Role-playing ridiculousness revealed in Grandia III shots

Japanese games are great and all, but sometimes genre conventions can get a bit ridiculous at times, especially with certain titles from our Far Eastern neighbors.

Consider the latest batch of screenshots released for the game Grandia III (for the PS2). You've got your typical RPG card games and airships aeroplanes, but then you've got some wacky shots of fights with Fishman Advisers to wrestle with. Forgive this blogger's lack of experience with the Grandia bestiary, but what the heck are Fishman Advisers (and why must each be stabbed to an untimely death)?

We love that foreign game developers (and/or their localization specialists) have a healthy sense of humor, whether intended or not, but some game ideas definitely get lost in translation. Check here for the first page of the GameSpy gallery, and wonder at the suspension of disbelief games at times can require of us to enjoy them properly.