95%PC

Grandia is a grand adventure with a perfect coming-of-age tale mixed with world-saving heroism. The narrative moves quickly, blending snappy comedy with genuine character growth, and I loved every minute of it. The only sour note was a lackluster remaster. You'll likely fall in love with the cast, and find plenty of laughs along the way (especially when the voice acting kicks in - it's exactly what you'd expect from 1997).

Combat is fantastic: a push-and-pull system where you and your enemies trade blows and interrupt each other's actions. Everything flows on a timeline at the bottom of the screen, with each skill or spell taking different amounts of time to cast. This leaves you - and your enemies - vulnerable to having actions delayed or canceled outright. It's genius, and it works exactly as advertised. Canceling a boss's big attack right before it lands never stops being satisfying.

Character growth comes in two flavors: traditional levels gained through battle exp, and skill/magic levels gained through use. Every weapon type and magic element has its own level, unlocking new abilities and stat boosts as you progress. Savvy players can rotate between weapons and spells to power up quickly, but the game is balanced enough that you can stick to a single type and still make it through fine. It's a clever system that makes experimentation rewarding without punishing you if you don't.

Visuals can be jarring at first. The 3D battlefields are blocky and choppy, with the camera constantly zooming and panning in classic PS1 style. It feels rough at first, but it grows on you, and eventually I stopped noticing. Exploration can be trickier - the isometric angle is too steep, so you're constantly rotating the camera to peek behind walls and obstacles. It's very “of its time,” but understandable given the hardware sacrifices devs had to make to keep framerate up.

Translation was better than I expected. Halfway through I had to look it up, because I honestly thought Working Designs was involved. But nope - Ubisoft handled the English script. It's straightforward, no cheesy Austin Powers quotes or wink-at-the-camera lines like WD was famous for in Lunar. A fully realized and solid piece of work.

The soundtrack is excellent. Iwadare really went for it - big guitars and crashing cymbals on some tracks, cozy and memorable village tunes on others. Some of the best work I've heard from them yet.

Overall, Grandia gives me big Golden Sun vibes - focused, interesting combat and character growth, paired with a fast-paced story that evolves from a simple afternoon adventure into something far more serious. I'm looking forward to diving into the series more, especially since I hear Grandia II is the powerhouse sequel.

Note on the remaster: it's barebones. Basically an emulated version with a smoothing filter slapped on. Same framerate, same limitations. For example, item descriptions are still painfully short - “EXP Pendant” sounds like an XP boost, but no, it's an Explosive Pendant that reduces damage from explosions. Stuff like that really should've been addressed. On top of that, the PC version is a bear to get running on Steam Deck. Honestly, you might be better off playing the PS1 version.

70%PC

Wow, Game Arts sure makes generic RPGs. Liked the characters quite a bit though and the sprite work is amazing (once you mod out the filter in the hd remaster). Definitely liked this more than Lunar.

75%Nintendo Switch

Grandia was all right but very inconsistent. It definitely has some high points, but oh boy does it have some lows as well, both in music and story. The voice acting, which is surprising to see at all in a game this old, is comically bad. It sounds like the programmers did it themselves. Visually, the game reminds me of Chrono Trigger.

Grandia's battle system is really interesting, but it's never explained. I suppose that was fairly common at the time; it's probably in the instruction manual, which I don't think was included in the HD Collection. Unfortunately, after the first few dungeons, the game is just way too easy, so there's no reason to figure out how the combat works.

The story starts out pretty slow. I really had to force myself to keep playing, trusting the internet that it would get better. It does get better but honestly not by a whole lot. Overall, I think I would have done just as well to skip this one.

85%PlayStation

I won't lie – Grandia 1 really, really gets off on the wrong foot, kicking you off in a confusing town with like 80 NPCs (all with multiple things to say), while you spend >30 minutes doing a petty scavenger hunt to stick it to a quasi-bully that we know nothing about, the LITERAL first story point being over an hour in.. It literally took me until my 3rd sitdown with the game to reach the beginning of the story, as I was so painfully bored during that time – However, I loved the first Lunar (just never played the second) and I loved Grandia 2, so I knew that this game, once it started to get going, would get really good, and luckily, it does. I suppose I say this all as both a major critique of the game in my review, and to point out to anyone “tricked” into playing this game: It really, really does get better after an hour or two, and I will fully acknowledge that the first hour, frankly, outright blows! For one thing, when the story finally kicks off (when you find the ancient secret in the mines), the story kicks off with a good setup and solid amount of energy, and except for the parts where you're going around the towns, the game is generally enjoyable throughout. While the story isn't exactly one of the absolute best ones out there, it is a very good one, full of heart and virtually every story moment is enjoyable (except toward the end with some of those idiotic morality moments), at least when related to the central narrative. The music, while not on par with Grandia 2 or the Lunar games, usually bounces between average to borderline-excellent, and the character design is bright and creative. While Justin is overall a decent main protagonist (great by and large but a complete asshat toward the end, but to be fair he largely redeems himself), his entourage is full of memorable and lovable characters (including his mother; only exception being Ratt), and the villain roster is full of fun characters as well. The only real aspect of the writing that I hated is that the game unironically does the whole “It's NEVER okay to sacrifice one life to save the world!!!” thing, and oh god it's AWFUL!! But luckily this is for like an hour or two at most. Sadly, the voice acting is extremely hit-or-miss, sometimes very good, other times either flat and lifeless or outright awkward, almost every actor reaching all three extremes. But I was really absorbed in their story, and there are quite a number of very emotional moments, along with a great ending, which I loved (particularly the post-credits bit)!
On the gameplay front, the battle system is a fun one, and very much ahead of its time. Now, the game is far from perfect once it gets going, however – For one thing the amount of NPCs, each having several new things to say after every single story moment, is nice but legitimately feels dizzying, and what some say is more interesting than others. Also, the towns are extremely hard to navigate (I legit sometimes found myself getting lost on my 7th or 8th time through), and the adventure locations (like fields, dungeons and mines) are obnoxiously large. However, long-bouts of exploration and battle are fun because you have multiple aspects of upgrade/power-up, not just EXP but also the Four Elements, and even what weapons you are using! The inventory system is, however, clunky and unintuitive, as you can not only hold a very small amount of items, and how many in total, or how many are remaining at any given time, is something you have to constantly check manually! Because of this, it is VERY easy to find an amazing item in the field, only to find out you don't have room for it, and the ONLY thing you can do is throw it away!! Graphically, while some of the locations have a really neat artistic flair, the game's 3D texturing is not particularly enjoyable, both visually or in terms of navigating through it, and the game also has a surprising amount of stutter (even the HD version, on PS4 Pro at 1080P), making the game a legitimate eyesore from time to time. However it does have nice designs, and the FMV is great. The game is vintage as hell and even kinda felt that way, in some regards, when it came out on PSX, but if you play RPGs for the Story & Writing, and also love great Music and a really fun Battle System, then I strongly recommend this game! Just remember that the first 2 hours suck, and the next 2-3 hours are extremely mediocre, so it's very much a “don't abandon it yet!!” type of game. I still might say I liked #2 better overall, but this is EONS better than #3, as well as a number of Final Fantasies!

100%PlayStation

From the moment the opening cinematic played, when the game's theme opening notes started and the music began to soar, I realized I was on to something great. That was my experience when I first played Grandia more than 20 years ago, and I am happy to say that my experience has not dimmed one bit playing it again on the Switch remastered port. If anything, I appreciate it even more now.

Made by the same team that successfully brought Anime to life in making the Lunar JRPG games, their magnum opus on the Sega Saturn and the PS1 was, and may still be, the closest homage to the adventurous spirit of Studio Ghibli classics such as Castle in the Sky. With its great story, charming cast of characters, innovative and brilliant battle system, and lovely sprite and portrait work, I can easily say that Grandia is one of the PS1's best games.

Grandia is not a perfect game. It lacks the challenge to fully push its amazing battle system, and it is comparatively linear to the great JRPGs of the era. However, it makes up for its flaws with its abundance of charm.

From its gorgeous character portraits and expressive spirits to its Ghibli-esque story and truly wonderful personal moments, the game drips with a sense of positive charm and adventure that is surprisingly unique for its time.

You will never forget the first time you cross the End of the World.

100%PlayStation

Best game.

50%PlayStation

The early development history of Japanese studio Game Arts is about as inconsistent and varied as you'd expect of a developer that started life as a computer software company. By the mid-90s, they had releases spanning a myriad of genres and systems, from mahjong Japanese home computer titles to action RPGs on the Famicom and Mega Drive. They'd find their best success yet on the Sega CD with the Lunar series—a pair of JRPG games that were both commercially and critically successful, especially in Japan. But worldwide, they're probably best known for—well, aside from their unlikely co-development of Super Smash Bros. Brawl—the Grandia series, which also started on Sega hardware before reaching western shores on the PlayStation. And in its first entry, Grandia demonstrated both the most excellent and the most mundane elements of the 5th generation RPG.

One thing you'll probably notice straight away is Grandia's laid-back, youthful energy; your first few hours in the starting town of Parm are spent playing hide-and-seek and visiting a museum. In that way, it immediately bucks the trend of many of its RPG contemporaries by forgoing the "in media res epic action scene" that many others chose to start with. Grandia establishes its low-stakes tone early on, and it's crucial to what makes the game so charming, especially in Disk 1. The premise is very simple—the plot's main driver is Justin's ambition to just go on an adventure—but instead of feeling generic or uninspired, Grandia distinguishes itself with its willingness to take its time and commit to its characters. There's no rush to jump into action here, and the world-ending threat you end up facing is not even revealed until pretty late in the game. This does mean some sections of the story might feel a bit slow or dragged out, but it also leads to some incredibly touching moments that only work because of the time the game allows to set them up. Likewise, its themes of humanity and universal connection are not necessarily revolutionary, but they're integrated into Grandia in such a genuine way that it's impossible not to be taken in by it.

This is complemented by some impressive visual design and an inspiring score—the main theme is exactly what you could imagine an adventure sounds like. But the graphical fidelity also probably contributes to one of the game's most glaring flaws: its combat and exploration pace. It's been mentioned previously that the game's plot meanders along quite leisurely, and indeed, a lot of the game's charm comes from this. But what that also means is that other elements that slow the game down are that much more impactful. Loading screens are plentiful in and out of combat, and they certainly drag out an already long game. But the actual combat is by far the biggest offender and is largely responsible for what makes Grandia feel like such a chore to play sometimes.

It's not even like Grandia has fundamentally bad combat, either; in isolation, it's a modified active time battle system that encourages players to use variety and time their attacks well to interrupt enemy movements. It's best utilized in the longer boss battles, where you have a chance to get into the nuance that its framework allows. But most battles are not boss battles, and general combat crosses into the point of boredom long before the game's conclusion. It's strange; there's no random encounters, and you don't particularly need to grind much, so you wouldn't think that monotonous combat would be that much of a detractor. But combat is so laborious, so drawn-out, that every fight feels like 10. In Grandia, you level up individual magic or weapon skills by using them, so if you want to progress your magic level, you better get ready to watch the same lengthy spell animation hundreds of times. It's extremely repetitive and requires none of the strategy that any of the boss fights do; you're basically encouraged to spam your weakest spells over and over to level up, then wait through the slow-loading post-battle screens as you mentally prepare yourself to do it all over again.

On the back of Grandia's PS1 box, it proudly mentions that the game contains over 80 hours of gameplay. It makes sense why they'd want to market the game's longevity, especially to those who were only able to get a handful of new games a year. But it's not so much something to be proud of when you realize what that time is spent doing. For every great scene, every meaningful character moment, there's a dozen unexciting battles just lurking over the horizon. It's one of the PS1's longest RPGs, and even with its admittedly slow-paced story, it rarely justifies its length. But it's hard to deny the appeal of a simple adventure game that is so unapologetically sincere as Grandia is. And when the game's characters take hold of the story, it leads to some truly memorable and wonderful moments. Savor Grandia's whimsicality when you get the chance, though; tedium is usually around the corner.

90%Nintendo Switch

Un excellent JDR d'epoque, des musiques incroyable et marquante, du tour par tour comme on aime. on en redemande.

90%Nintendo Switch

This game is excellent. If I had to pick a game to sum up the best things about 90's JRPGs, this game would come to mind. To start with the pros:

+ Great game design for the most part - No random encounters, not much grinding, good runtime, etc.
+ The active time battle system was a lot of fun, I'm surprised more RPGs haven't adopted this. The scenarios that play out in battle are fun to watch, and paying attention to timing adds a good bit of strategy.
+ Great art and sound. The pixel art is beautiful and the world kind of had a Ghibli feel. The music was also solid, and switched up battle themes enough to not get stale.

- Because of the dated inventory management, it could be a little time consuming in menus (but this is an RPG after all).
- If you are prone to seizures I would probably steer clear of this game. Lot's of harsh flashes and sudden white screens.

Story: Considering the time when this game came out, the story is great. There's the trope of doing things because 'adventure', but there is character growth that led to some really great moments with the cast. The part where Feena jumps off the airship after Justin was peak. You can tell great care went into every detail of this game. It's a classic and is among the greats of the PS1 era.

75%Emulated

Adding clever, original ideas to Chrono Trigger's on-map fights, Grandia boasts the best combat system since ATB's introduction, and in many ways feels like a natural evolution. Combat largely revolves around turn interruption, an aspect that provides strategic depth thanks in large part to an active turn order bar and enhanced by its on-map battles. Players are now encouraged to estimate factors beyond mere attack placement and resource management, from enemy distance to turn order, to time required. The combination of active decision making and quirky turn manipulating skills and status effects added layers of depth to a genre known for its passive combat. Although the game's second disc largely disposes of that style in favor of AoE spells and their use-based progression system, its ties with resource management at least kept dungeons and boss fights interesting.

Its achievements were not only mechanical, as the game injects a great dose of humor and whimsy to each of its characters, towns, and dialogue. And its plot - while not particularly innovative, is chock full of memorable moments enhanced by a largely playful, whimsical atmosphere. With this release, GameArts effectively coined a new branch of JRPG combat.

100%Sega Saturn

UPSIDES
- A lengthy, unforgettable adventure story
- Justin is one of the best gaming protagonists ever
- Sue is also one of the best side characters ever (same goes for Feena as well)
- Cast of characters all-around are just wholly memorable - even the ones who stick around very shortly
- Every town is bustling with life
- Layers upon layers of flavor text for most of the NPCs
- Fantastic combat that is distinctly turn-based, but manages to bridge the gap to action-based combat as well
- Fantastic Progression System with Weapons & Magic always creates something to work towards
- Even the Dungeons are intricately detailed with personality and unique quirks
- An incredible variety of enemies, animations and settings
- One of the greatest soundtracks ever created (not just for video games)
- Story is brilliantly paced and never does it feel like it is dragging its heels
- So many moments that will live on in my heart forever

DOWNSIDES
- Difficulty is all-around too easy, especially in areas where Save Points can recover you fully limitlessly
- Some characters could have used more Special Moves, especially Feena
- Battle animations are unskippable (which was the style at the time yes, but nonetheless adds up)
- Voice acting is very amateurishly done
- Dialogue can get very repetitive (get ready to hear "adventure" & "Justin" a lot)
- Disappointing final boss - the journey really is the destination here

OVERALL
You ever had that game, film, book, etc. that really resonated with you? Like it has literally everything you could ever love into one product? For me, that's Grandia. I don't care if I'm overselling it - to me, Grandia really is the greatest game ever made, and I don't think anything could top it. If any other game even comes close to having a fraction of charm that this game has, it would be another one of my favourites. Grandia is timeless - the voice acting may be iffy, but it's all done in earnest. And while I'd appreciate being able to skip the battle animations as they do stack after a while, it was very much the trend of the time to not have them - can't expect Grandia to have every miracle.

From beginning to end, this game captivates me. It never dulls, and it will forever have a place in my heart. I'd say it's a crime against nature that this game wasn't as successful as it could have been, but if anything, that just makes it all the more special to me.

It's MY game. My favourite game of all-time.

BEST PARTS
- Leck Mines
- Merrill Church
- Dom Ruins
- Edge Of The World
- Gumbo Volcano
- Vanishing Hill
- Doom Tower
- The Grandeur
- Saving Zil Padon
- Justin's Lowest Point

LEAST GOOD PARTS
- Tower Of Twins
- Savannah Wilderness

90%Nintendo Switch

Loved the game, even after all the time. The last third of the story was a little weird, but overall its a masterpiece.

80%PC

Main issue is really that the game is too easy and the characters are a bit too young. Story wasn't as good as I remembered from the days of playing this on Playstation and loving it. I never realized into how much of a damsel they turned Feena a third or so into the game. What a ruined character really. Still, exploration and gameplay are just fun even though they're somewhat shoddily balanced.

85%Nintendo Switch

Grandia is a certified classic JRPG. It hasn't quite aged the best, but if you can look past some aged game design and a slow start to the story you are treaded with an unforgettable adventure that really makes you feel like you've been on a continent-trotting and world-saving quest.

85%PC

Some of the ages are weird but that's a little bit part of old JRPGs yeah?
Fighting System is fun and a little RNG
Leveling up Magic and Weapons to learn abilities was fun
You don't need to grind if you are fighting most enemies and unlocking abilities

75%PC

Grandia absolutely NAILS the concept of "going on an adventure" to an extent that few, if any, other games do. The story, while it takes a while to get going (I'd say around Misty Forest, unfortunately that's past point of refund, you're just going to have to take a gamble on this, before that it's not very great) is absolutely fantastic and it has really great stories. The voice acting is yeah, it's a thing of it's time, but it works with the vibe. It also has one of the best combat systems based on interrupting enemies opportunity to attack.

Now to the less great thing, it has a few very exhausting systems that are annoying to deal with.
1. The magic progression system. The way you gain levels in magic in Grandia is by using magic. Unfortunately, not all magic schools are equal. Fire & Wind start (and keep gaining) offensive magics and are relatively easy to level. Earth starts with a defensive magic, but after a few levels of grinding you get an offensive magic, and if combined with fire magic you get explosion magic the best magic school in the game. Water however is pretty much just healiling. I got a total of ONE (not all that useful) offensive spell at my playthrough and was unable to level water past level 10 (for comparison wind & fire was at levels 25-30). And this is for your two main characters where you can start doing this early (which having played this on emulation I knew to do). For the characters you pick up later during the adventure, it just isn't worth bothering and I just kept hammering weapon skills for them. They also have a similar system for weapon skills and levels, but that is not a problem as you just use your attacks and change weapons now and then.
2. Some areas that I call "puzzle exploration areas" are incredibly exhausting. You have no map and unlike games like Final Fantasy 9 that have a rather easy to parse design, they are just unnecessarily huge and open to the point you often don't know if you're going backwards and forwards. You have a very unreliable compass to "help", but with the way most areas are designed it's often not very useful. I found myself more than a couple times screaming "WHERE IS THE EXIT? LET ME OUT OF HEEERE".
3. The inventory system is kind of ♥♥♥♥. You have a very limited amount of items (12/character) for the rest you have to stash them, but opportunities to get things FROM your stash are very rare (less so at end game) and you don't share inventory, so if you have character A use an item, they can't use an item that character B has, so say character C died and character C had the only resurrection potions, yeah - good luck. In comparison with the other two issues (and #1 especially), this one is manageable, you'll just be spending more time on inventory management than you want to.

All in all, I do recommend the game, because the story and characters are great, but just know this going in.

90%Sega Saturn

A very charming game, shot through with a sense of adventure, pathos, and (gasp!) stakes for a genre that often trades in cliches and wearisome characters. NOTE: I played the Japanese version, and cannot speak for the writing in the English-language release, but I found most PCs and NPCs well-characterized and the writing engaging. The combat can wear thin by the end due to a somewhat opaque leveling system for spells and special abilities, and the system is not as polished as it is in the sequel, but still fun. Highly ambitious at the time of it release, Grandia is a JRPG that still shines some 26 years later.

80%PC

Very heartwarming and enjoyable adventure with a cool cast, that is unfortunately let down by a very slow battle system that leaves a lot to be desired. It's got really cool ideas, but grinding out the magic types is super tedious, since the animations are very slow. And the game is easy enough to not even need all that stuff, so in the end you kinda just blaze through it while seeing the same animations constantly.

It was still a very fun time. Wish I played this earlier.

90%PlayStation

Disk 1 - 7/10
Disk 2 - 1st half - 8/10
Disk 2 - 2nd half - 9.5/10

Starts slow, but by the second disk the characters really start to grow on you. Justin and Feena's relationship develops in a natural way, and there are really well executed sad moments to go along with the really happy moments.

Playing Disk 1 only, you'd expect a very average JRPG with a meh story, but after you meet Gadwin at the 20 hour point, the characters really come to life. Once you go through all the guest party members, get the permanent 4 party team, and maybe even challenge the tower of temptation then the game really grows on you. The last 10 hours have some fantastic events, and not everything predictable.

Justin does save the world in this game (obviously), but it's not because he is a super powerful 14 year old. It's largely because of his upbeat personality, friends, and quite of bit of luck which is presented in very comedic cut scenes and dialogue.

If you decide to give Grandia a go, commit because the game picks up on disk 2. You really need the full party to enjoy the banter between characters, and you really need to unlock all your magic skills.

Tower of Temptation is also proper challenging, very satisfying win.

My only complaints are:
1. The amount of grinding needed to unlock all the moves (You unlock moves by using moves of the same type, e.g. water, but Rapp's Watsr moves are junk, so you spam useless moves a lot just to unlock all his attacks).
2. That disk 2 >> disk 1 with more cutscenes, and more events that flesh out the story.
3. Mana eggs, without magic the first few hours are just boring.

But in the end, it's worth it.

90%PC

When I went into Grandia I was expecting something like Chrono Trigger lite for some reason. Maybe cuz the characters looked slightly similar, cuz I went in entirely blind apart from a couple of glances at screenshots and seeing HappyConsoleGamer talk about it.

Now that I've finished it, I think of Grandia as its own beast, and what a beast it is.There's a lot of variety to this game. To me one of the great things this game accomplished - and hasn't been worn out by time or tropes at all - is the wonderful and often highly emotional writing of how a shounen kid dreams big of being a legendary adventurer, and by the time you finish the game he's achieved his dream - and it's all been done so gradually, so naturally, like the hour hand of a clock, that you don't even notice it happening until you directly compare the Justin at the start of the game to the Justin at the end. The rest of the cast as well, each with their own stories - I felt it was all very well done and sometimes surprisingly mature for such an anime game. Stuff like how some people aren't cut out for the adventuring life as much as others; how two people can be opposed even when they're both good guys. This game doesn't tell, it shows. Huge thumbs up on that.
Even though the story follows many tropes, particularly towards the end, it was told in a way that - even across a less-than-perfect localization - rarely (except a small part near the final act which felt unnecessarily melodramatic and made me wonder if it ought to have been localized better) felt like it was done to tick those trope's boxes. The story flows well. That's what I'm trying to say.

What also flows well is the gameplay. At first I thought the battle system was a bit much to wrap my head around, but soon enough I understood it well and now that I'm in the zone... I would love to play more RPGs with a similar battle system. Even people who outright hate turn-based combat would enjoy this at least a little. As for the exploration - as I mentioned before, this game made me talk to every NPC I came across repeatedly to squeeze every bit of dialogue out of them, and it was all worth it. I'd go off the beaten path in dungeons because the rewards usually meant something. To be honest, I got so spoiled by Grandia that I'd try repeatedly talking to NPCs in Pokemon SoulSilver, which I started a couple of days ago - and realize, "Oh, it's not Grandia. They just have the same dialogue over and over." So that's how fleshed out the world is in this game. Every town has its own personality, every little shenanigan is worth it. Everything is beautifully designed. Characters included. I love Justin's design.

Speaking of graphics, I think the HD remaster is just okay The 3D models have seen a huge upgrade compared to the PS1 version - the 2D elements, not so much. But it does have widescreen, and uses a clever trick to fill out the originally pillarboxed FMV cutscenes too. If the 2D graphics had been a bit sharper for the remaster, that would have been nice, but I don't mind too much.
The soundtrack is varied in the same way as the rest of the game. Entirely different instrumentation for different situationsm and areas - I particularly loved the battle theme against soldier enemies cuz it started with an EPIC guitar whammy bar riff. Like the environment designs, every music track helped in giving each section its own personality - augmenting them, fitting perfectly.

The voice acting in this game is absolutely shit, and if none of the voice actors here ever found work again, it wouldn't be too big a loss. But it made me cackle sometimes, and what game in 1997 had genuinely good voice acting? (Answer: Legacy of Kain).

And it all ended in one of the most challenging boss fights I've had in a game so far (I'm aware this might have been due to my doing and some fol might find it outright easy), the kind that makes me lose sleep, and makes me super proud when I finally beat it. I even told my coworker about it lol.

I don't think the game is completely fault-free, and the remaster could have stood to be a little better. But what matters to me is that I had a lot of fun playing this game. It's a very big journey. It made me cackle, explore, want to play it when I was at work, look forward to boss battles, agonize over the final boss, and be super proud when I beat it. 9/10. Now you'll be okay!

80%Nintendo Switch

Would rate an 8.5 if I could - a solid, fun adventure overall - pretty simplistic and straightforward but was a blast to play, particularly the combat. My only gripe would be some of the in-between dungeons felt a bit like padding and filler, and they came sometimes too often. And some of the English voice acting was pretty bad, particularly Mullen - hoo boy haha. Had a super fun time though, and I can't wait to play the second and third in the near future.

90%Nintendo Switch

Die Musik und das Kampfsystem ballern rein!

100%Nintendo Switch

An amazing RPG that deserves a lot more attention. An incredible cast of caracters and a battle system that holds up to this day.

70%PlayStation Vita

A pretty good game, but one that I probably would have liked better had I played it when it was new and I was 20 years younger.

The story is pretty good, starting off as "Let's just go adventure" with no real aim. While I generally prefer games that have a driving purpose from the beginning, and this one eventually has that, it is somewhat refreshing to have just an adventure. The characters, on the other hand, I find myself having a hard time relating to, especially now that I am an old man. Justin comes off as naive and childish (and I hate his hat). Sue's storyline is actually quite interesting. I enjoyed most of the rest of the cast, but I think aside from Feena will probably find them ultimately forgettable. Lastly, this game commits the one crime, common to PSX era JRPGs, that I despise- voiced cutscenes with no subtitles.

The battle mechanics are stellar, though there are a few somewhat obtuse mechanics that took awhile for me to really figure out. The world map and dungeons leave a lot to be desired, not feeling like a cohesive world and dungeons themselves being a bit too annoying. Playing with maps and a guide helps though.

In the end, I rather enjoyed the game, but after missing it for decades I don't think it would have been a big deal to never have had played it. Its on the average to a little above average for the era.

90%Nintendo Switch

A fun JRPG that starts light-hearted and gets more serious as things progress. The battle system is one of the best I've ever seen in a JRPG, and I'm surprised more games haven't taken ideas from it.

70%PC

Decent RPG that's good for newcomers.

80%PlayStation

Great jRPG with voice acting, although it's story is not realy good, it's still servicable and the gameplay makes up for it. It feels like an adventure as it's supposed to

100%Nintendo Switch

Still one of the best RPGs ever. Hopefully the bugs in the Switch version get patched soon.

90%PlayStation

Amazing RPG that I would recommend to anyone. The storyline seems pretty straightforward and simple towards the beginning, but really evolves into something much deeper by the end of the game. The gameplay itself is really where the game shines though. The battles really make the game interesting and I did not mind grinding whatsoever since the battle system was awesome. The level up and exp system were also perfect, requiring you to grind a bit, but well worth it. Soundtrack is also amazing and constantly changes throughout the game.

80%PlayStation

Trying to right this review on this website for the third time for whatever reason it didn't save. So ill take my normally written reviews and throw them at the window and be as quick as possible with this one.

Story:
JRPG Generic still interesting to be entertaining and wanting more as you play the game. Voice acting is meh but do we really care? its a PS1 game.

Gameplay:
Wonderful battle system, turns are based on a time line which can be manipulated by what type of attacks you use. Many attacks, specials and spells to acquire and use through the out the game. Skills and spells are gained by leveling elements and weapons, the more you use the sword the higher you raise that level. Spells are gained in the same way and some require leveling multiple elements. General level doesn't play a huge part in this game much. I didn't find the game to terrible challenging but making a misstep in a boss battle can cast you the fight. Otherwise this battle system i think has become one of my favorites.

Gripes:
Attack and spell animation can be lengthy and draw out long winded areas.

You spend a lot of time leveling a curtain characters stats and spells but they eventually leave your party for the whole game makes it seem like my time was wasted working on them.

The end of the story seemed to drag on a bit but i digress because the combat made playing the game more interesting than the story did for me.

Conclusion:
I wish i could of done one of my in depth overviews for this platform i feel like i could have shared a lot information to help you guys decide if you want to play this game or not. Which i totally think you should i really loved it and ill probably be playing the remaster coming to the switch. But sense i beat this one this month ill be jumping right into 2 on the switch. If you have any questions feel free to message me.

100%PlayStation

Best battle system in any RPG.

80%PlayStation 3

Fun story with a likable cast of characters. Story is a bit cliche but I enjoyed the world and sub plots along the way. Battle system is good for an older game but it's let down by long loading times before and after battles. It's always extremely easy and kind of detracts from putting any effort into buying new equipment or leveling up skills and spells, you can mostly always win with the auto button feature.

70%PlayStation

Praised by many,unfortunately there's nothing grand about this game.
It's a ok rpg, the battle system is the best aspect.

The positive

- fun battle system
- colorful and detailed graphics
- light-hearted aspect
- long dungeons
- good characters
- long story

The negative
- very very very very easy game! It's almost impossible get killed
- too linear
- "citiy-dungeon-dungeon-city" scheme
- childish
- very cliched storyline
- character leave your party suddenly
- almost no side-quests
- bad translation
- soundtrack is boring
- no replay value

graphics 8/10
soundtrack 7/10
story 7/10
character development 9/10
gameplay 7/10
fun factor 7/10

Miscellaneous

lenght : quite long game 80-100 hours
difficulty : pathetically easy even the boss
replay value : what?? No replay value here ( there's no reason aside the pure fun of play the game twice)

40%PlayStation

Dull, generic RPG. Reminded me of Lufia 1 for some reason.