Starring Red Cloud as he came to be known back then. A game that can make dragons boring. Horrible translation alongside a nonsensical storyline holds back...Uhh. I mean it was a...game...? It had turn based with QTE when you hit people, about the only really interesting aspect about it. I would've rated this much higher when I had played it in the past, but replaying it as an adult led to noticing...A lot of issues. Like the storyline being bananas and said translation issues.

Games like this always have their loyal supporters, but there's a good reason Square hasn't gone back to this game.

After the incredible drop that was this and Wild Arms 2 on Playstation Plus Premium with trophy support it was a tough call which one to go with first, but ultimately I went with The Legend of Dragoon and I was not disappointed. This was my first time playing it and I really enjoyed it.

This had its hooks in me pretty much from the beginning, though I must admit the dialog took a little bit to get used to. The English translation here is not highly regarded and I understand why. Nearly every line ends with two exclamation points (!!) and some of the lines are a bit ridiculous. But part of this game's charm is it is unrelentingly a JRPG. I know that term has been a hot topic as of late, but I mean it in the most endearing way possible. This checks all the boxes of JRPG greats and does it with love.

As far as the narrative goes, for the most part I was into it, but towards the end I did kind of start to trail off. Overall I did still enjoy it though. It was cliche in the right ways. I enjoyed the characters, and the journey they went on. My only knock is that Shana is a pretty terrible character. Her emotional arc is paper thin, and she's hardly a person outside of her connection with Dart. However it's a complaint I can set aside when it comes to my enjoyment of the game.

The combat system is a lot of fun. I will say that I'm glad I had a rewind feature for this because I missed a lot of the button prompts that come with attacking, so it was great to go back and do it until I got it right. I like the dragoon mechanic but I do wish there was a way to switch back and forth from it so long as you had enough SP, because once you turn into a dragoon you're locked into it until you run out of SP, and you can't use items while you're in it. Aside from that frustration I still had a great time with the combat system. I'm glad that in today's day and age, turn based RPGs still do well. I know some people aren't a fan of it but when a game like this does it well, it's just so much fun.

Another frustration of mine was I felt that the amount of items you could carry was too low. Maybe I'm alone in that, but I was constantly having to manage my inventory and sell off or discard items just so I could have a comfortable amount of healing and reviving items. I made it work, though.

Overall if you like JRPGs this one is absolutely worth playing. It has a banging soundtrack, cool and interesting environments, fun characters, a good story and combat system. You can't go wrong!

Platinum Trophy #126
Platinum #2 of 2023

Since The Legend of Dragoon is apparently coming to PS+, it seems incredibly fortuitous that it happens to be the next game I'm reviewing as part of my bucket list. You might find the timing to be coincidental, but what you don't know is I've spent months hacking into the Playstation Network trying to get the game added.

A little background first: I had a roommate who was bi and he played this game all the time on my PS2. It was during this period of time I was also coming to grips with the fact that I am bi as well, so because I apparently have brain damage this game has entered into my mind as "The Bisexual's RPG." This is our game, if you're straight you're not allowed to enjoy it. I'm sorry. Actually, I'm not.

Despite the fact that this game left a rather unique impression on me, it's kinda just average. A perfectly good time but far from a must play. Dragoon follows Dart, whose hometown is destroyed in a raid and his childhood friend Shana taken captive. After teaming up with a soldier named Lavitz - whose name sounds like a brand of shampoo - Dart rescues Shana and is subsequently recruited by King Albert (I don't remember if there's a "Prince Albert in a can" joke in this game, but I'm sure there is, I can feel it in my bones) to defend the fort city of Hoax. It is there that Dart discovers he is a Dragoon, a member of an ancient order tasked with preventing the reunification of The God of Destruction's body and soul, and as it happens, its soul currently resides in Shana.

The plot is really nothing special, and the story mostly lives and dies on the interpersonal relationships of your party members. In particular, I really like Rose and found her connection to Dart's father, her regrets and sense of duty to be some of the strongest stuff in Dragoon's narrative. Unfortunately, I can't say any other characters besides Dart and Lavitz really stuck with me, and outside of a very general overview of the game, there's few set pieces or emotional beats that come to mind even two years after finishing the game. Looks damn good for a PS1 game, though, and if you read up on its development even a little bit, it becomes quite clear that Japan Studio put a lot of thought into the look of Dragoon.

The Legend of Dragoon also tries to strike its own identity with its battle system. Attacks can be chained into a combo - dubbed "additions" - by timing button presses, which helps keep you more involved in what's happening on screen. Playing in emulation may pose some potential issues due to latency as these button presses are rather precise to begin with, but as you continue to learn each character, the specific rhythm of their combos begins to click and it all starts to feel like second nature. Once you accrue enough spirit points from successful additions, you're able transform into a Dragoon, this game's equivalent of a limit break or an Esper. While in this state, you have access to additional spells and attacks as well as heightened stats and resistances. I always appreciate when a game lets you hit that Kaio-Ken and start fuckin guys up. Feels good. However, this feature is unfortunately lacking in some mechanical depth, and I feel like it could've been expanded on a lot more. It is vital to rely upon your Dragoon state in the end game, but it always feels more valued from a purely statistical standpoint and not because it adds a layer of strategy. Like, I need the number to go bigger, and that's really all that matters.

While I think Dragoon is an overall enjoyable game, it is worth noting that Japan Studio was working on Ico and Ape Escape at the same time Dragoon was in development, and those are much better games by comparison. They're also wildly different, so perhaps that's not really fair, but if you laid all three of these out on a table like they were starter Pokemon and told me to pick one, I gotta go with Ape Escape. I will always go with Ape Escape. Sorry, Legend of Dragoon! I may have found you during a very important time in my life, but you ain't got no dumbass lookin' monkies to catch and for that I have to destroy you with a very large hammer. I don't make the rules around here, but I damn sure follow them.

Japan Studio's solo venture into JRPGs began with The Legend of Dragoon, which added transformations and an upgrade system to SMRPG's timing-driven combat. These simple chain combos improve via use-based mastery and carry a light degree of risk (by potentially triggering counterattacks which require different inputs), with items and transform-only skills playing the role of magic. But if the goal was to inject more user interaction into flashy, cinematic turn-based battling, its realization nevertheless fails to change its narrow and samey nature, featuring: At best, a set of tricky rhythm challenges that laid the foundations for Shadow Hearts - and at worst, a looping series of easy one-button microgames. The real highlight - ultimately, turns out to be its environments, whose variety of pre-rendered backgrounds and camera angles establish them as capable Squaresoft disciples. Other aspects testify to that production talent (i.e. cutscenes & animations), while the rest range from inept (dialogue, plot) to standard fare (dungeons & characters), yielding a traditional slow-burn adventure that's visually impressive but a little plain.

A game I remembered playing as a kid but remembered almost nothing about it (I realized once I got halfway through disc 1 and already didn't remember anything). The combat is fun, It reminds me of paper Mario the way they implement QTEs into the combat. And grinding additions instead of Levels feels like there's a lot less time spent grinding. I did like the story as well and probably has the best FMVs I've seen in a PS1 game. I think the last half of Disc 4 had some really annoying enemies and areas, but it didn't effect my enjoyment that much because once you get to the point of no return it starts to be a lot better again.

Legend of Dragoon is a game very near to my heart. While the game has many pitfalls, like the bad translation for us westerners or the bad invetory system, the game excels at having an excellent plot, extreme amounts of worldbuildinf and lore, a battle system that constantly makes you feel like you're improving and a badass, an OST where almost every song slaps, and lastly one of my favorite aesthetics of all time. LoD has a similar style to many PS1 era JRPGs, with the way backgrounds are handled and how janky models look, but it feels like it absolutely masters it in a way alike to how Chrono Cross did. The intro to this game, and especially when Dart enters his village, is perhaps my favorite opening to any game. Absolutely give this game a shot if you enjoy classic JRPGs, you likely won't regret it.

This game has a special place in my heart. I had this as a kid and it was crazy to me that it had so many discs. I loved it as a kid and eventually the discs got scratched and stopped working. Years later I bought another copy of it and played it again. To my surprise it was just as exciting as it was when I was a kid. The combat is fun because each attack has a rhythm you have to hit in order to do full damage and it makes you focus the whole time. The characters and story are nice and it's got a lot of heart put into it. This game deserves more than it got.

Nach all den Jahren endlich Legend of Dragoon spielen.
.. was bin ich froh keine 100 Euro + dafür ausgegeben zu haben :D

Es ist leider wirklich sehr zweckmäßig.
Man bekommt 2 kleine Dialoge um dann von A nach B zu rennen und dabei ständige Zufallskämpfe in Zeitlupe abzuarbeiten.

Unterschied zum Genreprimus Final Fantasy:
Es gibt dazwischen keine nennenswerte Dialoge.
Wirklich gar keine.

In 8 Stunden waren die Dialoge zwischen den Protagonisten keine 300 Worte.
Das ist einfach schwach, denn Gameplay ist nicht der Grund ein JRPG in die Hand zu nehmen.

Das Spiel beginnt mit einer synchronisierten!!! Cutscene.
Seit dem? 0! Keine Cutscenes mehr.

Die Kämpfe haben den Kniff, dass man je stärker die gewählte Attacke, verschieden viele Quick Time Eingaben treffen muss. Das ist.. 2 Stunden lustig.
Nach 8 hat es mich schon genervt und weitere 40 will ich es nicht mehr machen. Schon gar nicht mit der Kampfmusik, die einfach nicht gut ist.

Wenn man es dann geschafft hat und ein Level aufsteigt, steht genau das das.
Levelaufstieg. Auch hier, wieder reine Zweckmäßigkeit.
Keine Info, was besser geworden ist, keine Sonderpunkte, die man verteilen könnte. Einfach ein Level Up, wie es das schon 20 Jahre vor Legend of Dragoon gegeben hat.

Der Soundtrack ist stellenweise nett, aber nichts was einen vom Hocker haut und auch sicher nichts, was im Gedächtnis bleiben wird.

Das hat alles Potenzial, am Ende aber doch ein 0815 RPG, was aus heutiger Sicht komplett veraltet ist.
Schaut euch ggf. einen Zusammenschnitt der Dialoge Youtube oder so an. Spart euch 40 Stunden Lebenszeit und ihr habt nichts verpasst.

One of the JRPG cult classics that is looked back on fondly by its very passionate fanbase.

This is a really enjoyable JRPG with a fun battle system that incorporates timing/action elements and the ability to transform into a Dragoon. Its Final Fantasy inspiration is noticeable, but it still has quite a few different ideas that make it worth playing for any old school JRPG fan.

This game deserved a sequel or at least some spin-off franchise. It is a shame that 20+ years later, we still don't have a proper sequel, nor even a remastered version. The only JRPG I've seen that took some of the battle system elements from LoD was Shadow Hearts, but that still wasn't the same.

I'd love to see another game expand upon the Addition system this game introduced... maybe the ever-evolving indie scene will answer the call, because I've given up on Sony ever producing another game.

“When the clash of swords echo, the journey chasing the past ends and the journey to know today begins.”

There is this really special feeling that I get when beginning a new PSX JRPG that I know personally, but putting it into words can prove to be troubling. Maybe it’s those gorgeous and blood pumping FMV sequences that tend to occur before the title screen, reflecting epic scenes that throughout the gaming journey you’ll encounter with full context, or the mysterious dialogue that reveals itself to the player, hinting at the overarching theme of the story you’re about to witness. Whatever that feeling is, The Legend of Dragoon captured me almost immediately during that initial bootup. As far as first impressions go, I was exhilarated and ready to dive into this journey that I was sure to enjoy.

LoD was Sony Interactive Entertainment’s answer to a Final Fantasy-esque title, one that attempts to capture that same sense of wonder and magic that Squaresoft’s hit series was praised so much for. I personally felt it succeeded in this, however much of my intrigue in LoD comes from how polarizing the game is among players who often feel like the combat system is too slow or challenging, or that the game either lacks substance or is even a Final Fantasy VII knock off. While certain scenarios throughout the game ring some major FFVII bells, the plot as a whole felt unique in its own right, and the characters especially I found to be much better rounded than most of the casts throughout the Final Fantasy series.

I want to begin first and foremost with the aspect of The Legend of Dragoon that clicked with me within minutes of playing the game, and that is the soundtrack. Composed between two groups of musicians primarily based in New York and Tokyo, the style and tone for the music featured in LoD is quite unlike any game I’ve ever played. It brilliantly captures the otherworldly vibe that I hunger for when playing high fantasy games such as these. Titles like Chrono Cross with its tropical, almost dreamlike aesthetic and Vagrant Story’s dark, atmospheric nature are captured phenomenally through their iconic scores, and dare I say The Legend of Dragoon competes on that same tier. Despite having a noticeably smaller tracklist than the PlayStation’s bigname JRPGs, LoD presents a wide range of foreign/ethnic inspired pieces that hit right in every aspect, from the exciting and groovy battle themes, melodic and soothing town themes, and ominously devoid atmospheric tracks.

Let’s talk about the characters. I seriously liked them all, even Kongol who is that one obligatory party member who has his brief moment in the spotlight and for the remainder of the game is cast aside until some endgame dialogue. Dart is the blonde, spiky haired, sword wielding protagonist who is thrown into an epic journey of revenge and self discovery after his home town is burned down… sounds kind of familiar. Along the way we meet the mysterious and brood Rose, the total bro and epic knight Lavitz, and Dart’s sisterly but also excessively implied love interest, Shana (it’s very forced and overall kind of weird but it gets better after the first disc). There are a few more main party members that join in along the journey who all struggle with past and personal demons that are resolved throughout the course of the game and it’s all done very well I’d say. The balance of character development is better here in LoD than most games of that time period.

The plot for LoD is super good, and it’s backed up with a massive amount of ingame lore. The story starts with Dart’s hometown being destroyed by the evil Serdian emperor Doel’s army, and his childhood friend Shana is taken prisoner. Dart, being the nobel lad he is, rushes head first into the prison fortress of Hellena to rescue her, and during the rescue joins forces with Lavitz, head of the knighthood of Bale. Upon her rescue, Dart finds himself wrapped up into the Serdio War that ravages across the country, and it’s through these events that he awakens the dormant power of the Dragoon. What starts off very focused on a single main objective soon branches off to reveal many mysteries about the world of Endiness and the intentions of the game’s antagonists. Without giving away too much, the story for LoD is up there with the likes of FFVII (afterall it served as the biggest piece of inspiration) and is filled with jaw dropping reveals, bittersweet discoveries, and a rollercoaster of twists and turns.

The combat system in The Legend of Dragoon is awesome, I personally find it to be one of the most fun and addictive battle systems of any turn based game I’ve played. The highlight here is the use of the game’s addition system, which are increasingly complex combos utilizing quick-time events that occur during a character’s attack animation. Nailing the proper button presses during an addition can lead to devastating damage, and each addition can be leveled up to increase damage output. The most similar thing to it is the deathblow mechanic from Xenogears and how more combos can be unlocked through repetition and leveling up, but it has that extra layer of interactivity with the timed button presses. Longer additions can be interrupted by an enemy counterattack, so you have to press a different button in order to continue the addition.

Then we have the Dragoon transformation, an ability that can also be leveled up to increase the amount of magic spells and turns that can be used while in this form. Fully maxed out late game additions have higher damage output and are generally a safer option as opposed to transforming into a Dragoon due to the fact that you cannot use items while in Dragoon form, but damn the battle animations are truly incredible. For the people who don’t like the lengthy summon and attack animations from the Final Fantasy games on PS1, LoD answers this with a menu option to shorten the duration of these sorts of occurrences. I personally loved them so I kept this option off, and that’s another thing I wanted to mention again, the battle animations and additions in this game are fluid as fuck, satisfying, and generally impressive.

As much as I could go further in depth into my review for LoD, I think I’ll save further thoughts for a replay review when the time comes. It hasn’t even been two weeks since I finished the game and my mind is constantly wandering off to the spectacular time I had playing through it. My expectations were met, if not exceeded by pretty much every single aspect LoD had to offer. While I don’t think this title would click with most people the way it did with me, I am truly glad that I had such a sensational time with it. More than ever, The Legend of Dragoon deserves as much recognition as it can get, and I implore any reader of this who has a sliver of interest to do themselves a favor and play this underrated gem.

“Farewell…. People who confront the fate of Soa….”

I think this game has a lot of positive aspects. The combat is fun and the cast is enjoyable. Environments were varied and some of the gimmicks in the dungeons were cool!

There are some problems, however, that aggravated me. The biggest flaws are the immense amount of backtracking, only really made easier when you're mostly done with the backtracking anyway, and some dungeon design choices seemingly made to infuriate more than be enjoyable, or at the least fulfilling, to go through. Still, I DID enjoy it enough to beat it. (Although through emulator, I got to use speed up and save states. I most likely wouldn't have persevered otherwise.)