Grandia Xtreme Updated Preview

Diene is initially responsible for your troubles, though she soon becomes a friend.

Enix's recent partnering with Game Arts will ensure that a great many more Japanese RPGs will find their way to North American shores, and Grandia Xtreme is the first tangible result of the deal. Due out in September, Grandia Xtreme is the third game in the Grandia series, each of whose installments has garnered a great deal of critical acclaim. The game was released in Japan in February, and it has been in the process of localization ever since. The version of the game that we recently got to play featured full English text, though the voice work was still in the process of finalization. A number of largish names were recruited for the cause, however, which could prove quite amusing. These include the likes of singer Lisa Loeb, and others. In any event, while Grandia Xtreme features many elements that tie it to the series from which it was born, many characteristics of its design make it a different beast entirely.

The game stars a young, scrappy ranger named Evann. In Grandia Xtreme's world, rangers are keenly in touch with the cycles of the Earth, and they're able to channel their energies in various ways. When disasters occur, they're often called upon to realign the forces and bring harmony back to the world. That's the sort of scenario that Evann finds himself in. The outset of the story finds him diligently practicing his sword technique, when he receives a letter via courier. His country's army, apparently, has been trying to draft him for quite a while, though his inherent mistrust has kept him from responding. After this particularly stern letter reaches him, he finds himself quietly cursing the army and its commanding officers, when, out of nowhere, a well-armed platoon encroaches on his dwelling. Next thing he knows, he's been shanghaied.

Evann's unique abilities are highly sought after by his country's army.

He comes to in the company of a young officer named Diene, who, in a few words, tells him he has no choice but to help the army deal with a particularly large problem: the Elemental Disorder. It's all a mystery at that point, but apparently, strange forces are emanating from certain parts of the world, causing all sorts of disastrous events. It's Evann's skills as a ranger that they're after, and despite the fact that he's an 18-year-old neophyte, they aren't taking no for an answer. Evann learns that he's been spirited off to a town called Locca, which he's encouraged to explore a bit after his initial briefing by Diene. Soon enough, he meets up with the people who will become his companions during his first foray as an army ranger: Brandol and Carmyne. The former is a blockheaded sort who doesn't like taking orders from an 18-year-old kid. The latter is a sassy young woman who seems more than able to manipulate them both. In any case, they all learn soon enough where they'll be headed first--a place in the middle of the desert, which is also the site of the game's first dungeon.