While I was still attending a United Methodist church with my father (which has since become a Global Methodist church after its split from the UMC), I occasionally went to my town's Episcopalian church due to a combination of my estrangement from my dad and my view of the Anglican Communion as liberalized Catholicism, in minor part due to my sexual liberalism and my father's church's growing intolerance towards nonheterosexuality. After obtaining vehicular freedom, I made The Episcopal Church my new denomination and eventually became baptized as a member. To date, my town's Episcopalian church remains one of very few places where I'm fully accepted.
I've mostly known during the past decade that The Episcopal Church was significantly more progressive than other Christian denominations, having Katharine Jefferts Schori as its first female Presiding Bishop and her successor, the outgoing Michael Bruce Curry, as its first African-American one. I had read Curry's Love Is the Way, and while I agreed with its general titular message, I did have some significant disagreements with him, far from theological, but more political in terms of the line between traditional family values (which had burned me throughout my life) and following Man's law, along with the standard belief among most American blacks of nonwhite infallibility.
Two years later, Justin Welby, the incumbent Archbishop of Canterbury and high primate of the Anglican Communion (and therefore my denomination's equivalent of Pope), wrote The Power of Reconciliation, which opens with a story of an ikon (an alternate spelling of icon) present in Stalingrad in December 1942 during the Second World War of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. He notes, very rightfully, that peace is always preferrable to war, and that the former is the maturity of politics and the latter the failure. Welby elaborates that death by violences spreads throughout subsequent human generations, and that historically, ancestry has defined people.
The Archbishop of Canterbury continues by mentioning different ways in which one can find an objective identity, including declarations about oneself and through relationships with others. He indicates that overreach and overspeed can mar reconciliation, since in the former case, goals tend to be unrealistic, and in the latter, peacemaking isn't an overnight process and takes time. Welby notes several obstacles to reconciliation like the need for sacrifice, perceived honor and shame, and neurochemistry due to various stimuli. He indicates various African civil wars, including those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), and that different nations across the world have divergent views of historical events.
Welby elaborates on the six Rs of the Coventry model: researching, relating, relieving, risking, reconciling, and resourcing (though I was often confused had to look online to actually determine said specific Rs since they often aren't explicitly stated throughout the book). He then moves from the theoretical to the highly practical, noting the vast challenge of difference that social media has greatly amplified, which he says should create curiosity rather than division. The Archbishop highlights a niche quote from Dr Martin Luther King Jr that Presiding Bishop Curry had mentioned that eleven o'clock Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America, that Christians tend to go to churches full of people like themselves.
The author briefly highlights the "non-apology," an insincere apology that puts blame on victims for being offended and tend to include "if." From personal experience, I would elaborate upon this that apologies that include "but" or an excuse are non-apologies as well. He mentions the need to "disagree well," which in my case has often been difficult given that others with whom I have clashed in the past, were it in person or online, have tended not to be very civil about various disagreements. Throughout his book, he demonstrates that he is definitely with the times, given his references to various modern films like Miss Congeniality, Django Unchained, and writer J.K. Rowling.
The Archbishop highlights three examples of where reconciliation is needed, the first being climate change that threatens the habitability of major portions of the planet, especially low-lying areas and the Tropics, with individual needs of countries often not considered, along with the need for fair trade, stopping conflicts, and green technology. Second is racial and ethnic differences and divisions, which he notes are often born out of common fiction and where he cleverly weaves in the video games Tetris and Minecraft, the former being "old news" and the latter new. The third is where hatred is frequently considered the greater good, Welby noting that governments need to accommodate and adapt to divided societies.
The author concludes by mentioning that reconciliation requires courage not just from the peacebuilder but more for those caught in conflicts, noting that peace needs to be made with enemies and that the stronger must help the weaker. He ends with warnings of potential cyber and nuclear wars, which I believe could become very real within the next few years. In the end, I enjoyed Archbishop Welby's book, even though I have some disagreements with him (like being an apologist for a certain group whose name rhymes with "fat wives' bladder"). Regardless, it's an excellent philosophical read for any Christian regardless of denomination.
I was in my senior high school German III class when it happened. It didn't faze me back then but ultimately got me to seeing how united and civil America was after the incident with everyone looking past their differences, only for the country to quickly regress to its toxic political culture, which today has become terminally cancerous to the point where I seriously fear nuclear war at home or across the whole world, and I sure as fuck don't want to die as a result of my country's lunatic elected officials.
Both the government and media are well beyond corrupt, and just giving even the slightest attention to US politics (or so much as gazing at a newspaper headline) for me is akin to gazing into the fucking Ark of the Covenant. As a freelance video game journalist (and game journalism is every bit as a bad, biased, and corrupt as political journalism), I can definitely attest to the reality of bias by omission, journalists acting like they're entitled to their own facts in addition to opinions (and the media's "fact checkers" are themselves usually very subjective in what they deem to be "misinformation"), and selective reporting.
In the twenty-three years since then, the world hasn't become any fucking better or safer than it was back then than if we hadn't gone to war at all (we should have just focused on protecting America from terrorism both domestic and foreign and keep barriers between police and intelligence down instead of invading other countries as had been a long habit in my shithole country's history), probably even a fuck of a lot worse. Really ironic that the same dumbasses who bitched about the Second Iraq War are now perfectly content with pissing away money on that greedy-ass corrupt thug in charge of Ukraine (and the same said dumbasses had also bitched about the government "taking away our rights" to fight terrorism despite simultaneously trying to take away our gun rights).
As for Ukraine, I know people say they're fighting for "freedom and democracy," but democracies don't go under martial law, censor the media, ban opposition political parties, or suspend elections. I'm sure if the Ukrainians were to "win," they'd commit genocide against the Russians and Crimeans within their borders, and America would turn a blind eye and exercise its almighty United Nations veto right on any condemnation, as it probably would on itself were nuclear civil war to occur in my nation. A ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine would be vastly preferable to blindly supporting one nation over the other, and I heard that several peace offers from Russia had been rejected.
As for Israel, I don't see what the hell is wrong with just fucking recognizing Palestinian statehood. Given that America wasn't exactly receptive towards its own states' independence movements as demonstrated by the War for Southern Independence (incorrectly called "the Civil War"), I can understand why we would blindly stand by Israeli supremacism in the region. Giving the Jews their own special country after the Second World War I think was a huge mistake in the first place since it would be akin to giving Christians, Muslims, Hindus, or Buddhists their own "happy places." I think Israel at least should become a secular state like America and most nations across the world are, and even many Jews are anti-Zionist. Yes, Hamas' leaders need to be brought to justice, but so do the Israeli leaders committing genocide against the Palestinians, and apartheid also needs to be ended in Gaza (in addition to Palestine if it truly becomes independent) and a ceasefire implemented.
The Forever Wars need to fucking stop, plain and simple. I'm fucking sick and tired of war. We didn't win most of the wars since Vietnam, so what the fuck makes anyone think we'll "win" the ones currently going on? I'm sick of all this dumb illogical bullshit.
As an autistic Christian (specifically, Anglican/Episcopalian), I really relate to the story of Jesus, feeling throughout my life that I have been ostracized by every community I have ever been part of, including video game websites, the furry fandom, and even autistic communities, given my unique perspectives, to the point where I have even been backstabbed numerous times by others I had trusted. I eventually found through random searches this book written by autistic Catholic priest Father Matthew P. Schneider, a member of the Legionnaires of Christ, and gave it a look.
He rightfully notes that autistics tend to be treated like outsiders and indicates that the brains of every autistic are physically different from those of neurotypicals, proven by brain scans. Father Schneider then states that he was good at engineering but not in other areas and that autistics tend to be good at pattern recognition, which reminded me of my own strengths and weaknesses and ability to discern trends. He divides he book into several sections that elaborate on the ableism and neurobigotry of many churches, the advantages and disadvantages autistics have when they pray, and so forth.
The latter portion of the book he devotes to fifty-two meditations for autistics preceded by stories about specific autistic Christians. Overall, this was an enjoyable book that I could relate to, given that its author is an autistic priest, although specific resources for autistics of denominations other than Catholic would have been welcome. There are also maybe a few points with which I disagree with him, such as spreading one's faith to others, which I am reluctant to do given that I don't wish to force my beliefs unto others lest I get alienated, which I am no stranger to. Regardless, I don't regret reading it and recommend it to other autistic Christians.
1. What are three things you refuse to live without? My Apple computer and devices, the internet, and my video game systems.
2. What are your three favorite items of clothing? My campaign hat, my maternal aunt's duster coat, and my variety of shoes.
3. What are your three favorite books? 1984 by George Orwell Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
4. What are three things you'd grab if you had to evacuate your house quickly? My portable Apple devices, my portable gaming systems, and my aunt's duster coat.
5. What are your three favorite songs or musical works? "Anything Goes" from the Broadway musical of the same name "You Go Your Way, I'll Go Mine" by Carole King "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi
Current Mood:busy
Current Music:"Wisdom of the World" - Catherine Warwock - MOTHER
One of the final RPGs I played for the Sony PlayStation was Enix's Dragon Warrior VII, titled Dragon Quest VII: Warriors of Eden in Japan, which was the first entry of the series I played on a console since the original Dragon Warrior on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Throughout the 2000s, the franchise would undergo a translational renaissance in the West, culminating in retaining the Dragon Quest name outside Japan. However, success in the Anglophone world would vary drastically. Thus, the seventh Dragon Quest remake for the Nintendo 3DS seemed doomed to remain in Japan when released in the next decade. Mercifully, it would be rescued and localized as Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past.
The rerelease opens on Estard, the only island in the world, with the protagonist, the son of a fisherman and his wife, working with Prince Kiefer, the kingdom's reluctant heir, to delve into the world's mysteries, which may lead to clues as to why their isle is all alone in the first place. The town mayor's daughter, Maribel, joins them, with the party getting the help of individuals like the scholar Dermot the Hermit to investigate the Shrine of Mysteries, populated with pedestals that can contain the subtitular fragments scattered across Estard, which hold the key to their world's "forgotten past."
The scenarios the hero and his allies encounter throughout the game are endearing, developed well, have backstories, and explain why Estard seems all alone. Some texts from bookshelves add background and philosophy, with many relatable themes abounding, like unsupportive parents, rewriting history, burying inconvenient historical facts, etc. While the periods and connections between past and present scenarios aren't always explicit, they are still intriguing. Drawbacks include glacial pacing, methodical story structure, predictable and derivative plot points, and vague narrative direction. Regardless, the narrative is an excellent draw to the game.
Prince Kiefer prevents his father from Making Estard Great Again
The localization, characteristic of previous series entries translated into English, breathes life into the dialogue, with the PlayStation version's script having amounted to more than ten thousand pages, which could have explained the long translation period. Regional dialects return in full force, representing linguistic groups like the English (Renaissance and contemporary), Scottish, British, Cockney, French, Germans, Russians, and more. Clever naming conventions also abound, like renaming Prince Kiefer's father King Donald in honor of the Sutherlands, numerous pun-based identities for individuals and enemies that include Cardinal Sin, Dermot the Hermit, the forky pig, the tongue fu fighter, etc.
However, the translation retains countless irritating conventions of Japanese RPG dialogue, including a chronic overuse of exclamation points and ellipses, spelled-out laughter (like "ha, ha, ha," which today only sounds natural if done sarcastically), other onomatopoeia rendered in English (like sleepers saying "Ah-phew! Ah-phew!"), and so forth. Occasional awkward dialogue abounds as well, which encompasses the franchise's staple encounter quote "But the enemies are too stunned to move!", and a few punctuation marks are misplaced. There's also maybe one inconsistent spelling of a character's name (Autonymous instead of Autonymus), but the localization overall shines.
As a testament to the glacial pacing, players don't encounter their first enemies until over an hour into the narrative. However, the tempo of the game mechanics beats in the opposite direction. At first, they seem like standard Dragon Quest: the player inputs commands among up to four characters, like attacks with equipped weapons, defense to reduce damage, MP-consuming magic, or various skills that may or may not require MP. The standard rules of traditional turn-based Japanese RPG combat exist, with characters and the enemy, after the players input their party's orders, exchanging commands in an order allegedly depending upon agility, but this can be random and lead to occasional incidents of things like healing allies low on HP coming too late.
The player can attempt escape from combat, but as with 99.99% of JRPGs (except maybe Chrono Cross), this doesn't work all the time. Other features include AI options for all characters except the protagonist (alongside a manual selection of orders), which players can set for individual allies or the entire party. These include not using MP when selecting commands, going medieval against enemies, focusing on keeping HP high, and emphasizing stat-boosting abilities and defense. While AI, of course, can often be artificially incompetent, I found this handy (especially "Don't Use Magic," since dozens of excellent free skills come later in the game), and methinks it shaved a few hours off my total playtime than if I had always selected skills myself.
Victory results in all characters still alive acquiring experience for occasional leveling, money, and occasional items. I should add that the remake ditches random encounters (except in one late-game dungeon, the Multipleximus Maximus) in favor of visible enemies, who charge the player's party when their levels are lower than or equal to theirs and run away otherwise. One spell, Holy Protection, can temporarily make enemies on fields and in dungeons other than those higher in level disappear, nullifying the possibility of accidentally bumping into weaker foes. The difficulty for the first part of the game was fair for me, and I often needed to use consumable healing items in a few tough boss battles.
As is the class system if you play your cards right
When the player unlocks Alltrades Abbey (after Kiefer leaves your party permanently, so don't waste stat-increasing seeds on him or worry about constantly upgrading his equipment), the fun truly begins. Then, players access an engrossing class system, with their party able to select from many base vocations; mastery of these unlocks those of higher tiers. Every class increases and decreases all a character's stats by a certain amount. Fortunately, players need not keep tons of spare equipment available for job changes like Final Fantasy V. As in Dragon Warrior VII, characters acquire experience for their vocation after triumphing in an enemy encounter, but only if the foes' levels are on par with or higher than theirs.
One improvement over the PlayStation version is that class levels rise quicker, but at the same time, characters can now only access abilities in intermediate and advanced classes if in the former or the latter if the middle-tier classes are prerequisites for those upper-tier. Monster classes from the original return (their respective hearts acquired from treasure chests or battle) and allow them to transform into these adversarial vocations to learn their skills. Unlike Dragon Warrior VII, enemy vocations are no longer divided into a hierarchy, with all skills learned from them remaining with the allies who learn them regardless of their current job.
Returning to the matter of free skills, which characters will learn frequently, many can be incredibly useful, like Hatchet Man, which has a 50/50 chance of dealing unblockable critical damage to enemies and can be handy at making mincemeat (or mincegoo) of metallic slime foes that run away quickly but reward ludicrous experience when killed. However, this can be a double-edged sword since it can consequentially level characters to the point where they don't advance in their classes (but in most late-game areas, enemies will reward class experience regardless of strength or weakness).
To sum up, the game mechanics work surprisingly well, especially with the pacing of combat contradicting that of the narrative. I could end most standard battles on the highest speed setting within a round or two without half a minute passing. Furthermore, with character class paths planned carefully, I blazed through the final boss fight without dying. However, many issues from prior series entries recur, like the inability to target specific enemies in groups, the randomization, no telling of when beneficial spells (except Oomph) expire, and the AI not being foolproof. Late-game, furthermore, when the player has five party members, the extra can't come along, which is a step down from previous installments where one could have everyone and switch them in and out of battle on the fly from reserve.
Everybody was tongue fu fighting
Control has rarely been a strong suit in the Dragon Quest series, and the seventh entry's remake continues that trend. Endless dialogue and confirmations when performing simple tasks like shopping and saving your game? Check. Frequent vague direction on advancing the main storyline, even when talking to everyone? Check. Needing constantly to reference the internet regarding said poor direction and other things like hidden secrets and puzzles? Check. However, conveniences like instant teleportation among visited towns and exiting dungeons return, though these have issues, with the former only working in the present and the latter not always readily available. Furthermore, when acquiring the second nautical ship late-game, I couldn't figure out how to get off the thing without using Zoom to a town, and the in-game clock was slow.
Even so, the fragment finder, which indicates whenever the subtitular fragments are nearby, is the best improvement over the PlayStation version. The fairy at the Shrine of Mysteries also often clues players about the location of the next one necessary to access a new area in the past. However, this did fail me at one point later in the game since I had to talk to a nonplayer character to get the detector to work in a respective area. Other improvements include maps for towns and dungeons (but in their case, players can't swap among maps within and without floors to see how they're connected) and an always-convenient suspend save in case reality calls. Overall, the interaction aspect doesn't fail miserably but could have been far better.
The late Koichi Sugiyama's soundtrack, gloriously orchestrated in the remake, excels as always, with the return of the standard series overture, staple franchise tracks such as the save menu theme, and others that fit the various moods and settings. However, many moments are without music, and the franchise's dated sound effects return in full force.
Gives meaning to the phrase "a wolf in sheep's clothing"
The remake's visuals are far better than those in Dragon Warrior VII, fully rendered in three dimensions and taking advantage of the Nintendo 3DS's glasses-free 3-D capabilities. The environments have vibrant hues (but frequent blurry and pixilated textures, characteristic of most three-dimensional graphics), and the illumination effects are superb. The character models fit the late Akira Toriyama's character designs, including lip animations (but facial expressions mostly remain happy), and different vocations yield alternate costumes for the player's party. However, Toriyama's standard enemy reskins commonly recur, horrible collision detection abounds, and environmental elements frequently, abruptly, and unnaturally appear during overworld navigation. Regardless, the 3DS version's graphics are a sight to behold.
Finally, finishing the main quest can take players as little as sixty hours (my final playtime clocked somewhere over eighty), with sidequests galore like countless subplots, completing the monster compendium, and two postgame dungeons, which can pad playtime further. However, the game excessively overstays its welcome, with other detriments to lasting appeal like fixed difficulty, minimal narrative variations, no New Game+, and the constant need to reference the internet to complete anything and everything.
With tight and enjoyable game mechanics, an intriguing narrative, and solid audiovisual presentation, Dragon Quest VII on the Nintendo 3DS is both an excellent remake and one of the far better entries of a series whose quality has ranged from okay to decent. However, issues like the need for foresight in character class path planning, retained dated series traditions, and glacial and vague narrative direction detain it from masterpiece status. Regardless, I enjoyed the time I spent with the game and wish others the same positive experience. Lamentably, events like the Nintendo 3DS eShop's closure and the worldwide gaming industry's apathy towards the preservation of video game history (enforced by American groups like the Entertainment Software Association) have made herculean the capacity to play it affordably and legally, but if it ever receives an enhanced port or secondary remake (provided they don't screw things up), pick it up.
This review is based on a playthrough of a digital copy purchased and downloaded to the reviewer's Nintendo 3DS to the standard ending, with none of the postgame content experienced.
Score Breakdown
The Good
The Bad
One of the best, if not the best, JRPG class systems.
Engaging substories, with endearing localization.
Excellent soundtrack.
Visuals are a million times better than the PlayStation version's.
Character class planning requires some foresight.
Retains franchise's dated traditions.
Incredibly glacial narrative pacing and vague direction.
Good luck finding it at a reasonable price.
The Bottom Line
An excellent remake, but terrible narrative direction and overstaying its welcome prevent it from masterpiece status.
Once upon a time, Sony had emerged as a competitor in the video game market with its PlayStation console, originally intended to be a compact disc add-on for Nintendo's Super NES before negotiations fell through. Sega had also released its Saturn console to provide competition for Sony's system, receiving a decent catalog of exclusive games like the Game Arts-developed RPG Grandia. However, due to Sega executive Bernie Stolar's prejudice against Japanese roleplaying games, Anglophone gamers were denied a translated version, Stolar having had similar policies when he headed Sony of America.
There can be only one
However, Grandia would be ported to the PlayStation and receive a full English translation, seeing release in 1999 two years after the Sega Saturn version. Critics and audiences would extol it as one of the greatest RPGs ever made, given its unique battle system, but it had its share of detractors critical of various technical issues, the sloppy translation, and the horrible English voicework that would go for decades unaddressed, after which the game received a remaster, along with its first sequel, to the Nintendo Switch and Windows. This rerelease provided a prime opportunity to rectify the various issues of the PlayStation version, but does it?
Grandia opens in the city of Parm with Justin, an aspiring adventurer, having a "duel" with his rival Gantz that involves finding faux legendary pieces of equipment scattered throughout town. Justin also has an enigmatic artifact from his absentee father, the Spirit Stone. Thus, he searches the nearby ruins to gather clues, with the Garlyle Forces, led by General Baal and his son Colonel Mullen, expressing similar interest. The result is a grand adventure by Justin as he embarks on a quest to discover the mysteries of the ancient and hilariously named Angelou civilization with the help of others while dealing with the adversarial military.
The quality of the narrative is inconsistent, with the initial rivalry with Gantz being asinine, along with countless fetch quests that contribute little to the central storyline, not to mention countless tried tropes like an absentee father and an ancient civilization, as well as pitiful attempts at humor and glacial plot pacing. However, the game backstory is decent for Angelou and the inhabited world. Many plot beats work well also, like the different and sometimes animal races, a few decent twists, serviceable attempts at comic relief like the three female sergeants Justin and his party repeatedly encounter, and the satisfying ending. Regardless, the story is average at best.
While the Grandia series now falls under Square-Enix ownership, publisher GungHo sadly made no effort to update the sordid translation by Sony America that plagued the PlayStation version, intact and reused in the remaster. Terrible names such as Gantz and Tentz, compressed item names in the game menus, spelled-out laughter, crying, and grunting, overuse of ellipses and exclamation points, unnatural battle dialogue, lousy spell names like "WOW!", poor writing like "I, (insert name here)," and so forth, heavily abound. The text is legible, and the translation makes some attempts at dialects for specific regions and races. However, the game localization is one of many areas where the HD remaster was a wasted opportunity.
The translation CHRONICALLY OVERUSES CAPITALIZATION in the dialogue.
The Game Arts franchise has received near-universal praise for its game mechanics, which remain unchanged from the original Saturn and PlayStation versions of Grandia. On fields connecting towns and in dungeons, visible enemies abound, with contact resulting in the game taking players to a separate screen for combat. However, rather than take cues from the visible encounter systems of previous RPGs like EarthBound and Chrono Trigger, the inaugural entry instead has all foes that Justin and company draw near charge his party, regardless of how powerful they are, with a few enemies having cheap movement patterns such as disappearing from the field and reappearing somewhere else.
How contact between Justin's party and the visible enemy occurs determines how combat begins. Justin contacting the foe when it hasn't turned red to indicate alertness results in his party having the initiative, contact by the enemy on one of Justin's allies results in them getting the upper hand, and contact by Justin with alert enemies results in battles starting standardly. Combat in Grandia is turn-based, with Justin's party and various enemies populating the battlefield, and a gauge at the bottom of the screen, called the IP (Initiative Points) bar, indicates the order in which everyone will take their turns, its representative icons moving in real-time according to unit agility, meaning that the speed of their arrival at the Command segment can vary wildly.
When the icons representing Justin and his allies reach Command, the player receives countless options for whatever they want the character to do. These include two variations of standard attacks with a character's equipped weapon: Combo, where they strike an enemy two times (or carry on their second attack to another foe if the first eradicates the original target); and Critical, which can cancel an enemy's command if their icon is moving on the segment between the Command and Action points (units on either side carryout out their actions when reaching the latter). However, the timing of this is often incredibly tricky and requires excellent foresight regarding factors such as battlefield position, the rate at which an opposing unit is prepping execution of their commands, and so forth.
As with standard attacks, there are two types of defending against the enemy: standing one's ground or evasively traversing the battlefield. Characters can also use items like in most other RPGs or attempt escape from battle, which is surprisingly reliable compared to other titles. The use of magic quickly becomes an option as well, with the player needing to acquire Mana Eggs scattered throughout the myriad enemy-infested fields and dungeons to grant a character one of four elements: Fire, Wind, Water, or Earth, which can hybrid into twin-typed spells.
Some issues abound with Mana Eggs. For one, finding the things in the first place can be difficult, given the frequent disorientation while exploring dungeons and fields, alongside the frequent loss of access to these previous areas as players advance the game. In that case, focus first on giving Justin and Feena all their elements, and only give them to Sue if you get more than three spare Mana Eggs since she eventually leaves your party. While players receive consumables to boost elemental skill levels when she and other guest characters leave your party, they are a poor substitute for an actual refund of the Mana Eggs. Regardless, if you follow this advice, the next permanent character, Rapp, will be at a huge advantage (and he joins with the Fire element). The final party member initially has all the elements, so there's no need to worry about that.
Battles can require a lot of foresight, but regular weapon and elemental leveling and use of their respective skills can often circumvent things.
Leveling a weapon or spell level, alongside learning new spells with level conditions satisfied, gives characters a bonus stat increase, which can be a godsend given that standard experience levels (with typical JRPG experience points acquired after battle alongside money and items) rise glacially. The game mechanics work harmoniously, combat rarely dragging on aside from unskippable and overly lengthy ability and spell animations that frequently stop the action in its tracks, and other issues abound like the unclarity of if moves, be they weapon or magic-based, can cancel enemy actions (and those of certain foes, chiefly bosses, can't be invalidated no matter what). Regardless, the battle system deserves the praise it has received then and today.
As mentioned, significant disorientation can abound when exploring dungeons, which is most common after battles. Given the dungeon design, Grandia would have seriously benefited from in-game maps, which would have singlehandedly shaved significant superfluous playtime from the game, especially for those who want to explore every corner of dungeons. Viewpoints come where the player can receive a skyward view of where they currently are but are a poor substitute. Other control issues include the inconsistent placement of save points (but these recover all health and magic), and whichever developer decided to place them after boss battles should never be allowed to work on video games ever again.
Other issues regarding the save system include the absence of autosaving when transitioning between areas and a suspend-save. Another is the parsimonious inventory limit, with players regularly needing to decide which items to dispose of and which to keep; while Stashes to place excess goods exist, the ability to send things directly to them without being at them would have been more than welcome. However, positives exist, like the remaster never crashing when I played from start to finish, the Switch Home button halting all the action and game clock, a soft reset, the ability to trade current equipment with newer gear at shops, and the always-welcome view of stat increases or decreases when shopping for new weapons and armor.
Alongside the game mechanics, the aural presentation is another high point of Grandia, beginning with a sweeping, epic central theme with numerous remixes, alongside countless other emotional pieces with superb instrumentation. However, many tracks sound unusual, like one where vocalists repeatedly shout "GUMBO!" and endless ambient themes. Lamentably, the same sordid janitorial staff-quality English voicework from the PlayStation version returns, but players can mercifully select the Japanese voices, which are a million times better. Ultimately, the aurals are good, but new rerecorded English voice acting would have been more than welcome.
One area the remaster luckily addressed, however, is the visual presentation, significantly upscaling and adjusting to widescreen the original's graphics consisting of two-dimensional character sprites with three-dimensional scenery, which appear smooth and polished. FMVs that hybrid CG environments and anime characters also return in upscaled glory. However, there is still much environmental pixilation and blurriness, the sprites often look weird and have chibi aspects like line eyes despite their proportions, and countless character portraits look asinine and occasionally gross regarding things like Rapp picking his nose and Pakon's nasal drippage. Still, the graphics do their job.
Move over, Joe Camel, here comes Joe...Giraffe.
Finally, the remaster is another Japanese RPG that puts quantity well above quality, with my final playtime a little over seventy hours; however, one can blaze through it quicker if lucky. Given the overdrawn longevity, alongside the lack of lasting appeal other than three extra dungeons, maxing every element and skill level, and the frequent absence of enjoyability due to the lack of numerous basic quality-of-life features and enhancements like in-game maps and the need to reference the internet to do everything (with no New Game+, no achievements, no narrative variations, no postgame content), one playthrough will be more than enough for a lifetime for most mainstream gamers.
Overall, Grandia HD has incredible aspects like its game mechanics and soundtrack. However, it is far from the masterpiece critics and audiences have extolled it to be, given its myriad issues regarding the control, narrative, English voicework, and localization, which the remaster sadly failed to address (and even the best aspects have notable flaws). Artificial longevity is another primary issue, inexcusable given the almost strictly linear game structure, with Grandia excessively overstaying its welcome. Regardless, the "iconic" Game Arts title demonstrates that video game quality, positive or negative, is a point of view. While it is often fun, it's hardly a bucket-list game, and mainstream gamers can easily live without experiencing it.
This review is based on a playthrough of the version included with the Grandia HD Collection to completion purchased and downloaded to the reviewer's Nintendo Switch.
Score Breakdown
The Good
The Bad
Fun battle system.
Lacks PlayStation version's technical issues.
Some decent plot beats.
Great soundtrack.
Remastered visuals show polish.
Requires foresight at times.
Very user-unfriendly.
Needs maps badly.
Awful translation and English voicework.
Finite lasting appeal.
The Bottom Line
Has many positive elements but is hardly the masterpiece critics and audiences have called it.
Finally reached Chapter 3, Sir Mervyn is out of my party, and Maribel's back in, yay. She was a Jester last I left her, and I'll continue to have her master the classes necessary to reach Luminary before turning her into a Druid as well (she had mastered Sage before she left). Shouldn't be too hard a task to pull off.
I've only made minor progress on my Grandia HD review...
Did all the stuff involving the Divine Shrine and now can use the Skystone. A cave has opened up in an excavation site, so that's my next destination. I'm still a Hero, Ruff one as well, Sir Mervyn a Druid, and Aishe a Paladin.
No progress on my Grandia HD review today, but hopefully I should be able to do some more significant work on it tomorrow now that a major commitment has transpired.
All the islands are now in the present. Had to look at a guide to find out my next destination, the Divine Shrine, and I think I know where it is. I'm still ranking up the Hero class, Ruff is still maxed as one, Sir Mervyn is still a maxed Druid, and Aishe is still ranking up the Paladin class.
Making a little headway on my Grandia HD review...
I'm in the past of Buccanham, after getting the moss from the dwarfs' cavern. I'm a Hero now, Ruff has mastered Hero, Sir Mervyn is still a maxed Druid, and Aishe is a Paladin.
Finished one paragraph of my Grandia HD review. Since I got a lot of other stuff out of the way today, I should hopefully be able to do more work on it tomorrow.
I'm in the past of Vogograd right now, and gained a ton of class experience searching for the treasure chest on the eastern peninsula. The Hero is now a Champion, Ruff a Hero, and Aishe a Gladiator. Sir Mervyn has mastered the Druid class, and I'm not having him go through any more vocations since he would lose access to said Druid abilities.
No work was done on my Grandia HD Remaster review...
I'm in the past of Aeolus Vale and got the Sacred Stone from the sanctum, afterward returning to town for a few cutscenes, and I intend to make a pit stop back to the present to bank all the gold I earned. The Hero is a Paladin, Ruff a Armamentalist, Sir Mervyn a Druid, and Aishe a Luminary.
Getting a little work done on my Grandia HD Remaster review...
Current Mood:busy
Current Music:"With Sadness in Heart" (Piano Version) - Dragon Quest VII
Did some more class grinding in Traveller's Tablet worlds before returning to the past Nottagen to finish the final quest. Maribel has left my party, replaced by Aishe, whom I made a Warrior since she has some ranks for that class. The Hero is a Priest, Ruff an Armamentalist, and Sir Mervyn a Sage. Maribel was a Jester before she left.
Had fun doing this one as well. The first image on the first row from the bottom is a reference to the Postman API Platform I've been studying and using in my coding bootcamp, and not spying on an actual postal worker.
I did some of the second part of the past in Nottagen involving the malign vines, afterward spending sizeable time creating Traveller's Tablets and going through their respective worlds to grind classes. The Hero is still a Gladiator, Maribel a Sage, and Ruff a Drake slime. Sir Mervyn is close to mastering the Mage class now.
Grandia HD Remaster
I'm at the final save point. I expect to beat this baby tomorrow.
Got the Mysterious Fragment from the present-day Sullk Tower, and gave one of the monster-obtained Traveller's Tablets dungeons a shot. Despite the enemies in one being super-weak, battles with them still count towards vocation advancement. The Hero is still a Gladiator, Maribel finally mastered Mage and is now a Sage, while Ruff is still a Drake slime and Sir Mervyn a Malevolantern. Doing the second part of Nottagen's past right now.
Grandia HD Remaster
I'm at the start of Gaia, with Feena back in my party. The end is near...
Current Mood:hopeful
Current Music:"Hear My Words, Ye People" - Sir Charles Hubert Parry
Finished (the first part of) the past in Nottagen to get it to appear in the present. I can now send monsters I've befriended in the Monster Haven to get tablets, and I got two. I'll try their respective levels to see if I get any class points at all for my characters, since only Sir Mervyn is still getting class ranks up. After I visit the present Sulkk Tower, though.
Grandia HD Remaster
At the Icarian City, without Feena in my party at the moment.
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The Power of Reconciliation by Justin Welby
