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Grandia HD Collection
Released On: Aug 16, 2019
72
7.4
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 18 Critic Reviews
72
56% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
39% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 18 Critic Reviews
72
56% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
39% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
For the awesome games alone, Grandia HD Collection is worth checking out for any RPG fan. Although it could use a lot more content, fine-tuning, and options to reward long-time fans such as myself, what's here is still a treasure trove of delightful RPG goodness.
Do I recommend playing these games? Oh yes, absolutely. Grandia 1 and 2 deserve four stars by themselves. The games are dated, yes, but they stand the test of time, flaws and all. They are (mostly) timeless and I would replay them over and over. But maybe wait for this specific collection to go on sale.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 48 User Ratings
7.4
77% Positive
37 Ratings
37 Ratings
2% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
21% Negative
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 48 User Ratings
7.4
77% Positive
37 Ratings
37 Ratings
2% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
21% Negative
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
I put 105 hours in so far and beat Grandia. The Grandia HD collection has exceeded all of my expectations on what videogames should be and I'm mad at myself for letting it sit on my wishlist so long. Excellent collection. I'm not sure what they were like before the patches and updates but where they are now is exceptional. Especially Grandia. It's been a fantastic journey. I uncovered no flaws, botched saves, skipping or frame drops. The writing is cringe and the voice acting is bad, but the characters are lovable and the game has a lot of heart. Outside of final fantasy 7 and shining force, Grandia is my favorite rpg. There is no need for quality of life adjustments like faster battles, auto saves, or quicker summonings like some people have complained because battles and magic take place rather quickly and save spots are always within reach and right before a boss battle. There is no reason to make the games any easier so if I oversaw this collection release I wouldn't opt for qol adjustments either. Grandia 2 however is a different problem as it has already crashed on me once at the very first save point, it has forgotten my settings and I don't really care for Ryudo's attitude after seeing Justin's. He grows on you though. However it is 3d and looks really good. The writing is still cringe, but the voice acting is better. It could use some speed adjustments to the spell casting and their brief victory speech sometimes gets on my nerves. Grandia is a 10/10. Grandia 2 is a 7.75/10
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Nintendo Switch
I bought this collection JUST to play Grandia (1997) for the first time.
A masterpiece ****.
I'm not always happy with my life. I'm in college at the age of 24. I don't have an interesting routine. But for the most part, I breathe in oxygen and breathe out CO2. Super fun.
It took me one month to beat this game, and it has been the greatest month in a long time. I'm not an unhappy person, I'm just so damn tired of not being where I wanted to be in life. That's life though.
For two hours a day, everyday. I was somebody else. I was enthralled by the characters, stories and places. Mesmerized by what Grandia had to offer. A rich and intentional story. Memorable experiences and feelings. Characters that I would instantly fall in love with, that would grow and shape into who they become. For two hours a day, everyday, I was somewhere else; Somewhere adventurous and exciting. This game enriched me in a way no other game could. Instead of being complicated and convoluted, Grandia knew what it wanted to be. Like a good cup of java, I enjoyed every sip.
Story 10/10:
A couple of strange moments in the story that need clarification. Otherwise, its an easy to follow and satisfying plot. I got emotional, and even teared up from time to time. A story that truly gets you emotionally involved.
Graphics 9/10
Let players experience the pixel art of the game untainted by the rather lazy filter. It doesn't look bad, but sometimes it blends things it shouldn't. Like Character's tears, and some details on their clothing.
otherwise, it looked great on my 4K 70in TV. No staircase effect on the final image, backgrounds and foliage looked amazing with the filter used. All of the CG animations and cutscenes were an absolute delight to watch. Since I was on the Switch, the game looked gorgeous on the 720p screen, at times it looked a little more crisp on the smaller display.
Combat 10/10
You choose what skills/magic you want to improve per character. It's as easy as using the spell/special art to improve it; heal can be leveled up outside of combat which is a big convenience.
This is a simple combat system that you can master, and you can behold the results. There is a choice for auto combat, yet it is severely inferior to the player manually taking control of each character, as the A.I. is un-coordinated. The system is still essential since it is extremely convenient for grinding quickly.
Exploration 10/10:
The rotating isometric camera can make an environment look totally different. I was always trying to find things in the game, very rarely getting lazy. I would grab any items I would see on the map, and I would do my best to solve the puzzles and beat the bonus dungeons. Exploration is extremely rewarding, and is an essential element to the game.
Don't miss this experience.
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Nintendo Switch
Ultimately, Grandia HD Collection is two games that play very similarly but with opposite tones. Grandia is for bright-eyed young kids, and Grandia II is for their cynical older siblings. Yet they both have excellent dialogue, open dungeon design, and battle systems that invite customization. If people can forgive minor bugs and a lack of extra features, Grandia HD Collection is something all JRPG lovers should play if they haven’t already. And if you have already played these games, well, maybe wait for a discount.
The Grandia HD Collection contains an awesome soundtrack, fair visuals, and fairly decent story. Both games combat is very fluid and has that something that newer games are missing with their combat system I think.
Grandia HD Collection has a few issues but in spite of these is a still a worthwhile addition to any JRPG fan’s collection. The two games are classic gems that flew under many people’s radar during their initial release but are also fun even if this is the first time playing them. There are minor modernization tweaks to the titles and some technical issues do mar the experience, but even with these concessions, having these two titles available to play on the go is hard to complain about. They show their age and have some flaws, but their good outweighs their bad and each title provides a different but memorable adventure.
These are thrilling tales of adventure with witty writing, charming characters, and plots that will constantly surprise you. The gameplay is fun, but simple at the same time. There’s never a dull moment with these two games, and they’re beloved for just that reason.
It both succeeds and fails for entirely different reasons. The timeless quality and fun factor of the two games included make it unfair to give this one a low score, yet the shoddy work done on the porting and remastering holds it back from being worthy of a high one. On the whole, we’d give Grandia HD Collection a light recommendation, as it’s a great way both for newcomers to see what the fuss is about and for veterans to take a trip down memory lane. However, we say this with the caveat that you should probably wait for a sale and for the developers to deploy some patches to fix all the broken parts. The Grandia games deserve a much better remastering treatment than they’ve been given here, but Grandia HD Collection is nonetheless a respectable release.
Great games, grandia 1 is a lazy port of the ps1 port of the saturn original. Grandia 2 is grandia 2 anniversary edition with widescreen support. Avoid these ports on switch. The modding community might eventually be able to salvage these abominations on steam but for now it's a hard no.
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Nintendo Switch
I still own both of these for the PS1 & Dreamcast, and I never usually buy digital releases, but seeing as Nintendo presented me with coins for my B-day that took a good chunk off the price, I decided to purchase it again from Nintendo's e-Shop 9 months after it released on there.
Love both games, especially the 1st Grandia, and I think they both look MUCH better in Widescreen HD. Worth buying a 2nd time.
.....EDIT: Actually, worth buying a 3rd time, because a half-year after I bought the HD Collection digitally, Limited Run Games have done a physical release. So? I bought the HD Collection yet again.
But I am a physical collector, and I'd rather "own" it, opposed to just renting it till its no longer supported online.
For those that are up in the air on purchasing this collection, the battle system of both is terrific, and story-wise, the 1st Grandia brings a great sense of adventure with a subtly unfolding plot, whereas I Grandia 2's plot is a more detailed.
Truly, the games are cleaned up nicely, so I'm not sure why I see so many complaints.
Then again, I'm just happy to have these games brought into a newer generation in general, and I'd say that even if they were nothing but straight up 1:1 ports.
Older games like this deserve to live on, seeing as video games is the only media that isn't well preserved, being that most come & go in short 6-to-8 year generations.
I'd recommend if you're a fan of old school JRPGs.
Thanks for the physical release, oh, Limited Run Games!
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Nintendo Switch
It definitely takes you back, Dreamcast port is still the best way to play because this one has random gram drops but the hard mode gives it a little bit more of a challenge. Not as hard as expected but fun none the less.
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Nintendo Switch
Fantastic game, the visuals, the sound, everything was updated. I’m glad to play this game in a 65” tv and having this wonderful time! :)
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Nintendo Switch
Great games, grandia 1 is a lazy port of the ps1 port of the saturn original. Grandia 2 is grandia 2 anniversary edition with widescreen support. Avoid these ports on switch. The modding community might eventually be able to salvage these abominations on steam but for now it's a hard no.
Report
Nintendo Switch
Summary Grandia and Grandia 2, a pair of games originally released on Sega's Saturn and Dreamcast consoles, respectively, are coming to Nintendo Switch. Both games feature newly retouched details for the user interface, sprites, and textures, enhanced cinematics, Japanese and English audio tracks, and Japanese and English language support along ...
Rated T
for Teen
Platforms:
- Nintendo Switch
- PC
- PlayStation 4
- Xbox One
Initial Release Date: Aug 16, 2019
Developer:
- GungHo
Publisher: GungHo
Genres:
