Grandia Xtreme
Grandia Xtremeby ENIX VIDEO GAMES
Platform: PlayStation2
ESRB Rating:Teen
ASIN: B00006FDLM
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Features:
• Role playing game
• Designed to appeal to hardcore fans and newcomers alike
• Highly refined battle system
• Captures the chaos of group combat
• Both real-time and turn-based combat
Amazon.com Product Description: Grandia Xtreme, the first original Grandia title for PlayStation2, is a dramatic story-driven adventure featuring a sophisticated AI engine and deep character skill-development system. This new installment of the franchise features a highly refined battle system that captures the chaotic nature of group combat, and combines it with the elements of real-time and turn-based combat systems.
Customer Reviews:
Lots of action, low on plot, December 1, 2002
Reviewer: A gamer from San Francisco, CA USA
This game plays like an x-rated film; flimsy plot, but you won't care cause the actions great.
This has possilbe the best fighting controls I've seen, lots of moves, very configureable characters.
One thing - you start with a whole bunch of characters right at the beginning; I found it best after replaying to pick four well-balanced members and stick with them (be sure to balance out the magic/fighting....)trying to develop everyone (I did that the first time) left ALL characters kind of behind.
The mana egg development system is cool - no more casting spells just to build levels - spells are 'developed by crossing various mana eggs into more powerful eggs. Characters have personal skills that can be developed only by practise.
there are only a handful of bosses, but you can fight them over again as you like. They're refreshingly difficult - defeating them is an accomplishment!
Enjoy!
Where's the story?, November 18, 2002
Reviewer: avia28 from Pleasanton, CA USA
Well, I was really looking forward to this game since I have both Grandia and Grandia II, but I was sorely disappointed. I play RPGs for the story and Grandia Xtreme is really lacking. It starts off promising, but then doesn't go anywhere. Without a good story, all of the other flaws in the game really stand out. The only enjoyable aspect was combining mana eggs and even that got tedious since you had to go through the same dungeons over and over again in order to get them. I also couldn't stand the fact that the 0 button did what the X button does in every other game (and you couldn't change the configuration)! Still this could have been overlooked if there had been any character development. There were a few changes to the basic system from Grandia II and I didn't like any of them. The menu was more confusing, you could only equip mana eggs and skills in town, and you couldn't carry much of anything in your inventory. So, you spent a great deal of time going back to the same village over and over and over again! It felt like a pathetic way to try and make the game more time consuming.
Overall, I would not recommend this game.
DISAPPOINTING! and PLEASE! read my review!, November 7, 2002
Reviewer: SHINGETTA from Puerto Rico
This is the worst sequel ever made for the best RPG ever made!
"WHY!?"
Because of this:
1- You have all the characters at once.
2- Poor production.
3- The graphics are no better than Grandia II.
4- Your friends enter inside your body (just like in Final Fantasy 7)
4- Horrible introduction!
5- Camera-view is looking foward on the dungeons instead of Helicopter-view.
6- Bad voice acting (worst than Grandia I).
7- Poor storyline.
Another thing: Grandia I is the best RPG I ever played since Lunar, I mean... It contains voice acting, cinemas, good intro, good music, you can see the enemies, you can see your friends behind you, you don't have to put another names to the characters, THE BEST fighting stlyle and the thing that really inspired me is the dinner-talking.
Grandia II was really mediocre except for the improvemt of graphics, fighting style, voice acting and production! The story and the inspiration was garbage.
Grandia X is all the contrary from Grandia one and two.
P.S: Maybe I think that Grandia contains the best gameplay for an RPG but is not perfect because you don't have feedom on the map screen and you don't control any airplain or ship like in Final Fantasy 7. I think the best RPGs ever made are Grandia and Lunar.
Sayonnara,adios,goodbye.
Just Like the Good Ol' Days, November 1, 2002
Reviewer: kingdmhearts from Brick, NJ United States
Grandia Xtreme definately starts up with an interesting plot. Sure, scarce cliches are scattered here and there, but originality is a high point of the gameplay -- Well, as original as a sequel can be. The fact that Grandia Xtreme was not simply named Grandia III is a helpful guide to know that this will not be exactly what Grandia II brought to gamers. The most noticable differences include the inclusion of a Mana combining system, the world map itself, and basically the battle system itself.
The battle system has been revamped. The battle gauge has changed into its newer, circular form while performing actions such as magic spells and arts have become a bit more tedious. Personally, I enjoy the addition of performing coupled/group arts which offer powerful blasts for unsuspecting enemies. The only noticable problem I have with Grandia Xtreme is it random enemy encounters. While playing Grandia II, I never got tired of the battles because the battle engine was so original. Grandia Xtreme has more battles that Grandia II, and you'll actually find yourself using the AI feature a lot.
The graphics are a step backwards also. Grandia II had better graphics on the DC/PS2 than Grandia Xtreme did. Therefore, if you are an eye candy hog like I am, it'll turn you off.
All-in-all, Grandia Xtreme is a mediocre RPG for all returning Grandia fans. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this game to those unaware of the Grandia legacy. Go perchase yourself Grandia II for a good RPG with original plot, characters, and battle system. Grandia Xtreme was plainly put, a step backwards.
Plot: 4/5
Graphics: 3/5
Battle Engine: 5/5
Music: 3/5
Reviewer's Tilt: 3/5
Average: 3/5 XD
Boring!, November 1, 2002
Reviewer: mamabeebs from berkeley, ca United States
In this day and age there is no excuse for such a pathetic attempt at an rpg. The storyline is horrible, with the worst dialogue ever. This game is little better than a dungeon crawl. The game drops you in the middle of a tedious story line with all your characters already there. There is little attempt to give them any sort of individuality and the main character is so irritating that you prefer the main villain. I regret spending 40+ hours on this game. I kept thinking that it would improve, but it doesn't. The only redeeming aspect of this game is that it has the best fighting dynamics out there. But if that's the case, I would recommend playing some of the other Grandia games. I give it two stars just because of the fighting engine, but it's still not worth playing.
should have passed this game, October 29, 2002
Reviewer: A gamer from Port Jefferson, NY United States
Not enough save points and mana eggs,the grandia world in this game is small, and the story [is bad]. Spent to much time leveling up and gathering gold to buy gear and weapons.
THE BEST GAME IN A WHILE, October 27, 2002
Reviewer: Justin Edwards from Ft.lewis wa usa
this games shows you alot the battle system is the best i have seen in a long time it is funny to grate story line and with twist at eatch corner if u dont have this game u should buy it!!
Not 'Xtreme' Enough, October 21, 2002
Reviewer: Timothy Bleach from Andersen AFB, Guam
I have to say, I couldn't wait to get this game, since I loved Grandia 2. But the story and the depth of the area in which the game takes place, almost kills the game. Its pretty disapointing since in grandia 2 you could travel all over the place, while the story line was linear (such is grandia xtreme, to an extent), it was still fun.
The battle system is incredible, the game itself is fun to play, but after a while you feel like your just jumping from one dungeon to another with a story that doesn't build up to much. The voice acting is both horrible and good at the same time, it sounds on some character that they are just reading lines, like you would if you saw it, in other words no emotions into the characters leaves them bland and unlikeable.
The mana and skills system is a little annoying since you have to go into town to get them developed, leaving you with 5-10 skills in your inventory when you could just put items there, making you wish you could find the geo-stream and return home quickly as possible.
But in conclusion, the game is enjoyable, like I said, it takes a while to get used to it, and as long as you play it to see what happens next, it keeps your mind off the flaws. which is why it got 4 stars.
Xtreme ? Try Grandia 2 1/2, October 8, 2002
Reviewer: fayro from Memphis, TN USA
I've been well awaiting the arrival of this game. Now that it is in my possesion I must say that I'm truely satisfied. If you liked the fighting from Grandia II, you'll be pleased at the the improved battle system.{Took me a lil while 2 figure it out but now that I understand everything, I must say they did improve it} Ah, but you must give to recieve. In this case, you give up a deep story for a better battle system. The story {though enjoyable} is pretty simple. Theres also not much moving around. There's 2 towns. Only one of any real use. The rest of the time you're going through dungeons. All said and done, the game is truely fun. It met my expectations since I wasn't expecting 2 much of a story. If you're a fan of Grandia and loves to fight and level up, this is for you. If want to a deep story you should wait for Grandia III.
Good game with Minor flaws so 4.5 stars, October 7, 2002
Reviewer: arlando909
Yes, the Grandia serie finally gets an original title for the PS2, no the story is not as good as the first two, yes the battle system is still amazing, yes the characters are still memorable, and yes this is still a good RPG.
The battle system is still the same amazing battle system that caught our eye in the first two Grandia games and believe it or not it can still be tweaked with to make it better! Now characters can combine moves together to perform double, triple or even Quadruple techniques!
The magic and such is more of a crossover between the two Grandia games. There are a total of about 72 spells total and that means more than in the second Grandia game (but STILL less spells than the first). The game is packed with over 100 enemies! Almost 100 dungeons, and still memorable characters.
Probably my only two major gripes with the game were that the storyline wasn't as good as the first two Grandia games, and it didn't seem like there was as much thought put into it becaue the storyline eventually got predictable and there weren't as many plot twist as the first two (and for Grandia when I say plot twist I really mean Jaw Droppers). And that there was only one place you could save but I didn't really have a problem with that since you can go back there in literally a second and go back to where you were in the same amount of time.
The dungeons present some complex puzzles and you actually have to think a little more than usual. This brings out some fun factor for those who like to solve puzzles.
Navigating dungeons is much easier than in previous Grandia games. Now, instead of following a compass (did that bother anyone else when they were in towns besides me?) you have a map much like in FFX that will tell you where enemy parties are! This is a great RPG. Also, again, unlike Final Fantasy I was happy that the game is so much more focused on the Characters involved in the story whether than the world around them. What I mean, they really fight for what they believe in, and they don't always need someone to say "you'll die too if you don't save this world." meaning they don't always need motivation like most other characters in RPGs.
I also liked how you could combine eggs to make different ones for using magic! And what helps character developement is that they really do stick to whether they are made for magic or attacking. What I mean is certain characters can only equip a certain amount of Magic or Mana eggs at a time.
Also, there are skill books that have different abilites for characters. And as with the Mana eggs depending on whether they're made for magic or not, so like Mana Eggs Characters can equip a certain number.
The other problem that I had with this guide is that While I like the fact that the difficulty is better, I also didn't like the fact that they weren't enough boss battles.
OVERALL: This is a nice RPG and its very complex just compared to the other two Grandia's the story isn't quite as good. so...
POSITIVE
+The Amazing Battle system is still there!
+Memorable Characters
+Complex unique magic system
+Great skills system
+Story is told real well...
+Great way to navigate around
NEGATIVE
-Grandia veterans will find this easy (bosses can be tough)
-Not enough Boss fights! (probably about 12 boss battles!)
-Grandia fans will like how the story is told but won't completely like what the story is (any RPGer will still love it)
Good RPG and like I said in my Grandia II review I happen to be more intrigued by Grandia than Final Fantasy. Not everyone sees it that way but I'm just saying give Grandia a chance RPGers, there are more RPGs than just Final Fantasy and Zelda.
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