Games: The Grandia III Q&A thread

[blahguy729]

don't think this has been answered yet, but can you still see the enemies like in G2 and get the "You surprised the enemy!" kinda thing or have they gotten rid of that?

[Cataferal]

Heres RPGfan.com's official review of Grandia III. Just to reiterate how great this game is.

IRT Xel - Does the game feature remixes of old songs, like G2 did of G1?
Yes, the main Grandia theme is back, and all Iwadare's instrumental preferences are retained for the "Grandia" feel. Theres even a rearranged version of that cute little melody that plays during the dinnertime scenes.

And how many dungeons and towns are there?
There are about 7-8 main towns, and everything else is basically dungeons. This is very dungeon heavy.

IRT Blahguy - Can you still see the enemies like in G2 and get the "You surprised the enemy!" kinda thing or have they gotten rid of that?
You certainly can. In fact, Game Art's elaborated on the idea by allowing you to use your sword in real-time whilst traveling across dungeons. If you manage to sneak up on an enemy and strike it, and then enter the battle, you are given a much greater initiative and almost always strike first. However, the enemies in this game tend to have unpredictable movements (such as rapid running, jumping or flying) which makes this difficult to do if they spot you first.

<font color="#345E81" size="1">[ August 27, 2005 07:10 PM: Message edited by: Cataferal ]</font>

[Dreamer7000]

Awesome to hear again! Is there a dinnertime scene here as well?!?! Or only the music?

[Xellos]

Sweet, thanks.

Would playing the Japanese version w/a script detract from the game, you hink? I don't want to wait any longer, especially with how awesome it's sounding.

[Cataferal]

Well, i'll give you the positives and negatives of playing it in japanese:

Pros
+The japanese dub is absolutely perfect, as is the lip sync.
+The physical actions of the characters speak loud enough to understand the story and some of the humour.
+You can definitely still appreciate the gameplay despite the language barrier; as i said, its dungeon heavy and will give you a fun challenge.
+FAQ's online will help you understand the story, and provide a general walkthrough if you dont know where to go.
+You get it now.

Cons
-Unique item properties and functions are difficult to differentiate between. Trial and error involved here to begin with.
-A lot of the time you wont be able to understand character motives, especially as the plot thickens,
-Referring to an FAQ to understand the story can take away the drama.
-Your going to be oblivious to the text heavy dinnertime scenes, and the effort put into NPC dialogue.

For me, the pros definitely weigh out the cons. I find the battle system is a joy to use, and because i can read katakana/hiragana and various kanji, im not so reliant on the FAQ's. However, even if you dont understand japanese, its worth at least giving it a shot and seeing how it feels for you. I say go for it.

<font color="#345E81" size="1">[ August 27, 2005 07:55 PM: Message edited by: Cataferal ]</font>

[Xellos]

Where'd you get yours, and how muchd id it cost?

Thanks for answering all this so far.

[mrwiseman]

-Referring to an FAQ to understand the story can take away the drama.
-Your going to be oblivious to the text heavy dinnertime scenes, and the effort put into NPC dialogue.

Because of these two in this order, I'll definitely wait for western release(s).

[Cataferal]

You can get them off ebay for around $50-60. Heres a relatively cheap, but reliable 'Buy it Now' bid. If you have a lot of money and are willing to take a risk, then i'd opt for this route, however, its pricy for a game you'll probably want in english later on.

I recommend obtaining, and putting it on your HDD to preview it first. Its not been licensed yet, and the translations in FAQ's fill in for the fansubs you would normally have for anime. Im following this method until it gets officially announced for a US release, at which point i'll have to delete it immediately. Thanks to this approach, i can defy the 9 month wait they usually put me through as a european, and definitely know to buy it on its release date having had a first hand play of it.

<font color="#345E81" size="1">[ August 27, 2005 08:19 PM: Message edited by: Cataferal ]</font>