Andrew Kramer Grandia III was hard, believe me. Dragon Quest VIII has already died down, Final Fantasy XII - on the horizon. Shame Grandia Xtreme - behind the unknown Grandia Online - ahead. What is now Grandia - role chewing gum with beautiful graphics for all in a row or a traditional RPG for the elite? You will not believe it, but both at once.
Forget for a moment about the ideal combat system and graphic beauty. According to press releases Grandia III looks like a story about a boy, Yuki, who all his life he dreamed up in the air on his own plane. Fame. And then close and love to beautiful women and saving the world from the charming villain ... Nonsense.
Grandia III for the first time in my memory that focuses on the gamer's feelings of those close to him on the other and this side of the screen. Remember how over and over again in the RPG young village boy went home to distant wanderings, dryly said goodbye to her mother and taking with him his father's rusty sword. Grandia III apologized for all the games of the genre for women who lose both sons, and shows that they too can be a character - bright, strong and attractive. And it is very weak, when - if not at the beginning of the game - the child still makes the choice in favor of independence. Decides to spread their wings and fly away from home - is where the theme of aviation and turns could not be more appropriate.
 | Gaming |
Parlay their own hand and heart? Trusting to chance? If this is worth doing, it was not in Grandia III. In the local card game poker skills will not help or preference. It does not need to do anything meaningful - just select a few cards to put money and five times roll the dice. Had the successful combination - take your winnings. No - to throw for a second time.
Touches like Grandia III shied away from promoting gambling entertainment in its purest form. The game here is not real money, and the "medals". Exchange gold for them may be limited portions of the inverse conversion is impossible. Hoping to earn a full inventory of healing items? Card games here will not help. Won "medals" are allowed to spend only for the purchase of prizes in a makeshift shop. The most expensive item "costs" about a million, the maximum rate - a thousand. At the time of writing my cup was full of patience, and cherished Skill Book of higher level and remained out of reach.
 | |  | Right - funny boss loser, haunting characters throughout the game. Comic character - as Mid-Boss to Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. | | This Dana specializes in the magic of fire. And the list of spells appropriate and suitable egg mana. All properly made! |
But being the mother of a positive hero - still better than the younger sister of the murderer of the whole world.Memories of happy childhood together are still fresh, and his brother grew up too early and drove it into my head are things that a girl Alfina does not want to understand. Why perform the role assigned at birth speaking with the gods - a bad thing? What kind of freedom for themselves and the world is looking Emilius? When a brother and sister saw themselves as two halves, vowed not to leave, go around the world hand in hand. To be together. "I feel inferior next to you - violently yells Emilius. - You do not need me. I want to be alone, just one. " And the blood - big drops ... Carry into the world a son, to keep his love for his brother to wait for her lover, lost in the pursuit of a dream - this is the true purpose of the heroines of Grandia III.
 | |  | Alfina can be a great magician - if equips staff MAG +55. But maybe a warrior - with the club ATK +45. Grandia III allows you to do with the characters that you want. | | Skate graphics engine Grandia III - open space. Caves in the game - the most common. And here is just to go out - here and woods, and fields, rivers and even deserts. Draw the horizon. |
Nice, right? But storyline, it is covered by the screws, completely normal. If the new Final Fantasy refused a fantasy character designer, the Grandia - from the writers. Over the past ten years, they are clearly seen only four RPG, and all - of its own production. Passing game, I'm satisfied to notice things like: "Yuki meets Alphin exactly as Ryudo - Helen in
Grandia II ». Heroes at eight o'clock in the face of evil, on a trip around the world in search of the gods-Sentinel, borrow their strength, the Fifteenth refine credit history and home address of Evil, the twenty-eighth knock his audience, by previewing a few flashbacks. According to this scheme, we have repeatedly lured fifty dollars, is not it? Gamers quickly becomes clear what the outcome of the whole thing, and only wants to know exactly how it happens. Surprises happen, but strange - the writers did not just introduce important, it would seem, the characters, which are then forgotten. There are other ridiculous plot holes - I did not understand why Yuki continue to trust aircraft after so many disasters and how he manages to lift the machine into the air after his would-be touchdowns. I'm sure - without Alphin, Miranda and Dana would not have happened nor the pilot nor the game itself. Therein lies the moral of Grandia III, is not it?
| On the Stand! |
God forbid - to irritate gentlemen gamers need to replay the same place over and over again. It is not fashionable. Level of difficulty in Grandia III to a tee meets market requirements. On simple monsters can relax, lazily choosing this particular recipe for killing the victim. "Today is my choice - Crackle Fang or a stroke seven pobivahom. Bosses and monsters of the strong force to assemble. Expect at random - but you Game Over! Act wisely - get well-deserved victory! All honest.
 | |  | The more powerful the spell - the more beautiful it looks and longer shows. | | Fall into the abyss of Grandia not work you will not let go where is not allowed. |
And what is happening between the mountain-landings and takeoffs heroic? Grandia is known for being the only series of RPG, which is interesting not only to follow the plot, but take your foot monsters. Several years ago I wrote that "Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter presents the best combat system in the Japanese RPG in the history of the genre." So, the Breath of Fire - play smart, but in addition also spectacular. And Grandia III accents are different. Entertaining, but also an intelligent game. And also with "the best combat system."
Imagine the scene at which hectic running around the characters and monsters, brandishing swords, staffs, claws, wings and even the tails. And the beat, beat, beat each other! Sometimes, the action stops, one of the men raised his hands toward heaven and says a powerful spell. Once the smoke clears special effects and eye injuries are counted, the fun continues. Until there is time to give the command. Look in the upper left corner of every screenshot from boevki. See wheel icons of characters? The inner ring - it's your players, and external - monsters. The wheel is divided into several zones, of which the most important one - preparing for action. When the icon of the hero comes to it, time stops and pops up a convenient menu. Probably seen this a million times: "Attack, Magic, spetspriem" - then that's the spirit. Decision is made? The game once again goes into a real-time. Icon is moving on, but when it comes to coverage, so their plans will happen. If it comes, of course.
 | |  | Interior design in Grandia III - to a tee in the second part. Such is the "continuity of artistic ideas." | | Changing the status spells (eg, soothing or paralyzing) in Grandia is not very useful. |
Cornerstone of the fight in Grandia - lifting someone else's action (Cancel). While the icon fighter in the holding area, you can counterattack and throw back in time to polkolesa. Suit and a free kick Critical, and any spetspriem with property Cancel. Opponents are well aware of this, and skillfully "interrupt" your own attack. Here we take, for example, such a situation. It is time to choose the command to Alphin, you're looking for in the list of spells favorite Hellburner, and when you notice: a boss is ready to counterattack, and the icon it almost reached the zone of action. What should I do? Urgent use Comet Strike (the time of writing - almost zero; Cancel-effect - a). Damage from it is small, but the skins of your employees will remain unharmed. And to finish off the boss will be the second hero undercover Cancel-hitting third. Do not be just in the euphoria, the system Cancel - not magic magic wand. Remember that even an enemy, and leans back in polkolesa, your hero must go full circle to repeat the attack. That is, to create an enemy that you want, not giving him a one-stop shop for counter-attack, it is possible in one case - if it is a little brake and without friends. And those hurt - a sin.
| Free Flight |
First at the helm of the aircraft sits ... correctly, Alfina. In the scene where Yuki makes a girl "steer" a gamer for the first time can fly around the world playing in free mode. Funny that the land is not permitted anywhere - there are only a dozen available locations. But the R1 button is always ready to talk about the illuminated object sighting. "Ruins of an ancient temple" or "large lake with fresh water." Another nice that seen before on the ground level of the city and valley are easily identified. Up until the "oh, this is the same cave, where I caught up with Game Over!» Trifle, but nice!
 | |  | Miranda looks much younger than his thirty-plus years, right? | | "And my son has already grown quite" - Miranda murmured tenderly. |
Widely publicized innovation Grandia III - Attack in the air - correspond to the spirit and content of the battle in full. Cancel by Critical-shocks (as well as certain types of magic - take that same Crackle) throws enemies up. If the next character on the stage to choose the normal attack (Combo), then it becomes a spectacular beating hapless monster in the air. The benefit of this is twofold. Done a lot more than usual - this time. Killed by an enemy in the air combos can leave you a souvenir valuable object - that's two. Again, the main thing - do not get involved in this. I remember a case where all four of my hero tossed each other a monster while the other slowly cooked spell Quake ... And it is not in vain.
 | In Grandia III Scene commercials than in Grandia II, not to mention the Xtreme. |
Already like the game? I warn you: a full presentation of
Grandia III for the first few hours of game can not be perfect. Locations one by one left behind, and the game is changing. Architecture of the buildings is complicated, unsightly bushes on the roadside are replaced by dense jungle, and even had seen in hundreds of other RPG ruins of ancient civilization look impressive thanks to a beautiful structure. The Internet wrote: the game more beautiful than Dragon Quest? Be aware - this man was Grandia III half, no less. In contrast, started off the bat story after the twentieth hour slowly fades, delighting a few truly emotional dialogues. And let's be honest - the most vivid characters from the scene since the first DVD, and their successors do not always have the brand. Fortunately, for the finale the writers again, wake up, and along with them - and their heroes.
It is impossible to assess not only the plot, but even the gameplay! There are games, greet gamers all its features at once. Like, use it! In the same Final Fantasy X - just you and the Sphere Grid (system throughput), and overdrive, and the summons, and lots more, and things are different. Time goes, incantation complicated, the number of summoned beasts is growing, but nothing new is added. In Grandia III is not so.At first, you can not even change gear properly - no matter what. How to edit the list of spells, if one's brother? Gamers are trained to do so, that is, use the Cancel-attacks, treating subjects. It takes several hours - and here, what joy, you can go to the store with the words: "I do magic at all!" Now I can tinker with equipment - say, "here is this boy I will have a doctor, but the girl is perfect fire attacks magic . Be under the spell list should pick up eggs mana (mana egg). For example, Frost Egg strengthens the entire water magic. More time passes, and the gamer learns: Yes from the eggs, it turns out, can extract new spells - even on the black market can not buy! Of course, in the process of refining the subject goes into the astral plane, but for equipment needed only four - one for the hero. Have to choose what to sacrifice. After throwing super spells left and right without the proper eggs for sinus useless. Only points in vain mana burn. And at the end of the first disc you will find a unit that allows you to combine (fusion) eggs. By the time the junk first level must accumulate a lot - that's out of it can be built such that any boss will not find it. Again, it is easy to overdo it - to make the egg, which heroes will not be able to wear. Level of magic does not come out. And finally, there are orbs Guardians. It's simple - this was the Tsar Cannon, from which the sparrows is better not to shoot. Because it is recharged for a long time (though automatically).
| Clever and talented youth |
That you will not confuse the main text, I told just about spells and mana eggs. And then there are skills (Skills; not to be confused with the Special - special moves), and intelligent book. Spells are divided into elemental groups (fire, water, earth, wind). At skill has its own system (mental, physical, and so on). Equipped a book, you amplify or another group entirely. It remains only to edit the list of the skills of each fighter, picked them up "in tune" folio. For example, magichke perfectly suited Guru's Way, Absorb Magic, Water Mastery, and, accordingly, Magician Book. As in the case of eggs, the most entertaining skills are kept "inside" books. And after reading the source of knowledge is destroyed. To fear is not worth it - after all, all or nearly all the eggs and the books are not unique and are found in the game several times. Yes, and once again remind (the game also will not fail to say at least ten times): skills and spells "just in the inventory" is useless! They should be sure to equip. And skills can not be "used" in combat. They just eat and act on their own. Passively.
And now - the attention - the question. Imagine that you are from the very beginning of the game would have to constantly think about everything - about the list of spells, oh, God forgive me, eggs and, goodness me, a merger? A similar problem was with Final Fantasy VIII. As I began to roam the tamoshnem menu, so all the desire to place before the end of the game is lost. More importantly: Grandia III is not only desirable plot; wondering do you know what other entertainment we have come up with expensive developers.
What more do you need to know about Grandia III? The game is completely linear, but there are optional bosses. The character models in the ads on the engine and the CG-video vary greatly in quality, sometimes it infuriates. At the locations found logic puzzles level "press the button - opens the door." Wonderful hands-autopilot of Grandia II is not here, but the existing mini-map, you can easily navigate. Investigate the location in search of treasure chests is fun and easy, the benefit of the monsters are always visible in advance, and can kill good.Ah yes, the hero is still the scanner "that which is bad." Clicking on the button, we receive information on all the nearby chests, detached objects and interactive objects. The invention you will appreciate the true - any new RPG without such features should provide for polballa less, period.
My personal opinion? I dreamed that Grandia III priskachet on a white horse and kill the hydra of Final Fantasy, will turn to ashes Dragon Quest. Alas, the show "The competitors are killing themselves on the wall" was canceled. But ... bay dapple suit you?
| Superman and Wonder Girls |
Special moves (Special) in a game learn by themselves. There are times that you choose from the menu Combo, a hero is something wise, with the sword in all directions, fire and lightning mosque. And then announces: "I decided to call it the Magic Green Dragon Punch!". And then repeat it when necessary - would be in stock sunglasses special moves (not to be confused with mana, stock is replenished automatically.) Each such Special can be improved. Again, the game itself chooses when to please you with the words "hero discovered the secret way to do it! You just need to frequently use your favorite techniques. Then the first will be raised to lethal force, then - the speed of execution, and so on. Up to the "ultimatum" form, where everything is so good that even in something bad - sorry for the monsters. There are, however, more peaceful ways. Dana, for example, can cause a "endless source of mana." One boss I had brought up the fact that the spell on him was not anything else to do, and HP have it - like all my characters combined, and yes even multiply by three. Then I sent three men to cover Dan cancel-attacks, has organized a girl free mana, and she quickly finished off reptile most expensive spells. Such is the tactic.
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