Still have all your old Dreamcast saves lying around somewhere? Wait, really? Well then, you’re in luck.
Turns out, the new anniversary edition of JRPG classic Grandia II — which launched today, August 24th 2015, Anno Domini — is compatible with saves from Sega’s dearly departed living room box. Yes, the one that got discontinued in 2001, the year that happened 14 years ago. To put it in perspective, Steam wasn’t even a thing until two years after that.
This isn’t actually as random as it sounds! A rep from GungHo Online Entertainment, the company that published Grandia II Anniversary Edition, explained it to me:
“The VMS file format is the same file format used by the original Dreamcast console. Because the Anniversary Edition is based off the original Dreamcast code, we also write and read to the VMS save file format within the data/save file directory. This allows the player to import their own VMS save files that can be downloaded from any Dreamcast community websites like Blue Swirl.”
“Also, since Dreamcast emulators also use VMS save files, they can also bring any of their personal save files over from their emulator and continue on within the Anniversary Edition. Any Grandia II VMS save file will work. This allows the Grandia community to share VMS save files easily between their friends & fan-base regardless of platform.”
So basically, the game’s save file format is consistent regardless of whether you’re playing on Dreamcast, an emulator, or Steam. That allows long-time fans to do as they will with their precious saves, and keeping it that way — especially after all these years — is a pretty awesome gesture, if you ask me.
Now for a sad aside: my Dreamcast stopped working, like, five years ago. I’m not entirely sure why, but I’ll always have my memories — and a gut-twisting desire to play Power Stone with friends every time I see a couch. I think I might still have a VMU as well, but there’s a good chance my dog ate it. Not to go too TMI here, but that would explain why his poops are always swirl-shaped.
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To contact the author of this post, write to nathan.grayson@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter @vahn16.
Comments
8 responses to “Dreamcast Saves Work With The New PC Version Of Grandia II”
“Still have all your old Dreamcast saves lying around somewhere? Wait, really?”
…well….yeah. I fail to see how that’s unusual….
got my ps2 version. fucking love the game. shame they didnt bother with a re release on console
Same here. I have so many saves from that game. I wish I could port them over.
On a semi-related note why did they never re-release Power Stone on more modern Consoles?
It got a PSP re release with Power Stone 2, but the PSP controls were not made for that.
And the load times were horrific, much worse than the Dreamcast.
Still have a boxed PC copy of this game. Grandia 1 on PS1 was definitely an eye opener to gaming for my young kid self.
holy crapballs, i still have my save at Grail Mountain!!!! \o/