When people talk about Grandia - a series that sparked into life on the Saturn and original PlayStation - they talk about its battle system. It's often cited as the best ever in a role-playing game, and it's easy to see why - it combined situational awareness with the comforts of turn-based decision making, allowing you to take your time to line up attacks that can strike multiple foes, or escape harm yourself with the right positioning of your party, all while managing the gauge that allowed you to delay the enemy's advances while making your own.

Sampling Grandia's combat again on the HD Collection on Switch - the first chance to revisit the original since its debut - proves that yes, the combat is tremendous, and has arguably been never bettered. Even with a no-frills port that buffers sharp 2D character sprites in a 3D world to a glossy sheen, Grandia's combat continues to stand up against the many fumbled attempts since to evolve turn-based battles into something more involving.

But there is more to the series than its combat. When I think of Grandia, I think of adventure - of mysterious ruins, crossing vast oceans and trudging through stickily humid jungles. This is in part due to how the story plays out; our hero Justin, a budding explorer who inherited a mysterious stone from his missing adventurer father, is given a message from a lost civilization to return it to where it belongs - several continents away - acting as an excuse to set off, see the world and make a few friends along the way.

Read more

Grandia and its sequel are coming to the Nintendo Switch, courtesy to GungHo Online Entertainment America.

According to a press release, HD versions of the two GameArts Japanese role-playing games are being released as a "combo pack" for Switch this winter, while the original is also coming to Steam - joining a remaster of the sequel that's already available.

Aside from their HD treatment, what the remaster treatment entails is a mystery right now. Grandia II on Steam adds "visual upgrades to textures, lighting and shadows", the option for Japanese voices, and an additional difficulty level, if that's any indication.

Read more…