Legaia 2: Duel Saga basically repeats the same formula (and mistakes) for the PS2 generation. The battle system is even more combo-heavy than before, enriched by expanded movesets and customization avenues - including a weapon ability/mastery mechanic reminiscent of Final Fantasy IX. Besides that, gameplay is inundated by plenty of superfluous, barely noticeable features like crafting, hunting, cooking, etc. All there for the sake of looking ambitious like so many have done before. Its versatile camerawork enhance battles and cutscenes (of which are pure tedium otherwise), unfortunately wasted on a hokey, unconvincingly eccentric story and generic characters. On the plus side, the dungeons aren't lazily implemented this time; now they're winding, sprawling areas with bits of recursion and puzzles utilizing Breath of Fire's field skills, while its humor took on a somewhat mean-spirited charm. Finding optimal combo chains presented a fun metagame during combat - and fights are as deep as they are theatrical, it just needs to get its point across sooner.

Reviewed on May 26, 2021


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