Grandia II

 PC
Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. Gamer's Pulse
    80
    Hours of enjoyment, but not overly original.
  2. IGN
    79
    It's fun. It's not the best thing ever, but it has enough charm, cuteness, and campiness to at least put a smile on your face and give you an easy 20 hours of gaming.
  3. Gaming Age
    75
    Being a big proponent of console RPGs and console games in general, I highly recommend this to curious PC owners.
  5. GameSpot
    75
    If you can deal with the culture clash and with the typical shortcomings of translations from consoles, then you're likely to find that Grandia II can provide plenty of charm and plenty of fun.
  6. Armchair Empire
    75
    "Childish" and "derivative" could also be used to describe the graphics.
  7. Gamers' Temple
    74
    Those who prefer their RPGs to be the more serious experience typical of PC games might be better off passing on it.
  8. GameZone
    72
    A truly beautiful-looking game, it just lacks originality in storyline and challenge.
  9. Yahoo!
    70
    The most obvious flaw in Grandia II is the music. It's pretty unpleasant, and often incongruous with the on-screen happenings.
  10. GamePen
    70
    An incredibly linear story, limited save points, and slightly behind-the-curve graphics move Grandia 2 as a PC RPG to the category of merely "pretty good."
  11. Computer Gaming World
    60
    The great battle system, the witty main characters, and the play length aren't enough to overcome the lackluster graphical updates and the fact that the game doesn't really work for anyone who has bought a computer since October of last year. [May 2002, p.92]
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  12. PC Gamer
    54
    Hardcore D&D fans looking to fill the gap before the next Black Isle or BioWare release should avoid this one like a high-level beholder. [Apr 2002, p.72]
    All this publication's reviews
  13. Computer Games Magazine
    50
    If you really want to play the game (and it's worth playing), you're better off buying a used Dreamcast and playing the original version of the game on that.

Awards & Rankings

87
#87 Most Discussed PC Game of 2002
58
#58 Most Shared PC Game of 2002

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 39 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 39
  3. Negative: 4 out of 39
  1. Arshad_S
    Sep 16, 2010
    9
    Hehe my 1st game i bought after i got my pc! The game is GREAT! got me so hyped up after the 5 minute intro! The Not so cool cover pic willHehe my 1st game i bought after i got my pc! The game is GREAT! got me so hyped up after the 5 minute intro! The Not so cool cover pic will make u think itsa half baked rpg but... the game was so good i cleared it 3 times! Great battle music and story. voice acting was abit too worked but was fun in its own way. This doesnt matchup to the FF series but it still stands tall. Defnitly worth a tryout!… Full Review »
  2. VendonJura
    Nov 28, 2019
    10
    Grandia 2 is also one of the best rpg games I've played so far. You can get an HD Remastered version of this game on steam right now. ThisGrandia 2 is also one of the best rpg games I've played so far. You can get an HD Remastered version of this game on steam right now. This game is rlly amazing, it has allot of gameplay, allot of lvling stuff, allot of exploration and much more. If you like rpg games, then you have to grab it :D… Full Review »
  3. calderra
    Aug 26, 2015
    10
    Personally, the Dreamcast version of Grandia II is among my top RPGs of all time. The story isn't massively original, but it does feature somePersonally, the Dreamcast version of Grandia II is among my top RPGs of all time. The story isn't massively original, but it does feature some mind-bending twists that are well worth experiencing. The combat system is great, a blend of turn-based and real-time where you queue up actions to perform, and those actions take more or less time to complete depending on the type and level of the action- things get strategic right off the bat, it's possible to pass the entire first dungeon without ever taking a single point of damage if you input your commands perfectly. Some say this makes the game "easy", but that's ridiculous, the game will slaughter you if you don't get good at strategy- it just rewards strategic players with awesome results. Absolutely every RPG fan should play this game. How does the PC port compare? It's such a direct port of the Dreamcast version, your old saves will still work if you can port them over. That's wonderful, as the Dreamcast version is the most bug-free version ever released. The updates include better graphics, and a "Hard" mode that according to the forums just adds 20% HP to all enemies- that doesn't really fix the complaints as you can still "juggle" bad guys to avoid damage and win battles without being touched, but hey the developers listened and replied, and it doesn't harm the base game at all. Highly recommended, it's a great port of an all-time classic game, now forever preserved so you don't have to have a Dreamcast to play it. Go. Buy. Play.… Full Review »
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