end, the speed of which being determined by the particular character's "speed" rating. Once a character's icon has reached the end of the gauge, it becomes their turn to act, with all other activity halting until the player has selected their action. Players may choose to attack an enemy or use a magic-based attack by selecting an appropriate "Synthesis Card" from their inventory. Synthesis Cards may also be used in combination with each other to produce additional effects or unlock special magic attacks. As a player's party defeats enemies, they earn experience points that go toward gaining levels, making each character stronger. Throughout battles, players also collect data on enemy monsters, actions, and characters that are stored in the game's database accessible from the title screen. Development Grandia: Parallel Trippers was announced in July 2000 by its publisher Hudson Soft, who revealed that they, along with Game Arts, would be bringing the game to the Game Boy Color as the series' first handheld title. Game Arts president Hirokazu Miyazki explained that the game was created to make a Grandia that users could "play anywhere", and was designed under the philosophy that both new and veteran fans of the series could enjoy the title equally. Hudson Soft was personally chosen by Game Arts as the game's publisher due to their experience with handheld titles and enthusiasm in marketing the game to Japanese audiences. The game was first showcased at the 2000 Nintendo Space World expo the following August, and again at the 2000 Tokyo Game Show in September, where the game received its final release date. Following the game's release, Huson Soft launched its "Grandia Nippo" (lit. "Grandia Daily") website that featured fan art, interviews, and special downloads related to Parallel Trippers in order to increase enthusiasm for the game. The music for Parallel Trippers consists of downsampled versions of tracks from the original Grandia, originally composed by Noriyuki Iwadare. Reception Japanese response to Grandia: Parallel Trippers was mild, with Weekly Famitsu magazine granting the game a 24 out of 40 score. In a hands-on preview of the game, IGN found it to be a very generic role-playing title, remarking that "While Grandia didn't look or play poorly, there was nothing here that differentiated itself from all the rest of the big-headed, overhead, 2D RPGs that were on the Game Boy Color". The website additionally felt that Parallel Trippers was too