Grandia II

Grandia II is a role-playing game developed by Game Arts, originally released for the Dreamcast in 2000 and later ported to the PlayStation 2 and PC. The sequel to the well-regarded Grandia, it was one of the earliest major RPGs on the Dreamcast and helped demonstrate that the system could host large, story-driven adventures.

The game follows Ryudo, a cynical mercenary Geohound hired to escort a sisterly songstress named Elena, whose body becomes host to Millenia, the reincarnated wing of the dark god Valmar. What begins as a simple escort job grows into a journey to confront Valmar's scattered parts and the church that has hidden the truth about him.

Grandia II is best known for its combat, a real-time and turn-based hybrid in which characters move on a battlefield and act along a visible turn gauge, letting players time attacks to cancel and interrupt enemy moves. The system was widely praised as one of the most satisfying in the genre. The game also drew attention for its voice acting, its soundtrack by Noriko Mitose and Ryo Mizutani, and its sharp, character-driven writing. It has been re-released several times, including a high-definition Anniversary Edition on PC, and is regarded as a high point of the Dreamcast RPG library.