When was Grandia developed?
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"Grandia" was developed by Game Arts over a period of more than two years beginning after the release of the company's previous role-playing video game title, "" for the Sega Mega-CD. The project, headed by producer Yoichi Miyaji and directors Takeshi Miyaji and Toshiaki Hontani, was also originally intended for the Mega-CD system, but was shifted to the Saturn early in development due to Sega's abandoning the platform. According to a spokesman for Game Arts, "Grandia" was created as part of the company's on-going effort to "provide consumers with good games rather than try to follow market trends", opting instead to create a product that would tell a compelling story catering primarily to their existing fanbase. The Saturn version was released in December 1997 exclusively in Japan, along with a special Limited Edition for those who pre-ordered the game between October 25 and November 30, 1997, which included a fold-out cloth map of the "Grandia" world, as well as a mini radio drama disc featuring voiced scenes from the game. In November 1998, "Grandia" was re-released in Japan as the "Grandia Memorial Package", which featured new instruction booklet artwork and a lower sales price. Sega of America had commented that they had no plans to bring an English version of the game to North American audiences on their system, which prompted an online petition originating on the role-playing game fansite LunarNET designed to alert the company of consumer interest. Despite gathering several hundred signatures in only a few days, as well as promotion from gaming website GameSpot, the Saturn version was never released internationally.
Grandia (video game)
2165811#0
Grandia is a role-playing video game, developed by Game Arts and published by ESP Software for the Sega Saturn console as the first game in their "Grandia" series. Released in Japan in 1997, the game was ported to the PlayStation in 1999, with an English version of the game appearing on the platform in North America in the following September by Sony Computer Entertainment, and in Europe in 2000 by Ubi Soft. The game was produced by much of the same staff who worked on the company's previous role-playing endeavor, the "Lunar" series, including producer Yoichi Miyagi and composer Noriyuki Iwadare.
Grandia (video game)
2973327#5
A new installment in the "Grandia" series developed by Game Arts was officially announced on June 1, 2001 with the tentative name of "Grandia X". The game, later retitled "Grandia Xtreme", was to be published by Enix as they had just invested capital in Game Arts for a total of ¥99.2 million, or 15% of the company. The game was the first title Game Arts developed exclusively for the PlayStation 2. While previous installments in the series were traditional role-playing video games, the developers took the new title in a different direction and designed it more as an action role-playing game or dungeon crawler to make it more accessible to casual gamers. They nevertheless kept and enhanced mainstays such as the combat and magic systems, as well as the "enchantment" aspect of the story. To design the characters of the game, Enix and Game Arts selected Kamui Fujiwara, the character designer of "Terranigma". Development for the game spanned roughly 18 months.
Grandia Xtreme
1849856#3
"Grandia: Parallel Trippers" was announced in July 2000 by its publisher Hudson Soft, who revealed that they, along with Game Arts, would be bringing the game to the Game Boy Color as the series' first handheld title. Game Arts president Hirokazu Miyazki explained that the game was created to make a "Grandia" that users could "play anywhere", and was designed under the philosophy that both new and veteran fans of the series could enjoy the title equally. Hudson Soft was personally chosen by Game Arts as the game's publisher due to their experience with handheld titles and enthusiasm in marketing the game to Japanese audiences. The game was first showcased at the 2000 Nintendo Space World expo the following August, and again at the 2000 Tokyo Game Show in September, where the game received its final release date. Following the game's release, Huson Soft launched its "Grandia Nippo" (lit. "Grandia Daily") website that featured fan art, interviews, and special downloads related to "Parallel Trippers" in order to increase enthusiasm for the game. The music for "Parallel Trippers" consists of downsampled versions of tracks from the original "Grandia", originally composed by Noriyuki Iwadare.
Grandia: Parallel Trippers
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is an extension of "Grandia", developed by Game Arts and published by ESP Software for the Sega Saturn. Released exclusively in Japan in May 1998, the game features character graphics, textures, and music lifted directly from its predecessor. Players can also swap save data between the core "Grandia" disc and the "Digital Museum" on the Saturn memory card.
Grandia (video game)
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"Grandia Online" was first announced by Game Arts in late 2004 as a collaborative effort between their company and GungHo Online Entertainment under the codename "Project: GO". The game was first revealed during a GungHo Games panel at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show in Tokyo, Japan, where the company announced that they would be working with Game Arts to bring their "Grandia" role-playing game series to the PC as a "real adventure-themed MMORPG." Development for the game began shortly after completion of Game Arts' previous endeavor, "Grandia III", released earlier that year in Japan, and was overseen by GungHo president Morishita Yoshikazu and Game Arts producer Yoshitada Iwata. Inspiration for the game came from Gravity Corporation's "Ragnarok Online", as well as to fill the need for "Japan's increased demand for online games." The following October, one month after the game's announcement, GungHo announced plans to become a majority shareholder for the Game Arts corporation, turning the company into a subsidiary and making "Grandia Online" an in-house production. An open beta test period was originally planned for the first quarter of 2006, with the game's final release following later that year, which was pushed back to the following September, and then an undetermined date due to development issues.
Grandia Online
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An "aggressive" marketing campaign was planned to push the game and the series as a "brand for the future, not a one shot deal". "Grandia Xtreme" was showcased with a trailer at the Tokyo Game Show in August 2001 and in playable form at the World Hobby Fair of Tokyo in January 2002. A video of the game was also featured in an issue of "Famitsu Game Wave DVD". The game was released in Japan on January 31, 2002 in either regular or limited edition, the latter including as bonuses a "Grandia Xtreme" pocket watch and a small "Geo Gate" diorama depicting the protagonist Evann. Customers who pre-ordered the game also received a "Grandia" miniature tote bag.
Grandia Xtreme
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In April 2009, news of "Grandia Online"s progress was finally made public, with the launch of an official countdown website that opened on April 21, revealing that the game was not only still being produced, but that a new open beta test would be launched the following July. To celebrate the occasion, Game Arts announced they would be re-releasing the original "Grandia" on Sony's PlayStation Network download service, as well host a limited, 60-person public test period for a demo of the game the following may in Tokyo's Akihabara district. The game is to utilize the BigWorld Technology Suite, which was previously used in GungHo's "Hokuto no Ken Online", and "promises a development solution specifically for scalable next-gen MMOs and virtual worlds." The company had planned to release the game commercially by the end of summer 2009, with a final release still pending due to an extended beta period beginning in August.
Grandia Online
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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 cartomancer with a hidden soft side; and Hect, a sullen musician from a troubled village.
Grandia III
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"Grandia Online" is set in a fantasy world that occupies the same universe as the original "Grandia" video game, and is set many years beforehand during the fabled "Age of Genesis". All players begin their journey as an escapee from a village that has been mysteriously overcome by a dark force, becoming petrified and unlivable. Meeting with a powerful sorceress named Liete, the player learns that similar events are happening across the world, and an investigation as to its source is taking place. Venturing into the game's world, players travel across the land interacting with playable and non-playable characters to expand the game's story, leading them to numerous locations including the Pulse of Gaia, a blighted land believed to be the source of the corruption, and the homeland of the ancient Icarians, a race known for their prowess with magic. GungHo games plans to introduce new plot points that expand the story of Gaia and the Icarians through regular updates.
Grandia Online