X
- T
- Enix Corporation
- T
- Enix Corporation
- T
- Enix Corporation
- T
- Enix Corporation
Grandia Xtreme
PlayStation 2
Released On: Sep 30, 2002
68
8.0
All Platforms
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 16 Critic Reviews
68
25% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
69% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
6% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 16 Critic Reviews
68
25% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
69% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
6% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Keep in mind though that the sole focus of this game is on the battle elements, which, for most people, should be good news.
I liked the battle system, and the magic scheme was much more robust than I expected, but in the end this game came off as little more than an RPG that tried to be epic, but fell short. [Nov 2002, p.126]
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 User Ratings
8.0
62% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
23% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
15% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 User Ratings
8.0
62% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
23% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
15% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
After Grandia 1 and 2, most expected Grandia Xtreme to be the same in line: the spirit of world exploration and full narratives. However, this game does not focus on narrative or story as much as battle and gameplay. This is a dungeon crawler game in disguise with a turn-based battle system and storytelling of RPG style.
I can understand the mis-expectation from its processors caused this game to get more negative opinions than it deserved. People complained about what it lacks from their Grandia 1&2 and forgot about what it excels as its own game. To give this game justice, as rogue-like RPG, no game can surpass this even in 2020. Here are its pros.
1. The best battle system in Grandia series and fast pace. No long animation like GD3 that mobs keep spamming skills. This makes grinding in itself never boring.
2. The story is not the best and admittedly the worst out of GD series, but it is consistent and satisfactory, even very good for the rogue-like genre to keep you hooked.
3. It did the right thing for rogue-like. The randomness and plethora of item drops are what make dungeon crawlers interesting and high replay value. This game is the best in this regard.
4. As the game does not focus on storytelling but gameplay, there is almost no restriction whom you can bring in the party. This game offers a high level of customization and DIY. No bs of backtracking from town to town to interrupt you from exploring dungeons. You just have 1 (or 2) town.
5. The level of character customization is astonishing and, believe me, they balanced it very well.
In conclusion, if you seek one, if not the best, of rogue-like RPG, this game is a must-play. If you like RPG and do not mind a simplistic but coherent story and dungeon crawler, this game is great. If you look for GD1 and GD2 storytelling style or playing for the story, I would say avoid this game as it is RPG in 90' where gameplay overrides the story.
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PlayStation 2
Hugely underrated game. It's not an RPG with dungeon exploring like other Grandia titles, which seems to get this game negative reviews, but it's a dungeon crawler with light RPG narrative. It has the same battle mechanics of Grandia 3, which makes it one of the best, if not the best combat system on the console, with the perk of having more likable characters and less fluff to get distracted by. The dungeons are expansive and provide different challenges. If you really miss the narrative you'll be glad to find out the few NPCs present refresh their dialogue very often and the meal scenes from previous games deepen the relationships between characters egregiously. Post-game content is also great. I can't find a single complaint, if not a few animations and the damn english voice-over. Remember Nanao from RAD? She's going to be your party member in this one. Gave me PTSD.
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PlayStation 2
Even the most basic encounter requires loads of strategy. [Nov 2002, p.184]
A Grandia worth playing, it just fails to reach that level of Square.
The combat system is definitely one of the best I've played with, but that's all there is. If you want character development, or even characters who aren't one-dimensional, go elsewhere.
The game does teeter on the monotonous for much of the adventure, with little or no payoff in terms of stoyline or character development. [Nov 2002, p.38]
An essentially generic nature is why Grandia Xtreme winds up being such an empty experience overall.
Grandia Xtreme is a fun but average RPG. If you're looking for a story in the same vein as the rest of the Grandia series, you will be disappointed. The game has a very minimal storyline and is most concerned with making a dungeon-crawler with a fun combat system.
The combat system is definitely where the game shines. Paired with this is the option to use any of the 7 side characters to create the party you want to use while exploring dungeons. Where this does falter though is the fact that characters who are not being used, don't gain experience, so it's not viable to switch characters when you want too and it's designed more to choose a party at the beginning and continue with that formation.
The dungeon-crawling aspect of the game is actually quite fun but comes with two major drawbacks. The first is that you can never save in a dungeon, meaning you can be committing to gaming sessions of 1 hour+ at least when you sit down to play the game. The second issue with the dungeons is that at two separate points in the game, the game choose to re-use the 4 main dungeons instead of creating new ones for you to explore. This obviously leads to some repetition during a playthrough.
Overall, Grandia Xtreme does have fun gameplay that is tied to a minimal story and does provide some player choice with the characters you can choose to build your party with, as well as customizing what types of magic your characters can use as you find and craft Mana Eggs.
If you're a fan of the other Grandia games, you will feel at home with the combat system and likely find the gameplay fun enough to pull you through the entirety of the game, which is decent in length but can be repetitive with the re-used dungeons. Newcomers to the series may not find enough here to keep them engaged when compared to the rest of the Playstation 2's library of high-quality RPG's and well-written storylines.
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PlayStation 2
I love this game, but it suffers severely from (generally) poor voice acting and editing work, an uninspired story, and somewhat poor English script.
This story of this game literally benefits from being a dungeon crawler due to the large amount of combat and exploration between story scenes. The combat system is exceptional. It focuses on a fairly standard gauge that characters will move across until they hit their turn. Once you make your choice of action, your character will charge it. Basic attacks and defending/moving will begin immediately, while magic and most specials will have to charge for a short time. What sets this game apart is that getting hit will slow or sometimes even push back an enemy's action. In addition there is an effect called "cancel" that you can trigger with some specials and criticals (one of your two types of basic attacks) that will push an enemy charging an action back to waiting for their turn.
If you can ignore ten or twenty minutes of terrible plot for every two or so hours of exceptional exploration and classic but well aged gameplay I highly recommend this game. Otherwise stay very far away.
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PlayStation 2
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PlayStation 2
Summary With an enhanced battle system, Grandia Xtreme pushes RPG gaming in new directions with a faster-paced game of exploration and discovery. With over 130 different types of monsters and 8 elemental lands standing between you and victory, the future of world has never looked more desperate. Can you avert the disaster rising from the ancient...
Rated T
for Teen
Platforms:
- PlayStation 2
Initial Release Date: Sep 30, 2002
Developer:
- Game Arts
Publisher: Enix Corporation
Genres:
