Playthrough Journal – Grandia 2 Part 7

Average Party Level: 29

The Story So Far

After arriving in Cyrum, Roan uncovers a problem within the castle, forcing him to reveal his royal birthright to his friends. Ryudo and his friends sneak in through an underground entrance to the castle. Upon arriving, we learn that Roan’s father is planning to open the Gate of Darkness to reclaim the honor of his people.

With the gate open, and the scent of Melfice within, Ryudo investigate to find what appears to be a factory of some sort. When they reach the control room, they are attacked by an artificial human, who has been possessed by the Claws of Valmar. A difficult fight ensues, but Ryudo is victorious in the end.

Mareg brings the artificial being back to the castle, and as she awakens, he tries to explain that she is free to do whatever she wants. Being only programmed to follow orders, she does not understand.

Roan decides to speak to his father again to have the factory destroyed, only to hear screams in the next room. Everyone rushes in to find the King injured, and Melfice before them. Melfice is way too powerful for everyone, but his final blows are halted by Tio, the artificial human. Melfice manages to escape, telling Ryudo to follow.

The next day, Roan chooses to remain in Cyrum and assume the throne. A tearful goodbye is met with his friends, as he provides them a ship to travel to Ryudo’s home town. Along the way, Tio decides to travel with Ryudo, Mareg and Elena.

Thoughts

WHY IS ROAN GONE?!?!?!?!?!

After all the work I put in to making him amazing, I no longer have Roan in my party. My hope is that Tio will make a good replacement. I’ve set her up with the same mana egg and skill set as Roan, so hopefully the stats will back it up.

I also hadn’t realized that every time we defeat a piece of Valmar, Millenia gets a new skill from it. It’s nice that there is added variety to her, especially with how powerful her skills can be. The animations for these skills are also very impressive. The one she got from the Claws is just creepy to watch. It really helps explain how horrible Valmar really could be if fully awakened.

The dungeon designs of the factory were really interesting, but at the same time very confusing. Once again, a map is built like a maze, and I have no mini-map to keep track of things. This is one of those things I would love to have, but alas.

With Roan gone, things are gonna be different for the party, and replacing him with a emotionless doll may not have been a good choice, but i guess time will tell.

Playthrough Journal – Grandia 2 Part 6

Average Party Level – 25

The Story So Far

After trekking through the St. Heim mountain pass, Ryudo and his friends finally make it to the Cathedral of Granas. There, Elena parted ways with everyone while the others planned what to do next.

After meeting with Pope Zera, Elena learns that the key to sealing Valmar and freeing herself from Millenia is the Granasaber. This legendary sword has been lost for ages, and there are minimal leads to finding it. Ryudo is summoned to the cathedral and is tasked with finding the Granasaber, while travelling with Elena.

The only lead they have is that the sword was last seen “underneath the dwellers of darkness. Roan thinks that there may be a lead in the Kingom of Cyrum, where he grew up. With no other leads, the gang heads east.

Playthrough Journal – Grandia 2 Part 5

Average Party Level: 23

The Story So far

While staying the night in town, Ryudo wakes up from a nightmare to find a floating eyeball in his room. After following it to a quarry in town, he discovers another broken Seal of Valmar. All signs point to Aira, the little girl whose eyesight was restored. When confronted by the Inquisition, Aira disappears. Knowing she would likely go to her garden, Ryudo and his company head there.

With Millenia’s help, they enter Aira’s soul and confront the Eyes of Valmar. The demonic presence is defeated, but only at the cost of Aira’s life. Aira’s mother’s only hope is the one blooming flower that houses Aira’s soul. If nurtured, she may come back to life.

With the threat of darkness gone, Selene and her inquisitors leave, but it’s clear that Ryudo and Elena have made an enemy.

Thoughts

Good God, these boss fights are long and drawn out. Either that or I’m underlevelled. The Eyes of Valmar had four little eyeball enemies, and the main body itself had three parts to it, all of which had really high HP. Sad to admit, but I lost on my first go around and had to rethink my strategy. Thankfully I was able to get it on the second try, but it took its sweet time to go down.

Now here is a story that tugged at the heart strings. We basically killed a child. Sure, it was to help save the world, but man… You can try to add the silver lining that she might come back to life, but that doesn’t excuse the action itself. The fact that a story is willing to include material like this makes it a more bold and engaging experience. I wonder how far it will keep going.

Playthrough Journal – Grandia 2 Part 4

Average Party Level: 19

The Story So Far

While on the Skyway, Ryudo’s car is attacked by the dark power of Valmar and it crashes into a nearby forest. Our party must now set out the rest of the way to the Cathedral on foot. Along the way, they encounter a mysterious garden with a small child. The child foresees coming darkness and disappears.

Ryudo and his allies find their way to a small village and discover that this town is also cursed. People have been having strange nightmares, and some villagers have just not woken up. The mayor had requested aid from the church, and had mistaken Elena for that aid. Shortly after, the town is greeted by the inquisitor, Selene. Her mission: to “purify” the darkness in the village, even if it means burning it to the ground. Elena wants to stop the village from being razed, and their only lead is the little girl they found in the forest. Once blind, her vision has been restored, and her mother has been labelled a heretic.

Playthrough Journal – Grandia 2 Part 3

Average Party Level: 18

The Story So Far

After arriving in the town of Liligue, Ryudo and his posse find themselves unable to use the Skyway to the Granas Cathedral, thanks to the current mayor. The townspeople are also afflicted by a strange curse that has removed their sense of taste. The church offered insight that there may be a sealed piece of Valmar deep within a buried ruin in town. Upon deciding to visit the ruin, Ryudo meets with Merag once again and decides to team up to find Ryudo’s brother.

Exploring the ruin revealed that the Tongue of Valmar was released from its slumber. After a tough fight, Millenia appears and devours it, making its power her own. With the town at ease, our heroes get ready to board the skytrain.

Playthrough Journal – Grandia 2 Part 2

Average Party Level: 14

The Story So Far

On the way to see the Pope of Granas, Ryudo and Elena stop at a town that has been blocked off due to a monster infestation. Ryudo decides to leave Elena at the inn to sleep for the night while he deals with the monsters, while also learning that a young boy named Roan has gone looking for his precious medal that was stolen by the monsters. Before leaving, Millenia appears again, and decides to join Ryudo on his monster hunt. Roan is rescued and the monsters defeated.

That morning, Millenia says her goodbyes and transforms back into her host form, which is none other than Elena.

Our pair, now accompanied by Roan, head towards the skyway, only to be attacked by a random beast man, who is looking for Ryudo’s late brother. Eventually, he realizes his misunderstanding, and leaves them be.

Read my thoughts so far below!

Playthrough Journal – Grandia 2 Part 1

Average Party Level: 11

Introduction

After taking a bodyguard job for the Granas cathedral, a young Geohound named Ryudo and his pet bird, Skye, become involved in a failed ritual, leaving only himself and the priestess he was hired to guard as survivors. The priestess, Elena, has been cursed with the Wings of Valmar. After an encounter with an agent of darkness, known only as Millenia, Ryudo is charged with continuing to protect Elena while escorting her to the main church of Granas.

Playthrough Journal – Digimon World Data Squad – Finale

Final Play Time: 15 Hours, 23 minutes
Average Party Level: 45

Conclusion

After pushing through the Dark Area, DATS locates Lucemon and the final battle begins. During the fight, Lucemon summons his true power and transforms into the Dark Lord. After a long and hard for his crimes. The team is then called back to DATS with their mission completed.

Playthrough Journal – Digimon World Data Squad Part 9

Play Time: 13 Hours, 58 Minutes
Average Party Level: 31

The Story So Far

Lucemon has been found! Deep within the Ice Labyrinth, Marcus and the gang have found the Cho-Mao Digimon and its “tamer”. After a fierce battle, Lucemon is weakened. What seemed like a victory for DATS changed when Lucemon absorbs the final code key and grew even more powerful. The Dark Area has now expanded throughout the Digital World, and our heroes must fight their way through in the hopes of defeating Lucemon and restoring balance to the Digital World.

Thoughts

The Ice Labyrinth was nothing more than a maze. No puzzles or tricks. Just find your way through and fight some enemies along the way. It didn’t really take me all that long to get through this area, but I will admit that the fight with Lucemon was a bit of a slog. He was incredibly fast, taking a turn in between each party member’s turns. Thankfully, I had Lalamon set to Angewomon, which gave me a fantastic healing skill. ShineGreymon was my big hitter, with Pandamon doing some decent hits in between support skills.

While I think that the combat is fairly easy at times, the strategy that can be involved is really interesting. If some more work was done refining battles, it would have been a much better battle system. It’s still fun, don’t get me wrong. There are just some major tweaks that I feel were needed before releasing the game.

Next area is shaping up to be the final area. Tune in next week for the exciting conclusion!

PS: I mentioned before that I was going to do some of the side missions before doing this post. I looked into what they entail, and they are simply boss fights that allow you to get some other Digimon forms. Most of them don’t really appeal to me, so I am going to go straight for the end at this point. For those of you who are interested, some of the side digimon include Darkdramon and BanchoLeomon. I can also fight Yushima’s Digimon, Kamemon and his evolved forms. Don’t let my lack of interest in these side quests deter you from going for them. They are cool looking Digimon, but I like what I’ve got right now.

Playthrough Journal – Digimon World Data Squad Part 8

Play Time: 12 Hours, 38 Minutes
Average Party Level: 30

The Story So Far

After being joined by Yuma and Renamon, DATS heads to save the city from the onslaught of rampaging Digimon. After finding Creepymon in the park, Marcus and Agumon finally defeat him. It is revealed that Creepymon was actually a former DATS member named Nitta, and all he wanted to do was see his daughter again. Unfortunately, Nitta was possessed for too long, and his body degrades right before his daughter’s eyes. The team’s moment of grief was put on hold when we learn that Nitta had already given his code key to the enemy. With Lucemon close to revival, it’s time for our team to prepare for the final battle.