The Granstream Saga
Developer(s)	Shade
Publisher(s)	JP SCEI NA THQ PAL ARC Entertainment
Composer(s)	Kōhei Tanaka Masanori Hikichi Miyoko Kobayashi Takako Ochiai
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Release date(s)	JP November 6, 1997 NA June 30, 1998 PAL February 26, 1999
Genre(s)	Role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ELSPA: 11+ ESRB: T (Teen) OFLC: G8+ USK: 6+
Media	1 CD-ROM

The Granstream Saga (グランストリーム伝記, Guransutorīmu Denki^?) is an action role-playing game for the PlayStation. The game was developed by a team consisting of staff from the developer Quintet under the name Shade.

The Granstream Saga is lauded as one of the first fully-polygonal RPGs, as opposed to using pre-rendered backgrounds. The game features anime-style cutscenes by Production I.G. It is also somewhat unique in that the characters the player meets in the game are faceless. The game's plot is based on the manga series Kros.^[1]

Prior to release, it was highly anticipated, but sales were ultimately disappointing.

[edit] Gameplay

This section requires expansion.

[edit] Story

One hundred years prior to the story's beginning, there was a great war waged between the Allied Spirit Army and the Imperial Wizardry. The war waged for ages, with neither side having a clear advantage. The Imperial Wizardry employed a new weapon that would fire at the core, with the intent of causing heavy terrain damage to enemy territory, but a severe miscalculation caused the planet's axis to shift and cause global warming. Before the Earth could sink, four wise men created a machine to allow four of the continents to float, avoiding death. The wise men left the mechanism in the hands of their descendants. However, in the present day, their descendants have disappeared, and the remaining continents have begun to sink.

[edit] Music

The game's anime cutscenes feature music by composer Kōhei Tanaka while the rest of the in-game music was composed by Quintet's sound staff including Masanori Hikichi, Miyoko Kobayashi, and Takako Ochiai.^[2]

[edit] Reception

THQ was the US publisher, and their job with the English version voice acting in the game was poorly-reviewed. ^[3]

The online video game review site Hardcore Gaming 101 (hosted by GameSpy) has referred to The Granstream Saga and a few other Quintet games as the Soul Blazer series, pointing a few common themes between the different titles.^[4]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Granstream Saga at GameFAQs
• The Granstream Saga at MobyGames
• The Granstream Saga at Game Rankings
• [1] (Overview of the Soul Blazer trilogy and Granstream Saga)