Tales of Legendia vs. DQVIII vs. Grandia III

[Matt Young]

I'm torn on which game to get. I loved Tales of Symphionia, and it's probably my favorite game of all time. I have only played abit of Grandia II, but I liked what I did play on the Dreamcast. I've never played a Dragon Quest game period, but I adore the art style, and everything I have read sounds appealing.

I know this is a very subjective matter, but I'd like to know which game is preferred by those of you who are far more knowledgable about RPGs than I am.

[CAG 79]

Dragon Quest VIII ftw. :)

[62t]

I know it is not on the list buy I am going to vote for Wild Arms 4.

[Apossum]

write in: Nocturne.

[Jaket]

i just picked up grandia from work... i'm gonna go play now... be back with some first impressions soon

[pete5883]

If you want a battle system where you have to think, go Grandia. If you want a more action-y battle system, go for Tales. If you want to play a 20-year old battle system with beautiful graphics, go for DQVIII.

[Level Jumper]

It's hard for me to make a choice between DQ8 and ToL. They're both really good, yet completely different. The voice acting is a bit meh in both games, but ToL has Cam Clarke so it wins there. The music is fantastic in ToL and seems to be sort of standard RPG music in DQ8 so another win for ToL. DQ8 has a lot more to do and is a lot larger scale game so it wins there. I could go back and forth and probably wind up in a tie in my opinion. If you can, you should get them both. That's a win-win situation.

[jfunkdpg]

write in: Nocturne.

Seconded.

[slidecage]

so far i played DQ8 and Tails and if you want a long game i got DQ8

if i had to buy one

Dragon quest 8 then tails then Gran... (never play gran yet)

i rented tails but decided not to buy it since why waste 50 bucks when you still got DQ8 to play

[RAMSTORIA]

grandia iii if its more like grandia i... but if its more like grandia ii then dragon quest viii

[endlessPRO]

I would choose Tales of Legendia but this isn't like the Tales series I been playing. Its too easy and repetitive.

Dragon Quest 8 was a really great game IMO.

Grandia 3 might be a disappointing game this year or may not.

Well heres my picks : DQ8 , TOL , G3

[vpr]

Write In: Shadow Hearts, Then Shadow Hearts: Covenant - Possibly the greatest rpg EVER :)

Or you could go for Shadow Hearts From The New World (Seperate story from the first two - not a sequal) which comes out early march (the 7th I believe)

[mietha]

It's a trick question right? Only one of those is a true RPG. The other two are real time crap.

[Roufuss]

Here's a way to think about this:

Dragon Quest 8 probably won't drop price for awhile... I would be surprised if it did. Grandia 3 and Tales of Legendia will see drops to $30 in a few months, no doubt.

Get DQ 8 first, and by the time you finish the game 100% the others will have dropped.

[zionoverfire]

Here's a way to think about this:

Dragon Quest 8 probably won't drop price for awhile... I would be surprised if it did. Grandia 3 and Tales of Legendia will see drops to $30 in a few months, no doubt.

DQ8 has already been on sale multiple times and will probably drop quicker since it's been out a while already.


Buy Grandia 3 the story is enjoyable and the combat is a lot more enjoyable than DQ8.

[Blind the Thief]

I've always found the combat to be fun in the Grandia series, but the story to be quite bad. The Tales series is the same, but with bad combat.

DQVIII, on the other hand, was amazing. After giving it some thought, I'd have to say it ranks very highly on my all-time greatest games list (the last RPG to do so being Suikoden II). I didn't buy into the "best RPG to come out in years!!" crap at first, but it truly is. It's beautiful, and the characters are some of the best I've ever seen.

p.s. Yangus rules.

[doraemonkerpal]

p.s. Yangus rules.

agreed ;)

[FriskyTanuki]

It's a trick question right? Only one of those is a true RPG. The other two are real time crap.
:-s I know Tales of Legendia would be the closest to "real time crap," but what's the other one? Grandia III is pretty much turn-based, though there's some "real time" areas in the game and DQVIII is all turn-based. How is it crap and not a "true RPG?"

[VanillaGorilla]

What, DQVIII is a "true RPG" because it has a coma inducing battle system that hasn't made any improvements since it's NES days? Yeah, ok. The continued sucking off of the FF and DQ franchises continues. And Grandia 3 isn't real time at all, you still issue commands to your characters, you just need to time them correctly, instead of DQVIII's "Give all the commands at once, and pray Yangus does what you told him to do before Monster B kills his ass". Grandia 3's battle system is like a state of the art gaming computer. DQVIII's is like the type of computer you used in 2nd grade to play Z Bug and Oregon Trail, old, outdated, and not a lot of fun.

[io]

I bought Grandia III due mostly to comments on CAG, but haven't played it yet. I had Tales of Legendia on preorder at GR and they still haven't gotten it in. But I put over 100 hours into DQ8 and so far it is my favorite PS2 game. I love the turn-based battle system. Sometimes I like a break from button-mashing and like to think a bit about what to do next. However, I've played ToS on GC and I liked that game too (which is why I preordered Legendia), but I'd have to say I enjoyed DQ8 more than ToS, though I like them both for sure. I also liked Radiata Stories, but that game is super short compared to DQ8 (and I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if it went much longer). I think DQ8 might spoil me against any RPG that doesn't go into the 80 hour range :D.

Here's a shot from one of my last DQ8 sessions (I won't say exactly what this is to avoid spoiling but it is from an optional portion of the game):

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/4977/dq36mi.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Rozz]

It's a trick question right? Only one of those is a true RPG. The other two are real time crap.

Uh, just because a game has a real-time battle system doesent mean its not an RPG. And I've found real-time battle systems to be more fun that the standard turn based ones.

[Chacrana]

Hmmm.... I'm 9:30 into Grandia III now and I absolutely love the game. The battle system is unbelivably good and despite the reviews, the storyline and characters are very well done. It's the way that the story and everything is presented that makes it so good and I don't really think that the fact that the game's story isn't entirely original really detracts much. Anyway, I honestly think that so far, I've enjoyed this just a little more than I enjoyed Dragon Quest VIII... and I loved DQVIII.

Still have to pick up Legendia though... I'm on the fence about that due to the supposed lack of difficulty and/or quality.

[VanillaGorilla]

Hmmm.... I'm 9:30 into Grandia III now and I absolutely love the game. The battle system is unbelivably good and despite the reviews, the storyline and characters are very well done. It's the way that the story and everything is presented that makes it so good and I don't really think that the fact that the game's story isn't entirely original really detracts much. Anyway, I honestly think that so far, I've enjoyed this just a little more than I enjoyed Dragon Quest VIII... and I loved DQVIII.

Still have to pick up Legendia though... I'm on the fence about that due to the supposed lack of difficulty and/or quality.

Everyone has been saying that G3's story completely falls apart during the second disc. Penny Arcade had some funny thoughts about it.

And the Grandia 3 batle system is NOT real time. Real time involves physically moving your characters around the battlefield, like in Star Ocean III or Tales of Symphonia.

[Chacrana]

Everyone has been saying that G3's story completely falls apart during the second disc. Penny Arcade had some funny thoughts about it.

And the Grandia 3 batle system is NOT real time. Real time involves physically moving your characters around the battlefield, like in Star Ocean III or Tales of Symphonia.

That second part is true... though while I like TOS' combat, I thought Star Ocean's real time combat killed it... God... that, the stupid fucking AI, and the fact that running out of MP kills you all made the game awful.

[Blind the Thief]

What, DQVIII is a "true RPG" because it has a coma inducing battle system that hasn't made any improvements since it's NES days? Yeah, ok. The continued sucking off of the FF and DQ franchises continues. And Grandia 3 isn't real time at all, you still issue commands to your characters, you just need to time them correctly, instead of DQVIII's "Give all the commands at once, and pray Yangus does what you told him to do before Monster B kills his ass". Grandia 3's battle system is like a state of the art gaming computer. DQVIII's is like the type of computer you used in 2nd grade to play Z Bug and Oregon Trail, old, outdated, and not a lot of fun.

I'd rather have a highly refined turn-based battle system (look back at older DQ games if you don't think it's refined to a sharp point) than the messy new battle systems most RPGs are putting us through these days.

It's as if developers are aware that you can't keep spitting out the same old standard combat (which is true), but no one has any direction, making crappy battle systems that either over complicate or are just plain bad. If they want an RPG combat system that's fun and is moving in the right direction, they should look no further than the Paper Mario / Mario and Luigi battle systems, which are extremely fun to play.

DQVIII simply opted to make a great game and do what its loyal fans wanted, rather than do something entirely new with its battles and end up screwing it up, like literally every other major franchise (Suikoden, Final Fantasy, etc.). Funnily enough, this "archaic system" is part of what many critics and fans are calling "the best RPG to come out in years!" Coincidence? I think not.

[VanillaGorilla]

I'd rather have a highly refined turn-based battle system (look back at older DQ games if you don't think it's refined to a sharp point) than the messy new battle systems most RPGs are putting us through these days.

It's as if developers are aware that you can't keep spitting out the same old standard combat (which is true), but no one has any direction, making crappy battle systems that either over complicate or are just plain bad. If they want an RPG combat system that's fun and is moving in the right direction, they should look no further than the Paper Mario / Mario and Luigi battle systems, which are extremely fun to play.

DQVIII simply opted to make a great game and do what its loyal fans wanted, rather than do something entirely new with its battles and end up screwing it up, like literally every other major franchise (Suikoden, Final Fantasy, etc.). Funnily enough, this "archaic system" is part of what many critics and fans are calling "the best RPG to come out in years!" Coincidence? I think not.

Yes, a very small part. Like, 10%, if even that. Best to come out in years? Hardly. And if you think the battle systems in games like Grandia or Shadow Hearts are messy and complicated, then you must have the mental capacity of a gradeschooler. Simple and basic doesn not always equal fun. I put 87 hours into DQVIII, and by the end, was dreading every single random encounter (another great thing about G3, no random encounters). Put together a list of what made DQVIII great, and it's battle system wouldn't crack the top 5. Do the same for Grandia 3 or Shadow Hearts: Covenant, and the battle engines would be 1 and 1a, in Shadow Hearts: Covenants case (with the characters being #1, obviously).

And this entire poll is ridiculous anyways. Of the 40+ people who voted for DQVIII, I'm willing to bet not a one of them has finished Grandia 3. They just assume that since DQ has "Dragon Quest" in it's title, it's the better game.

Let's not forget that game reviewers will scold one RPG for being too basic and standard, then turn around and hail DQVIII for having those very same qualities, and call it "an ode to RPG gamings past"....I guess you can get away with a completely emotionless, pod of a main character if you're a Dragon Quest game, because it's their trademark. Yeah, ok.

[Rei no Otaku]

What, DQVIII is a "true RPG" because it has a coma inducing battle system that hasn't made any improvements since it's NES days? Yeah, ok. The continued sucking off of the FF and DQ franchises continues. And Grandia 3 isn't real time at all, you still issue commands to your characters, you just need to time them correctly, instead of DQVIII's "Give all the commands at once, and pray Yangus does what you told him to do before Monster B kills his ass". Grandia 3's battle system is like a state of the art gaming computer. DQVIII's is like the type of computer you used in 2nd grade to play Z Bug and Oregon Trail, old, outdated, and not a lot of fun.
QFT. VanillaGorilla seems to be the only other person here with any sense. Even his post one the hypocrisy of game reviews was dead on.

I thought DQ8 was awful. One of the most boring games I've played in awhile. I fail to see its appeal outside of the pretty graphics. The story sucks, and the battle system is prehistoric.

I'm playing ToL and Grandia 3. ToL is definitely the better choice, though I'm likeing G3 so far too. We'll see how it fares when we get to the dreaded second disc. I like the Tales battle system better though, and the characters in the game are great. You really feel for them. ToL for the win.

[Blind the Thief]

Yes, a very small part. Like, 10%, if even that. Best to come out in years? Hardly. And if you think the battle systems in games like Grandia or Shadow Hearts are messy and complicated, then you must have the mental capacity of a gradeschooler. Simple and basic doesn not always equal fun. I put 87 hours into DQVIII, and by the end, was dreading every single random encounter (another great thing about G3, no random encounters). Put together a list of what made DQVIII great, and it's battle system wouldn't crack the top 5. Do the same for Grandia 3 or Shadow Hearts: Covenant, and the battle engines would be 1 and 1a, in Shadow Hearts: Covenants case (with the characters being #1, obviously).

And this entire poll is ridiculous anyways. Of the 40+ people who voted for DQVIII, I'm willing to bet not a one of them has finished Grandia 3. They just assume that since DQ has "Dragon Quest" in it's title, it's the better game.

Let's not forget that game reviewers will scold one RPG for being too basic and standard, then turn around and hail DQVIII for having those very same qualities, and call it "an ode to RPG gamings past"....I guess you can get away with a completely emotionless, pod of a main character if you're a Dragon Quest game, because it's their trademark. Yeah, ok.


I agree with you, for the most part. I think the double standard most reviewers use for RPGs is stupid. I agree that random battles are annoying, and that I would much rather be able to see the enemies. It took me a long time to get into the game because of this. I called the other battles "messy" because they're all over the place and not fun. Also of note: I originally said that I LIKED Grandia's battle system, citing it as the only reason to play the games in the series.

I'm personally not a fan of the voiceless main character, and I didn't find too much in the story that I hadn't seen elsewhere. With that said, the characters entirely made the game for me. Each one (with the exception of the Hero, on purpose, and Angelo on accident) were fully defined, showed a range of emotions, and grew on me over the course of the adventure. This isn't limited to the main charcaters, either, as most of the supporting cast is just as brilliantly designed. This is impressive, as great characters are much more difficult to create than a unique plot; read The DaVinci Code if you want to see what kind of garbage becomes popular nowadays thanks to a unique idea and no character development whatsoever.

Finally, if you think so many people are recommending the game "since DQ has 'Dragon Quest' in it's title," than I would like to suggest that you are the one that has the mental capacity of a gradeschooler. Dragon Quest has NEVER been popular in the US, aside from a very small cult following. You're simply cutting and pasting "Dragon Quest" in place of "Final Fantasy" here.

[VanillaGorilla]

I agree with you, for the most part. I think the double standard most reviewers use for RPGs is stupid. I agree that random battles are annoying, and that I would much rather be able to see the enemies. It took me a long time to get into the game because of this. I called the other battles "messy" because they're all over the place and not fun. Also of note: I originally said that I LIKED Grandia's battle system, citing it as the only reason to play the games in the series.

I'm personally not a fan of the voiceless main character, and I didn't find too much in the story that I hadn't seen elsewhere. With that said, the characters entirely made the game for me. Each one (with the exception of the Hero, on purpose, and Angelo on accident) were fully defined, showed a range of emotions, and grew on me over the course of the adventure. This isn't limited to the main charcaters, either, as most of the supporting cast is just as brilliantly designed. This is impressive, as great characters are much more difficult to create than a unique plot; read The DaVinci Code if you want to see what kind of garbage becomes popular nowadays thanks to a unique idea and no character development whatsoever.

Finally, if you think so many people are recommending the game "since DQ has 'Dragon Quest' in it's title," than I would like to suggest that you are the one that has the mental capacity of a gradeschooler. Dragon Quest has NEVER been popular in the US, aside from a very small cult following. You're simply cutting and pasting "Dragon Quest" in place of "Final Fantasy" here.

That's why Square's packaging of the horrible FFXII demo with DQVIII was so brilliant. And yes, the DQ games aren't nearly as well known in America, but people will STILL recommend it without even playing it, or only knowing vague things about it. It's the old "I heard this game is HUGE in Japan, so I'm sure everyone here will like it." It's not a huge name among gamers, but it IS familiar, certainly more so than something like the previously mentioned Shadow Hearts or Wild Arms (not to say the WA games are better, which they aren't". Plus, the fact that it's a Square game makes it stand out even more to consumers.

DQVIII is a great game. But there isn't a single thing in it that hasn't been done before, and hasn't been done better. I just find it odd that nobody seems to ever mention that when talking about this game, yet, a lesser known franchise would get roasted by reviewers.