Grandia is a role-playing video game developed by Game Arts and published by Entertainment Software Publishing for the Sega Saturn console as the first game in their Grandia series. The game was produced by much of the same staff who worked on the company's previous role-playing endeavor, the Lunar series, including producer Yoichi Miyagi and composer Noriyuki Iwadare.

The Story Behind Grandia

Nearly ten years after Grandias release on the PlayStation, Game Arts announced in April 2009 that the PlayStation version of the game would be released as a downloadable title on Sony's PlayStation Network service in Japan on April 22, 2009, in celebration of the resuming development on the company's long-dormant Grandia Online project. New features for the PlayStation version included support for the system's DualShock analog control sticks and vibration function, as well as compatibility with Sony's Japanese-only PocketStation peripheral, which allows players to download game data on a portable device for use in a special mini-game. Game Arts released the game with a slight loss in frame rate and a marginal decrease in video effects the following June.

In March 1999, Game Arts's Japanese publisher ESP Software showcased a PlayStation version of Grandia at that year's Tokyo Game Show expo, along with confirmation that the game would be released in English for the first time in North America by Sony Computer Entertainment America. According to a spokesman for Game Arts, Grandia was created as part of the company's on-going effort to "provide consumers with good games rather than try to follow market trends", opting instead to create a product that would tell a compelling story catering primarily to their existing fanbase. The North American version was originally announced by Sony as a summer release during the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, but was pushed back to the following October.

How Grandia Plays

When an icon drifts to the "Command" segment towards the end of the IP Bar, that character can choose their next action. The IP bar at the bottom right corner of the screen displays a row of icons, which represent all party members and enemies on the screen. Combat is shown from a third-person overhead view.

Weapons are divided into different classes, including swords, maces, axes, whips and knives. The camera is fully rotational and follows the party from an angled third-person perspective; it is often necessary to rotate the camera to see hidden items or passageways. Characters learn new abilities through the repeated use of weapons and spells.

Why Players Still Load It Up

Moving forward in search of Alent, the party meets a traveling merchant named Guido who leads them to his home town, where he acts as chieftain despite his young appearance, allowing them access to more ruins. Each one of them has a crush on Colonel Mullen and outwardly show their jealousy of Leen as a result. Finding the tower to be controlled by the Garlyle Forces, the team meets with Milda, a beast-woman, inside and join her in destroying the source of the corruption, which turns out to be a plant-like creature known as "Gaia" being grown by Garlyle researchers under the orders of General Baal.

In addition to music, the game features voice acting during battles and certain story scenes, with the Japanese version featuring a number of anime and video game veteran actors. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions were released in March 2024. Though Gaia defeats the troops and spreads its corruption around the planet, Justin is able to sum up the courage to face the evil with help from his friends, and travels to the underground heart of Gaia itself to destroy it and the Spirit Stone once and for all.

Grandia — Frequently Asked Questions