[saint.panda]

Is it necessary to have played Grandia I in order to play/enjoy Grandia II, or earlier Suikoden releases for Suikoden III?

Great thread by the way and I already ordered Final Fantasy X (big fan of FF7) and Xenosaga (sucker for eye candy video clips and a good story).

 

[meat01]

Quote:

Planescape: Torment

PS2, not PC

 

[sleepkyng]

no you don't need to have played grandia I or Suikoden though those earlier games are amazing.

Grandia II is awesome, Grandia I is epic!

 

[saint.panda]

Thanks. I just bought a PS2 and it seems there's plenty to play.

 

[Vertigo-1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleepkyng no you don't need to have played grandia I or Suikoden though those earlier games are amazing.

Actually with the Suikoden series, I would recommend playing previous titles before moving onward. The later titles will oftentimes refer back to names or people or places from previous Suikoden games, which can leave you going "wha???" if you didn't play the previous games. In general you CAN get away with just playing them individually gameplay-wise, but to get the best Suikoden experience, it's best to play them all in order.

Unfortunately Suikoden I and II are now long discontinued and they are HOT items on Ebay...they sell for well over $100 used now. I'm glad I got mine back when they were still fresh. I'd never sell mines either.

 

[overlunge]

I personally feel the improved graphics of PS2 has shift the focus of RPG games away from having sublime storyline. I prefer some old PS1 RPG's like Final Fantasy VIII, IX and most of all, Vagrant Story.


Overlunge

 

[GoRedwings19]

I do wish they port the secret of mana over. I remember at the time the unique feature two players at the same time in battle. I thought it rocked socks.

I was wondering if there are any RPG's like secret of mana, final fantasy series on the PC?

 

[saint.panda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vertigo-1 Actually with the Suikoden series, I would recommend playing previous titles before moving onward. The later titles will oftentimes refer back to names or people or places from previous Suikoden games, which can leave you going "wha???" if you didn't play the previous games. In general you CAN get away with just playing them individually gameplay-wise, but to get the best Suikoden experience, it's best to play them all in order. Unfortunately Suikoden I and II are now long discontinued and they are HOT items on Ebay...they sell for well over $100 used now. I'm glad I got mine back when they were still fresh. I'd never sell mines either.

Woah, that's pretty expensive for two old playstation games. I think I'll just try the third release notwithstanding.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoRedwings19 I was wondering if there are any RPG's like secret of mana, final fantasy series on the PC?

I was just looking for reviews for Grandia II a few minutes ago and apparently it was released for PC as well.

At the time of Final Fantasy 7 there was a game called Silver which looked pretty similiar with rendered backgrounds and the same pixely 3D characters as FF7. Gameplay is rather unique because you used the mouse for fighting and executing combos. Storyline is decent but pales in comparison to Final Fantasy. Here's a review. Another allegedly better one was Septerra Core but I never played it.

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IstariAsuka Final Fantasy IV is really really fun. Definately the best replay value of any of them. I think VI is a better game, but IV is just a package of RPG-goodness.

Agreed.

Biggie.

 

[noir]

Quote:

I do wish they port the secret of mana over. I remember at the time the unique feature two players at the same time in battle. I thought it rocked socks.

actually it had a three-player mode, if you had an Snes multitap, which i did have. Was great playing it with my brother and cousine.

As for porting we still have our little Zsnes emulator

And, not to forget, Seiken Densetsu 3, aka Secret of Mana 2, with the same 3player mode. Fully recommended, Dejap did the translation already years ago

 

[marvin]

Note: Grandia 2 looks really ugly on the PS2 when compared to the DC version. It will introduce you to the joy of no anti-aliasing that is common to poorly ported early PS2 games. Course, this only matters if you have a DC, and otherwise, good game.

Recent favorite has to be Shadow Hearts: Covenant. It's good even if you have poor reflexes. (Mine are bad enough that I manage to be horrible at Mario. In SM3, I can't get past the first level that features falling steps.) I'd even say that it makes it more challenging and fun, since the battles really are too easy if you can get criticals on every hit.

 

[Cannonfodder]

Don't you all find that RPGs on PCs have so much more depth than the ones on consoles?

Games like Fallout 1 & 2, Baldur's Gate II, Planescape, Elder Scrolls, the Ultima series, etc. simply rocked my world

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Just a heads up to PS2 RPG value hunters, Xenosaga episode II just recently dropped to greatest hits status. So if your like me and don't like the ugly GH box nows the time to snag it

 

[saint.panda]

Just finished Final Fantasy X and it was fantastic.

Perhaps it lacked more epic dimensions or character depth compared to Final Fantasy VII, but the wonderful soundtrack (I just used the intro scene or put myself in Zanarkand and let the music play via speakers as background music), great visuals (at first I didn't think this was real time game graphics), excellent cg cut scenes and a really adorable female protanogists makes this one of the best games I've ever played. I wish I had played this when I was younger, it probably would have taken the status that FF7 has for me now. A FF7 with better graphics and polyphonic soundtrack would be a different matter though... I hope the rumours about a PS3 remake will come true.

Can't fault the plot either. Pretty well thought out and with the usual Final Fantasy twist regarding the main protagonist.

I think I'll have to beat it again just to make save points for two cut scenes, the one where Yuna performs the sending ritual for the first time and the one with her and Tidus in Macalania Forest. Especially the sending ritual is probably the most beautiful cg scene I've ever seen in a game. I hope that one day I'll be able to play a Final Fantasy with these kind of graphics in real time.