The best thing about the system is how it makes almost every battle a fresh experience. Versus other games where you'll run from encounters to avoid another dull exchange of strikes, the dynamic battles in Grandia II will impress you and have you looking for a fight. That's important, because the other great joy of Grandia II is the upgrade system. Once again the variety lends itself to strategic decisions and becomes almost a game unto itself. After each battle you collect gold, experience points, and SC and MC points.
Gold is used to purchase new weapons, armor, and items from shops.
You can also sell unwanted items for gold towards things you need. Experience points are added to each character involved in battle and work toward boosting that characters ability when they reach the next level. After each battle this is all displayed in a well thought-out screen that shows the spoils of your latest victory and then adds them to your cache of goodies. Experience needed to level-up counts down for each character and provides further incentive to seek out another fight. The real fun comes from using the SC and MC points to purchase new abilities and spells.