Reviewing GRANDIA II for the Sega Dreamcast was tough for this reviewer. Having been a fan of the first part on the import Saturn—with the good original Japanese voices—I had high expectations for its sequel, now fully powered by the 128-bit Dreamcast. It has so much going for it: the combat system, the wonderful, lush graphics, the music. Yet, at the same time, it has some insurmountable flaws that really drag this title down: namely, the story. Filled with a trite, hackneyed "good versus evil" plot, and further dragged down by an out-of-place diatribe into philosophical exploration, GRANDIA II proves that, sometimes, great visuals and gameplay alone cannot save a game with a bad story.

Firstly, GRANDIA II is hands-down the most visually amazing RPG published on any console system to date. It has a very consistent, colorful look. This is truly one of the first "next-gen RPGs" to really feel like a next generation RPG. The towns are fully 3D and the amazing colors and textures bring every dungeon and town alive with a great anime look to them. In addition, each of the 3D models are just as consistent and amazing. The 3D bosses are usually huge, multi-jointed creatures (as large as the "Spider Mech Tank" at the end of the GHOST IN THE SHELL movie, for example), and they are fully articulated and wonderfully choreographed. In addition, the character portraits are well done, featuring very eye-appealing 2D anime illustrations.

From this good foundation, we move onto the music, which is very competently done by veteran composer Iwadare Noriyuki. The instrumentals fit each area pretty well, but the vocal songs are the highlight, with all the songs sung masterfully by Kawasumi Kaori in Portuguese. In a recent interview, Iwadare said he was looking to have the vocal songs sung in a language that evoked a certain emotion and feel, and they felt Portuguese fit the bill perfectly. Ubi Soft deserves credit for keeping these songs intact in the U.S. release.

In addition to the music, the English dub voice acting is actually pretty competently done. The VO director is Kris Zimmerman, who did the masterful English dub directing of the U.S. release of METAL GEAR SOLID for the PSX. Kris does a great job getting emotion out of this dub cast. One surprise has to be the U.S. voice of Elena, done by the talented Jennifer Hale! She's a fan-favorite for being the original voice of Fall-From-Grace in PLANESCAPE: TORMENT (PC), and many other roles. Jennifer can do a wide range of voices, and she pulls off the scared, "bishoujo" (cute girl) voice very well. There are many moments where her voice quivers and you can hear it executed well. The other voices also come across favorably, except Roan, who sounds a bit too nasally for my tastes.

The highlight of GRANDIA II would have to be the combat system. There has never been a console RPG combat system as fun, unique and refreshing, ever! At the bottom of the screen your IP Bar is displayed, showing icons of your characters and the enemy. As time passes, the icons move from left to right. When they reach a certain point, that character can then choose an action to perform: "Combo" to attack multiple times, "Critical" to attempt to do a single strike that can "knock back" someone, "Special Moves/Magic" to perform a special move or magic spell, or "Item." In addition, you can turn on AI to run things, Escape, etc.

The key fun factor here is that if you time your "Critical" (or special attack that can cancel) and hit an enemy as they are executing their move, you can cancel their move completely! In addition, you are able to see whom the enemy is targeting, so that if they are targeting Ryudo (the main hero), for example, and they begin to attack (rushing towards him), and suddenly Ryudo's turn appears, you can perform a variety of beneficial options. On one hand, you can choose to "Combo" him, which means if Ryudo swings his sword before the enemy attacks, it counts as a "Counter" and you do double-damage! (Likewise if the enemy attacks you before you swing, it does more damage to you.) You can also choose to quickly hit "Defend" which instantly causes your character to block, thus reducing damage immensely. Or, lastly, you can even choose to target some other creature entirely on the other side of the map which, if timed right, causes your character to run off in another direction right when the rushing creature is about to attack you, causing it to miss completely! And then you are able to attack the other creature. While it sounds complex, the system is very easy to get into, and it is very rewarding.

Another highlight is that you're able to see the creatures on screen, wandering the map, before you enter a battle. So no more of the random encounters that plague other console RPGs. And this is not just a gimmick, either. If you run up to a creature from behind and engage it, the battle screen will come up and give you the initiative (first strike) in battle! Likewise if a creature attacks you from behind, they get initiative.

But all this innovation couldn't save the game from disappointment and partial failure as the story, or lack thereof, brings this game crashing down. Essentially, you play a Geohound (bounty hunter) named Ryudo, with the typical jerk-arrogant attitude, and you've been hired to take care of this Sister of Granas (nun-type), Elena. Things get out of hand as a magic ceremony goes horribly wrong, and Elena becomes possessed by the evil spirit of Valmar. From here you must escort her and seek out a cure, and naturally complications arise. The problem with the story is that it essentially is a basic twist on the age-old "good god versus evil god" story, except the "twist" is nothing unique and the ending gets mired in a horrible, boring discourse about humanism, loss of religion and other topics. This feels off-topic and out-of-place in the setting of GRANDIA II. On the surface the discourse sounds pretty straightforward, but the execution, pacing and feel of it comes off as so flat and mediocre that it quickly drains the fun and interest out of the remaining third of the game.

GRANDIA II for the Sega Dreamcast is an example of how important story is for an RPG. In an age where flashy graphics wins the fans and the day, the lack of a competent and compelling story really outweighs the brilliant pictures and great combat system. In the end, GRANDIA II becomes an average RPG. It has all the ostensible components, the framework of solid effects, great music and combat system, but GRANDIA II has no heart and no soul. Graphically inferior games like FINAL FANTASY IX and SKIES OF ARCADIA far outshine this game with their earnestness of heart and their fun adventure.

Rating: 7.8 / 10.0