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[Koobazaur]

I recently picked up Grandia II Anniversary Edition to scratch a JRPG itch and it scratched it a little TOO hard. Yet, it proved an interest example to analyze. I thought I'd share my analysis

Narrative Analysis of Grandia II’s Beginning


After 10 minutes, I hated Grandia II. It began abuseing every JRPG trope I could imagine and only got worse from there. Yet, I realized it also created a very solid plot structure with well-paced ups and down. For this dichotomic reason, I found it particularly intriguing to break down narratively. I have also never analyzed a game story in such detail before, so this is a good exercise for me as well!

This piece is perhaps not as deep as it could be, but there was a lot of ground to cover (and a lot of things I am myself just learning). I will try to point out important archetypes, conflicts and plot points to understand how the story flows in the first 6 or so hours. At the end I also provide a bullet-point breakdown of the plot for your convenience!

Continue Reading ->

Let me know what you think!

[valrus]

I like it, and agree.  It's an interesting exercise to analyze the workmanship of something you don't *quite* like; it prevents just fanboying/fangirling out.  Grandia II is a great choice for that.  It's got basic narrative competency but doesn't really approach greatness.

I don't think I've ever run across an analysis of what the JRPG narrative formula does *right*.  It's very easy to criticize ("Fun, too!"), but it dominated several console generations; it was clearly hitting some kind of sweet spot.

[Koobazaur]

Yea, it was a very interesting example. I'm about 10 hours in and I'm actually really enjoying the game now. The last village problem managed to hit a really strong emotional cord (sacrifice a child to save an entire town) even with all the JRPG tropes and writing! Quite impressive. The characters are also getting more depth now, and the combat is pretty fun with new abilities, spells and items.

I'm starting to see why the game is so highly praised, it's starting to feel like the "ideal JRPG" in a way.