love this game the characters hit just right, no one was annoying including enemies this game had a lot of heart and some of the most emotional stories I've seen in awhile, I'm hiping the PS4/5 release looks closer to the Dreamcast, heck but I'll take it no matter how it is, i have it on the switch as well lol game over all 9/10 for me but honestly 10/10
God the music of this game blew me away
50/50 I just got that reference 🤯 wait so we could have died seriously???
Great review 👍
Thank you very much!