One of the best Dreamcast RPGs ever!
Some time after its release, GameArts began production into Grandia II, an indirect sequel of the classic. After three long years of waiting, the game was released for the joy of the fans. And it was GOOD...
It tells the story of the bounty hunter/ body guard Ryudo, a lone guy with a rebelious attitude and foggy past. He has the job of protecting a young church girl as she is escorted over a dark tower for some kind of ritual. The ritual goes bad and all heck breakes loose. This is where the adventure really begins.
The game plays the same formula of the first adventure. The battles all happen in really time, you enter commands and they happen in a time guage that fills up and then the attack is performed. The enemy's attacks are also in the scale, so if you manage to pull of a cancel attack, the fiend's blow can be cancelled, for an enormous tactical advantage. The system makes the game not as hard as normal RPGs, so people who aren't used to playing safe and sound in RPGs will have a good time.
The graphics are beatiful on the Dreamcast. It boast VGA box support and it is worth it. The details are sharp and colorful. There's also some FMVs, but they are rare, so enjoy them while they last.
The music is one of the game's strong points. It was done by a japanese orchestra in conjunction with portuguese authority (?). Yes, I know, it's confusing, and if you own the american version of the game, you get a bonus CD with all the music, and some of the music names are in portuguese.
Story-wise, the game is not as strong as the original, but it has its turn-arounds and drama, but not as much as that of a normal japanese RPG.
Grandia II was later ported over to the PS2 and PC. It kinda lost its charms over the conversion, even graphics-wise! The freshness that the title had on the SEGA console is lost here... and the whole re-invented package art makes it worst. Why not keep the classic art? The dark thing is really getting annoying for RPG players, as all of the titles nowadays get this kind of art.
So if you still have a Dreamcast, like I do, try to pick up a copy of the game. It is really worth going through that effort, as the game is kind of rare nowadays.
Thanks for reading!