Grandia 2, a revered RPG originally released for the Sega Dreamcast, rises from its ashes in HD glory for a PC release.
The game was first released in 2000 before being ported to PlayStation 2 and PC about two years later. The latest incarnation of the RPG will be released in HD on Steam, the digital distribution platform maintained by publisher and developer Valve, according to a report from Gamespot.
Grandia 2's HD port will include Steam trading cards and achievements. It will also support keyboard and mouse input.
Back in April of this year, GungHo Online Entertainment America issued a survey to gauge support for games developed by Game Arts. There was a ton of support for an HD port of Grandia 2, so GungHo has decided to deliver a remaster of the JRPG (Japanese Role Playing Game).
"With the rise of digital downloads, it is especially important that classic games continue to remain available to play in some form," said Jun Iwasaki, president of GungHo America. "Grandia II was chosen for a PC re-release because it represents both a hallmark of the Grandia series and an example of how great JRPGs can be."
Grandia 2 may be considered predictable to many, but despite the predictability of its story and the prevalence of JRPG tropes, the game has maintained an impressive rating of 90 out of 100 on Metacritic.
The game's story follows an unlikely hero who is scoffed at by everyday folk because of his mercenary past, but who steps up to defend them from the occult forces.
Grandia 2's gameplay, beyond conversing with non-playable characters and embarking on fetch quests, mixes turn-based tactics with real-time action.
Back in 2002, IGN's David Smith called Grandia 2 one of the top three games available for the PlayStation 2. The game's characters carry it much more than its story does, he wrote.
"It has its ups and its downs, and it certainly isn't the equal of its predecessor, but it's a good-looking game and an absolutely great-playing one, which is getting to be a harder thing to say of RPGs nowadays," stated Smith. "Nevertheless, Dreamcast fans get to lay down at least this one trump card—Sega's system did it better."
