Grandia III

[GhaleonOne]

Has anyone else picked this up? This is my first new RPG in almost a year, but I'm having a blast with it. It kind of reminds me of a cross between Lunar EB and Final Fantasy X. Graphically it's gorgeous. Maybe RPGs have just gotten much better graphically since I've played them on a regular basis, but some of the environments are stunning. The battle system is good classic Grandia, and I'm liking the storyline so far. And I don't think the soundtrack is as bad as it's been made out. It's not Iwadare's best, but it's not bad at all.

[Imperial Knight]

I'll probably pick it up eventually, but perhaps not until a price drop. I did enjoy previous Grandia games, so I figure I'll want to give it a shot at some point, but for now I still have quite a backlog to work through.

[Sonic#]

I will probably buy it at some point. Maybe when I get done with the time crash this weekend/early next week. ^_^ I am interested to see how they encompassed flight and all that.

[Rune Lai]

I really enjoyed Grandia II's battle system (and I'm not usually someone who will lavish praise on a battle system), so I would imagine Grandia III's battles are really fun in a similar way, but I heard the story drops off in the second disc and that concerns me. I'm also a wee bit afraid this is Shigema writing again and given all the parallels I found between Lunar and Grandia II I'm concerned that played Grandia III will be yet another retread over familiar ground.

[GhaleonOne]

I'm right at the point where I'm going into the second disc. I don't know how long it is, but when I get through it, I'll post more.

[GhaleonOne]

A little update:

I'm getting nearer to the end of the game, and I'm not sure I agree with all the assessments that disc 2 turns to crap. I do think some of the character development dropped a notch, but it's still quite enjoyable. It's not the best story in an RPG ever, but it's certainly not bad, and it really doesn't feel like the other Grandia's or Lunar. I think the complaints on disc 2 come from the fact that it goes from a smaller story to a much more epic feel in many ways. But all RPGs take a turn towards some world shattering event, and Grandia III is no different or worse than most other RPGs.

Battle wise, it's a blast to play, but I think everyone expected that. Graphically, again, it's beautiful. The environments are gorgeous. And I REALLY disagree with many of the reviews that are trashing the music. These are apparently the same reviewers that didn't like much of Lunar's music in the past, because it certainly has that Iwadare feel to it. It's not his best composition, but it's not a bad soundtrack, and certainly nowhere near the atrocity that many have hailed it as. The opening music is somewhat annoying (I'm not really into pop-sounding stuff like that), but the game music is great. There's at least 6-7 songs that I actually just sat and let them play through a few times because I really liked them. There's a certain sad violin piece that I really loved.

So overall, no, I don't agree with many of the reviews that called the game average, and I definately disagree with the comments of the story and soundtrack being subpar. I've read that elsewhere, and personally, just don't agree with it.

[Asmodean]

I like the Grandia series... although I've only finished the second one on the Dreamcast. I wanted to get all of Feena's spells for the first, but it was WAY too annoyin' to do so.

I want this one, but I won't be gettin' it any time soon. I'm a mean person like that.

[Lord_Ghaleon]

I have gotten Grandia III and I have been loving it. It has beautiful graphics so far a good story and like the Grandia series a great battle system.