Final Fantasy is a tough act to follow, and even though Grandia 2 isn't superior to Square's good looking RPG, it manages to show a lot of spunk against even the biggest competition. Brought over from the Dreamcast, Grandia 2 looks good but suffers from some extreme slowdown issues. During the exploration of towns and dungeons, you'll find a 3D, top-down view that can be rotated to allow views of items and hidden paths. Something along the lines of 'Okage,' but with more of an anime feel. Character models have a strong anime feel to them, and the pop-up dialog boxes with each character's facial expression help make up for the limited amount of CG cut-scenes. There are good quality CG scenes, but nothing on the level of Final Fantasy. Battles are very cool to watch. Unlike the lineup-style fights we see so often, monsters will move around constantly and you can also reposition characters for maximum defense or attack. At first, all the activity during battles can be overwhelming, but the more you come to understand the H.U.D. and the different actions available to characters, a battle becomes something you look forward to. Even outside of battles, lots of interesting touches can be found in the levels. Objects can be manipulated for various effects in towns and elsewhere, and little cues for movement and exploration help make the overall experience intuitive and fun. NPC interaction is a huge part of the game, and there are a lot of scripted scenes that will have you reading through pages and pages of dialog. I didn't like that you're required to read everything at a snail's pace though, without the option to push a button and quick-page through dialogs.

The music is excellent, with lots of different styles that never sound out of place. With no small debt to Lunar, the main female part is cast as a mystic with an enchanting song, which is a very pretty tune indeed. The music always complements the environment, from regal church hymns to bouncy bar jingles.

Grandia 2 and its predecessor were really the first significant RPG titles to land on Dreamcast, and were much needed to satisfy RPG fans who owned that console. It was received well, especially without any real competition on home turf except maybe Skies of Arcadia. Today on PS2, we have a few great RPG titles and other runner-up titles that may or may not tweak your fancy. So, Grandia 2 is probably timed well to be for PS2 almost what it was for Dreamcast. An honest-to-goodness RPG, in the grand old tradition. A very likable hero, a tender young maiden, a battle system to end all battle systems, and a plot that really delivers.

From the beginning of the story, we're following Ryudo, a Geohound who takes on odd jobs and fights monsters to stay afloat. He's definitely cast as the strong silent type, tough on the outside and soft on the inside. Sure, you can gripe about this being such a stereotypical RPG hero, but Ryudo is likable no matter what. He pals around with a wisecracking eagle, and is just a cool character, if you ask me. He hooks up, for better or worse, with Elena. She is a Songstress in The Sisters of Granas, a religious order that unleashes a terrible evil on the land. Of course, since all this happens on Ryudo's watch, he takes it upon himself to fight this evil force intent on taking over the world. A cast of good and bad characters will join and oppose Ryudo and Elena, which again is fairly predictable but very well done. In fact, one can try to paint a picture of Grandia 2 as a copycat and write it off as a poor imitator of other more successful franchises, but there's so much good stuff here that you'll definitely want to put this on your 'must-play' RPG list. It's a very linear game, but if you like a well-made RPG, this is one to check out.

First on the list of cool features is, and I exaggerate not, the best battle system I've ever seen in an RPG. Everyone complains, gripes and moans about random battles, but Grandia 2 does battles so right you'll be tracking monsters down just to get into a scrap. The mechanics of it can wait, but the appeal from a gameplay side is that battles never feel formulaic. Timing is everything and little differences in placement of monsters and players mean you'll never fight exactly the same battle twice. Final Fantasy X added the ability to see upcoming moves in battle, which is a great feature, but trust me when I say it only comes close to the benefit of structuring battle as Grandia 2 does. When battles are over, you'll find that developing your character is also a big part of the game. Just earning experience points isn't enough here. Each time you win in battle, you'll earn both Magic and Special Coins. Using these, sometimes in conjunction with special items, characters can level up abilities, add new abilities and grow in the direction you choose for them. It's similar to the Materia system for FF7 where the party shared a common pool and could swap back and forth. Except here, when coins are spent, they're out of circulation and used to increase one character's abilities. So, you have the chance to create a well-balanced team or overload one or two characters to a ridiculous degree. Having the choice is something RPG fans will love. Various aspects of each character can be affected, including attack moves, magic spells and character attributes. There are plenty of chances to fight monsters, but Grandia 2 also lets you avoid monsters while exploring areas. There's nothing new about the story or setting here, but seeing experimental RPG titles like Orphen fall short, I'm tempted to say there's still plenty of mileage in the tried and true-blue RPG formula. And in fact, Grandia 2 comes out ahead because of the excellent battle system and party development that complements instead of bogging down the story.

Being able to avoid random battles altogether is like the Holy Grail of some RPG gaming circles, but one nasty little side effect of avoiding battle is that you either face watered down enemies or get your butt kicked constantly. Grandia 2 doesn't force battles on you, except in areas where a confrontation is essential to moving the story along. So, because they chose not to water down the enemies you'll face, numerous save points help to avoid the scenario where you work up a good party, skip a few battles and gather some booty only to get stomped somewhere deep in the dungeon and have to replay it all over again. I will say that for most people, fighting the battles is key to developing characters, but you can avoid fighting many of the smaller foes and speed through the game. During the first few battles, you'll win without too much trouble, but only by mastering the battle system will you truly come out on top in the later rounds. Don't worry, it's lots of fun.

I've been promising to explain what makes the battle system great, so here goes. Did you ever wish that you could do the kind of things in an RPG that you can do in a fighting game? Like, cancel attacks and dodge to avoid oncoming enemies? Ever get tired of watching your fighter run out, strike a blow and then jump back into the lineup to wait her turn for the next round? If so, you can imagine how nice it was to see the interactive and customizable battle system in Grandia 2. When you think of canceling an attack in a game like 'Dead or Alive' you're thinking of nailing the other guy before he nails you, completing a block before you're hit. In Grandia 2, with the help of the IP (Initiative Point) system, you can sometimes cause an enemy attack to fail and even prevent yourself from being attacked at all. So, if it weren't enough to be able to avoid attacks, savvy players can win points from battles without being hurt in the process. Basically, a slider that shows you and the monster(s) appears at the bottom of the screen during battle, and there are several key points. Once you or a monster reach the first point, you can choose an action. A little later, at another key point the action is executed. This cycle is repeated over and over until the battle finishes. But, since there's time between these two points, if you execute a special attack or magic spell on a monster before it can reach execution, you'll cancel its move! This is good stuff, but it works both ways. So, you'll always be watching the progress of your IP gauge, deciding which monster to attack and which attack to use. Special Attacks, those that can cancel moves, aren't as powerful as other attacks. And, you'll also have to watch monsters to see their intent. In another 'neato' feature, Grandia 2 has a dialog for monsters that shows what they are planning to do, and which party member they plan on attacking. You can decide to attack monsters head on, save an ally or have that ally try to move out of the way, but this is all stuff you really can't do in other RPG titles. The battles are so interesting, and they involve you in a way that makes for more creative play. It's possible just to put characters on autopilot and even put the entire party on auto, but most gamers will really enjoy the level of detail they can see during battles. It's like all the good things about RTS gameplay with the more active style of an RPG battle, something akin to Square's ATB system but with much more interaction on your part. It can seem difficult at first, but once you see how involved you can be in battles, you'll find it's really not that complex to fight a good fight. And, once the battle is over, the fun is just beginning. Planning character growth and deciding when to cash in your Magic or Special Coins is another good feature of the game, but it relates much more to strategy in gameplay than mechanics. Upgrading is as simple as navigating the menu and selecting what quality you'd like to augment for that character.

The only downside of Grandia 2 in my eyes is that it seems to run and load pitifully slow. For a game that had development time across 2 titles on Dreamcast and then a transition to a more powerful console, it really feels like an old PlayStation RPG loading on the original PS console. Not sure why this couldn't have been cut down or eliminated altogether, since the graphics aren't really cutting edge. But, if you can look past this and the fairly derivative storyline, you'll find that the guts of this game are a RPG fan's dream. Spend a couple hours with Grandia 2 and you're hooked. You'll enjoy the story, even if it feels like a rehash of characters and plotlines from other titles. If you never had a Dreamcast and want a piece of good solid RPG action, you could do a lot worse than Grandia 2. It's no Final Fantasy, but if you go back to FFX, you'll wish you had your IP battle system, and that is really saying something for old Game Arts. Rent it or buy it, it's money well spent.

On a side note, Grandia II is part of Ubisoft's Great RPG Giveaway, a 2 for 1 promo. By purchasing any two of either The Legend of Alon D'ar, Grandia II or Jade Cocoon 2, you'll receive the third free. Check it out at The Great RPG Giveaway site.