Received: August 14th, 2017 / Written: July 10th-August 1st, 2019
Alternate Title: Granstream Denki: The Granstream Saga [ ⬤ ]
Alternate Title: Granstream Denki: The Granstream Saga [ ⬤ ]
Year: 1997, 1998 | Developed by: Shade | Published by: THQ
Disclaimer: Might contain (vague) spoilers
Hmmm,... I think it's time to tackle something more narratively and thematically in-depth this time around.
Images from GameFAQs
the PlayStation One vehicle Granstream Denki: The Granstream Saga in Japan that November 6th in 1997 which was released by Sony Computer Entertainment Interactive, but when it came to the localized versions the title was simplified as The Granstream Saga. The American version would be released by THQ on June 30th, 1998 with a T for Teen rating by the ESRB, while the European version wouldn't be released until February 26th, 1999 by ARC Entertainment with the United Kingdom-based ELSPA rating board (before changing their name to UKIE in 2010) targeting the game for gamers who were eleven years or older.
Intended to decimate the Allied Spirit Army's forces, the miscalculation of the operators caused a catastrophic chain reaction as Granstream tilted on its axis which caused polar ice caps to melt for it threatened to cover the planet's surface entirely with water.
As the continents began to submerge the Wise Men used the mystical fortress Airlim,
To keep the continents floating the Wise Men must recharge Airlim on a periodic basis with each of the four individual Orbs corresponding to a continent with each controlled by one of the Wise Men, and to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands each Orb had to be activated by a lifting verse spoken by a Wise Man. As the Wise Men began to age and wane they entrusted their tasks onto their descendants, and so it was for a hundred years.
Recently, however, the people of the continents have been struggling to renew their civilization, not helped by the rumors of the Wise Men disappearing and of Imperial Wizardry warships once again appearing in the sky. What's even worse is that the continents were slowly sinking even lower and getting dangerously closer to the waters.
On the continent of Shilf lived Valos and his kindhearted adopted son Eon (voiced in the American version by Ben Dardonat) who used magic stones to carve off a part of the land to delay the continent from sinking.
Just listening to that scepter sound effect is glorious
As Eon kneels over to look at a broken altar his left bracelet suddenly glows and repairs it before him to the surprise of him and Valos. The scepter, which he had since he was found as a baby, turns out to have mystical abilities.
Deciding to spend the night at the church, Eon discovers a secret compartment that leads to the basement where he finds a comb sitting on a desk.
Eon introduces himself and tells Laramee of his mission to find a girl named Arcia who's been taken by Imperial Wizardry,
It's here that she's visited by the spirit of her father Wise Man Zora and learns about her descendent status of the Wise Men and the importance of the four Orbs for the first time, for he informs her that he has been killed
With the Imperial Wizardry soldiers kept at bay by Gandor (voiced by Mona Marshall) and the other Desbat pirates, Eon and Arcia reunite with Laramee. Since the Gude Airship cannot be used, Korky transforms himself into his Spirit Beast form so that all three may ride on him.
Once they get to Arona, Arcia gets her bearings and contemplates whether to undertake her unspeakably important task while Eon asks permission from the Elder to venture into the Kilia Shrine. After being granted his permission Eon decides to see if Valos has returned home, but instead he finds a letter stating that from now on he's on his own and that he must fight for everyone's future as everyone deserves one. It's here that Eon, Arcia, and Laramee's quest to save the four continents from sinking to the waters of Granstream truly begins, but can they find a permanent solution before it's too late?
Left: Eon engaging in his first battle | Right: Tranquil night-time Arona
In the top-down action-oriented adventure game The Granstream Saga you take control of Eon who can move in any one of eight directions, and you can rotate the camera clockwise with the R1 shoulder button or counterclockwise with the L1 shoulder button if you feel the need to and to reset to its default North position simply hold down both of these buttons until it readjusts itself. During these moments the 𝖷 button (alternatively with the L2 shoulder button) lets you select an option, inspect something, open chests, and talk with characters, you cancel with the ⭘ button (or with the R2 shoulder button), the ☐ button enables you to cast magic depending on which spell it is and if you have the requisite amount of MP, and with the △ (or Start) button you can access your menu.
Left: Good thing Jeel has got no peripheral vision, makes sneaking around the Gude easy!
Right: I don't know, what is that, crystal?
The menu has six options: the Item option will let you look at your present inventory and the quantity you presently have for any item, in the Equip option you can select to use the new (and preferably more potent) weapons, armor, and shields that you acquire, the Magic option lets you select which magic to use during the normal mode and during battle mode, the Status option allows you to see Eon's current stats, the Scepter option lets you peruse the items you've fixed and replicated with it up to this point, and finally there's the redundant-sounding Option option where you can adjust the message speed or press Reset to take you back to the title screen.
Left: Yeesh, what a disorganized workspace 😑 | Right: Video games had only been around for over thirty years when Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was given that prestigious award--that's enough time to make a Game of the Century award, ain't it?
Once Eon engages in combat with an enemy his scepter magically conjures up his equipment with the action being viewed from an over the shoulder perspective. The ☐ and △ function the same as they do in normal mode, but during battle holding down the ⭘ button will have Eon hold the shield in front of him for defense while the weapon he wields is used with the 𝖷 button (with the swing position dependent on which direction button you held). You can move normally or double tap the left or right directions to quickly sidestep to potentially avoid an enemy attack, double tap down to swiftly back up, or double tap up to have Eon charge towards an enemy and possibly damage it with his shield in the process (provided you didn't get damaged beforehand). Later on as you gain specific weapons Eon will learn special attack moves that will cause more damage; once the enemy's health is fully depleted the battle is over and it's back to normal mode. The only options you can use while in the menu during battle are Item, Equip, Magic, and Status.
Left: Such a nice and breezy place | Right: Swing to the left
There are two different point statuses: HP and LP. HP represent your hit points and once it's fully emptied an LP will be expired, while LP represent life points which is basically how many opportunities you have for the game is over once all your LP is gone. Throughout the course of the game your HP and LP value will increase any time you gain a level, and to replenish what you lost you can use your healing magic, consume any kind of herb, or feed Korky a Venatawa Fruit provided he's fully sated once he eats it (anything less than that and nothing will happen). Regardless of what level you're at, the highest you can raise your MP is at 999, but be sure to use your magic conservatively.
Left: Back in the Wise Men's Grave again | Right: Found the lifting verse for Arcia to recite
If you wish to save your progress you must stand beside a green crystal (which will restore your health) or speak with the priest inside the church, in any one of fifteen available slots in the memory card (you'll know which spots are occupied if it says "Other Data"). Despite having come out after the PlayStation's analog controller came out in 1997 The Granstream Saga has got no analag support, not that you'll really need it for this game--well, in the Japanese and American versions anyway. When I looked up the back of the European version's jewel case online, I was shocked to find that the analog controls are utilized there (or so it claims).
Look, everybody, the Great Papyrus font! 💀 NYEH HEH HEH HEH!--also, British English instead of American English, hence "Defence" as opposed to "Defense"
I just find it very bizarre that the analog support was added only after the fact, as they were clearly not in mind when Shade worked on this game originally. One notable PlayStation One game that took advantage of the analog controls early on was Argonaut Software's Croc: Legend of the Gobbos/Croc! Pau-Pau Island; it wasn't exactly required in order to play it, but it did enhance the experience once you learned to accustom to them. The difference between playing with the normal versus the analog setup is like air and water, it made a huge difference; I don't believe The Granstream Saga would share that similar quality, aside from it being smoother on the thumbs, that is.
Left: Such a cool boss warp sequence | Right: Charge!
The Granstream Saga's soundtrack is really good, it perfectly suits the mood and atmosphere, and is effectively composed. A quartet of video game music composers provided music for this game: first up we have the brilliantly talented Masanori Hikichi and Miyoko Kobayashi (credited as Miyoko Takaoka in this game), both of whom composed the music for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² System conversion of Masaya Games' Langrisser, were among Cube's six "sound manipulators" for Tonkin House's Ys IV: Mask of the Sun, did some uncredited work for Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and composed arguably the best Super Famiscore ever with Quintet's Tenchi Sōzō/Terranigma. 😃 If you have any familiarity with the last game's music, then you'll no doubt recognize some of Hikichi and Kobayashi's sound style, and fortunately the YouTube channel xenogame managed to identity which composer did which theme (something I highly appreciate; thanks, xenogame, if you're still around).
Left: Well, it does roll off the tongue as easily, you've got to admit that | Right: Looking around for Obsidian to collect as a prisoner
On Hikichi's side of things there's the evocative title theme, the friendly shop theme, the ominous lava cave and incredibly eerie muscle layer themes, the menacing Vangel Battleship theme, the forebodingly pressing theme for the Imperial Fortress, the mysterious-sounding Kilia Shrine theme, Geltania's forlorn-sounding troubled theme, the spiritual Spirit King chamber theme, the unwaveringly sinister final area theme, the normal battle theme, and even the absolutely epic and relentlessly imposing final boss battle theme. He even composed my favorite song in the game, the spiritually haunting yet soothing theme for when Eon's transported to the Orb room; it's so ethereal in nature I can't help but find it very effective.
Left: Block that mimic's treasury projectiles | Right: Crisis in Pikshim
Meanwhile Hikichi's frequent composing partner Kobayashi provided the music for the sad-sounding Arona during its troubled condition which becomes an emotionally resonant cue, the mystical theme for the Wise Men's Cemetery at the start of the game, the mysteriously dark theme for the underground cemetery, one of the recurring dungeon themes, the tension-ridden theme for whenever anything dire is about to occur, the Spirit Ruins theme, and she did the themes for Arcia and Korky--the former of which sounds simultaneously sad yet comforting while the latter is bouncy and upbeat (but not to the point of being distractingly so) and only heard once. Kobayashi also composed another theme but was never used in-game.
Left: Eon restoring the skull's missing eye with his scepter | Right: Battling an imperial mech
The third composer, Takako Ochiai, made her video game audio-based foray with this game and would go on to provide music for the Japan-only PlayStation One-exclusive Quintet/Zeque collaboration Planet Laika (Studios...… sorry) and Hudson Soft's Blender Bros. on the Game Boy Advance. She provided the optimistic relieved theme for Arona, both troubled and relieved themes for Pikshim, the adventurous air faring theme for the Gude Airship, the interior of Kilia Shrine, the breathtaking floating continent theme, the pensively sad theme for Tulku and Orkul, the intensely driven boss battle theme, an unused theme that sounds like it would have been reserved for an ending scenario, as well as music for both end rolls which is rewarding to listen to (the second one being a wonderful suite). Ochiai also composed Laramee's theme which is regal with a tragic undertone behind it (what kills me is that it's only played the first time you meet her) and the theme for when you're in the room with Airlim, the first few notes reminding me of the first few notes of the map theme by Kohei Tanaka in Matrix Software's second Alundra game.
Left: Time the color warp right | Right: Walking past some obelisks
And speaking of Kohei Tanaka, even he provided some music for The Granstream Saga, albeit not to the extent the other three have; regardless, the talent behind the music for Copya System's Lennus (the first of which Enix released in America as the hugely underrated Paladin's Quest) and Matrix Software's Alundra (the first of which was also originally made in 1997) series still shines. His music is largely heard during the FMV cutscenes which is orchestral and movie-like, but unfortunately the FMV audio volume is slightly lower than the in-game audio volume (so be sure to raise the volume of your TV if it isn't at an acceptable level already), and for awhile I was under the impression that it was the only music he did here. But, perusing xenogame's videos led me to learn that he did two in-game themes as well: he did Slayzer's theme plus the rather morbid-sounding relieved theme for Geltania (his brand of music always manages to stick with you long after you heard it). Amazing! 😄 It just comes to show how easily each composer's styles blended and complemented each others' well.
Left: Levante preparing to dish out a wind-based attack | Right: Bell announcing the departed
There are three different types of weapons that Eon can use: the daggers are swift but weak, the axes are slow but strong, while the swords are more balanced which makes them the ideal weapon of choice. If you defeat an enemy without sustaining damage or using items or magic there will appear a Scepter Force which contains a random item inside, and you have a choice to open it right then and there or have it memorized for something potentially better; be warned that if you choose the latter option and sustain even a tiny bit of damage you'll lose your chance to open the Scepter Force and must start anew. You can buy items in shops or sell them at pawn shops (obviously not the plot-essential items), the scepter can even magically repair broken pieces of metal and have Eon learn magic spells whenever ancient mystery stones are acquired, it also has you gain levels after certain key moments which is unconventional for the genre but very helpful in the long run.
Left: So an NPC comments on Eon's red hair, and it's cool, but an NPC comments on Tomba having pink hair, and it's weird... Fiction logic, am I right? | Right: Gandor taking the rudder
After Shade's inaugural title Granstream Denki: The Granstream Saga came out they did create more games, such as Brightis and Project Arms, but unfortunately much of this developer's content has been relegated to be Japan-only even to this day. Aside from today's game the only other Shade title to see a Western release was their 2000 PlayStation 2-based Sorcerous Stabber Orphen as Orphen: Scion of Sorcery, and according to GameFAQs there is one other game that's going to be released here developed by them for the Nintendo Switch this year as a port of their 2017 PlayStation Vita title Gun Gun Pixies... I don't know. 😕
Left: Venturing in the lava cave | Right: Blocking
I remember finding out about The Granstream Saga over a decade ago on Wikipedia when I looked up what other games Quintet worked on (more on that later), there was always a related link to that page. I thought of trying to obtain a copy on eBay five years ago, but the problem was the game's availability--or more specifically, the availability of the American version. See, whenever I searched for it there either weren't many results or it mainly showed the European version, and owning an American PlayStation One it was obviously not going to work. So whenever I went on eBay to order games every once in awhile I would see if the American copy was there, but every time I looked the results were more or less the same.
Left: Enemy in defense position | Right: Korky the audience surrogate (no wait, isn't Eon supposed to represent the surrogate audience?)
In 2017 I got more PlayStation One games than I usually get during a year: I caught up with Matrix Software's two Alundra games back to back, played SCE Japan Studio's Ape Escape for the first time since before I moved to America in 2002, I got Whoopee Camp's Tomba! for my 26th birthday (and received its sequel that Christmas), I got my NTSC copy of Argonaut Software's Croc 2, Taito's Bust-A-Move 2 Arcade Edition and Bust-A-Move '99 since I was in a puzzler gaming mood, and this game. One August day I searched for The Granstream Saga and there it was: the American edition, finally! I didn't care if the jewel case was a bit chipped at the front, I could not let this opportunity pass, not to mention it had an acceptable price tag. Luckily everything else (the back, the manual, and the game disc) was in good condition, and when I finally played it I thought it was really good.
Image from GameFAQs, cropped by me
Before I divulge more of my opinion on the game, I'd like to bring something to everyone's attention. The back of the American jewel case claims that the game is at least forty to sixty hours in length; having played through The Granstream Saga four times (once in 2017, once last year, and twice this year) I can guarantee that what THQ is suggesting is a blatant exaggeration. I'm not sure how they came up with those numbers; it doesn't help that the game lacks a time clock so you have to keep a mental count, but in my most recent playthrough I played it in twentysomething nonconsecutive hours in the span of two days. For a game to be sixty hours long is ridiculous, it's not possible unless you're lost or go around in circles for a long amount of time, which is not the case here since I found it easy to follow. Even if you took thirtysomething hours or somewhere in the teens range, it's still nowhere close to that length.
Left: Well, danger does come with the territory in the action-oriented adventure genre, can't imagine a game where that isn't entailed | Right: Cue stiff rotating blown upward pose
Now let's do a head count: we have Ryōji Akagawa as producer, whose other producing credits involve ARC Entertainment's Arc the Lad and my all-time favorite isometric adventure game and Software Creations title Solstice II/Equinox; it was written by Tomoyoshi Miyazaki (who previously wrote the story for Nihon Falcom's Ancient Ys Vanished two-parter, Quintet's inaugural game Actraiser/ActRaiser and its much maligned action-heavy in-name only sequel as well as SoulBlader/SoulBlazer and Tenchi Sōzō/Terranigma) and Masami Ohkubo (who would be a script programmer for Quintet and Zeque's Planet Laika); Production I.G providing the cutscene animations;
Left: First enemy you face in the Stalagmite Castle | Right: Didn't you get the memo? Korky is a SPIRIT BEAST
we have composers Masanori Hikichi and Miyoko Kobayashi who also did the music for Quintet's Nintendo 16-bit swansong and master composer Kohei Tanaka among the four video game composers involved; and finally there's the executive producer Akira Satou who has executive produced a lot of PlayStation One games like ARC Entertainment's Arc the Lad, Yuke's' Hermie Hopperhead: Scrap Panic, Nana OnSha's PaRappa the Rapper, Media.Vision's Wild Arms, Matrix Software's Alundra, Prokion's Legaia Densetsu/Legend of Legaia, and (weirdly enough) Game Design Sweden AB's Kula World/Roll Away/KulaQuest. With this much pedigree involved, how could anyone not be excited? These are like the ingredients of a dream team in the making! 😃 It's not perfect, but it's still a good game. 
Left: One of the game's more disturbing areas, design-wise | Right: Occasionally you'll fight enemies that fit right in this creepy setting
Even though The Granstream Saga is in 3D, I do appreciate how vastly colorful it is; though that may contribute to the fact that there isn't much focus on shading and lighting regardless which orientation the camera is facing, and I like how there are solidly colored filters to give a sense of atmosphere during certain moments (like the dark blue in nighttime Arona, green when Eon uses the Magic of Translating, and red during the red alarm of the Vangel Battleship). While the camera is transfixed on Eon the majority of the time, during certain dialogue sequences there were a few moments when I felt the camera movements to be experimental (remember, this was the mid '90s when 3D possibilities were being explored); that said, though, there is a brief moment early in the proceedings that involves a creepily effective POV shot of an enemy slowly approaching and about to attack Eon.
Left: Hergezod | Right: Arcia being taken to a place to recite the lifting verse
One thing of note with this game is that none of the human characters have faces on them, and the way I see it there are one of two ways of viewing it: on one hand it could be viewed as technologically backwards considering the previous year's human characters in 3D games such as Capcom's Biohazard/Resident Evil, Core Design's Tomb Raider, and Toys for Bob's Pandemonium!/Magical Hoppers, as primitive as they might look by today's standards, all had facial textures, which makes seeing Spirit Beasts Korky and Karok with eyes a bit double take-worthy when they show up; my guess is that Shade's CG artists didn't want to bungle the faces, given their transition from 2D to 3D. By the same token, though, it does make this game feel distinctive from the other 3D titles at the time as you can visualize what the characters' faces (who do not have dialogue-based profiles) look like.
Left: Fighting an imperial wizard | Right: Battle in a red alert situation
I think what makes up for that is that the human characters do have textures otherwise on their person, the character models are still well-made, I like the gradient color scheme, the animation is remarkably polished and fluid for 1997 (especially Eon's attack animations), and the normal camera is fixed on Eon through and through and remains on the same level regardless of whether he's on the stairs or not.
Left: Love is all everyone needs | Right: Magic of Translating
I found the world designs by Hiromasa Ogura to be very interesting: all four of the continents that you venture in have got a unique shape and design to them, the Stalagmite Castle has a fascinating design as it's titled at a 90 degree angle (the first time I played it was like a visual mindfudge), the muscle layer's aesthetic is genuinely creepy with the pulsating textures, I like the sizzling lava effect of the lava caves (as cheesy as it might look when you rotate the camera), I was impressed with the battle area stretching and contracting here and there during the battle against Hergezod, and even though you only battle one enemy at a time I like how Eon and the monster in question shrink to a larger-sized version of the current spot that you are at. Geltania is an arid place and there is a sad and lonely feeling about it, Arona has a breezy look about it with the windmills and that one fountain in the end, and Pikshim's color scheme is frigid.
Left: Coming face to face with the Earth Dragon | Right: Uhh, Korky, why are you all so serious all of a sudden?
The Granstream Saga has a good cast of characters, all designed by Takayuki Gotō: Eon is a likable protagonist; the Desbats' second in command, Gandor, is basically the muscle and has got good charisma; the character Slayzer reminded me so much of Chester Stoddart from Nihon Falcom's Ys III: Wanderers from Ys in terms of ambiguity and where his loyalties lie, never knowing what he's going to do next which manages to evoke an imposing air about him at times; Korky is my favorite character, yeah he's a bit of a comic relief but I never found him to be grating or obnoxious and whenever he adds levity he is endearing about it.
YAY, Korky is best bir--SPIRIT BEAST! 😄
What's great is that Korky is the face of the game in the memory card screen, and he has one of my favorite lines from the game,
Left: Special attack | Right: Going against the flow
now that is not to say that Arcia isn't well-written either, for she is vital to Eon's quest to save the continents as she is patient, kind, and giving, but to a fault--she can get profusely apologetic and self-blaming whenever Eon gets in trouble or if someone gets hurt, but is well-poised when it comes to reciting the lifting verse and does put up with Laramee's tendencies later on. Arcia's strongest moment (even if the scene in of itself is one I roll my eyes at for its predictable outcome) is when she stands up for her beliefs at a sermon with the Kel believers where she states that blaming others for things outside their control giving a false sense of comfort and the only way to survive is by sticking together, which does have a ring of truth to it. But regardless, Laramee and Arcia are endearing and likable in their own right.
It's reminiscent of Nihon Falcom's two Ancient Ys Vanished games and Brandish franchise in that regard
During certain conversations--and when visiting the shop--the important characters' profiles would show up sometimes with varying emotions, which I felt to be a nice touch.I think Tomoyoshi Miyazaki told a well-crafted story here, as per usual, although there a few points that didn't gel well with me personally (it was also written by Masami Ohkubo, so I have no idea who did what segment), but more on that later. The in-game and cutscene dialogue were translated by two different people: I have no problem the translated lines of dialogue by Angelo Grillo for the cutscenes, they do fit the narrative and current situation but the dialogue does tend to either be spoken softly or drown out the background music, and as for the in-game dialogue it was translated by Maya Haller who up to this point only had quality assurance-based testing credits for games like Sculptured Software's The Ren & Stimpy Show: Time Warp, Halestorm's Madden 95, and Unexpected Development's Sports Illustrated Golf Classic.
Left: Water Dragon is down, but not for long | Right: Shielding myself from being burnt
For being Haller's first (and only) video game translation it's largely competently well-done, though I found there to be plenty of grammatical flubs, making me wonder if there was some confusion behind the scenes. To go over some examples: there is a Wise Man named Zora, but at one point someone identifies him as "Zorra", the first boss' name is spelled differently before facing him versus once you're given the message that you defeated him, the area name is "Pikshim" but the title card and map identify it as "Pixim", there is one isolated instance when a character's name and colon is separated by a misplaced quotation mark, whenever you enter Ziruas' basement in Volcos the title card identifies it as "Jilluous' Basement" (likely in a spelling versus Japanese pronunciation perspective), there are a few sentences that are finished but lack a period, during one point after a line of dialogue is spoken the game freezes for a sec which causes said line to be reiterated,
Left: Ominous | Right: Masamune
And since I brought up Quintet's name plenty of times, I may as well bring up that because plenty of people who worked on this Shade game previously handled Quintet fare (for one example, the director Kōji Yokota previously did the graphic design for Actraiser and SoulBlader) there are those who believe that The Granstream Saga is the fourth (albeit unofficial) entry in Quintet's Gaia trilogy while there are those that believe it to be more of its entity that just so happen to share the aforementioned series' thematic qualities.
Speaking of games that fibbed about being forty hours long in the back of the American box...
It's more than I can say for the middle chapter Gaia Gensōki, which I do consider to be really good despite its occasional plot holes, but when it came to the American version Illusion of Gaia Nintendo hovered over the entire localization process (solely because they wanted another action-adventure game under their name) which resulted in a significantly inferior experience because of the forcibly altered difficulty structure and downplayed story compared to the original (and let's not forget how the main hero expressed shame towards his cousin simply for grieving and that poorly timed and thought out tone deaf pun afterwards, both of which I felt was in extremely poor taste and took me out of the game). I did like the American version a lot at one point, but ever since I imported the original Super Famiversion five years ago I simply can't find myself as enthusiastic about Illusion of Gaia anymore knowing its original status and find little reason to revisit that version again. At least with Terranigma, which Nintendo published for Europe, they trusted it as it was so they left it alone which I wish they did for Gaia. But that's a deep rabbit hole for another time--wait, do I... want to go down that deep a rabbit hole? 😨
So what don't I like about this game or feel it could've been improved upon? Nitpicks first: the game disc doesn't double as a soundtrack which is too bad since I like its music, and whenever you finish a battle and return to bird's eye mode the dungeon music starts again instead of resuming right from where it left off; I would think that people learned from the 16-bit era, but between this game and Prokion's Legend of Legaia they're still repeating that trend. I've already mentioned how it lacks a time clock so you have to maintain a manual or mental count of how long you've played, though in terms of difficulty it's not very high on challenge (though there are a couple of annoying enemy types, in particular the mimic chests) when it comes to the battles as I never once got a game over (even during moments in my first playthrough when I was ill-equipped) even during boss fights--though I'm not sure whether that says more about the game's structure or my twenty-plus year experience of gaming skills--especially since you can hold the shield ahead of you to defend yourself or quickly dodge to the side or back up quickly.
What the hell was it with 1997 action-adventure games and abusive father subplots? Lenar did the same thing with Ganpuru: Gunman's Proof, but in that one it was the main character receiving the abuse and done for "comedy" which I felt was in extremely poor taste; even Alundra didn't go that far
So about the things in the story I didn't like, they're not major but I didn't think highly of them: the first occurs when Roddy returns to his father Dougal after Valos magically transports the two back to Arona, and when Roddy doesn't show gratitude to Eon Dougal bops Roddy in the back of the head. Ummm, what am I supposed to make of that other than Dougal seems to be a neglectful arse? Though considering Roddy tells Eon at one point that his father doesn't have time for him anymore, it seems likely. And since it's not brought up again or called into question or even followed through, what was the point?
"How dare you question our subjective view on what we believe to be objective! Off with her head!"
In the town of Pikshim there's been a split between people over the cult Kel religion where they worship its deity Levante (who is not as he seems). When Eon and Arcia decide to look into it there's a sermon held by Selela where she states that the only ones to receive salvation by Levante from the sinking continents will be those who believe and worship in him while anyone else is not worth salvaging which is when Arcia speaks out and stands up for her beliefs. I may have commended this being Arcia's strongest moment, but we've seen scenes like this before: someone makes delusional statements which the audience seems to buy into, one person tries to apply sensible logic and reasoning to the indoctrinated and/or brainwashed crowd, but they don't listen until it's too late. I actually rolled my eyes the first time I got to this part because I knew what the outcome would be (and I don't want to roll my eyes at games from this genre), though the way the Kelsians act like complete arseholes afterwards I felt to be a little too on the nose.
Once you choose your subjective answer, it cannot be unchosen
But knowing that this old man is the mayor does make you answering one of the choices of your opinion of him to a little child
SAY WHAAAAAAAAAT?????? 😲
kind of awkwardly weird and bizarre when you learn that the mayor who looks like he could be his (great) grandfather is his father. He can't have Methuselah Syndrome and be a lot older than he appears to be, so I'll just presume that he's adopted which is the only way that can make any sense. 😕Now back to the positives as they far outweigh the negatives. Even though you can only fight one monster at a time, the gameplay is intuitive and there is an arcade-like feel to it when it comes to perusing dungeons and engaging in battles (if that makes sense); there are mimic chests, yes, but luckily if you have a trained eye you can differentiate the real one from the fake one. This game even has a series of well-thought out puzzles in these dungeons where the solution might take a bit to solve the first time around, and be sure to check every crate and barrel for you never know if you may find something of value.
Left: Cyclone attack | Right: Warlock about to protect itself
The very final segment of this game is when things start to get progressively dark and twisted to almost or about on par with Alundra levels of dark and twisted (if not more so, which is saying something), but the biggest shock is where it goes. This game has two different endings, but the condition in which you choose is for lack of a better term traumatizing for it's a position no one wants to be put in. 😰 To explain more would be doing this game a huge disservice, it must be witnessed firsthand to be believed. While it would be easy to reload from the last save and choose differently from there, I feel that would cheapen the experience so I elect to start over and choose differently then to get the full effect; one of the many reasons to come back and play the game and I think people who played it would agree. Major props for that level of risk-taking, Shade.
Left: Cold temperatures | Right: Black whirlwind
Overall I enjoyed The Granstream Saga, it was satisfying in terms of theme-driven action-oriented adventure fare and I like coming back to it once in awhile. While I do personally like the original Alundra more (and I don't just mean because I played it first and because it's entirely 2D but because of how absolutely compelling it is as a whole) I will admit that it's heavy dark (which I imagine contributes to that game's virtually forgotten status nowadays) while this game is easier to revisit due to its difficulty and tone being more palatable by comparison.
Left: Gudelzepher time | Right: Magic of Granstream
I may not consider today's game to be a Gaia game nor do I think it holds a candle to the best in the trilogy, but I do think it's a good game in its own right and well worth playing--though if I did count it, I think it's better than Illusion of Gaia but no better than Gaia Gensōki. If you were curious about this game, I recommend it especially if you like theme-driven games, and I wish you luck if you're looking for the American version (don't let THQ's name deter you, don't judge a game simply because of a publishing company's involvement) if you live in America but if you live in Europe you might have an easier time procuring the PAL copy as it seems like there's more of that version available than the NTSC version. With enjoyable gameplay, likable characters, a solid amount of replay value, and a shocker of a final act, The Granstream Saga is a story worth being engrossed in. 😃
My Personal Score: 8.0/10
d(^-^)bTO EACH THEIR OWNd(^-^)b
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HA! Super Famibutton colors, love it! 😄
● For this review I took 558 screenshots of this game, that's not even a joke (I usually don't take anywhere near that many screenshots for the sake of a review); in the review the number of screenshots I used from this game was (including the cropped title and end as well as the four elemental Orbs I joined in one collective image) 143. 😬 …... I think I need to review simpler games for awhile, I scare myself sometimes. 😳
● I realize after all this time why I haven't tackled the middle chapter of Quintet's Gaia trilogy in my blog and why I might not rush to do so (even though a part of me really wants to): it's not the fanbase or the fact that people might not like what I have to say in regards to my criticism of the American version, but it's because reviewing it would be the equivalent of a rabbit hole and if I dive deep then I fear that I may not come out the same.
● Theatrical movies I've seen recently and my thoughts: Danny Boyle's Yesterday, very charming and lighthearted feel-good movie, and a good love letter to the Beatles; Jon Watts' Spider-Man: Far From Home, really great follow up to Homecoming (maybe better), Tom Holland still rocks it as Peter Parker and Spider-Man and I feel he's grown in the role, I liked the chemistry he had between Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio and Zendaya's MJ, I liked that the action took place in various parts of Europe, and that cameo, oh my God (I haven't grinned this hard in a movie in a long time); finally PIXAR's first fourquel Toy Story 4, I admit I had my doubts when it was announced (how can you possibly continue after Toy Story 3 ended the series on a perfect note?), but in spite of my doubts in the past I really enjoyed the latest installment as I had a good time, it was great to be reunited with these characters again, and the new characters were engaging as well (Keanu Reeves was hilarious). 😃
Thank you for reading my review, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think (neither spam nor NSFW allowed); hope you have a great day, take care! 😃
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HA, take that, Orkul mayor, that's what you get for being a stingy oaf!
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