RPGs are quite different animals on the
PC and on video game platforms. PC RPGs are usually stat-driven affairs
that offer players a fair degree of freedom in pursuing the game's goals.
On the other hand, video game RPGs tend to be Japanese-style
games with cartoony graphics and tight, linear gameplay. For the most part
these two RPG worlds rarely cross paths, but now a console RPG that debuted on
the dearly departed Sega Dreamcast and made its way onto Sony's PlayStation 2
has made the leap to the PC. Grandia II gives PC players a chance to
experience an RPG from the other world of gaming.
The first thing that will strike PC RPG players in Grandia II is the lack of
any kind of character generation. The game immediately starts with a long
cutscene and then players are directly placed in the role of Ryudo, a sword for
hire known as a Geohunter. While experience is awarded for surviving
combat and Ryudo can advance in levels, there's not a lot of room for character
customization as Ryudo does not have a set of stats that can be modified.
Ryudo's path of improvement instead involves spending bonuses gained from
reaching a new level on strengthening special attacks or adding new ones to the repertoire.
When players finally gain control of Ryudo, they'll immediately get a feel
for the game's linearity. Ryudo must make his way along a forest path to a
village to accept his next job. The path is constrained, and the player
must simply move along it until reaching the village - there's no opportunity to
go exploring and no risk of getting lost on the way. This does have the
benefit of never leaving the player wondering what he/she should do next, which
can sometimes be a problem in expansive RPGs. The linear gameplay also
suits the game's Japanese RPG style, which almost always is long on conversation
and battles and short on exploration.
Speaking of conversations (groan), there are a lot of them in Grandia
II. All character encounters display the text of the conversation as each
character is speaking, along with a small portrait which conveys the speaker's
emotion. Some of the conversations include voiceovers as well, and these
are generally of good quality although they do suffer a little from some
overacting. The bane of many games that are brought over from Japan is the
almost universally terrible translation. Grandia II does not suffer this
curse itself, and the text and voice acting make good sense, although some of
the proper names can come across as a little goofy at times.
Combat in Grandia II is strictly turn-based. Moving next to an enemy
transitions the game to a combat view which has an initiative bar along the
bottom. When the marker for a character or monster reaches a certain
point, an order for the next move can be given. Once the marker moves to
the end of the bar, the character or monster will carry out the order.
Some combatants are faster than others, and this is reflected in the speed at
which the marker moves along the bar. When giving orders, it is possible
to specify a special attack that will hit for less damage, but has a chance of
causing the target to lose all accumulated initiative and have its marker moved
back to the beginning of the bar. When combat is complete, experience and
gold or special items are awarded and the game shifts back to its normal mode.
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