Ryudo performing the Sky Dragon Slash.
Dragon Slash is a recurring special move that has appeared in every Grandia game to date. In all incarnations of the move, the user plunges his or her sword into the ground, creating a large sigil of light upon the ground. Energy is expelled either from the user or the sigil, inflicting a large amount of damage on all enemies. Dragon Slash, or a variation of it, such as the Divine Dragon Slash, is always available to the main character as one of their final moves.
Grandia[]
Dragon Cut first appears as the secret move of the battle-hardened warrior named Gadwin. Justin feels the full might of the attack first hand when Gadwin uses it in a duel against Justin at their first meeting. The move immediately defeats Justin, knocking him out. The player gets access to the move once Gadwin joins the party, and is his most powerful technique. Later on, when Justin finally defeats Gadwin in a duel, he passes down the technique to Justin. Justin later on learns his own variation of the move, known as the Heaven & Earth Cut.
To acquire the move for Justin, the player must first defeat Gadwin in their second duel. Afterwards, after Justin trains his sword level to 16, his fire magic level to 6, and his earth magic to 7, Justin may learn the move.
The original animation for Dragon Cut from the Sega Saturn version
Dragon Cut grants enormous boosts in weapon experience to Justin, along with great boosts in fire and earth magic. Exploiting this is popularly known as "Dragon Cut Training", where players can rapidly increase Justin's weapon levels, along with his fire and earth magic levels.
For whatever reason, Dragon Cut's animation was changed when ported over to the PlayStation. In the Saturn version, a more familiar sigil was present, whereas the PlayStation version creates a series of cracks and splits in the ground.
Grandia II[]
Dragon Slash appears in Grandia II as Ryudo's ultimate move, known as the Sky Dragon Slash. Ryudo first throws his sword into the air. Then, he jumps towards it, grabs it, and slams it into the ground, creating the sigil of energy present in other Grandia games. It is by far Ryudo's most powerful and expensive move, and it hits all enemies.
In order to obtain the Sky Dragon Slash, the player must first defeat Melfice and then purchase the move for 1,500 Skill Points.
A similar-looking move is also present in the game, known as the Demon Horde Slash. It is used by Melfice and deals large damage to the entire party.
Grandia III[]
Dragon Slash makes its appearance in Grandia III as Yuki's most powerful technique. Yuki raises his sword into the air, asking the dragon of light to lend him power (though this is likely poetic speaking). A radiant energy collects within his sword, at which point he slams the sword into the ground, creating a sigil of energy. The sigil emits a burst of energy, heavily damaging all enemies.
In order to obtain Dragon Slash, Yuki's SP level must be raised to 9.
Grandia Xtreme[]
Dragon Slash makes many appearances in Grandia Xtreme, and has many different incarnations.
Sky Dragon Slash[]
Sky Dragon Slash can only be used by Evann. It functions and has primarily the same animations as Ryudo's Sky Dragon Slash, the only difference being that Evann's creates an explosion during the animation. In order to obtain the technique, X-Slash and Invincible Aura must be raised to Level 5 and 3 respectively. It deals massive damage to all enemies.
Volt Slash[]
Despite having a name that seems unrelated to the Dragon Slash family of attacks, it is in fact a variation of the attack. Evann channels his signature lightning energy and stabs his sword into the ground, expelling it above him. The energy drops down and collects itself onto Brandol's sword, in which he jams it into the ground, electrifying the entire battlefield and dealing large amounts of damage. It also has a chance of paralysis. In order to perform the Volt Slash, Evann and Brandol must know Sky Dragon Slash and Eruption Slash, respectively.
Divine Dragon Slash[]
The most powerful incarnation of Dragon Slash in Grandia Xtreme and the most devastating attack in the entire franchise. Evann, Brandol and Carmyne gather their power into their respective swords and at the same time, plunge them into the ground, creating a giant sigil of energy. The sigil emits a tremendous burst of energy, razing the ground and the atmosphere. Afterwards, an afterimage of the sigil continues to burn, causing incredible damage to all enemies. In order to perform the Divine Dragon Slash, Evann must know Sky Dragon Slash, Brandol must know Eruption Slash, and Carmyne must know Rosette Slash. It costs a massive 99 SP from all three characters to execute.
Demon Slash[]
Only usable by Kroitz in the first battle with him, Demon Slash functions exactly the same way Melfice's Demon Horde Slash did. In fact, they have the same name in their respective Japanese versions: Majinken. The only difference being is that Kroitz's sigil emits multi-colored energy instead of blue. It deals large damage to all allies.
True Demon Slash[]
Used by Battle Kroitz. Asides from being more powerful, this move is identical in animation and functionality to his regular Demon Slash.
Trivia[]
- A good way to identify moves of the Dragon Slash family, besides the familiar animations, are to view their Japanese names. The original Dragon Slash is known as Ryuujinken, Sky Dragon Slash is known as Tenma Ryuujinken, and Divine Dragon Slash is known as Shinbu Ryuujinken.