Review of The Legend of Dragoon

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The Legend of Dragoon has a very innovative battle system that uses combination attacks called "additions". This is innovative partly because it does require constant concentration and precise timing to execute. Basically, additions allow your characters to increase the damage caused by their physical attacks. You have to push the controller buttons at the precise moment in order to execute these additions. And, do not expect to master all of the additions for any of the characters. The most powerful additions require too many timed button presses to execute reliably.

The story is fairly standard RPG material. You play as the main character, Dart. Dart is on a journey to avenge the destruction of his village and the death of his parents. Along the way, he meets up with some very eccentric adventurers who follow him on his quests for their own personal reasons. What starts out as a journey for revenge turns out to be something more significant. As the story unfolds, it turns out that what people have believed for 10,000 years may not be the actual truth. What God had in mind for humans may not be in our best interest. Dart and company travel across three nations to try and unravel the mystery.

This game is a very good alternative to the Final Fantasy series for those who love to hack, slash, bash, and cast spells. The battle system here is much better than Final Fantasy X's. This is perhaps the most sophisticated RPG for the original playstation. Playing the game in a PS2 supposedly gives the graphics a boost, but I have not had a chance to compare them side by side. I can say that on a PS2, the graphics are very good. The soundtrack sounds great and the variety is wide enough so that the game is pleasant to play for long hours at a time. I believe it took me over 100 hours to finish the game and the side quests.

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"Legend of Dragoon" is similar to Final Fantasy games in that the battles are turn-based; involve weapons, items, and spells; and players get the option to levil up their characters for stronger attacks and more HP. On it's own, it is a fun, satisfying, and worthwile game. But it definitely doesn't hold a candle to the FF games.

Though the battle system is familiar to any RPG fan, it is the graphics that really give this game the edge. Boasting "3 years in the making, with a design team of over 100", their efforts were well spent. The battles are challenging enough, while the enemies are challenging and diverse. In terms of control, it is similar to most of the FF games, so it doesn't take long to master battles and manouvering. As the game progresses, the characters get stronger, allowing them to inflict even more damage. Overall, this is a challenging and rewarding game.

But sadly, this game is tainted by a few minor flaws. The cliched "Unlock the mysteries of the past" plot is nothing we haven't seen before, add to this the paper thin characters that we couldn't care less about. There are some technical flaws that need addressing. First, the number is items that can be carried. Why is it that you can carry 256 "Armed" items (weapons and armor) but you can only cary 32 standard items (like healing potions and cure potions, which is what you most often need)? Another flaw is that, unlike the free roaming of FF games, you are confined to the dotted lines on the world map. So there is little room for exploration. One thing that particularly bugged me about this game is that the plot is so linear, meaning that the side quests that we enjoyed with Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 3 are not prevelant here.

But these are minor flaws, considering that the point of the game is to fight until the end to save innocent people from bloodshed. This is not a deeply involved RPG, but rather more like an action game with RPG undertones. Not bad at all.

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The Legend of Dragoon is an awesome game that centers around a man in red armor (Dart) and the band of people he joins on his quest. It begins with a story of revenge for the death of his parents, but quickly morphs into battle scenes where he fights to save his friends, and eventually, a small love story works its way into the plot. Don't worry guys, it doesn't interfere the battle sequences. This game is tough in some parts, and easier in others, but it's well worth the money. You get a lot of challenging fights and you must solve puzzles in some areas to progress. The graphics are pretty good and personally, (DONT FLIP ON ME!!) I like this game a lot more than any of the Final Fantasies, except for FFX. I really liked this game a lot, and I own over 400 games for PS, PS2 and PC. This game is addicting, I come home and play for hours. You should get at least 40 hours of gameplay. By the way, the opening scenes made me mad the first time I played, but once you get past the beginning, you get 2 actually play the game. This game has a very involved plot, one of the better plots of RPG's. I hope this helped!

Honest reviews on The Legend of Dragoon

Where to begin... I have read many reviews about this game. Some reviews that I have seen build this game up with positive comments but don't do it any justice. The majority of the reviews that I have read about "Legend of Dragoon" were so harsh I wonder what makes these people RPG fans at all. I have owned this game since its release back in June 2000. I was even able to complete the game within a month or so. To be totally honest I have thoroughly enjoyed this game.

You play as a mercenary named "Dart" who is approximately 20 years of age. As the story begins war is quickly breaking out across the nation. Dart being somewhat naive hears about the arising conflict but takes it as no more than a rumor...until his village has been literally burnt to the ground. His long time childhood friend Shana is also taken captive and sent to the Hellena Prison. Dart then takes it upon himself to infiltrate this enemy fortress to get her back. Little does he know that by doing so he will have volunteered to bring an end to this war and the evil super-powers behind it.

I enjoy this game firstly for its creativity. Being an expressed fan of dragons and chivalry, I find myself easily immersed in this great game. The graphics are easily as great as those of Final Fantasy VII. The FMV sequences are breath-taking. The storyline in my opinion is very good. I enjoyed trying to figure out the many twists in the plot. That is one of the things that kept me playing...just to find out what kind of secrets the characters were hiding from one another. The battle system is quite enjoyable. Sony uses what they call an "addition" system. This where the classic turn-based RPG is brought into the real-time combat world. When your character moves in to strike the enemy you need to push the attack button a certain time to initiate another attack and so which can eventually turn into a devastating combo attack. Granted this can become tedious after putting many hours under your belt, but where would the experience of the battle be without it? Having one of your characters turn into a dragoon is much like Final Fantasy's limit breaks, but not only does your character gain immense attacking power but some impressive magical abilities. Not too mention some sweet armor.

Just about all the reviews I have read have compared Legend of Dragoon to many of Square's games. Square is renowned for their ability to produce amazing RPG's. Final Fantasy is where it all began! After nine Final Fantasy games something new (with a twist of lemon) can be a breath of fresh air to rekindle the RPG flames. I highly recommend this great game to any heart and soul RPG player.

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I really enjoy this game. I'm in no way saying that it is perfect, I still prefer FFVIII, but it is a very nice game. The graphics are great. The regular play graphics (not CGI scenes) are shockingly good compared with my newly purchased FFIX. At the begining I was upset at the lack of CGI sequences (I'm a shallow CG major so I love that stuff), but my hunger was sated in disc 3. I enjoy the battle system. Having to master the complicated additions kept me active, when in FFVIII I would occasionally be getting a snack while my characters acted out the commands. Unfortunately, the battles were all too frequent. Random encounters slowed play with no option of walking on 'safe' roads. There was the abilty to reduce encounters with cheap charm potions, but it was altogether just as annoying. Finally, I didn't feel the same connection with the characters as I did in FFVIII. Several reviewers have called FFVIII's character development too complicated, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. While this might not become your favorite game, it is certainly worth a play or two.