Grandia III
Encyclopedia
is a role-playing video game developed by Game Arts
and published by Square Enix
for the PlayStation 2
console. Originally released in Japan in August 2005, the game later made available in English in North America in February 2006, and is the first main series Grandia title to not appear in the PAL region
. The game was designed by much of the key staff of previous games in the series and includes many features seen in its predecessors, including a similar, more fast-paced action-based battle system. Music for the game was provided by series veteran Noriyuki Iwadare
, and features the opening theme song "In the Sky
" performed by Japanese pop/rock artist Miz
.
Set in a fantasy
world where technology has allowed man to fly in magic-powered aircraft, a boy named Yuki is determined to become a great pilot like his idol, the Sky Captain Schmidt. When he and his mother encounter a girl named Alfina who has the ability to communicate with the spiritual guardians of the world, they become involved in the plot to discover the secrets of the world's past and face an evil rogue guardian named Xorn. The game met with a generally positive response in Japan and North America upon release, with critics praising the game's innovative battle system.
Icons representing all characters and enemies on the field begin an encounter on a point on the dial depending on whether the enemy party or the player party was running away from the other prior to the encounter, and progress along the circle at their own rates. Once the icon reaches the Command point of the dial, the game pauses to allow the player (or computer, if the icon is an enemy's) gives that character a command. The icon then enters the red area of the gauge. Spells, skills and criticals progress more slowly during this period than combos. When the icon reaches the ACT point in the gauge, the command is carried out, and the icon is sent back to the start, where the cycle continues. Characters on the field have two standard attacks: combos and criticals. With combos, the character will swing/stab/shoot the enemy a number of times as per their weapon's use and any applicable skills. They do more damage overall than Criticals, whose purpose is to knock the position of an enemy on the Turn Dial backwards. If a combo is performed upon an airborne enemy, then a special Aerial attack is done. If an enemy is defeated with an Aerial Finish, the monster may drop more valuable items.
with a hidden soft side; and Hect, a sullen musician from a troubled village.
The principle antagonist is Alfina's brother Emellious, who, like his sister, can communicate with the guardians. Rather than seek worldly balance and harmony, he abandoned his duties as a Communicator to seek the power of Xorn, a rogue guardian with the power of darkness, and become a god. Emellious is assisted in his endeavor by a number of subordinates, including Kornell, a large, imposing man with an iron gauntlet; Violetta, who serves Emellious out of love; La-Ilim, an inhuman, demon-like man who uses an artifact known as the Crystal Skull to summon undead beasts; and Grau, Emellious' right-hand man and conniving strategist. In order to combat their adversaries, the heroes must travel across the world to meet the Sacred Beasts and gain their power, who consist of Gryph the eagle, Drak the dragon, Yoat the ram, Seiba the unicorn
, and Unama the dolphin.
Approximately 5,000 years in the past the world was nearly destroyed in that war. The 12 Guardians stopped the destruction and guided the remaining people of the world to safety. They then watched over the world, imparting wisdom to the people through a chosen line of “Communicators”, who could understand the words of the Guardians.
Yuki, an aspiring pilot, has been building an airplane with his friend Rotts in the hopes of being the second pilot to fly across the ocean, following in the footsteps of his idol, Schmidt (though he keeps these plans a secret from his mother, Miranda). So far, he has been rewarded with little success, with nearly twenty projects which, for varying reasons, have failed to get him where he wants to be. On this final flight, he finds that his mother stowed away on his plane, and is unable to fly high enough with the extra weight.
His reprimanding of his mother is interrupted, however, by the sight of a girl in a carriage being chased by several men. Yuki decides to get involved, and swoops down, inevitably crashing into the forest. He and Miranda fight to defend the girl, who they learn to be Alfina, a Communicator, one of those who speaks with the Guardian beasts. They, in light of what had just happened, offer to escort her to the temple at Arcriff, and become more and more involved in the events surrounding the disappearance of Alfina's brother, Emelious. As the story progresses, Alfina's fate becomes more twisted, as Alfina and her companions challenge Emelious and finally face Xorn.
magazine, which revealed that Game Arts
and Square Enix
would be bringing the game to the PlayStation 2
console like the previous installment, Grandia Xtreme
. The project was headed by director Hidenobu Takahashi, who previously served as art director for Grandia II
, and stated that the game would follow the series' themes of "adventure, drama and dreams", and would continue in the direction of taking the series to a more "adult" sensibility while still retaining an overall optimistic tone. Character design for the game was provided by You Yoshinari with Takahiro Hasebe serving as scenario writer, both of whom had worked on the original Grandia
. CGI movie cutscenes were placed in the game help advance the story, which were produced by Mikitaka Kurasawa who had also worked with Capcom
on Onimusha
. According to a Square Enix representative, the amount of cutscenes in the game are roughly equal in length to three movies. Combat in Grandia III was designed to be a variation of the system seen in previous games in the series, and was described by Takahashi as being "very complex but very easy to learn", adding that "The combination of the story, fast-paced battle system and beautiful environment will prove to be an extremely enjoyable adventure." An official website was launched for the game in April 2005, which detailed the game's final release date the following August, as well as offered updates on the game's mechanics and characters.
The English version of Grandia III was announced in December 2005 in the form of a teaser website from Square Enix, which revealed that the game was scheduled for release in North America the following February. In January 2006, the game was given its final release date of February 14, along with the announcement that Game Arts would be continuing development on their Grandia Online
project, which at the time was also scheduled for release that year.
The music of Grandia III was composed by series veteran Noriyuki Iwadare
, who contributed the soundtracks to all previous Grandia titles. Shortly after the Japanese version was released in August 2005, the Grandia III Original Soundtrack was released by Two-Five Records, featuring background themes from the game across two discs. Grandia III also features the theme song "In the Sky
" performed by Japanese pop/rock singer Miz
, which is featured in the game's opening demo, and was released as a single one day before the game in both regular and limited editions by Victor Entertainment. Players who pre-ordered the game in Japan could also received a special promotional album featuring three songs from the game recorded live by the game's music staff, including the vocal theme "To the Moon" performed by Kaori Kawasumi. In September 2005, "Melk Ruins", a music track from the game that was unable to be included in the official soundtrack, was made available on the game's official Japanese website as a free download. In addition to music, game contains voice clips during battle, as well as in story certain story scenes, with voices provided in Japanese and English for each region by veteran anime
and video game actors.
Magazine, earning it an editor's choice Platinum distinction.
The game's reception in North America was generally positive, earning a 77% average rating from aggregate review website Metacritic
, and a 78% average from Game Rankings
. Many publications praised the game's battle system, with Electronic Gaming Monthly
stating that "Grandia's semi-real-time battles are superb, offering just the right balance of strategy and visual flair, and the new aerial combos are a blast," but found the game's plot to be "fairly linear". GamePro
similarly called the game's combat "intriguing", yet deemed the game's story to be "more clichéd and campy than epic and amazing ... The characters all fall into conveniently familiar categories and fail to attract any serious interest in their concerns or circumstances" GameSpot
found the game's short length and lack of sidequests to be its low points, yet ultimately declared that "While not as stuffed with features and extra content as some of the other RPGs currently available, Grandia III still delivers an interesting (if traditional) story, fun characters, and a versatile, strategy-based battle system." 1UP.com
declared that the game's story, pacing, and character development felt disjointed from one disc to another, stating that "I almost feel like I'm reviewing two games -- the first disc, which is awesome, and the second, which is ho-hum." In an article for The New York Times
, game critic Charles Herold
called the game's battle system "arguably the greatest combat system of any turn-based role-playing game in existence" but found the rest of the game to be largely average, remarking that it "falls short of true greatness, not because it does anything glaringly wrong but because it doesn't do quite enough things right."
In an import review of the North American version, Eurogamer
found the game to be a largely mediocre role-playing title, but wrote that its battle system was above-average, concluding that "the game is saved from total mediocrity by its superb battle system, but a fantastic battle system does not a brilliant game make." The website would additionally pan the game's J-pop
opening theme, calling it "a disgustingly poor piece of aural pap", yet called the rest of the game's score "pleasant, though forgettable." Play Magazine UK conversely felt that the game was above-average, stating that "[Grandia III] does almost everything well, from the involving story and beautiful graphics to the compelling characters, and does one thing - the battle system - better than any other RPG we've seen.
Game Arts
is a Japanese video game software developer located in Tokyo, Japan. Originally established in 1985 as a computer software company, they have since expanded their enterprise to produce for a number of game console and handheld systems...
and published by Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
console. Originally released in Japan in August 2005, the game later made available in English in North America in February 2006, and is the first main series Grandia title to not appear in the PAL region
PAL region
The PAL region is a television publication territory which covers most of Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western Europe...
. The game was designed by much of the key staff of previous games in the series and includes many features seen in its predecessors, including a similar, more fast-paced action-based battle system. Music for the game was provided by series veteran Noriyuki Iwadare
Noriyuki Iwadare
is a Japanese video game composer.-Biography:He was born in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. He began to compose video game music after years of being involved with university bands. The first award he won the Best Game Music award, the Mega Drive/Genesis category for Lunar: The Silver...
, and features the opening theme song "In the Sky
In the Sky
"In The Sky" is Miz's third single and first one to release since releasing two other albums, Say It's Forever and Dreams. The title track is a Japanese re-make of Amazing, a song from her album Story Untold, and was used as the theme for the PS2 game Grandia III...
" performed by Japanese pop/rock artist Miz
Miz
, better known simply as Miz, is a Japanese pop/rock singer. Though most of her music is released in Japan, she does her work primarily from Gotland, Sweden, mainly doing promotional videos, photo shoots, and recording there.- Biography :...
.
Set in a fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
world where technology has allowed man to fly in magic-powered aircraft, a boy named Yuki is determined to become a great pilot like his idol, the Sky Captain Schmidt. When he and his mother encounter a girl named Alfina who has the ability to communicate with the spiritual guardians of the world, they become involved in the plot to discover the secrets of the world's past and face an evil rogue guardian named Xorn. The game met with a generally positive response in Japan and North America upon release, with critics praising the game's innovative battle system.
Gameplay
The player controls Yuki and his companions through a fully 3D world, fighting their way through obstacles using a battle system in the same style as the other Grandia games, with some slight tweaks. Throughout the game Yuki enlists the aide of various characters and creatures called the Guardians to aid him on his journey. Rather than use a world map to travel between areas, the player flies in a plane.Combat
Battles are similar to those of the previous Grandia games. It uses the same basic combat system, where both time and distance play into the execution of actions.Icons representing all characters and enemies on the field begin an encounter on a point on the dial depending on whether the enemy party or the player party was running away from the other prior to the encounter, and progress along the circle at their own rates. Once the icon reaches the Command point of the dial, the game pauses to allow the player (or computer, if the icon is an enemy's) gives that character a command. The icon then enters the red area of the gauge. Spells, skills and criticals progress more slowly during this period than combos. When the icon reaches the ACT point in the gauge, the command is carried out, and the icon is sent back to the start, where the cycle continues. Characters on the field have two standard attacks: combos and criticals. With combos, the character will swing/stab/shoot the enemy a number of times as per their weapon's use and any applicable skills. They do more damage overall than Criticals, whose purpose is to knock the position of an enemy on the Turn Dial backwards. If a combo is performed upon an airborne enemy, then a special Aerial attack is done. If an enemy is defeated with an Aerial Finish, the monster may drop more valuable items.
Characters
The characters of Grandia III were designed by You Yoshinari and feature an assortment of playable and non-playable individuals. The game centers on Yuki, a 16 year-old boy who dreams of becoming an ace pilot like his idol, the legendary Sky Captain Schmidt. Together with his friend Rotts, he builds his own magic-powered aircraft in an attempt to fly over the ocean, but becomes sidetracked due to the intervention of his mother, Miranda. When Yuki and Miranda meet Alfina, a beautiful young girl with the ability to communicate with Sacred Beasts, the god-like guardians of the planet, they become involved in an adventure that takes them around the world. During their journey, the party meets four other characters who become playable at certain points in the story, which include Alonso, a gambler who dreams of completing his map of the world; Ulf, a simple man who owns a pet dragon named Shiba; Dahna, a cynical cartomancerCartomancy
Cartomancy is fortune-telling or divination using a deck of cards. Forms of cartomancy appeared soon after playing cards were first introduced into Europe in the 14th century...
with a hidden soft side; and Hect, a sullen musician from a troubled village.
The principle antagonist is Alfina's brother Emellious, who, like his sister, can communicate with the guardians. Rather than seek worldly balance and harmony, he abandoned his duties as a Communicator to seek the power of Xorn, a rogue guardian with the power of darkness, and become a god. Emellious is assisted in his endeavor by a number of subordinates, including Kornell, a large, imposing man with an iron gauntlet; Violetta, who serves Emellious out of love; La-Ilim, an inhuman, demon-like man who uses an artifact known as the Crystal Skull to summon undead beasts; and Grau, Emellious' right-hand man and conniving strategist. In order to combat their adversaries, the heroes must travel across the world to meet the Sacred Beasts and gain their power, who consist of Gryph the eagle, Drak the dragon, Yoat the ram, Seiba the unicorn
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard...
, and Unama the dolphin.
Story
Grandia III takes place in an unnamed world, consisting of a main continent surrounded by the Belion Sea, which is vast, to the point where only one person has flown its breadth, Sky Captain Schmidt. Yuki hails from the village Anfog, on Titalos Island. Much of the world relies on methods of flying, from dragons to planes, which use a magical power source. The Guardians are mystical beasts which reside in the world of Grandia III, hailing from the Verse Realm. They came to Yuki's world after a war broke out on their own, quieting wars in both worlds.Approximately 5,000 years in the past the world was nearly destroyed in that war. The 12 Guardians stopped the destruction and guided the remaining people of the world to safety. They then watched over the world, imparting wisdom to the people through a chosen line of “Communicators”, who could understand the words of the Guardians.
Yuki, an aspiring pilot, has been building an airplane with his friend Rotts in the hopes of being the second pilot to fly across the ocean, following in the footsteps of his idol, Schmidt (though he keeps these plans a secret from his mother, Miranda). So far, he has been rewarded with little success, with nearly twenty projects which, for varying reasons, have failed to get him where he wants to be. On this final flight, he finds that his mother stowed away on his plane, and is unable to fly high enough with the extra weight.
His reprimanding of his mother is interrupted, however, by the sight of a girl in a carriage being chased by several men. Yuki decides to get involved, and swoops down, inevitably crashing into the forest. He and Miranda fight to defend the girl, who they learn to be Alfina, a Communicator, one of those who speaks with the Guardian beasts. They, in light of what had just happened, offer to escort her to the temple at Arcriff, and become more and more involved in the events surrounding the disappearance of Alfina's brother, Emelious. As the story progresses, Alfina's fate becomes more twisted, as Alfina and her companions challenge Emelious and finally face Xorn.
Development
Grandia III was first announced in a March 2005 issue of Japanese Weekly FamitsuFamitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
magazine, which revealed that Game Arts
Game Arts
is a Japanese video game software developer located in Tokyo, Japan. Originally established in 1985 as a computer software company, they have since expanded their enterprise to produce for a number of game console and handheld systems...
and Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
would be bringing the game to the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
console like the previous installment, Grandia Xtreme
Grandia Xtreme
is a console role-playing game developed by Game Arts and published by Enix for the PlayStation 2 video game console. Released in both Japan and North America in 2002, the game is a side story in the Grandia series.-Gameplay:...
. The project was headed by director Hidenobu Takahashi, who previously served as art director for Grandia II
Grandia II
is a role-playing video game developed by Game Arts originally for the Dreamcast console as part of their Grandia series. Initially released in Japan in August 2000 by Sega, the game was later made available in English for North America the following December, and in Europe in February 2001, with...
, and stated that the game would follow the series' themes of "adventure, drama and dreams", and would continue in the direction of taking the series to a more "adult" sensibility while still retaining an overall optimistic tone. Character design for the game was provided by You Yoshinari with Takahiro Hasebe serving as scenario writer, both of whom had worked on the original Grandia
Grandia (video game)
is a role-playing video game developed by Game Arts originally for the Sega Saturn console as the first game in their Grandia series. Initially released in Japan in January 1997, the game was later ported to the PlayStation in June 1999, with an English version of the game appearing on the platform...
. CGI movie cutscenes were placed in the game help advance the story, which were produced by Mikitaka Kurasawa who had also worked with Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
on Onimusha
Onimusha: Warlords
Onimusha: Warlords, released in Japan as , is the first action-adventure video game of the Onimusha series, released first for the PlayStation 2 in 2001. Later it went through many changes and was released as for the Xbox in 2002...
. According to a Square Enix representative, the amount of cutscenes in the game are roughly equal in length to three movies. Combat in Grandia III was designed to be a variation of the system seen in previous games in the series, and was described by Takahashi as being "very complex but very easy to learn", adding that "The combination of the story, fast-paced battle system and beautiful environment will prove to be an extremely enjoyable adventure." An official website was launched for the game in April 2005, which detailed the game's final release date the following August, as well as offered updates on the game's mechanics and characters.
The English version of Grandia III was announced in December 2005 in the form of a teaser website from Square Enix, which revealed that the game was scheduled for release in North America the following February. In January 2006, the game was given its final release date of February 14, along with the announcement that Game Arts would be continuing development on their Grandia Online
Grandia Online
is a Japanese free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Game Arts and published by GungHo Online Entertainment for Microsoft Windows as part of their Grandia series...
project, which at the time was also scheduled for release that year.
Audio
| Voice actors | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | Japanese | English |
| Yuki | Masaya Matsukaze Masaya Matsukaze is a Japanese actor, voice actor, and radio personality who is formerly affiliated with Big Apple and now affiliated with Radix Mobanimation's Multicye division... |
Johnny Yong Bosch Johnny Yong Bosch Johnny Yong Bosch is an American actor, voice actor, martial artist, and musician.He may be best known for portraying Adam Park in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and being the English voice of Ichigo Kurosaki in the hit anime series Bleach, Vash the Stampede in Trigun and Lelouch Lamperouge in Code... |
| Miranda | Mayumi Wakamura Mayumi Wakamura Mayumi Wakamura is a Japanese actress. She decide to be an actress at age sixteen when she saw a stage show which was made by a famous professional actor's stage production. Later she joined his stage production to be an actress... |
Michelle Ruff Michelle Ruff Michelle Suzanne Ruff is an American voice actress known for her work in anime and video games.-Anime roles:* Angel Tales - Akane the fox* Ai Yori Aoshi - Aoi Sakuraba* Arc the Lad - Meril... |
| Alfina | Haruka Kinami | Stephanie Sheh Stephanie Sheh Stephanie Ru-Phan Sheh is a Chinese-American voice actress, a writer, and a story editor who has worked for Geneon Entertainment, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Bandai Entertainment, Media Blasters, NYAV Post, FUNimation Entertainment, and Viz Media... |
| Alonso | Shingo Katsurayama | Bob Buchholz Bob Buchholz Bob Buchholz is a voice actor, writer, story editor, and voice director. He is also known as Robert Wicks, Robert Buchholz, Bob Bucholz, Robert Bucholz, and Robert Wickes.- Anime roles :* Akira - Ryu... |
| Ulf | Takeru Shibaki Takeru Shibaki is a Japanese actor from Tokyo. He is best known for his role as Kai Samezu/GaoBlue in the Super Sentai series Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger.-TV Drama:*Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger *GoGo Sentai Boukenger... |
Brian Beacock Brian Beacock Brian Keith Beacock is an American television and film actor and a voice actor in anime and video games... |
| Dahna | Sayaka Yoshino | Jessica Straus Jessica Straus (voice actress) Jessica Suzanne Straus is an American voice actress who works in the video game and animation industry. She has provided voices for such titles as .hack//GU//Rebirth and Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun... |
| Hect | Ayaka Maeda | Kari Wahlgren Kari Wahlgren Kari K. Wahlgren is an American voice actress who has provided English language voices for dozens of anime titles and video games. Her debut role was as one of the main characters of FLCL, Haruko Haruhara. She had a live-action role as Tinker Bell in the 2003 Damion Dietz film Neverland... |
| Emelious | Takashi Hagino Takashi Hagino is a Tokyo-born Japanese actor. He is noted for his roles in tokusatsu dramas, such as the lead role in and his supporting role in as the anti-hero Kamen Rider Ouja.-Television roles:*Choukou Senshi Changéríon - Akira Suzumura/Changerion... |
Lex Lang Lex Lang Walter Alexis "Lex" Lang is a two-time Emmy Award–winning American voice actor, producer and entrepreneur. He is the cofounder of The Love Planet Foundation, a non-profit organization which creates educational materials for children on the importance of recycling, world water awareness, and the... |
| Kornell | Hoka Kinoshita | Bob Papenbrook Bob Papenbrook Robert DeWayne "Bob" Papenbrook was an American voice actor. Fellow voice actors often nicknamed him "Pappy". He was very well known in the worlds of anime and video game voice-overs for his voice acting of "gruff" characters... |
| Violetta | Kaori Sakagami Kaori Sakagami Kaori Sakagami is a Japanese singer and AV Star who is noted for singing Platonic Tsuranuite, the first ending of Ranma 1/2. Also in Kiteretsu Daihyakka, she sang Race no Cardigan for the ending theme in the first season... |
Wendee Lee Wendee Lee Wendee Lee is an American voice actress. While she has done voice work for many video games as well as several episodes in the Power Rangers franchise, she is particularly prolific in the dubbing of anime. As of April 2009, with 223 credits to her name, she has more credits in this medium than any... |
| La-Ilim | Chafurin Chafurin is a Japanese vocal actor from Saitama Prefecture who works for Office Osawa. He was formerly credited as '. He graduated from Toyo University.-Television animation:*Ah! My Goddess *Argento Soma... |
Daran Norris Daran Norris Daran Morrison Nordland , usually credited as Daran Norris, is an American film and television actor and voice artist. Since 1977 he has participated in more than 400 films, video games, and television projects. He is best known as Gordy from Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, the voice of... |
| Grau | Ido Kawakami | Kim Strauss Kim Strauss Kim Strauss is an American singer, songwriter, actor, voiceover artist, and Amazon.com Bestselling author with his children's book Kalan the Mighty Warrior: Book One - Braxus the Owl: Guardian of the Forest.-History:... |
| Gryph | Chieko Baishō Chieko Baisho is a Japanese actress and singer.In Japan, she is well known for her performance as Sakura in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series . In addition, she has acted in most films directed by Yōji Yamada since the 1960s... |
Paula Tiso Paula Tiso Paula Tiso is an American voice actress who is best known as the English voice of Lulu in Final Fantasy X and its sequel.She also has voiced many TV and radio commercials and promos.... |
| Drak | Yukijiro Hotaru Yukijirō Hotaru -Filmography:*Sexy Battle Girls *Time Adventure: Zeccho 5-byo Mae *Itoshino Half Moon *Subway Serial Rape: Lover Hunting *Zeiram *Aiyoku Shūdōin: Jukujo, Chijo, Seijo... |
Douglas Rye Douglas Rye Douglas Forsythe Rye is a Los Angeles-based voice actor who has done Narration for such notable companies as Bank of America, The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, NBC, The Playboy Channel, Qwest, Carl's Jr. and DaimlerChrysler... |
| Yoat | Shinmei Tsuji | Kim Strauss Kim Strauss Kim Strauss is an American singer, songwriter, actor, voiceover artist, and Amazon.com Bestselling author with his children's book Kalan the Mighty Warrior: Book One - Braxus the Owl: Guardian of the Forest.-History:... |
| Seiba | Yukijiro Hotaru | Douglas Rye |
| Xorn | Uncredited | Douglas Rye |
| Rotts | Toshinobu Matsuo | Kirk Thornton Kirk Thornton Kirk Thornton is an American voice actor.-Bio:He is known for playing tough or grouchy men in English-dubbed anime and video games. His career includes Hotohori in Fushigi Yūgi and Jin in Samurai Champloo... |
| Bianca | Kaoru Mizuki Kaoru Mizuki is a Japanese actress. She won the Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 15th Yokohama Film Festival for Tsuge Yoshiharu World: Gensenkan Shujin.-Filmography:* Tsuge Yoshiharu World: Gensenkan Shujin * Kamen Rider Hibiki... |
Mona Marshall Mona Marshall Mona M. Ianotti is an American voice actress. She is often cast in the role of young boys. Her roles have included parts in not only Japanese anime, but also in American cartoons as well. Mona Marshall has recently lent her voice to the talking bear Koby the Study Buddy... |
The music of Grandia III was composed by series veteran Noriyuki Iwadare
Noriyuki Iwadare
is a Japanese video game composer.-Biography:He was born in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. He began to compose video game music after years of being involved with university bands. The first award he won the Best Game Music award, the Mega Drive/Genesis category for Lunar: The Silver...
, who contributed the soundtracks to all previous Grandia titles. Shortly after the Japanese version was released in August 2005, the Grandia III Original Soundtrack was released by Two-Five Records, featuring background themes from the game across two discs. Grandia III also features the theme song "In the Sky
In the Sky
"In The Sky" is Miz's third single and first one to release since releasing two other albums, Say It's Forever and Dreams. The title track is a Japanese re-make of Amazing, a song from her album Story Untold, and was used as the theme for the PS2 game Grandia III...
" performed by Japanese pop/rock singer Miz
Miz
, better known simply as Miz, is a Japanese pop/rock singer. Though most of her music is released in Japan, she does her work primarily from Gotland, Sweden, mainly doing promotional videos, photo shoots, and recording there.- Biography :...
, which is featured in the game's opening demo, and was released as a single one day before the game in both regular and limited editions by Victor Entertainment. Players who pre-ordered the game in Japan could also received a special promotional album featuring three songs from the game recorded live by the game's music staff, including the vocal theme "To the Moon" performed by Kaori Kawasumi. In September 2005, "Melk Ruins", a music track from the game that was unable to be included in the official soundtrack, was made available on the game's official Japanese website as a free download. In addition to music, game contains voice clips during battle, as well as in story certain story scenes, with voices provided in Japanese and English for each region by veteran anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
and video game actors.
Reception
Grandia III was met with a fairly positive response in Japan, debuting as the second highest-selling game of its week of release with 122,000 copies sold, and would go on to sell approximately 233,866 copies by the end of 2005. The game received a 35 out of 40 score from Weekly FamitsuFamitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
Magazine, earning it an editor's choice Platinum distinction.
The game's reception in North America was generally positive, earning a 77% average rating from aggregate review website Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, and a 78% average from Game Rankings
Game Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
. Many publications praised the game's battle system, with Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
stating that "Grandia's semi-real-time battles are superb, offering just the right balance of strategy and visual flair, and the new aerial combos are a blast," but found the game's plot to be "fairly linear". GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
similarly called the game's combat "intriguing", yet deemed the game's story to be "more clichéd and campy than epic and amazing ... The characters all fall into conveniently familiar categories and fail to attract any serious interest in their concerns or circumstances" GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
found the game's short length and lack of sidequests to be its low points, yet ultimately declared that "While not as stuffed with features and extra content as some of the other RPGs currently available, Grandia III still delivers an interesting (if traditional) story, fun characters, and a versatile, strategy-based battle system." 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
declared that the game's story, pacing, and character development felt disjointed from one disc to another, stating that "I almost feel like I'm reviewing two games -- the first disc, which is awesome, and the second, which is ho-hum." In an article for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, game critic Charles Herold
Charles Herold
Charles Herold is a video game critic. He wrote the "Game Theory" video game review column for the New York Times from 2000 to 2008, when he left the Times to become the Wii Games Guide at About.com...
called the game's battle system "arguably the greatest combat system of any turn-based role-playing game in existence" but found the rest of the game to be largely average, remarking that it "falls short of true greatness, not because it does anything glaringly wrong but because it doesn't do quite enough things right."
In an import review of the North American version, Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
found the game to be a largely mediocre role-playing title, but wrote that its battle system was above-average, concluding that "the game is saved from total mediocrity by its superb battle system, but a fantastic battle system does not a brilliant game make." The website would additionally pan the game's J-pop
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
opening theme, calling it "a disgustingly poor piece of aural pap", yet called the rest of the game's score "pleasant, though forgettable." Play Magazine UK conversely felt that the game was above-average, stating that "[Grandia III] does almost everything well, from the involving story and beautiful graphics to the compelling characters, and does one thing - the battle system - better than any other RPG we've seen.