Grandia is a role-playing video game developed by Game Arts and published by Entertainment Software Publishing for the Sega Saturn console as the first game in their Grandia series. Released in Japan in 1997, the game was ported to the PlayStation in 1999, with an English version of the game appearing on the platform in North America in the following September by Sony Computer Entertainment, and in Europe in 2000 by Ubisoft. The game was produced by much of the same staff who worked on the company's previous role-playing endeavor, the Lunar series, including producer Yoichi Miyagi and composer Noriyuki Iwadare.

Grandias combat mechanics have been carried over to future games within the franchise. The game has also spawned an expansion disk (Grandia: Digital Museum) and a spin-off title (Grandia: Parallel Trippers) - both released exclusively in Japan. In celebration of the renewed development on Grandia Online, which acts as a prequel to Grandia, the game was re-released on Sony's PlayStation Network platform in 2009. A high-definition remaster of the game and its sequel, Grandia II, was released for Nintendo Switch in August 2019, and for Windows in October 2019. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions were released in March 2024.

The game is set in a fantasy world of emerging technology and exploration. A young boy named Justin inherits a magic stone that leads him on a journey around the world to uncover the mystery of a long-lost civilization. Along the way, he meets other adventurers who join him on his quest, which draws the attention of the militaristic Garlyle Forces who seek to uncover the secrets of the past as well. Grandia received a largely positive critical response during its original release, and was voted by readers of the Japanese magazine Famitsu as the 73rd greatest game of all time in a 2006 poll. The camera is fully rotational and follows the party from an angled third-person perspective; it is often necessary to rotate the camera to see hidden items or passageways.

Grandia features a rotational party roster. The statistics of each party member increase each time they gain a new level by defeating enemies and earning experience points. Characters learn new abilities through the repeated use of weapons and spells. Once a particular weapon/magic spell is used a specific number of times in battle, its Skill Level is raised.

Story

Characters

thumb|right|The extended cast of Grandia, including main and supporting characters

The story centers around , an aspiring adventurer from Parm. He lives with his mother, , in their home in the upstairs floor of their family-owned restaurant. Justin's father vanished years ago on an adventure, and his mother is worried that he will try to follow in her late husband's footsteps, yet Justin, a romanticist, insists that there are still uncharted parts of the world, despite general perception that the "End of the World" — an insurmountable stone wall found on a newly discovered continent — has closed the book on the age of adventuring. Other characters include , a friend from his town who acts as a surrogate sister to Justin; , a seasoned adventurer and Justin's idol; , a valiant knight who mentors Justin in the way of swordsmanship; , an ill-mannered youth from the village of Cafu; , a feral giantess who, despite her volatile nature, has a sweet side, particularly for her husband; , a traveling salesman and chieftain of a diminutive, rabbit-like clan called the Mogay; and , a mysterious woman who contacts Justin inside the Sult Ruins. She resides in an ancient space station and serves as a living database of an ancient civilization.

The game's main antagonist is General , the calculating leader of the Garlyle Forces. Despite appearing to be involved in the excavation of ruins for purely philanthropic reasons, he has his own agenda. His son and second-in-command is Colonel , a tactician who is well liked by his subordinates. Alongside him is his aide-de-camp, , a young soldier who has gained a special place in the military for reasons unknown. , , and are three female commanders who are each assigned their own squadrons. Despite their best efforts, they often bungle important missions, particularly if Justin happens to be involved. Each one of them has a crush on Colonel Mullen and outwardly show their jealousy of Leen as a result.

Plot

Grandia is a set in a fantasy world where societies thrive in an era of increasing technological developments The project, headed by producer Yoichi Miyaji and directors Takeshi Miyaji and Toshiaki Hontani, was also originally intended for the Mega-CD system, but was shifted to the Saturn early in development due to Sega's abandoning the platform. According to a spokesman for Game Arts, Grandia was created as part of the company's on-going effort to "provide consumers with good games rather than try to follow market trends", opting instead to create a product that would tell a compelling story catering primarily to their existing fanbase. The game contains 20,000 frames of animation.

The Saturn version was released in December 1997 exclusively in Japan, along with a special Limited Edition for those who pre-ordered the game between October 25 and November 30, 1997, which included a fold-out cloth map of the Grandia world, as well as a mini radio drama disc featuring voiced scenes from the game. In November 1998, Grandia was re-released in Japan as the Grandia Memorial Package, which featured new instruction booklet artwork and a lower sales price. Sega of America had commented that they had no plans to bring an English version of the game to North American audiences on their system, which prompted an online petition originating on the role-playing game fansite LunarNET designed to alert the company of consumer interest. Despite gathering several hundred signatures in only a few days, as well as promotion from gaming website GameSpot, the Saturn version was never released internationally. Sega Europe and Game Arts opened negotiations over Grandia, but this likewise failed to lead to an overseas release. Telecom Animation Film, AIC, Gonzo, Production I.G, and Studio Junio all helped animate the game by being animation support, and the CG support.

In March 1999, Game Arts's Japanese publisher ESP Software showcased a PlayStation version of Grandia at that year's Tokyo Game Show expo, along with confirmation that the game would be released in English for the first time in North America by Sony Computer Entertainment America. Working Designs, which had previously worked with Game Arts on bringing their Lunar games to the region, had expressed interest in publishing the game, but were ultimately unable to secure the rights. New features for the PlayStation version included support for the system's DualShock analog control sticks and vibration function, as well as compatibility with Sony's Japanese-only PocketStation peripheral, which allows players to download game data on a portable device for use in a special mini-game. Although the company had expressed interest in bringing the game to the PlayStation as early as 1998, technical problems originally prevented the title from being ported to the system. The North American version was originally announced by Sony as a summer release during the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, but was pushed back to the following October. Grandia was released for the PlayStation in Europe in 2000 by Ubisoft.

Nearly ten years after Grandias release on the PlayStation, Game Arts announced in April 2009 that the PlayStation version of the game would be released as a downloadable title on Sony's PlayStation Network service in Japan on April 22, 2009, in celebration of the resuming development on the company's long-dormant Grandia Online project. It was released in North America on February 25, 2010, and in Europe on November 10, 2010.

Audio

The music for Grandia was written by Noriyuki Iwadare, who had previously worked with Game Arts as composer for their Lunar series on the Sega CD. Iwadare was called upon to write the music due to his relationship with the company, and claims that his work on Grandia was "a turning point in my career", and described the music-making process as "very interesting". Grandias sound team utilized the latest technology available at the time to create the game's background themes, In addition to music, the game features voice acting during battles and certain story scenes, with the Japanese version featuring a number of anime and video game veteran actors. Two of the English version's main characters, Justin and Gadwin, were officially left uncredited.

In December 1997, selected music tracks from the game were released in Japan on the Grandia Original Soundtrack by King Records across two discs, which were organized as "Orchestra Side" and "Synth Side" according to the type of instrument samples used to compose them. A follow-up album, Grandia Original Soundtrack II, was made available in June 1998, containing an additional two discs of music not featured on the previous album. One year later, in June 1999, a compilation album entitled The Best of Grandia was released by Twofive Records containing some of Iwadare's favorite music from the game, including a never-before released track, "Pavane". Iwadare also produced a special arranged album called Vent: Grandia Arrange Version, with "vent" () being the French word for "wind", which Iwadare chose because it "carries the image of cool pleasant wind".

| Fam = 32/40

| rev2 = RPGamer

| rev2Score = 5/5

| rev3 = RPGFan

| rev3Score = 95%

| rev4 = Saturn Fan

| rev4Score = 9/10

Grandia received near-universal acclaim during its original release in Japan, garnering a 9 out of 10 from both Sega Saturn Magazine and Saturn Fan, as well as an 8.75 out of 10 from Weekly TV Gamer. Weekly Famitsu granted the game a 32 out of 40, earning it an editor's choice Gold Award. The game earned an "Excellence Award" during the 1997 CESA Japan Game Awards as runner-up for game of the year.

Due to the hype surrounding the game and its not being released outside Japan, a number of American and European publications reviewed the Saturn version as an import. Next Generation lauded the game's use of complex 3D models and animation and detailed audio to create a living and immersive world, as well as the real-time strategy elements and wide array of actions available to the player during combat. While they criticized the frame rate, they concluded that "Grandias design and innovation will be a benchmark for future RPGs in the 32-bit generation and beyond." The UK-based Sega Saturn Magazine was similarly laudatory to the 3D visuals and attention to detail in the background animations and sound effects, and also praised the character progression over the course of the story. The review emphasized that Sega Saturn Magazine was running a walkthrough of Grandia through several issues so that readers could purchase the game without fear of becoming stuck due to the language barrier. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine called the game "arguably the best RPG for Sega's Saturn console."

It sold 181,219 units in its first week and would go on to sell 344,554 copies in Japan, becoming the 15th highest-selling game for the system in the region and the country's fourth highest-selling Saturn title of 1997; In addition, North American imports of the game were higher than many other games in the genre at the time due to its positive overseas reception and cancellation of the English release on the platform.

PlayStation version

The PlayStation version of Grandia met with similarly positive reception to the Saturn release, though sales remained lower than the original in Japan, selling approximately 97,460 copies in its first three weeks. It received an aggregate score of 86% on GameRankings Eurogamer, in a 2007 retrospective, called the game "fantastic", praising the title's "vastly enjoyable battle system which few other games have rivaled, even in recent years".

Grandia: Digital Museum

is an extension of Grandia, developed by Game Arts and published by ESP Software for the Sega Saturn. Released exclusively in Japan in May 1998, the game features character graphics, textures, and music lifted directly from its predecessor. Players can also swap save data between the core Grandia disc and the Digital Museum on the Saturn memory card.

The game's story is set sometime after the events of the original Grandia, with the main characters Justin, Feena, and Sue being transported to a large museum created by the sorceress Liete made to honor their adventure during the first game. When most of the exhibits go missing, Liete uses her magic to transport the three to four separate dungeons each containing remnants of their previous journey to find and restore them to their proper place. As players progress through the game, bonus material becomes unlocked in the museum itself, which includes music files, artwork, and movie clips related to Grandia, as well as minigames.

Gameplay

The Museum Itself

The following exhibits are found in the four dungeons:

  • Artwork and storyboards - Several pieces of rare artwork and storyboards. Each one carries a small collection which can be viewed.
  • Character Portraits - The character portraits that pop up each time a character is speaking.
  • Sound Theatre - A collection of sound or radio plays featuring the Grandia cast.
  • Grandia 1 saves - Allows the player to download a save file for use in the full Grandia 1 game.
  • Bestiary - A library of all the monsters and their characteristics.
  • Arcade - An arcade with mini-games. Including games such as baseball, archery, an eating competition, and a text-based game.

Reception

Grandia: Digital Museum debuted as the fifth highest-selling game of the week during its launch in Japan, and would go on to sell approximately 32,226 copies in its first month.

HD Remaster

The game received a remastered version on the Nintendo Switch as part of the Grandia HD Collection on August 16, 2019. A standalone Grandia HD Remaster for Windows via Steam was released on October 15, 2019. According to GungHo Online, the remastered game used the PlayStation version's code, but referenced the Sega Saturn version for the details and effects to create the "definitive version" of the game. The remastered game features enhanced details to UI / sprites / texture art, visually enhanced original cinematic videos, widescreen support and customizable resolutions (PC only), Steam Trading Cards / Steam Achievements (PC only), Japanese and English Audio, additional French and German localization, and gamepad and keyboard support with remappable controls (PC only). The remaster was released in Japan and received Japanese language support along in other regions, along with various fixes, on March 25, 2020.

Notes

References

  • Official SCEA website
  • Game Arts PlayStation version info page
  • Game Arts Saturn version info page
  • Game Arts page