Part 1: Intro Cutscenes
While I am going to provide a screenshot summary of the cutscenes, this game has some fantastic music cues, some subtle animation, and some voices that are... less than fantastic. Or subtle. So if you would kindly click on that friendly-looking video link, we can jump right to the next update. If not, however...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CPISP-y5WY Has awesome music!(Polsy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhj-B_83eEs Has... voices.(Polsy)
We begin with a sparkling sky.
Panning down to a group of people.
And across to a city.
A city which grows rapidly.
Soon stretching out to the horizon.
And even beyond.
Off across the sea...
And beyond.
The city is almost unrecognizable, now.
And it uses strange new technology.
And at the center of it all, a bright light.
It seems to nourish the people, like the sun to a flower.
But rapid prosperity soon turns to exploitation...
And ultimately destruction.
Our first in-game cutscene slowly pans up to a man, passed out in a chair.
: Umm... I guess I must have dozed off... I had that dream again. The bastards! They're hounding me....
So, things we know about this General Baal so far:
1: Has a snazzy cape.
2: Passes out in chairs.
3: Has a recurring dream about being hounded by bastards. Or is being hounded by a bastard dream. Context could go either way.
4: Asks "Are we there yet?" every half hour.
: I keep telling you, Mullen. Where there are no soldiers around, you should call me "Father".And 5: Is apparently Mullen's father.
: but Lieutenant Leen is still here.One thing Grandia likes to do is swap out character portraits mid-text box. In Mullen's case here, he seems distracted as soon as he mentions Leen.
: Ha, ha, ha. It's just like you to answer like that.
: .... ....Leen proves herself to be the token anime JRPG Important, Special woman by ellipsis-ing. Twice.
: I'm counting on you two. Mullen... Leen.
Mullen and Leen double-ellipsis in unison. No points for guessing who's gonna be shacking up with whom later on. That's right, Baal and that sweet, sweet cape.
: We have assigned an elite battallion of our Forces to this excavation. I am sure that we'll hear good news.
The PA grabs everyone's attention...
... while
Mullen tasks Leen with
Complete with pointing to the one control panel on the bridge.
: Yes, Colonel Mullen.Leen not only actually responds, but smiles.
She is, however, less enthusiastic about Mullen's attempts to impress her via disco.
That's it, Leen! You show that button who's boss!
(Apologies for the upcoming gifs, but this game is very expressive and it'd be a shame to miss the details with static screenshots)
The view-ports open, brightening up the bridge and revealing the town of Parm in the distance.
Which forms a nice backdrop for our title, don't you think?
We fade in on the Port Town of Parm.
And are given the grand tour around.
And we follow a little girl, in search of... something.
A small detail is that she slows down when passing the other kids. Wouldn't want to run into anyone.
This screenshot is mainly here to provide a dead-on circle for the inevitable aspect ratio argument.
A sound catches her attention, and she skids to a halt to check it out.
: I didn't trash it! Why won't you listen to me!!
: SHUT UP! There's no treasure in all that junk!! Now you've completely trashed it!
And thus, we see the first of very, very many blows to the head for poor Justin here.
And with that, the angry guy storms off and slams the door to his shed.
: That awful man, he... NEVER, EVER understands....
... Apparently at some point, the girl's ribbon fell off and began flying around her.
: Don't worry! A punch like that? Nothin' to it! For a first-rate adventurer, comes with the territory!!
: So how'd it go? Did you find anything in the shed?
: Nah. Nothin' at all. It really was all junk. Must have guessed wrong....
: Here it is - the Legendary Armor! I found it all by myself!
Sue's ribbon objects to that statement.
Another tiny detail is that Puffy settles back down onto Sue's head as soon as she corrects herself.
Usually... usually the game is better about animations than that.
: Great, Sue! That's the first one!!
: That leaves the Shield of Light, the Warrior's Helmet and the Spirit Sword!
: Don't forget, we gotta get 'em by sundown or we'll lose.
I promise I'll start cutting out some of the ellipsis-only lines from here on out.
And for those wondering how the voice actor handled this, it was a "Hmm..."
: Yuck! I don't wanna marry that awful Gantz!
Sue leans forward here, to make her sprite match her portrait.
: You better take responsibility.
: OK! I know, I know.: Come on, let's go show this to Gantz!!
: Puffy, let's go, too!
: Puff puff!
And with that out of the way, we can finally begin.