Grandia Xtreme Preview

Earlier this year, Japanese developers Enix and Game Arts announced an extended partnership in software development. The first title to emerge from that agreement will be Grandia Xtreme, the latest installment in Game Arts' popular Grandia series. The development of the game is now a joint effort between the two companies, but Game Arts will be the lead developer on the title.

The game's story picks up more than 50 years after a string of natural disasters occurred around the ruins of a now-extinct ancient civilization called the Elemental Overdrive. All these various calamities were given different names depending on their location and the elements involved--such as The Eye of Fire Cloud, The Earth Dragon's Nest, The Peak of Foul Wind, and The Source of the Crest of Wave. The ruins of the ancient civilization lie at the center of each calamity. You'll be exploring these areas, along with several dungeons, throughout the course of the game. You'll encounter three different factions that are in conflict: the Notis, a technology-oriented military society, the Hazma, who live in peaceful coexistence with nature, and the Alcadas, an elf-like people who have a preindustrial society.

You will assume the role of a young boy named Evan, a budding earth mage. It seems that, for generations, the powers of the earth mage have manifested themselves randomly among Evan's people. You find that Evan is apparently one of the few who has such potential. Earth mages are valued for their ability to detect geo points, areas in which the elemental energy of the world is in flux. Geo points are locations in which earth mages can create a pathway between dungeons and villages called a geo gate. Evan is taken away by the Notis because of his abilities and arrives in the town of Locca, where your adventure begins. You'll meet with other supporting characters including Sgt. Brandol and First Sgt. Carmine of the Notis army, Teit and Lutina from the Alcadas, and Miam from the Hazma. The characters of Grandia Xtreme were designed by Kamui Fujiwara, who is famous for his work in Dragon Quest: Roto's Emblem.

The battle system will see improvements and changes when compared with the battle systems in the previous entries in the series. The initiative point (IP) meter, which was represented using a bar gauge in previous Grandia games, is now represented using a circular gauge resembling a clock. Though its appearance is different, its purpose is pretty much the same. Your usual array of attacks and magic spells is at your disposal, including special attacks for each character. The option to choose "auto battle" is once again available in this game as well. Although details on some of the other new features of the battle system are scarce, it is known that players can now to learn group attacks, in which a certain number of party members will perform a special attack together. In addition, you can also gain extra experience points through the use of combos in defeating enemies. The point-based skill distribution system in Grandia II will not be used this time. Grandia Xtreme may possibly make use of a different skill system altogether. Magic spells can be enhanced when players combine use of their mana eggs, but other than the existence of magic shops, no other details have been revealed. The dungeons you'll explore will be 3D polygonal environments. To assist your exploratory efforts, you'll be able to rotate the camera around by using the L1 and R1 triggers to make sure you'll be able to see every corner. Like in the previous games in the series, there will be points on the world map, noted by an exclamation mark, where you can perform a special action such as opening a new path.

Fans of the series will find a host of little details that call to mind the previous Grandia games. The small creatures called kyaro, seen in Grandia II, will make a return appearance in different colors. Additionally, conversations will take place between you and your party members while dining at a table, which was first seen in the original Grandia. This device was a favorite of fans, who always enjoyed watching the exchange of dialogue between the unique and distinctive characters in every series. You can also expect minigames to be featured in Grandia Xtreme. Though details are vague, one of them is related to the kyaro. Grandia Xtreme for the PlayStation 2 will surely expand the Grandia universe for avid fans of the series. The game is scheduled to hit stores in January 2002 in Japan.