Battle of the Ports - Grandia (グランディア) Show 527 - 60fps

[@MagisterHamid]

In that intro scene when the camera pans over the city you can clearly tell Saturn is the best looking.

[@juliencapron3326]

One of my favorite video games of all time. The main theme remains to this day the anthem of the JRPG nation!

[@BackToTheGame.98]

Man, 90s RPGs were something else. The music was exceptional in the Grandia series too. Grandia II was probably my favorite game on the Dreamcast behind Jet Set Radio.

[@Tamachan87]

Oh yes, Grandia and Retro Core: My two favourite things collide at last!

[@RetroCore]

Nice 👍

[@robertdanker6193]

So happy to now have the English translation for the Saturn version!!

[@kbrsretrogameroom327]

Grandia was actually my favorite RPG during the PlayStation generation. Being severely hearing impaired, the voice acting never bothered me. This was actually the first game I ever felt the controller shake as well. My day one PSX had recently died and I had just bought a new one and remember the surprise the the controller shook as that guy hit Justin at the beginning of the game. I didn't know there was a Saturn version until much later which was a shame because I had both systems during that generation.

[@teruienages962]

The voice acting is phenomenal for the time. Anyone who says differently is wrong.

[@roberto1519]

It's a good game, no matter which console you played it on. My brothers and I had the Saturn and I did finish on its original console back then. Kids are happy with much less than us adults, so I totally get what you mean. What happens with the PS version is that it's a port, so it was fated to be less than its original counterpart, because ports almost always suffer in the process. Take Breath of Fire IV, it's very similar to Grandia on how it functions and its visuals, even L and R are used to rotate the cameras, 3D environments with 2D sprites, the game is beautiful and shows that a similar RPG targeted to the console makes all the difference. The PS version of Grandia totally shows that the development team was only punching the clock and not enjoying themselves in the process.

[@arcadianlhadattshirotsughW33Z]

@@roberto1519 breath of fire 3 and 4 are awesome

[@wolffactor56]

@@teruienages962 I agree. The voice acting was good and loved everything about this game.

[@bizarroeddie1]

@@roberto1519 It's a game crafted for Saturn. The floor of the villages for example is a huge VDP2 tilemap with the shadows included carefully crafted for the structures to be placed on specific parts of it, like the fountain and the grass on the outskirts. PS1 can't to that and has to resort to a much smaller texture on a repeating pattern to do the same job and it doesn't look nearly as good. The same goes for other VDP2 usage. Other than that PS1 have better transparency effects and better cutscenes, so the guys were actually caring about it, yes.

[@Lampiono69]

❤ Grandia for Saturn, such a Mega Hit. ❤ Unforgettable

[@flink1231]

I love Grandia! I played the ps1 version originally as I don't speak Japanese... I recall seeing screenshots of the saturn version on magazines and thinking this would be another great game I don't get to play because I don't know Japanese, so I gladly took the ps1 version when it was released! I understand the technical reasons for the hd release to port from ps1 (a lot easier than the saturn), but come on, Grandia deserved better! Let me add, this game's music is something so special! I still listen to it to this day from time to time. I looked for the ost when I traveled to japan but could not find it...

[@RetroCore]

The game music in Grandia is indeed special. Easily some of the best ever.

[@mistersurrealist]

I'm currently playing this on a Saturn connected to a 32'' Panasonic CRT via RGB cables and it's a glorious thing to behold. What a beautiful game! For me there's no question the Saturn port is the definitive version of this classic.

[@RetroCore]

The Saturn version definitely is a classic.

[@Colin_Ames]

Great video, as always.

[@RetroCore]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@burntyper]

Game was custom made for the Saturn hardware. Everything other than that suffers, obviously

[@SomeOrangeCat]

I've only ever played the sequel which had a fantastic voice cast, including several Metal Gear Solid alumni.

[@NoSpamForYou]

Saturn version is beautiful

[@RetroCore]

I couldn't agree more. Looks even nicer with scan lines.

[@alonsotglima9494]

(using translator) Congratulations on the video! My friend, what a great job, my sincere congratulations! You were impartial and showed the positive and negative points of the versions clearly and without flattery! Grandia was the game that introduced me to the world of RPGs, and truth be told, I started with the best of the best. Every RPG I know, I compare to Grandia... of course, I know that each game is unique and has its own particularities, however, when I discovered Grandia on the Saturn, I knew nothing about RPGs, I didn't understand what was being said or written, but the JP dubbing, the soundtrack and especially the combat, won me over right away. A few months later, I discovered that there was a walkthrough and I was finally able to finish the game, which left me with a smile from ear to ear, what a beautiful thing, what an absurd amount of work! They say that all the evil we wish on others comes back to us, right? Okay, I accept my part. But I swear, I sincerely hope that whoever is greedy dies of cancer, because it was greed that led those damn people to make Grandia 2019, what a bad job... this version doesn't even deserve a pirated download! I would call the people at Frozenbyte to work on the Grandia graphics, because everything else is great as it is. I wish everyone good health and success! (hahahahaha... except for the greedy ones!)

[@roberto1519]

I share you feelings on the Saturn original, even if you couldn't understand word to word, there are other kinds of communication that were more than enough to worth the effort and playing it. The game is pure charm all the way through. It's adventurous, happy, melancholic, poetic, funny, romantic and has that sense of discovery each new area you explore. As for the rereleases, let's just pretend they never existed, it's not an isolated case, even the recent classic DOOM package isn't better than what source ports offered for over a decade now. I swear that even a simple mouse movement shows there's something off. I kinda dread every time a rerelease/remaster/HD version of a classic is announced, I'm serious.

[@alonsotglima9494]

@@roberto1519 (Using translator) Hahahahaha... I've become your fan, Roberto! Are you Brazilian? I almost got beaten up by a Tomb fan when I said that I hated this dirty remaster that the guys made just to prostitute Aunt Lara! The guy said that these remasters were a love letter to the fans... hahahahahaha... for me, it was a mix of a love letter and a middle finger... hahahaha! That part that you touched me deeply "The game is pure charm all the way through. It's adventurous, happy, melancholic, poetic, funny, romantic and has that sense of discovery each new area you explore" (- Ui!) Man... Sue has a lot of charisma, her farewell at the portal made manly tears roll down my manly face. I'm almost an Ultra Marine, but even I couldn't resist that scene. The JP dubbing is really good... the guys are so professional! And that was something I really missed in FF7, which many consider the GOTY of the Century. I stopped at Shinra's lab and, as for me, I would have stopped before, but I kept trying in the hope that the game would improve. Man... if there's one game that deserved an "open world" version, it's Grandia. Oh... did you have the displeasure of playing Valkyrie Elysium? Hahahahaha... what was that, my friend? The first one was so cool, I never really liked the second one, but after I saw Elysium, for me, the second one became a GOTY... hahahahaha! Well... that's it, I appreciate your attention and I wish you much health!

[@RetroCore]

Thank you for your comment and experience regarding Grandia. It's always nice to read these types of comments.

[@alonsotglima9494]

@@RetroCore (using translator) Congratulations on the video! I am the one who is grateful for your recognition and for the great work in making the video! I am just a poor guy who likes games! I avoid making unfounded comments! I wish you good health, my friend. KZbin has become a futile place, but people like you will always be an example of quality!

[@roberto1519]

​@@alonsotglima9494 Grandia has many key moments that most RPGs or games in general lack, there's a wall that divides the world by half and you climb it, the second disc is on the other side of the world. Yes, Sue leaving as she couldn't keep up with the others is yet another key moment, the game is truly a masterpiece. It's on par with Riven for me, the sequel to Myst. Yes, I truly despise remakes as I believe fans do them the justice they deserve. Nintendo NEVER releases an enhanced version of their classics, a Brazilian guy had to reprogram Super Mario World for its widescreen patch, so items, enemies and the such behave as expected in the expanded area. It's a true work of love. FFVII isn't that game you fight against a house right in the first 20 minutes in? Yes, I'm Brazilian. Thanks and I wish all the best to you as well.

[@ThoughtformsOfTheSubconsciousM]

The Saturn version had always clearly won over the watered down PS1 crap. Always a beauty to see!

[@batlin]

11:20 "The first rule of Parkinson's Club is that we do not talk about Parkinson's Club"

[@Banderpop]

Another reason the Saturn version is the way to go is that Grandia Digital Museum remains a Saturn exclusive, and is something like a DLC pack for Grandia (but on disc) with extra dungeons, mini-games and other stuff, that also acesses the Grandia save data. Grandia would have made for an amazing 3DS title, as no HD version is going to be kind to the pixel art sprites. But I guess the source code is lost or there's nobody available to work with it.

[@teruienages962]

"as no HD version is going to be kind to the pixel art sprites." That's just flat out wrong. Look at Live A Live's Remake. Look at the upcoming Suikoden I & II collection. Look at the Dragon Quest III HD Remake. And the list goes on and on and on with HD remakes that perfectly capture and replicate the sprites flawlessly. Yeah, sorry, you're just entirely wrong there, with many obvious examples to clearly debunk you, there. The Grandia port ran them through a terrible filter. They intentionally destroyed them on purpose when they didn't have to.

[@roberto1519]

​@@teruienages962 What he meant is that rushed rereleases like these won' t do the originals justice, as many of these so called HD remasters are lazy efforts anyways. True that this isn't the case for all of these, as you mentioned above, but it often is. Chrono Cross, Monster Rancher 2 and so many others that use the PS originals with a make over, for instance.

[@Banderpop]

​@@teruienages962 Dragon Quest III remake has been redrawn to the point where it's not pixel art anymore, and the others have the problem where the sprites and backgrounds don't match each other, like someone has put pixel art cardboard standees into a different game. I guess many are okay with that, but I'm not keen. I wouldn't mind seeing a complete Grandia remake with everything remodelled, including the characters and creatures. Or a Grandia III re-release, considering it was on PS2 only and not released anywhere other than Japan and North America as I recall, and it looked stunning.

[@MarginalSC]

I always thought the loss of the water effect was the most noticeable loss from the Saturn version to the others. Those battle backgrounds lost a ton of resolution for some reason too. But hey, transparent ring menus!

[@bizarroeddie1]

PS1 and the 2019 remaster also mirror the characters when they're rotated, so things like a character's purse show up on the left side and then on the right side. It happens at 14:47 on both versions.

[@roberto1519]

Like in Street Fighter II, Sagat's eyepatch and torso scar are mirrored. As an interesting fact, the original Phantasy Star doesn't use mirrored sprites, so we can clearly tell that it doesn't matter the generation, it's a matter of care to detail and effort.

[@RetroCore]

Oh yes, you're right! I didn't noticed that.

[@jmbenetti]

​@@roberto1519The original Fantasy Star came out on Master System, which couldn't mirror sprites on hardware. Other consoles of that era could save memory by mirroring, that was the main cause of it being used so much.

[@DontCallMeScooterrr]

The Saturn version looks lovely, almost makes me wish I was into RPGs!

[@Charlie-Cat.]

I made sure to have the Saturn version in my collection Mark. What a game this is to play and it never gets dull. 8^) Anthony..

[@Charlie-Cat.]

Thank you Mark. Really looking forward on seeing it from you bro. 8^) Anthony...

[@HybridAngelZero]

The PSone version will always have a special place in my heart simply because it's how I was introduced to the game, but it irks me to no end that Gung-Ho advertised the modern release as being based on the Saturn version when the only thing it really has from that version is the title screen. I wish the awful smear filter had an option to turn off, but honestly, I'm just glad Grandia is available on every platform. Far too many amazing RPGs are trapped on old hardware.

[@RetroCore]

Gung-Ho promoted the crappy HD version as being based upon the Saturn? May, what a lie. As you say, only the Title screen is from the Saturn. The rest of the game is 100% PlayStation.

[@EstebanGallardo]

That music send chills down my spike

[@thrillington2008]

One of the groundbreaking original jrpgs of that time period.

[@ultraegos]

💞Grandia💞

[@pashaxyz9496]

Saturn' s strong feature over ps1 is when Sega' s console mixes polygon floor using Vdp2 power and sprites for vdp1 ...like Street Racer ... the floor and skybox effetcs use vdp2 and superpass PS1 version . On Grandia for Saturn , even the smoke effects are very impreasive due tô VDP1 limitations with transparency .

[@roberto1519]

Breath of Fire IV is a PS focused game (even if it was released for PCs later), and it's also a beautiful game, it has a simpler/cleaner look, but it's a matter of art direction. Grandia was a rushed port, it was fated to be lesser than the original, but I believe with the proper approach, the PS release could be a much better release.

[@RetroCore]

It surprises me at how much transparency there is in the Saturn version.

[@brownandbloom]

What a shame that the Saturn version never got ported. Even worse that the "remastered" version makes it unlikely for it to ever happen.

[@hteekay]

I think Grandia was my 1st RPG game that manage to capture the sense of adventure, from the grand music to how the story progresses and the growth of characters.. all those flaws you mention on PSX doesn't really bothers me because the story is just that good (I even have nostalgic feeling towards the English voice acting) haha.

[@RetroCore]

As long as you enjoyed the game, that's what matters 👍

[@tommylakindasorta3068]

It's a really great JRPG for the time. It gets a little grindy toward the end, but the overall experience is really special and has its own unique flavor. I love the sequel even more.

[@arcadianlhadattshirotsughW33Z]

i love the jrpg grind... oh man the Ys games grind makes me super happy

[@handsomedubbledee]

Mark, I remember playing it and hating the voice dubbing on the PlayStation version but i didnt realize how good the Saturn version looked better than the PlayStation version. It looks almost like a different game. I am going to play the Saturn version. Great Battle of the Ports

[@RetroCore]

Yeah, it's much nicer on the Saturn. The Saturn version does suffer some slowdown mind you.

[@vix_in_japan]

One of the best RPGs ever made, one that made me laugh and cry, especially well, I won't spoil it. I played it on PlayStation first as that's all there was and apart from it occasionally crashing I thoroughly enjoyed it. I want to play through it in Japanese on the Saturn one day. The combat system is really special. Another RPG with a similar combat system that I enjoy is Popolocrois on the PlayStation. My very first KZbin video I published was me drawing Feena sprites. I wouldn't be too put off by the PlayStation version personally speaking, the Saturn version is better from what little I played but if the PlayStation is what you have, go for it. I enjoyed it thoroughly back in the day and as recent as 2018.

[@arcadianlhadattshirotsughW33Z]

its great i agree.. did you ever play emerald dragon or wild arms in their hey day? those made me cry.. like the end of lunar 2 but more due to sadness and death vs lunar 2 ending which just makes you cry out of joy when he ends up on top of her tube and she yells "oh... Hiro!!!".. lots of characters you come to like in Emerald Dragon just get killed, then in Wild Arms the soundtrack on top of finding out what Rudy is just kills you.. both should have been made into an anime..

[@roberto1519]

Yes, it's a great game, even if the ports aren't perfect, what lies beneath more than make it up for the technicalities.

[@Nolasco.]

To bad they didn't choose the Saturn version, they could have done a much better remaster like they have done with the upcoming dragon quest. Thanks Mark 👍🏼

[@RamuneRabbit]

They also lied, saying they were going to use the Saturn version as its basis for the Remaster...and we see what really ended up happening.

[@RetroCore]

Yeah I agree

[@geoserenity]

Surely, that game was the most grandia of adventures "O flame burn'em!" OW HOT!HOT!HOT!HOT!!

[@thepld]

lol I love the warpy jittery PlayStation look so much

[@kaikiske7436]

I bought this game for Saturn when it came out, then again for the US PS1 when that came out (I’m old) For whatever reason I never played it. About a year ago, I started playing the translated Saturn version. Honestly, I found it to be far too lighthearted & goofy for my tastes. I played maybe 3 hours, but never went back. May give it another try at some point, but the back log is nearly 30 years deep, so ya, idk. Didn’t know the HD version came to PS & Xbox. Always assumed that was Switch only. Thanks for covering.

[@roberto1519]

The beginning is lighthearted and goofy on purpose, there's actual character development during the story, melancholy, sadness, solitude are also aspects of what happens later in the game. There are many comedic parts too, weird races and characters. I won't spoil anything but the end is a mixture of melancholy and happiness, transformation, like, you see that many years had passed since you left Parm and many things changed.

[@kaikiske7436]

@@roberto1519 oh? Thanks! Have to give it another go

[@RetroCore]

Yeah, the HD version is on may systems. It is the same ugly mess though no matter what version you play.

[@BurritoKingdom]

I'm surprised the HD collection is based on the PS1 version. VDP2 on the Saturn was used extensively in Grandia like with the floor textures and the water effects. I'm surprised the HD collection didn't use the floor textures from the Saturn version, the PS1 had memory limitations and had to repeat textures.

[@RetroCore]

Yep, the remake is just lazy. I wouldn't be surprised if it's just a crappy PlayStation emulator under the blurry graphics.

[@federicocatelli8785]

It's a pity It was only available in Japan (no fan translation back then) ...bought for PSX back then.

[@Konuvis]

To be fair, back then we had no idea and still enjoyed the PSX version a lot.

[@federicocatelli8785]

@@Konuvis Yeah very true

[@forcedfeedbackclassicgamer5499]

Such a shame Sega didn't push to localize the Saturn version to the West back in the day, but FF7 seriously disrupted the RPG market at large.

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Mid-to-late 90s Sega is a one big story of "coulda, shoulda."

[@Konuvis]

@@SomeOrangeCat FF7 kinda did to RPGs what WoW did to MMO.

[@sataniachya1840]

i dont know why ff7 was soo bin in the 90s, is a pretty lame rpg actually, too overhyped

[@Konuvis]

@@sataniachya1840 I personally love FF7, it was my first real JRPG. Completely fell in love with the genre.

[@sataniachya1840]

@@Konuvis Apart from the nostalgia fact, do you think it is a good game? I don't, I find it slow and confusing, since it wasn't my first rpg, but I think the problem was that I played it right after Chrono Trigger, which I really liked and if people said it was one of the best rpg, and that it is so overhyped, well, I started with very high expectations and it didn't meet any and I was disappointed, very much.

[@neodeckard5158]

Are you planning on making a Battle Of The Ports on Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater? It's going to be completing 20 years next November 17th, and the ports on PS3, 3DS, Vita and the following Delta remake have some graphical differences~ Metal Gear Solid is also viable, if only to compare to the PC port and The Twin Snakes on GameCube~

[@RetroCore]

Probably not because I don't own the Xbox 360 version. Or any version come to think of it.

[@neodeckard5158]

@@RetroCore I see. Well, as i said, those ports aren't just emulation, as there are graphical differences between them. Maybe it's for the best, because the Delta remake isn't out yet.

[@EslamNawito]

I wonder if the texture assets of the HD release can be utilized in duckstation

[@Benjamillion]

I remember how disappointed I was when we were straight up lied to about the Sega Saturn textures being used for the Grandia HD remaster. Just the devs being lazy on what they promise.

[@Konuvis]

I never realized the Saturn version was so much better than PSX. I always thought it was like SotN, better is some aspects and worse in others. this is pretty cut and dry. I still have my copy but I never finished. I really need to go back and play it someday. I may grab the Saturn version + patch though!

[@Shyning77]

The only thing the PS version does better is, like always, actual transparencies instead of meshed ones. But the PS version doesn't have the VDP2 water effects.

[@jsr734]

@@Shyning77 The PS version also has higher qualtiy FMV and the water effect is different but still has its own charm. Ah, and now all characters cast a transparent shadow, sadly its almost always hiding behind.

[@Shyning77]

@@jsr734 Oh yes, better FMV quality, also as usual ;)

[@RetroCore]

I agree there. There are some points we're transparent effects are mesh on the Saturn. The PlayStation also runs a bit smother but overall it is far worse. The jittering and warping textures really do make it an ugly game.

[@MahmoudEhab2023]

would you make next week's botp on sonic cd?

[@Konuvis]

Bro, I guarantee you these vids are probably made at least a month in advance.

[@MahmoudEhab2023]

@@Konuvis understandable

[@RetroCore]

I thought I had done that one. Next weeks show is a Sonic Team game so that's a slight coincidence I guess.

[@solarflare9078]

@Retro Core I’m gonna guess Nights?

[@MistyKathrine]

The steam version does have a number of mods available, including a defiler mod, this will make the game look like the playstation version but with widescreen and higher framerates. If you like modding your game, Steam version is alright.

[@liamh1982]

Is the last one really a remaster, or did someone just code a quick and dirty PS1 emulator for the game to run in? Would explain the textures still warping and polygon clipping at the edges of the screen.

[@RetroCore]

I think it's just a cheap lame emulation upscale effort.

[@videogamebookreviews]

I bought this for the PlayStation. I didn't remember the voice acting!

[@RetroCore]

You are very fortunate 😊

[@oscarzxn4067]

Really love this game, one of mt favorite RPG's alongside Octopath Traveler 2 and Pokémon White 2, with such an amazing Sense of asventure and the most enjoyable romance of any game I've seen And I like it more than Grabdia 2 also.

[@oscarzxn4067]

*Adventure *Grandia I was just waking up when I made the comment lol

[@stefaneilenbrock2587]

The music ....

[@panzertisch6254]

Your brief summary of the prologue is much more detailed than what's in the English translation, which I think is a bit crap.

[@RetroCore]

Nice to hear that, 😊👍

[@matthewlucent7645]

Another fail on Sega's part not getting this released outside of Japan. The upper management of 90s Sega was an epic fail of legendary proportions.

[@GCJACK83]

In the first set of screenshots, you can tell right away that it's the same scene. The glaring difference is we have clouds in the Saturn version, but the PS1 and HD versions omit that detail. The HD remaster also has crisper lines and coloration, something I consider the doing of Gungho Online Entertainment which handled the remaster versions. Gungho is also handling the upcoming Lunar remasters, so I'm expecting similar great work out of them.

[@RetroCore]

Yep. That's part of the void I was talking about in the video. Outside of towns, the Saturn version has texture while the PlayStation and HD remake use flat colours or nothing. Hence why there's no clouds in the sky.

[@Belpowerslave]

Such an amazing game. I mean, it did EVERYTHING people said the Saturn *could not do*. Why they left this in Japan, I will never know. You know how bad this game this game makes FF7 look? Flat, bitmap backgrounds and low-poly count characters in FF7 vs high-poly count backgrounds and 2D characters in Grandia...there's no comparison. I only ever had the Grandia demo disc(or "Prelude" as I think they called it) back in the day, but loved to just sit back and watch it. That ocean water still blows me away. Good to hear there's an English patch...would love to actually be able to play through it at some point. Breaks my heart about the remaster...had that of been the Saturn version I'd have bought it day-one.

[@RetroCore]

The worst thing about the remaster is that they originally said it was going to be based upon the Saturn version. The only thing Saturn about it is the title screen. 😢

[@rafadono]

I remember that when the remaster came out, the developer said it would have Saturn features, was it all not true?

[@RetroCore]

It has the Saturn's title screen but that's about it.

[@bombjack1984]

I really need to get around to playing this, as i loved the sequel on Dreamcast. Such a good battle system. I know it's thought of as inferior, but I'll probably play the PS1 version on an OLED Vita, which is perfect for JRPGs.

[@RetroCore]

If you've never played the Saturn version, you'll enjoy the PlayStation port.

[@Lonewolfz24]

Im with you on most things, but for this one, as bad as the voices are, like many translated games to English, there is some charm in the level of camp to it as well (and being ABLE to understand it is a big plus). It would be nice as an option between them. Also, the PS version does have transparencies instead of the saturns Mesh on many items and objects. The HD is the real sad one, because I would think they would have made it the best of both originals put together.

[@RetroCore]

I think because I can understand the Japanese voices it makes the English voices even worse. They really do lack emotion in most parts.

[@Lonewolfz24]

@@RetroCore oh they do, same as most anime, it's usually awful, but it's that, or read instead of watch. I will usually do subs the second time around. But with games, it's all we get (usually)

[@nomadjock]

I always thought the Saturn version of Grandia was one of the most beautiful looking games around at that time and the way the screen moves and scrolls around the player makes it feel more like an adventure movie, especially when compared to the fix angle approach of Final Fantasy 7. I have never played Grandia but I doubt it is better than FF7 and I still rate the original FF7 as the best game ever made and its almost 30 years old now.

[@RetroCore]

FF7 is good but I think a lot of the charm comes from the style more than the actual game. I'd say as far as core gameplay is concerned, Grandia is far better, especially the battle system. However, FF7 does have the better store in my opinion.

[@jonathandavidson8633]

I could be wrong but I thought that there was a version for the Sega dreamcast? edit: I just looked it up and it was Grandia 2

[@RetroCore]

Yeah, Grandia 2 that is as you mentioned. I've played that but never really got far in to it.

[@pixelpoppyproductions]

I’ve played all 3. The Japanese version (in 1997, there was a partial fan translation back then even, but you had to print it lol), the PS1 port, and of course the HD remaster. If you aren’t going to play the Saturn version, the HD remaster is probably the winner over the PS1 original, mainly because of the stable performance and accessibility. Plus you get the original Japanese voice acting instead of the awful English dub. Next time I play it will be the Saturn patch, I forgot how long ago the remaster came out. It’s about time!

[@RetroCore]

Lol, I liked your comment about the partial translation 😁👍

[@j.goggels9115]

One of the finest game on the Saturn or is it ? Never saw a release in the west ; got translated by fans... When putting so much effort not to have it in the Saturn library, it makes you wonder whether this jewel should be left to the Sony PlayStation altogether and focus on the second episode for the Sega Dreamcast.

[@RetroCore]

I'm not sure the meaning of this post. Grandia was started in the early days of the Saturn. Don't forget, the Saturn was very popular in Japan and was out selling the PlayStation in the early days. So making a killer RPG for a system doing well and for a company you'd always supported (Game Arts made a lot of Maga Drive and Maga CD games) made sense. Sadly a lot can happen between the start of a project and until it gets released.

[@GamayObera]

The HD remake makes me wonder if the upcoming remasters of Lunar will be bad; some people already is "throwing the towel" on it due to the new English voice acting.

[@RetroCore]

It will be. 100% it's the same PlayStation based remake with a nasty blurry filter applied. Hopefully they will give a Japanese language option.

[@Konuvis]

@@RetroCore Japanese VO is the only reason I'd buy it since I aleady own the Sega CD and PSP versions.

[@TheAlphaOmegaX3]

I really like the English voice overs from the Playstation 1 release of both Lunar games. I'll be interested to see how they improve or get worse in re-release.

[@arcadianlhadattshirotsughW33Z]

@@TheAlphaOmegaX3 do you thing they'll censor the Working Designs work? "Was it good for you darling" etc? i wont buy it, i have them all already but i am interested to see what they remove... as long as the ending of 2 still has the psx ending where hiro finds luna and we hear her cry "oh... Hiro!!" than its kinda worth it.. i guarantee the bromides (sexy girl pics) will be removed.. apparently that will offend... somebody?

[@TheAlphaOmegaX3]

@arcadianlhadattshirotsughW33Z oh I totally forgot about the sexy pics lol. Yeah I still own the originals as well. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they took all that out or anything else that might seem....sensitive for modern audiences. I'll definitely keep my eyes out for that as well. Good point 👍🏻

[@zenmaster24]

the hd one seems pretty smooth? are you sure its the ps version with updated textures?

[@RetroCore]

100% it's the PSX with the same textures but now with a horrible smooth filter applied.

[@TheFirstHunt]

I wish the English dub was available on the Saturn version. I don't speak Japanese and I love cheesy dubs.

[@PhilBaxter]

The modern release has the same imprecision issues with sprites as the PSX version, which somewhat implies that under the hood it's running emulation. It's too bad there isn't really a definitive version of this game, as they all have so many flaws. I guess the Sat version is on balance the best, but my tolerance for such low frame rates these days is long, long gone.

[@Kumimono]

I do wonder, if Saturn emulation might be up to the task these days. There's often settings to run stuff at higher clocks than the original hardware could manage.

[@RetroCore]

Having that Saturn version running at a higher framerate would be the ultimate solution for Grandia.

[@manoelBneto]

I don't know if any of them have CPU overclocking options, but 3D Saturn games usually have less slowdowns on emulators. None of the Saturn emulators do cycle-accurate emulation of the video chip, drawing polygons much quicker than real HW. This was usually the bottleneck on polygon-heavy games like Quake, which runs much better on emulators. The Saturn's VDP1 (the chip which rendered the sprites/quads) was its Achilles heel. It was pretty good when sprites were not scaled or rotated (aka: pure 2D games), but performance degraded quickly the more distorted the sprites became (aka: full 3D environments with perspective projection). This means the "polygons per second" rate varied wildly depending on the content, and were beat by the PS1 in the vast majority of situations.

[@roberto1519]

​@@manoelBneto​It happened even with 100% 2D games, take Simcity 2000, the Saturn port uses a single CPU/GPU, and the game wasn't further optimized to make it work a bit better, even using less than half the console's potential. In very large cities, scrolling in any direction is a true test of patience. Remember, we are talking about a 2D focused console, aren't we? Now, let's take Alien Trilogy, a FPS released for the SAT/PS/PC, the Saturn version runs basically at the same performance as the PS, but it also uses a single SH-2 CPU and lacks a few effects from the PS, such as lighting in the sprites, etc. Independence Day runs smoother on the Saturn for some reason, Duke Nukem 3D uses a custom engine for the Saturn, while the PS version is way slower (but the game is more faithful to the PC original). With all that, what I'm saying is that there's nothing like a single argument to determine that a given hardware have only one approach and a single explanation for their strengths/weaknesses. SFA3 on the PS1 is a technical marvel, even if it's limited compared to the Saturn due to the lack of RAM on Sony's machine and there are 3D games on the Saturn that run and look better on the Saturn, specially, SEGA's console didn't have the benefit of 4-5 years more on the market, unfortunately. I love both machines and my brothers and I played both of them for many, many years.

[@manoelBneto]

@@roberto1519 while the Saturn didn't get used to it's full potential, some things can't get worked around, tho. The Saturn's CPUs can calculate more polygons per second than the PS1's, but the VDP1 still needs to turn those polygons into pixels and it just isn't as fast at doing it as the PS1's video chip. The VDP2, on the other hand, gave the Saturn an edge when games could make use of it, since it could render two infinitely large tile-mapped 3D planes at zero cost, which would otherwise require hundreds/thousands of polygons. It also allowed some very specific transparency effects, also at zero cost. Grandia used all of the Saturn's specific tricks and thus couldn't translate well to the PS1. But those tricks can't be applied to any sort of game, like Quake and Tomb Raider.

[@dreamcastfan]

This is the problem with RPGs. 70-ish hours is just too long for me. 😩 I did beat Grandia II back in the day on the DC and really enjoyed it, the tactics of cancelling enemy moves was really cool and actually made the battle system very addictive. If I never do get around to playing this, it will definitely be the English patch Saturn version.

[@solarflare9078]

Have you tried a Mario RPG (Super Mario RPG, Mario & Luigi, Paper Mario, etc)? They tend to be no longer than 24 hours if you’re fast, the longest game being Mario & Luigi Dream Team.

[@dreamcastfan]

@@solarflare9078 I think Dream Team might be the one M&L game I’ve played, it being the longest probably explains why I didn’t finish it! 😅 I have played the Paper Mario games, I liked the first two the best. I bought the Mario RPG remake but never got around to playing it as it’s by Square so I assumed it would be 50+ hours at least. 😅

[@solarflare9078]

@@dreamcastfan Oof. While I love Dream Team, and even consider it one of my favorites in the M&L series, its length can be quite crazy compared to other games in the series. Superstar Saga can be like 10 hours in comparison if going fast, while every other game is squared around the middle in terms of length (barring Partners in Time, which is almost just as short). It's no secret the first two Paper Mario games are the best (and also no secret the forbidden 4th game is the worst), but on the topic of length, the first four games can be comfortably finished quickly enough, but the 5th and 6th games (especially the 5th) are considerably longer, almost on the same tier as Dream Team. Also, the Mario RPG remake was by ArtePiazza :p Jokes aside, don't worry about the fact the original game was made by Square, especially when you consider the fact AlphaDream, the former developers behind Mario & Luigi, were made by former Squaresoft employees. Length wise, I'd say it's generally shorter than a good chunk of those games actually, and the remake is very close to the SNES original, barring a few changed/removed Woolseyisms.

[@MadInu8]

God these floor messed up mapped textures on the PS1 version... It's very sad they were not able to port the saturn version on the HD remaster, it would have been so much better.

[@RetroCore]

I agree 100%

[@solarflare9078]

I keep confusing this game’s name with that one X68000 shoot em up that was ported to the Mega Drive

[@csikocska]

I have watched some videos about Grandia 2 and I was not sure how the prequel looks like. As I watched the compirasion video, this game also has the stylished character arts and real time battle screens like its sequel. I will give a try for the Sega Saturn version with English text patch.

[@RetroCore]

I recommend it👍

[@thelastofitskind3034]

I nevee had a sega saturn thw only console i never owned most of been an amazing console

[@stevenhibbard4421]

I remember it was previewed in Sega for months just to never get translated so I had to get the worse PlayStation version instead, still an amazing game though

[@RetroCore]

It really is a shame the Saturn version never got an official translation.

[@beebot]

I played through the excellent Saturn translation - which was a real nostalgic treat, but I definitely wasn't a fan of the modern rerelease. I've never been a fan of anime voice-actors on dubs and they were godawful. Takes me back to playing through BOF III, IV and this on import back in the day. The struggle was real.

[@RetroCore]

I agree. The English voice acting is so bad. Most characters lack any emotion, especially Justin, the main character.

[@SirJonSoda]

oh my... on the PS, the textures on the ground of the first town make absolutely no sense and look like they were randomly placed. I only noticed this on the comparison. Also, the battle sceneries look like simple background textures with no geometry at all

[@RetroCore]

The battle scenes are indeed a simple background texture made to look as if they are 3D. They're not though as they lack any prospective at all.

[@cius2112]

The first half of Grandia is a masterpiece. The second half is a bit of a mess. It's like they had to hurry and figure out how to end the story while also figuring out what to do with a bunch of other random characters that they hadn't even introduced by the midpoint of the game. If I had to guess they delayed it so they could slap that together real quick.

[@tsht]

English voicing on PS... My ears are bleeding. As always, I will just apply a patch to my Grandia Saturn .iso ^^ I never played it, it's a shame for me. I played Grandia II on Dreamcast however, for me it's a tie between Grandia II and Phantasy Star as best RPG I ever played. I really have best memories of it.

[@RetroCore]

I just finished Grandia on the Saturn last night. Great game! Sets up the age of Justin for the second game just nicely as well.

[@JustPeasant]

Does the HD remaster have the option to have Japanese voiceover with English subtitles? Like every Japanese game since 2012.

[@arcadianlhadattshirotsughW33Z]

i hope so.. ive gotten really used to undub patches on a lot of jrpgs from this era.. im not sure if im gonna buy the new release yet though since i already have so many versions but i would just to support Game Arts if they're still kicking..edit: i think he just said a korean company did it, not Game Arts, and based on the psx version so thats that..

[@RetroCore]

Yes, It does. Still wouldn't play it though. Modding the Saturn release with the English text patch would provide a much better experience.

[@Idelacio]

Still have my playstation copy, great game. Sigh, shame the story takes a dive once you get past the wall. :T Also I like the English VA, but then I like janky voice acting. Either way, fantastic soundtrack for both this and the sequel. :3

[@RetroCore]

You can't go wrong with the soundtrack.

[@kupamon]

Too bad the sequel doesn't have those charming detailed graphics nor those nice characters design.

[@TiagoxInside]

Saturn is the best version!

[@atomiswave2]

I've been playing the PlayStation 1 version in French to try to help me learn the language 😂

[@WWammyy]

I wanna say I love the English voices 😂.

[@veghesther3204]

Grandia 1 via the port of it on the PS4/Switch still takes FOREVER to lv up both party members and skills/spells while STILL HAVING a FIXED 12 items in TOTAL to equip per party members Grandia 2 fixes that by DOING AWAY with all that in that you don't NEED to use skills/spells to lv them on and party member exp doesn't take HOURS to lv up either per lv.

[@johnebbs3819]

Does your son play games Mark ?

[@RetroCore]

He used to play a lot but now he just plays crappy mobile phone junk for the most part.

[@diebesgrab]

I don’t know what the Playstation version’s FMVs look like, but it’s too bad the Saturn’s are so low framerate.

[@RetroCore]

It looks nicer than the Saturn's video but still quite messy.

[@r4zi3lgintoro65]

at least hd version have saturn battle backgrounds

[@kathleendelcourt8136]

The "HD" ones still seem a little blurry to me. Not as as bad as the PS1's but still not as sharp as on the Saturn.

[@r4zi3lgintoro65]

@@kathleendelcourt8136 well it low resolution and there is no antialiasing

[@m3nguele]

@@kathleendelcourt8136 on pc you could apply a CRT shader, it might make a little better

[@RetroCore]

It actually has the PlayStation backgrounds. For example, the first town on the PlayStation just has a blue void for the sky when showing the 3D from the side. The Saturn has a proper sky with clouds. The HD remake only has the blue void like the PlayStation.

[@r4zi3lgintoro65]

@@RetroCore battle ground not world

[@magoid]

So, how is Saturn emulation these days? PS1 emulation can fix a lot of limitations of the original hardware, so I wonder if the same could be done for the Saturn.

[@arcadianlhadattshirotsughW33Z]

its not fantastic, but yabause does pretty good for most games.. it depends on your cpu and how strong it is i think.. yabause is the easiest (especially thru retro arch) then theres yabasanshiro, beetle saturn, than ST-V Kronos.. they all have their issues..psx emulation is super easy.. damn, i have like 3 psx emulators that never mess up..

[@roberto1519]

If you have a decent PC with a somewhat modern CPU, you'd be better off with Mednafen Saturn, specially Bettle Saturn core in Retroarch. Yabause is a hacky emulator, even SSF (Windows only), which is closed source is better (and is accurate enough, requiring any dual core from 2010 to work well) than Yabause or its branched projects.

[@vasileios6301]

Grandia is not 3d but 2,5d. Saturn is good at this type of graphics, also a same recipe for Dark Savior and Shining Force 3. Playstation may be look somewhat worse but thats it, its perfectly playable up to the end and one of the best games ever for the system (like in Saturn).

[@EP-cz1ln]

Do Lunar now. 😅

[@RetroCore]

Did both main Lunar games a long time ago. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4K0ZIOHoM-dpcUsi=KMWMvPJbjrgNT1_A kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJaVfKOinM2mftUsi=xM6lSRfw8JOPv7v9

[@topofbones]

How I hated Sega for things like this... Where's the PAL version of this fantastic game? 😡

[@jsr734]

I disagree with you. I don´t notice that much texture warping on the Play Station version. The Play Station version also has higher quality FMVs and something i didn´t know it also appears to run smoother. Just give credits to the poor guy that had to reprogram the game from a very different machine architecture. It seems it was not an easy task. Also i always found strange that a game originaly developed for the Saturn to (likely) counter Final Fanatasy was later ported and translated to Play Station. That and the fact that Sega of America didn´t consider bringing the game here to counter the increasing popularity of Final Fantasy VIII and JRPGs on american Play Station.

[@RetroCore]

I don't show much PlayStation footage were the player gets to wonder around but if you play the game you will see it. In the video, the last part I show on the PlayStation where the camera pans over the construction site shows it wobbling, you see some polygon break lines too. On the Saturn, this is solid. The FMV on the PlayStation is better for sure but it's still quite bad compared to other games.

[@elnoel1220]

Can’t be many instances of multi-platform 3D games whereby the Saturn version is superior.

[@liamh1982]

Mass Destruction runs at a higher resolution and frame rate on Saturn, Dead or Alive has more detailed environments, Exhumed/Powerslave has more expansive environments... you're right, there aren't that many, but they definitely do exist.

[@RetroCore]

There a few. Liamh has listed a few. I'd add Thunder Force IV due to more graphical effects and no polygon warping. Welcome House and Tama, two early and Japan only games are better on the Saturn as well.

[@roberto1519]

Specially since SEGA abandoned the console in 1998, when the better PS games starting coming out, the story would had been very different if the Saturn was supported up to 2001, many devs would surprise us.

[@arcadianlhadattshirotsughW33Z]

god i love this game.. especially the saturn version with the english patch, it was so much fun to finally play it on saturn in english... fantastic video!! edit: the new one is based on the psx version?.. welp.. i dont need it then, ive already got that one.. i would have supported it just to support Game Arts but they apparently didnt even do this one and probably dont exist anymore.. i wasnt sure if they were still existing but just kinda doing their own thing out of the public eye.. no saturn version, no money to Game Arts, i dont need it..

[@RetroCore]

Yep, the HD remake is just the PlayStation game running at a higher framerate but now in 16:9 and with a horrid graphic filter applied.

[@arcadianlhadattshirotsughW33Z]

@@RetroCore no i heard you say that in the video, thats what guaranteed i wouldnt buy this.. thats why your vids rule, it saves money for us.. why do they keep using those crap filters? also, they had to know the saturn version was better, so why rebuild it off the inferior psx port? you think thats all they could get a hold of?.. oh well good job man..

[@RetroCore]

I imagine they are using some sort of emulation to build the HD version. It would explain why they went with the PlayStation port as emulation for that system is much easier.

[@xjax8519]

Shadow off (((

[@Kumimono]

I don't suppose any of the features in HD remake are toggleable, in settings? I always thought the less than stellar voicework gave the game a B-movie flair. For better or for worse. And some of the cast punched above their weight, from 25 year old memory, at least. :) And yeah, the PS version was the one I played, no comparison in that regard. First game with voicework, in any genre, as I recall. Rather liked the soundtrack, too.

[@joshfacio9379]

I remwbr some options toggable. I wanna say the smoothing pixel option. But yeah the music is so awesome, but i believe there were many games before that had voicework. I know lunar and ys and popful mail all had voicework and those were years before grandia. I wish theyd used the saturn version for the remake, theres little things that are missing but its the little things that matter.

[@RetroCore]

You can changed the crappy English dub to Japanese in the HD remake if you'd like. 👍

[@PonderSmoke860]

The Saturn version is the best polished and optimized. The PlayStation version is definitely a slightly inferior, but far from being unplayable. I'm just disappointed the HD remaster was based upon the PlayStation version instead of the Saturn :/

[@RetroCore]

Agreed. I think most people think the same way.

[@heavyd9949]

For some reason I never got into turn based rpgs. I don't like the fact that they kinda like play themselves. The only turn based game I like is Captain Tsubasa 2 The Super Striker on the Famicom.

[@Charlie-Cat.]

Hi Mark. I was wondering if you would be interested on participating on a video game request to be added to the list bro. The game is called, "Roc n Rope". It was developed by Konami and was available for the Arcades, Colecovision, and Atari 2600. An early title for Konami that was of if its original hits in the arcades in the early 80's. I personal favorite of mine and I think you'll enjoy playing them bro. 8^) Anthony..

[@RetroCore]

Added to the list 👍

[@volkte37]

The voice acting on the PS1 version was decent for sure. Typical over exaggeration you get on this channel when there is such an obvious Sega bias. That said, of course the Saturn version is technically the best version but it's still a fantastic game on Playstation. The port should have been a lot better too but the budget for it was tiny. Grandia is an all timer. It's worth playing any way you can.

[@RetroCore]

The voice acting is bloody awful no matter what system it's on. Justin has zero emotion and do many other characters. The voice actresses for Sue does a reasonable job though.

[@Nima-Haula]

Because GRANDIA was originally an exclusive game tailor-made for SATURN, and it was later ported to PlayStation because SEGA itself gave up on SATURN's helpless move.

[@pruthuchauhan2159]

The "remaster" leaves a lot to be desired. They chose the wrong version of the same. The polygon count has been increased, but it still has the Jank and slowdown of the PS1 version. The Harbor scene in the Remaster sums up everything wrong, Bad Textures (Just Old textures + Super Sai 2x), No Water Effects, Janky Animation, bad frame rate. The perfect example of how not to remaster a game.

[@RetroCore]

I don't think the polygon count has changed. This is just a nasty PlayStation emulation effort when we get down to the core game.

[@zanegandini5350]

That remaster looks dreadful, even worse than the iOS/Android remake Final Fantasy VI got some years back. It's a shame the people who remade the Saga games weren't at the helm, as it would have made a world of difference.

[@RetroCore]

I really do wonder why they add such horrible filters. Nobody likes them. They also lied before this HD remake was released by saying it was based upon the Saturn game. The only part that is from the Saturn is the titles screen. Everything else is PlayStation.