Grandia
Shares rank 7 of 33 role-playing games by recommenders
Recommended for its turn-based battle system, soundtrack and nostalgic appeal; the most common caveat is that the re-releases were done with little effort and lost quality.
Recommended for its turn-based battle system, soundtrack and nostalgic appeal; the most common caveat is that the re-releases were done with little effort and lost quality.
18 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 15
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 83%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 21 years
Median of the 3 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 15 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Strong turn-based battle system
“The canceling mechanics coming from Grandia would be banger in that sort of more dynamic TRPG.”
Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “The Joy of Playing Grandia, on Sega Saturn” “Grandia's battle system is the best turn based battle system in a jrpg, ever.”
Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “The Joy of Playing Grandia, on Sega Saturn” “much more interesting and fun battle system than Final Fantasy”
Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “The Joy of Playing Grandia, on Sega Saturn” Memorable soundtrack
“The soundtrack and the challenge of beating the game at that age was wonderful.”
Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “The Joy of Playing Grandia, on Sega Saturn” “The soundtrack to Grandia lives rent free in my head.”
Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “The Joy of Playing Grandia, on Sega Saturn” Nostalgic childhood favorite with challenge
“Grandia is one of those games that was part of my childhood so despite having flaws, it transcends ratings in a sense.”
Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “The Joy of Playing Grandia, on Sega Saturn” “The soundtrack and the challenge of beating the game at that age was wonderful.”
Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “The Joy of Playing Grandia, on Sega Saturn”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Low-effort re-releases, degraded quality
“they did basically the bare minimum effort to release them”
Comment from 10 Dec 2025 in “The Joy of Playing Grandia, on Sega Saturn” “graphical fidelity and effects were lost and audio transcoded in a lossy manner”
Comment from 10 Dec 2025 in “The Joy of Playing Grandia, on Sega Saturn” “they did a really low effort job on it”
Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “The Joy of Playing Grandia, on Sega Saturn”
Other role-playing games people recommend
The four most recommended other role-playing games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baldur's Gate 3 | 71 | 11 | 87% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | 58 | 10 | 85% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Ultima VII Revisited | 24 | 7 | 77% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Disco Elysium | 23 | 1 | 96% | 8 | — | Approved |
| GrandiaThis page | 15 | 3 | 83% | 1 | 21 yrs3 owners | — |
What people said
17 of the 19 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“they did basically the bare minimum effort to release them”
“the Saturn version is slightly more pleasant to look at and listen to”
“graphical fidelity and effects were lost and audio transcoded in a lossy manner”
“The canceling mechanics coming from Grandia would be banger in that sort of more dynamic TRPG.”
“the game is holding up quite well and keeping him interested”
“Grandia's battle system is the best turn based battle system in a jrpg, ever.”
“how snappy all the animations and interactions are”
“It always felt very underrated and forgotten.”
“they did a really low effort job on it”
“The soundtrack to Grandia lives rent free in my head.”
“starts slow and finishes in a very high note”
“the PS1 version was fine, and is more readily available on modern consoles”
“The soundtrack and the challenge of beating the game at that age was wonderful.”
“A simple, sweet coming of age tale told without cynicism.”
“Grandia is one of those games that was part of my childhood so despite having flaws, it transcends ratings in a sense.”
“10-13 minutes if I remember correctly from booting the game to actually being able to do anything”
“much more interesting and fun battle system than Final Fantasy”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.