Grandia II: Anniversary Edition is a port of one of the top titles available during the tail end of the SEGA Dreamcast’s life cycle. As far as turn-based JRPGs go, from this is one of the finest entries available across the last few console generations.
As the mercenary Ryudo, players are tasked early on with escorting the songstress Elena to an exorcism that is meant to rid her of the influence that a piece of Valmar, the God of Darkness, has on her. The plot quickly evolves as the group grows and the search for the Gransaber, the legendary weapon that the God of Light Granas used to defeat Valmar long ago. There’s a bit of globetrotting after that, culminating in a grandiose battle for the ages. It’s your typical good versus evil fare, but when done properly, results in an enjoyable experience worthy of being ported nearly 15 years after its initial release.
So what exactly, you may ask, was included in Grandia II: Anniversary Edition that separates it from its previous incarnations? In addition to remastered graphics, the option of English or Japanese voiceovers (purists wouldn’t have it any other way), and a revamped hard mode. To paraphrase Ryudo, you’d better practice if you want to beat hard mode.
The features that garnered this game so much initial praise have been ported as well. Along with the witty banter between characters, Grandia II: Anniversary Edition has brought back the fast-paced combat that has become standard in so many titles. Quicker characters can take more turns that their slower (and usually stronger) counterparts, special techniques and spells run on timers prior to execution, and there’s a third bar for character-specific skills. That last bit comes in rather handy when mana is needed for tougher battles, trust me.
So long as you can deal with the latency of certain grandiose character animations and the occasional clunky camera angles, Grandia II: Anniversary Edition is most certainly worth another go around. If you weren’t one of the lucky kids who owned a SEGA Dreamcast back in the day, or you weren’t…alive… when the game was initially released, then you’ll want to experience this nostalgic venture to the moon (literally) for the first time.
Grandia II: Anniversary Edition is now available on Steam.