Grandia III -- Simplified Design.

Game Arts games (Lunar and Grandia) have always offered a little more in the design of things. They've always been lush and full compared to other games. Given that current trends in game design are headed toward simplification how does Grandia III compare to previous Game Arts efforts? In a world where Square is making games where the dungeons consist of literally walking straight up into the screen for ten screens or so Grandia III comes off as overly complex. But in actuality, even Grandia is falling victim to this trend toward simplification. Grandia III offers up less complex dungeons and towns compared to the first titles in the series. Grandia and Grandia II both offered massive sprawling towns where it was possible to actually get lost in them. The dungeons sure, but it took an hour to explore the starting town in the original Grandia. That's gone. The towns consist of a few buildings each. The largest town in Grandia III is on par with the smallest in Grandia II. The dungeons have faired a little better. They're still puzzle based. Grandia III still retains the mild adventure dungeon aspects. You'll need to be pushing down trees to make bridges, figure out how to move boulders out of the way, open locked doors, get around ancient traps and the like. The dungeons are large enough and have a mild maze aspect to them. The days of Phantasy Star 2's evil behemoth dungeons are most likely gone forever, and that's sort of a shame. I enjoyed the sense of accomplishment each dungeon gave. Modern dungeons are starting to seem like just filler in between story segments and it shouldn't ever be that way. The overworld doesn't even exist much anymore these days. And I think that's a real crime. Grandia III revolves around the concept of flight. Yuki, the main character, is a pilot. Grandia III's overworld is there, but you fly where you go. You actually control the plane and have little to do but point it in the general direction of your destination since the concept of exploration is gone. Once the destination is within range, an icon asking you to press the circle button will appear on screen. That's all there is to it. It's a strange approach given the story is focused on the spirit of adventure to some degree. Imagine Skies of Arcadia without that wonderful world to explore. In watering down what made RPGs so great originally in order to sell them to anime fans and Madden players and anyone else who wouldn't normally play them, they're killing the genre for those who loved it originally. At least to me it seems that way. Maybe I'm wrong.