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Series That Have Lost All Identity

Posted by Bob Mackey

Grandia was one of my favorite JRPGs on the original Playstation; despite the game's wonky translation and status as a crummy Saturn port, it had a certain air of infectious, Dragon Quest-y, aw-shucks adventuring that made it very refreshing. A few years later, though, I was unexpectedly disappointed by Grandia 2, which featured the evil church-iest of "evil church" plotlines along with a distinct attitude that didn't mesh well with the previous game--it wasn't too fun to play, either. So, I dropped the series in the early days of this decade and never looked back; and since then, both Grandia Xtreme (argh) and Grandia 3 have come into being, each with their own confused take on what Grandia is supposed to be (whatever that is).

The latest news for the series deals with Grandia Online, an MMORPG announced back in 2005 that'll be seeing the light of day--in Japan, anyway--this May. In a way, Grandia's relatively lukewarm popularity makes this game's continued existence a bit baffling, but one thing makes sense: Grandia is a faceless, shapeless concept that's been synonymous with RPGs for over a decade now. Not the most popular name, sure, but branding is still branding.

There's another franchise out there that's a lot like Grandia today, though it's had many more games and a chance to define itself in its early years: Shining Force. The early Shining games were fantastic--though simple--strategy RPGs, and even the spinoffs had a "feel" that kept them tied to the main series, despite their differing takes on the RPG genre. But when Camelot left the series after Shining Force III--which I'll probably never play thanks to the circumstances of the Saturn--the Shining series went in some weird directions that aren't entirely entertaining. And while someone out there is looking to get the series back on track with Shining Force Feather (argh), which takes the franchise back to its traditional SRPG roots on the DS, there's also Shining Force Cross, a four-player arcade brawler that's--um--you should probably just watch this video.

Just like with Grandia, the Shining Force title is nothing more than a generic RPG signifier now. Any other examples of this depressing trend in action? It'd be interesting to see if any other franchises out there have completely lost their identities.

Related Links:

Your JRPG Narrative is Bad and You Should Feel Bad
Roundtable Discussion: The Relevance of Japanese RPGs
Star Ocean and the HD-JRPG Conundrum

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Posted Apr 22 2009, 12:05 PM

Filed under: jrpg, identity, bob mackey, shining force, jrpgs, series, grandia, franchise

Comments

parish said:

Next on the generic chopping block: Suikoden.

April 22, 2009 1:00 PM

epenthesis said:

Jeremy beat me to it. Though in all fairness Suikoden V, three years ago, was beautifully executed and quite true to the roots of the series. As the new abortion for DS is selling well, there's at least a chance of a return to form.

April 22, 2009 1:16 PM

Kenofthedead said:

I loved Grandia 2. It was a fun RPG that helped get me into RPGs. Not for the story or characters specificaly, but for the fun gameplay and battles.

Grandia may have been the better story and plot, but it wasn't as easy to get into for just playing and having fun with.

Extreme and 3 though I'll give you, right messes they be with no idea what they want to do gameplay or story wise.

April 22, 2009 2:47 PM

GeoX said:

I MIGHT have liked Grandia, if not for the fact that I was desperately rooting for Justin to die horribly every minute of the game. And Christ Jesus, those horrific little homunculi in the ending--were I can only assume Game Arts was TRYING to traumatize us, because I fail to see how anything that awful could have been an accident.

April 22, 2009 10:54 PM

sharc said:

so how is grandia xtreme a confused take on the series? unlike its predecessors (and successors) it largely shoves its story off into a corner and devotes about four times more attention to battles, dungeon crawls, and character building. which are, y'know, the best things about the grandia games to begin with.

April 23, 2009 8:24 PM

John H. said:

Grandia and Grandia II's characters are excellent. IMO of course, but I feel particularly strongly about them in a way I feel about few JRPGs. And the atmosphere of both games is pretty dead-on. Especially the first, which for two-thirds of its length is little more than three kids off on a trip around the world, and improbably making it. It's -fun- in a way few games are. GII's not got that, but its characters are USUALLY well-written, and have a wit and life to them little-seen in JRPGs.

The story of the games is less interesting; both the evil empire of the first one and the evil church plot of GII have been played into the ground. And the usually-good characterization of Ryudo in II breaks down when it gets to the Melfice chapter, and becomes laughable. When the voice actor whines tragically about his "past," it's one of those moments I felt embarrassed for witnessing... and yet, he keeps going on about it. Everything after that point in the game, where the atmosphere gets darker, tends to carry with it the pall of teh suck... and come to think of it, that's about the point where I first lost interest in Grandia 1.

But for about two-thirds of both games, they're still remarkably entertaining. That's the memory I take away from Grandia, even above the excellent battle system: Justin, Feena and Sue on a trip around the world! If only the series had stuck with that.

May 13, 2009 2:03 PM

About Bob Mackey

For a brief period of time I was Bull from TV's Night Court, but some of you may know me from the humor column I wrote for Youngstown State University's The Jambar, Kent State University's The Stater, and Youngstown's alternative newspaper, The Walruss. I'm perhaps most well-known for my bi-weekly pieces on Something Awful. I've also blogged for Valley24.com and have written articles for EGM, 1UP, GameSpite and Cracked. For all of my writing over the years, I have made a total of twenty American dollars. It's also said that I draw cartoons, which people have described with words such as "legible." I kidnapped the Lindbergh Baby and am looking to do so again in the future.

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