maxlords
04-21-2005, 11:04 AM
Today we’re looking at one of the most ignored action/RPGs for the PSX, The Granstream Saga. A surprisingly fun combination of hack and slash action and classic RPG, The Granstream Saga was roundly ignored when it was released. Maybe it’s because it game out about the same time as really excellent RPGs like Grandia and several others. Or maybe it’s just because there was little to no advertising for it and no one knew what it was at all. Either way, it’s not a game that many bothered to play or went out of their way to find.
The action in Granstream Saga is surprisingly advanced for the game’s age. The dungeons are all 3rd person and almost top down. You view the game from a fairly steep angle, and many of the enemies are surprisingly fast. If you sneak up on an enemy, you get a free shot at em when combat starts, but be careful because they get the same! To attack, you use regular attack buttons, but fighting game style combos are also available and quite powerful. It pays to learn them! You can even sidestep, similar to strafing in an FPS, a handy move to jump out of the way at the last second.
For story, The Granstream Saga has a tightly woven and fairly engrossing plot. Your goal is to stop the floating continents of your world from sinking out of the sky. To do so, you must talk and fight your way through five sections of the game. When I played through it, I beat the game in about a day and a half of moderate to heavy play, so it’s just long enough to get a decent run out of, but not painfully long like many modern RPGs.
The graphics are showing their age these days and are nothing special, but overall, the experience of the game is surprisingly fun. Ok, fine, the graphics are starting to feel painful these days, and the control is a bit rough. The plot isn’t deep, and it’s not full of big shocking surprises, but it’s at least solid and fun. The cool thing is that you really don’t have to dedicate much time to this one….it can be blazed through in a matter of a handful of hours….maybe a week of light play. And regardless of whether it’s a bit clunkier than you might expect, if given a fair shake, it’s surprisingly fun. It’s definitely not on the same level as Grandia or Alundra, but it’s better than you might expect.
For those of you looking for a bit of a break from the standard RPG, something that’s not too heavily involving and has a decent story, The Granstream Saga may surprise you. Oh yeah, and if even has two distinct endings, both easily reached. I bought my copy when the game came out for around $30-40 and I got my money’s worth out of it. Today, mint complete copies sell for under $5 on eBay. It’s a low demand game that pretty much everyone ignores, but it’s definitely fun to try out!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/8486eff3.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/3fca9025.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/58d6516a.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/f579b370.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/a4148529.jpg
The action in Granstream Saga is surprisingly advanced for the game’s age. The dungeons are all 3rd person and almost top down. You view the game from a fairly steep angle, and many of the enemies are surprisingly fast. If you sneak up on an enemy, you get a free shot at em when combat starts, but be careful because they get the same! To attack, you use regular attack buttons, but fighting game style combos are also available and quite powerful. It pays to learn them! You can even sidestep, similar to strafing in an FPS, a handy move to jump out of the way at the last second.
For story, The Granstream Saga has a tightly woven and fairly engrossing plot. Your goal is to stop the floating continents of your world from sinking out of the sky. To do so, you must talk and fight your way through five sections of the game. When I played through it, I beat the game in about a day and a half of moderate to heavy play, so it’s just long enough to get a decent run out of, but not painfully long like many modern RPGs.
The graphics are showing their age these days and are nothing special, but overall, the experience of the game is surprisingly fun. Ok, fine, the graphics are starting to feel painful these days, and the control is a bit rough. The plot isn’t deep, and it’s not full of big shocking surprises, but it’s at least solid and fun. The cool thing is that you really don’t have to dedicate much time to this one….it can be blazed through in a matter of a handful of hours….maybe a week of light play. And regardless of whether it’s a bit clunkier than you might expect, if given a fair shake, it’s surprisingly fun. It’s definitely not on the same level as Grandia or Alundra, but it’s better than you might expect.
For those of you looking for a bit of a break from the standard RPG, something that’s not too heavily involving and has a decent story, The Granstream Saga may surprise you. Oh yeah, and if even has two distinct endings, both easily reached. I bought my copy when the game came out for around $30-40 and I got my money’s worth out of it. Today, mint complete copies sell for under $5 on eBay. It’s a low demand game that pretty much everyone ignores, but it’s definitely fun to try out!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/8486eff3.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/3fca9025.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/58d6516a.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/f579b370.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/maxlords/a4148529.jpg