[Multiplatform] The Grandia Appreciation Thread!

I agree with everything Southjag said, pretty much.

I love Grandia, love it so much I went out and ordered the soundtrack shortly after I got 3, and both the game and music are fantastic.

The only downside- as has been stated before- is that the plot goes downhill in the second disc, or so I hear. I'm only 17 hours in, and the game has been quite the experience so far. The characters are all likable, the battle system is back and better than ever, and the game remains very engaging. I have a hard time making myself stop each time I pick it up.

I get a kick out of using the AI Strategy functions and let them run battles every once in a while. If you equip your characters right they'll get "Excellent" on even the really tough ones, I'm impressed. There's still a lot of different strategies to explore, both Special/Magic wise with the characters I have, so I doubt I'll be bored with the battle system at any point during my gameplay.

Oh, and I love Ulf. I love Ulf a lot. <333333333

Yuki + Flash + Aerial Combo = AMAZING.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Ahahaha, I love this game more and more each time I play it.

I'm at Baccula right now, and foolishly tried to take on the Desert Lord. Got him down to about 9,000HP before I couldn't hold my own against him without taking heavy losses, so I had to bail. Went back into town for a rest at the inn and the conversation scene is hilarious. Ulf and Alfina going back and forth about what animals you can and can't eat. It really lets you see a lot about the characters personalities, these little chats that happen.

Ulf is still fantasic. <3

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by bighunt

Come on, Ulf isn't THAT great. yes, he has some cool special moves, but his magic is crap. i like all the characters, but ulf is the lowest. if you're in the desert, did you fuse any mana eggs before taking on the desert lord?

without giving out too much info, you do return to the desert later in the game. that's when you'll have a much better chance against the desert lord. the guy is wicked fast though, so be careful!

I just love him as a character. The guy is a riot. If you don't think so that's ok, but at this point I like him more than the others, but they're all cool otherwise.

I did fuse some Mana eggs and got some pretty neat super spells, but I've yet to extract the Astrea Zap one. The guy was really just too fast and his Quake spell nearly wipes out my entire party. I knew what I was up against going into it though, I just wanted to see how long I'd last. I'll try at a later point in the game.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

AWESOME. Melc Ruins. OMG.

So, what level did you all wait until/were you at when you went there?

Regarding the Melc Ruins entrance boss:

I was told by Krizzzopolis to Level to 41, but I didn't have the patience for that. Went in at level 37 and beat the Melc Guardian like he owed me money, without using the Gaurdian Orbs. High powered monsters like that are easy to control if you balance your defense/offense strat.

Using Alfina/Dahna properly helps a lot too. I've got Dahna and Alfina equipped with all kinds of magic skills (Magic Up, Fire Mastery, Wind Mastery, etc) and Galactic Bang/Astraea Zap, and they both also have level 10 Ether Eggs equipped, so every element has a 3 stat boost. Alfina + Water Mastery for easy use of Allhealer when the boss lays on heavy attacks is a much better use than wasting the orb early on (if you need it). The rest is just switching the magic users between healing and using super spells and having Ulf and Yuki do nothing but Dragon Slash and Dynamite Rush unless you absolutely need to cancel an attack. The thing got to change to it's aerial form once, and the moment it changed back it was dead as a doorknob.

Don't try and waste it if it changes forms, stay on the defensive and keep healed until it switches back to its ground form, then wail on it like no tomorrow.

If the rest of the bosses are on this sort of level I shouldn't have a problem finishing the game in the next day or so.

EDIT:

FEEL THE BITE OF MY BLADE:

WHIRLWIND!

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by SouthJag

Aww fuck. I'm around level 32-34 and that guardian beat my ass into the ground. I need to do some levelling up I suppose. Yawn.

You went up against it that early? Insane, lol.

Go fight the Dessert Lord a couple of times. The extra s is because he should be a complete pushover at that point.

4000EXP every time, can't even beat that.

I was speaking idiomatically.