#grandia ii

[video-game-jams]

Grandia II - Memory of the Gods

[easternmind]

A compendium of references to Portugal in Japanese video games

The beginning of the historical relations between Portugal and Japan dates to the year 1541, when a Portuguese ship washed ashore at Jingujiura. Nearly sixty Japanese words are of Portuguese origin. A variety of Japanese traditions and culinary delights were introduced by Portuguese traders, sailors and missionaries. But in what way has this cultural exchange extended to the more recent phenomenon of Japanese digital games? As a portuguese devotee of Japanese culture, the topic seemed relevant enough to merit some additional exploration.

To my knowledge, the first significant reference to Portugal in Japanese video game is found in Koei's The Age of Discovery from 1990, a game published in the west under the title Uncharted Waters. The main character is a disgraced Portuguese nobleman named Leon Ferrero who resorts to maritime exploration, trade and naval warfare to restore his family's good name and prestige.

Its 1993 sequel, known in the west as New Horizons, diversifies the base game structure of the original by including multiple characters to select from, each with their own story and mission. Among them is the tale of João Franco, the son of the original episode's protagonist Leon, who sets out to discover the mysterious location of the fabled Atlantis, no less.

Another meaningful reference can be found a year later in ArtDink's 1991 strategy game The Atlas, in which the player takes on the role of a 15th century explorer with a five year contract with the King of Portugal to discover and chart lands around the Iberian Peninsula.

In 1998, ArtDink recreated the game for contemporary systems and published as Neo Atlas. The protagonist is a Portuguese trading company owner seeking business expansion opportunities in remote territories, as well as discover and chart hitherto unknown parts of the globe. A similar premise is found in a later sequel, Neo Atlas III.

Apart from nautical strategy games, a few other titles exist where mentions to the Portuguese territory, language and culture can be traced.

Galvanized by the success of Cyan's world-renowned point and click adventure CD-ROMs, Sony Computer Entertainment helped to publish The Book of Watermarks, a game designed by a miniscule Tokyo-based studio named Watermarks that is brimming with interesting first and second-hand references to Shakespeare's The Tempest. The objective of this visually impressive pre-rendered journey is to aid in the recovery of a series of ancient tomes, each including the nuclear bases of knowledge for mankind.

The very first lost volume is named the Book of Navigators, said to be owned by the historical Infante Dom Henrique from the 15th century, condensing information on shipbuilding, oceanography, geography and astronomy. While a purely fictitious book, the reference to Prince Henry is historically accurate, him being a pivotal figure in the early age of Portuguese maritime discoveries, the governor of the Order of Christ who at once built and ruined his reputation through his various campaigns in the African continent.

Atlus' futuristic vision of Earth in Maken X includes a most unexpected tour of Europe, with a mandatory stop in Lisbon. Inexplicably, the developers got its geographic location wrong and moved to all the way to the northern Spanish region of Léon. The level, itself, boasts a reasonably accurate depiction of one of the city's oldest quarters, Alfama, and the architectural styles found therein.

Although I could not discern any actual references in the game itself, the Grandia II soundtrack by the veteran composer Noriyuki Iwadare contains two themes whose lyrics are written in Portuguese: A Deus, a double-entendre that can be translated to both farewell and to God; and Canção do Povo, meaning People's Song. Also, the name of the official soundtrack is named Melodia, which translates to Melody as you'd expect. Both themes were performed by guest singer Kaori Kawasumi, who took on the composer's challenge to sing them despite her not knowing the language.

She was coached and assisted by José Álvarez and Motoi Sato from the Portuguese Arts and Culture Center in Japan, whom she thanks in the acknowledgement section. The Grandia II Special Package edition booklet contains a page with two photos of Portugal, one for the Jéronimos Monastery in Lisbon and the other, seemingly, for the Moorish Castle in the nearby town of Sintra.

The last Pomping World (a.ka. Buster Bros/Pang) that Mitchell Corporation ever produced before shutting down was the 2010 DS European exclusive Magical Michael. It includes two levels set in Portugal, one in Lisbon by the Belém tower, a nautical landmark, and the other in the Sintra National Palace. Their representation is at once pleasingly stylized and true to life.

This final reference is found in Spike Chunsoft's third installment of their successful visual novel series, Nyūdanganronpa V3 Minna No Koroshiai Shin Gakki. Among the dozens of MonoMono machine items that can be acquired, one is a weathercock styled after a traditional Portuguese folktale hero, the Galo de Barcelos, meaning the rooster of Barcelos, a town in Northern Portugal.

As per the description, this animal became famous through an age-old tale involving a man wrongly sentenced to death who seconds before his execution remarked he was as certain to be innocent as it was certain that a nearby rooster would sing. Because the bird did crow, much to everyone's amazement, he was exonerated. Thus, the black rooster became a symbol for truth.

I would like to thank @diogojira and @DanielOlimac for their assistance in making this article possible.

[satoshi-mochida]

GRANDIA HD Collection coming to PS4, Xbox One on March 26

From Gematsu

GungHo Online Entertainment will release GRANDIA HD Collection for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on March 26, the company announced. Pre-orders for a physical edition will open via Limited Run Games on March 15.

GRANDIA HD Collection first launched for Switch on August 16, 2019. It includes GRANDIA HD Remaster and GRANDIA II HD Remaster, both of which are available individually for PC.

An emulated version of the original GRANDIA for PlayStation is also currently available for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.

About

The GRANDIA HD Collection features two genre-defining role-playing games: GRANDIA and GRANDIA II. These games send players on epic adventures with protagonists Justin and Ryudo, respectively, to explore the worlds of GRANDIA and protect them from the forces of evil.

Key Features

Two Nostalgic Stories – Fans can follow both iconic journeys in the world of GRANDIA with various upgrades once more. Discover what lies beyond the End of the World with the young adventurer Justin in GRANDIA and, eons later, protect the world from eternal darkness with mercenary Ryudo in GRANDIA II.

Modernized Visuals – This version of GRANDIA and GRANDIA II includes enhanced user interface, sprites, and texture art that brings the iconic look of the retro classics to contemporary standards, including widescreen support and visually enhanced original cinematics.

Classic Old-School Combat – The GRANDIA series features classic RPG combat, with physical attacks and elemental spells in a battle system that combines real-time and turn-based mechanics. The addition of Hard Mode gives players a memorable challenge as they explore the world of GRANDIA II.

Language Support – The GRANDIA HD Collection includes Japanese and English audio options, as well as language support for English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (simplified and traditional).

Watch a new trailer below. View a new set of screenshots at the gallery.

PlayStation 4 and Xbox One Announce Trailer

[moontoon]

WHY IS THIS SO FUNNY!?

[foundfamilyhq]

[fancypantsrecords]

Noriyuki Iwadare - Grandia II Memorial Soundtrack | Wayô Records | 2023 | "Light Of Granas" Yellow Marbled | /500

[cats-in-video-games]

Mareg from Grandia II

[nostalgiachan]

About to go live with some Grandia II, one of the best damn JRPGs out there. Join me.

[nintendowife]

I started Grandia II, a classic JRPG on PlayStation 2 a few days ago. I've owned the game for about 20 years and never finished it. So now I picked it up again with the intention of maybe finally finishing it. I found my old save file that had 8:26 clocked in… as in 8 minutes and 26 seconds, lol. I didn't expect I had dropped the game THAT soon back in the day! I started with a fresh save file now to ensure I get the full picture from the beginning.

I had bought the game pre-owned from someone and there was still a receipt in the game case. The person who had originally bought the game had exchanged their hard-earned 60 € for the title in 2002. And now comes the interesting part… the purchase was made in a small city where my husband was born in and lived his childhood and youth in! Quite the coincidence! He even knew the store the game was bought from, but he had no idea they sold videogames as it was a sporting goods retailer.

Anyway, I'm about 5 hours in the game and I've had trouble with navigation. The field of view is so tight it's difficult to see where I'm going and I keep confusing directions. There's no map when walking around and I can't read the compass very well to be sure where to go.

The battle system is different from other games I've played and I'm still learning the ropes with it. The game doesn't hold my hand so I've tried my best to understand the systems. Because who reads the manuals that come with the game, pfft. Well, my husband checked the instructions booklet's guidance for the compass and read it out loud while I was tilting my head confused, looking at the screen.

The music has been very nice and I was pleased with the lighthearted rhythms and melodies that balance the more serious and traditional JRPG pieces.

The characters so far are refreshing and Ubisoft has done a great job translating the game. I've enjoyed the dialogue a lot as it seems different from usual and throws around fun and interesting idioms. The English voice acting is surprisingly good as well. Bonus points for characters named after foods (Risotto, Paella, Carpaccio and Gonzola which I assume refers to Gorgonzola cheese). I'm also a fan of the character portraits.

Looking forward to continuing the adventure with Ryudo, Skye, Elena, Millenia and Roan!

[carlocarrasco]

Have you been playing Grandia HD Collection on Xbox?

Welcome back Xbox fans, geeks and gamers who love Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs)! In case you missed the news, Grandia HD Collection is now available for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and the aging Xbox One console and you can order the digital copy by clicking here. For the newcomers reading this, Grandia HD Collection on Xbox consoles was officially released on March 26, 2024. It is a…

[amazonmandy]

Millenia commission from Grandia 2 cosplay commission! Colorshift indigo/crimson, red matte velveteen, metallic golds & many hand affixed gems! For a commission of your own:  AmazonMandy.com Find me on: facebook.com/CommissionsByAmazonMandy Socials: Instagram, twitter, tiktok: AmazonMandy

[goddessmillenia]

GoddessMillenia

My interests are anime, videogames, computers, singing, drawing, writing, theater, swimming, skating, eating, and having fun.

[knoproblem]

Decided to go 180 out of my comfort zone to try and break outta this art block, so completely different style, human art, foreshortening, *and* fanart 😂

Did it work? Who knows, but I got to stare at my childhood video game crush’s butt for a few hours so I’d say that’s a win either way :3c

[satoshi-mochida]

The PS4 and Xbox One version of GRANDIA HD Collection release today digitally. It is also available digitally for the Switch and Steam(Grandia HD Remaster, Grandia II HD Remaster)

[moontoon]

Suddenly feeling nostalgic ❤️

[foundfamilyhq]