Grandia HD Collection Reviews
Several years after its arrival on PC and Nintendo Switch, the Grandia HD Collection finally lands on the Xbox Grandia, a collection that includes the remastered versions of the first two titles of one of the most beloved JRPG franchises by the community, but while we'd like to say that the wait has been worth it, this time it's not the case.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
A disappointing collection in terms of options and extras, but two absolutely unmissable RPGs.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Grandia HD Collection offers an opportunity for fans to relive the first two titles in this great JRPG series. However, although it brings visual improvements and the option to choose between audio in English and Japanese, the quality of the gameplay and stories of these classic games is able to overcome the flaws in the collection's execution, providing a rewarding experience for fans of this genre.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The GRANDIA HD Collection is the only way to experience these two great titles on modern platforms. Both Grandia and Grandia 2 stand the test of time with great writing and characters and a unique combat and skill upgrade system. It's just a shame that not enough was done to provide quality-of-life upgrades. The only real updates these games have received are game visuals and widescreen support.
Grandia HD Collection makes two classic, influential RPGs more readily available to a modern audience. But with little in the way of extras and quite a steep asking price, it is unlikely to appeal to anyone other than the most hardcore genre enthusiasts.
The Grandia HD Collection is an acceptable way to play two solid RPGs from a different era.
The Grandia HD Collection is a solid, albeit, late entry to the PS4 and Xbox One’s library.
All of my complaints about the Grandia HD Collection are nitpicks. These are two great, classic JRPGs, with a lighthearted tone, and unique combat system that makes them stand out amongst their contemporaries. They’re both long JRPGs, and almost cost half the price of a new release. The Grandia HD Collection is an excellent value for anyone who’s a fan of the genre. And it’s a great entry point for anyone curious about retro JRPGs.
Despite the lack of quality of life features, however, GRANDIA HD Collection serves as a great way for players to play a set of excellent RPGs on modern platforms. Either games can be played to your liking at anytime and are great fun thanks to a solid combat system and presentation.
Grandia HD Collection is in a rather rough place. While the original experiences are classics, this collection is essentially the same games with a slightly fresher coat of paint. For some this will be enough, as the amazing narratives persist, though I fear the choice will limit its appeal. Even some of the more basic expected quality of life choices, such as save anywhere, are not present, and for this reason it's one of those experiences that will either blow you away, or leave you underwhelmed.
It’s a little baffling to me why it took publisher GungHo this long to bring Grandia HD Collection to more consoles, nearly five years after its initial run. There’s likely a perfectly good reason for that, but still, it’s kind of silly when you think about it. Nonetheless, they are finally out on just about every single current console and on PC now, so this is your best bet at getting two of the finest RPGs – easy the highlights of the franchise too – in honestly their best form they’re likely to ever be.
Grandia HD Collection needs to be seen from two angles. As a game, it brings two excellent and charismatic adventures with one of the best turn-based combat systems in JRPGs, highly recommended for those who enjoy the style. As a collection to re-release old games, however, only the bare minimum has been made, with no extras or quality-of-life improvements. Even with the important step of bringing the games to more current platforms, these versions have technical flaws and are far from definitive.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
You can’t really help the fact that older games lack flexibility in terms of user interface and system mechanics, but the sooner you accept how they’re supposed to be, this great remastered JRPG provides the best of all JRPG quality you’d ever experience.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Overall, the Grandia HD Collection contains an awesome soundtrack, fair visuals, and fairly decent story. Both games combat is very fluid and has that something that newer games are missing with their combat system I think. Whether you played this game in your younger days, or this is the first time touching it, you will find the games very easy to get into, and the fact that you can carry it around with you on the Switch makes it that much easier to play. For the price of $39.99 USD, you too can own a fairly good and simple RPG series. For two games that is only 19.99 per game and very reasonable.
Both Grandia games deserved a much better treatment than the one GungHo gave them, and we really hope the publisher will support the game in the coming weeks, but the sheer value of the titles inside this package is enough to recommend a buy nonetheless for any Switch owner.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Grandia 1 and 2 deserve four stars by themselves. The games are dated, yes, but they stand the test of time, flaws and all. They are (mostly) timeless and I would replay them over and over. But maybe wait for this specific collection to go on sale.
GOOD - I would have preferred Grandia and Grandia II to be released separately, since the first one in this collection is so much better than the second one. Updated visuals really enhance the original game and it’s still so much fun to play today. The sequel didn’t receive the same amount of attention and as a result keeps this collection grounded instead of allowing it to soar high like it should have.
Having never played a Grandia game, I came in not knowing much about the series and what makes it great. Walking away, I'm left in awe of not only the battle system, but also how you power up your party. The port is a bit rough when it comes to slow down, particularly in battles, but it's worth dealing with the inconvenience to experience this classic.
For the awesome games alone, Grandia HD Collection is worth checking out for any RPG fan.
Grandia HD Collection offers two great JRPGs but the lack of polish and quality control has made this collection feel a little disappointing. It is still a good way to experience these classics if you missed them when they were first released.