Grandia now available on the PSN

Good news for old-school RPG fans, as Game Arts’ Grandia – which appeared on the Sega Saturn and PlayStation – is now avilable for you to buy at the PlayStation Network for £6.29.

If you were a Sega Saturn owner who also happened to be an RPG fan and didn’t mind going through the hassle of buying and playing imported games, then you may have come across the critically acclaimed Grandia series. How much was Grandia praised? Put it this way, the Sega Saturn version was never released outside of Japan and yet western sites and magazines such as GameSpot and Sega Saturn Magazine gave it decent sized coverage and praised it. Even Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine said that it was “arguably the best RPG for Sega’s Saturn console.”

Thankfully, those in the west who wanted to get their hands on Grandia, finally had their wish granted when it was published by Ubisoft and released on the PlayStation in Europe on March 2000. It was met with critical acclaim and holds an 89 per cent rating on metacritic.

In case you’re not aware of Grandia, the story is that:

“The player assumes the role of Justin, a young boy obsessed with becoming a great adventurer, who inherits a magic stone that leads him on an epic journey to uncover the mystery of a long lost civilization. He meets other adventurers who join him on his quest and, as he unravels the threads of the ancient legend, he draws the attention of the Garlyle Forces who devise diabolical schemes to stop him.”

Grandia rewards thinking rather than bull-rushing your opponents and most battles are won by anticipating your opponent’s moves and preventing them or at least coming up with some counter measure. Using skills increases their effectiveness and how faster you can use them.

If you want a challenging old-skool RPG that have a well-told story, enjoyable and tense battle system, some great catchy music and is generally an enjoyable RPG, then you can’t go wrong with Grandia.