Grandia III heading to the US

By Ellie Gibson Published 14 November, 2005

But will it make it to Europe?

It looks like the latest instalment in Square-Enix's Grandia series is heading to US PS2s - but there are no plans for a European release at present.

Rumours of a US version emerged after videogames rating board the ESRB confirmed that it had awarded the game a "Teen" rating. The ESRB only rates games once they have been submitted by the publisher - but Square-Enix has yet to make an official announcement.

IGN contacted the publisher's US office and was told: "Though we can't confirm anything at the moment, an announcement regarding the status of Grandia III in North America will be coming soon."

Sounds like the Yankees will indeed be getting the game then - but us Europeans might not be so lucky.

Speaking to Eurogamer this morning, a spokesperson told us: "At the moment there are no plans to bring Grandia III to Europe."

That doesn't mean it'll never happen, of course... After all, the first two Grandia titles were released over here, so it's certainly possible. We liked the look of the screenshots released earlier this year, so fingers crossed...

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (16) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Aretak #1 6 years ago

    If it doesn't, I'm going to destroy Japan. Or cry.

  • Blerk #2 6 years ago

    It's getting to the point where I'm finding that I hate Squenix even more than Namco. At least Namco only held back two games that I quite fancied. Squenix Europe appear to be trying their best to hold back all of the games that I fancy.

    Well done, guys. Stellar work.

  • weltenbrand #3 6 years ago

    As I expected. :(

  • aabyssx #4 6 years ago

    > "At the moment there are no plans to bring Grandia III to Europe."

    / his eyes start to become red as his blood starts to boil from the hate that arosed while reading this sentence

    Not releasing a title in Europe is so unfair...

  • Kon #5 6 years ago

    If Squenix doesn't publish this, can't some other company (UBI) pick up the rights for PAL territories?

    When i last played Grandia, it was G2 on the DC, and appart from developer Game Arts i can't remember if another company was associated with the game's development.

    AFAIK neither Square or Enix were involved at the time.

    Have they had a hand in developing/co-developing the game this time around?

  • DodgyPast #6 6 years ago

    sony really should be trying to stop this...

    I mean, how many European users can now run backup because they've needed to faff around to get access to the great games that don't make it here.

    Once they've gone to the cost and hassle of sorting this out I'm sure most people will at least want to get their money back via piracy?

  • Aretak #7 6 years ago

    "If Squenix doesn't publish this, can't some other company (UBI) pick up the rights for PAL territories?"

    Ubisoft did publish Grandia II over here, but I can't see that happening now Squeenix are involved. They'd probably rather just not release it than hand it over.

  • Azu87 #8 6 years ago

    I really don't understand what Square is thinking. They do bring crap like Unlimited Saga and that shitty racing game Driving Emotion Type-S, but no. When it comes to the true masterpieces like Seiken Densetsu 3, Chrono Trigger & Cross and Grandia III they won't bring them to Europe. Even that f*cking Chocobo Racing got released over here. You know what would be great? Cancel Kingdom Hearts 2. Then I'll be sure to send a few nuclear bombs to say hi to Squenix's HQ.

    EDIT: Oh, and I WILL download this if they won't release it in Europe. I don't care anymore. I don't want to give money to companies that don't give a shit even if Europe doesn't get the game.
    Edited by 1 at 14/11/05 @ 12:07

  • Kami #9 6 years ago

    If not, I'll just import...

    ... seems to be the way it goes for some games these days...

  • caligari #10 6 years ago

    Hmm...I wonder...will there ever be a sequel for Skies of Arcadia?

  • Scimarad #11 6 years ago

    I thought they were working on one - Must have disapeared into thin air...

    But then again look at Sega's record with their other big RPGs, Shining Force and Phantasy Star. They never did 'proper' sequels to those, either.

    On the subject of Grandia III I'd be pretty suprised if it didn't come out over here, though the reports I've heard don't make the game sound particularly impressive. Personally I think it's a real shame they haven't released Radiata Stories in europe as I really like that:-)
    Edited by 1 at 14/11/05 @ 18:01

  • yagisencho #12 6 years ago

    First off, Grandia (I) is on my top five all-time RPG favorites. Secondly, Grandia II was just alright. Grandia Xtreme? Let's not go there. Finally, Grandia III was universally panned by the Japanese gaming press and buying public. A shame, but not worth the angst over whether or not it's released in Europe.

    Me, I want a remake of the original. Its low-res first-generation 3D graphics and textures are hard on the eyes.

  • Azu87 #13 6 years ago

    First off, Grandia 1 was a good RPG, not the best RPG ever, just playable. Grandia 2 is one of my all time favorites. Grandia Xtreme isn't even a "proper" Grandia, just a side thingy. And Grandia 3 has been getting good reviews in Japan:

    Famitsu Score:
    PS2 Grandia III (Square Enix): 8 / 9 / 9 / 9 - (35/40)

    The average from media: 8.4

    That's a really good average because you can't please everyone.

  • yagisencho #14 6 years ago

    That's a promising score from Famitsu, to be sure. And while you'd be a poor man if you put much stock into their reviews, amazon.co.jp customers have rated it at 2.5 stars out of 5.0 (203 reviews). Sample comments from different players:

    "The story is the worst."

    "This is the first game in the series that I played, but it's pretty bad. I can understand why other users are upset."

    "If you expect too much from this game, you'll get stressed out."

    "This is called Grandia? I doubt I'm the only one who found himself yelling 'You've gotta be kidding me!' I can't understand why this is called Grandia. Unforgivable."

    With glowing customer reviews like this (most from fans of the series mind you), I think I'll pass.

  • Scimarad #15 6 years ago

    I wonder how much of that is a case of "How dare Square-Enix steal our beloved Grandia!?!?!!?". From what I heard it's not bad game, just not an outstanding one.
    Edited by 1 at 15/11/05 @ 07:21

  • Azu87 #16 6 years ago

    The only comment worth noticing is that "the story is worst". I laughed when I read that. Grandias have never had a good story. It's always been like "the evil god has awakened from his long sleep and now the world is going to be destroyed". It's the gameplay that has always been great in Grandias, and I have read that the gameplay is great.

    Those will surely be disappointed, who wait for an impressive storyline and stuff like that. Those who want a fun-to-play RPG (there's really not that much fun RPG's, just great stories but as I mentioned in many games the playing can get annoying or boring at some point, that has never been the case with Grandias).