The Granstream Saga
| The Granstream Saga | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) |
Shade Arc Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Composer(s) |
Kōhei Tanaka Masanori Hikichi Miyoko Takaoka Takako Ochiai |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 66% |
| NinRetro | 74% |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| EGM | 28.5 / 40 |
| Game Informer | 7.5 / 10 |
| GamePro | 5 / 5 |
| Game Revolution | B- |
| GameSpot | 6.7 / 10 |
| IGN | 6 / 10 |
| 90% | |
| Gamezilla | 84% |
| 80% | |
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The Granstream Saga (グランストリーム伝記 Guransutorīmu Denki?) is an action role-playing game for the PlayStation. The game was developed by a team consisting of staff from the developer Quintet under the name Shade.
The Granstream Saga is lauded as one of the first fully polygonal RPGs, as opposed to using pre-rendered backgrounds. The game features anime-style cutscenes by Production I.G. It is also somewhat unique in that the characters the player meets in the game are faceless.
Gameplay consists of top-down rpg-exploration and storytelling. When confronted or ambushed by an enemy, the camera angle shifts to a 45 degree angle, and combat gameplay begins. Combat gameplay consists of realtime battles, as opposed to the norm of turn based rpg combat. In realtime combat, you will utilize several weapons and abilities, such as swords, daggers, axes, warhammers, and various spells. When not in combat, you will spend a very large time exploring, gaining new weapons and armor, and conversing with the many characters of the different continents.
Taken from the English version manual: "One hundred years ago, on the planet of Granstream, a terrible war took place. The Battle raged between two opposing forces - the evil Imperial Wizardry and the noble Allied Spirit Army. Both sides were nearly evenly matched, and victory seemed out of reach for either army. Then, in desperation, the Imperial Wizardry used a weapon that had been banned long ago due to its terrible destructive power and unpredictability.
The weapon was fired into the core of the planet, with the objective of annihilating a huge portion of the Allied Spirit Army's forces. But a miscalculation by the weapon's operators caused a catastrophic chain reaction. The damage was so great that the planet actually shifted on its axis, causing the melting of the polar ice caps and threatening to entirely cover the planet's surface with water.
Far above the battles of the two forces, four Wise Men had been watching, waiting for the disaster they knew would come. Foreseeing the cataclysm through their magic, the Wise Men acted as the continents began to submerge. Using their mystical Fortress Airlim, powered by four elemental Orbs, the Wise Men were able to raise four of the continents into the air. These four continents were the only land not swallowed by the rising oceans, and the people on them were the only survivors of the catastrophe.
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Wikipedia