legend of dragoon

[rajatjain35]

can anyone give me their impressions of legend of dragoon, as compared to the likes of ff7, 8, 9, chrono cross etc? I am thinking of getting this game

[Zell]

It's an Great RPG , Good Story and Good Battle system . Very Good Garphics and Sound . I recomend this game !

[Recca]

I like FF7,8,9 and Chrono cross much better than LoD. But if you have those games i'd buy Star Ocean. or Tales of Destiny 2
But if u have the games i mentioned go 4 it as it is a good game but not as good as the others

[Exodus]

legend of dragoon is a great game, as long as you can get the hang of the battle system

[rajatjain35]

i have ff7, 8, 9, chrono croos, star ocean 2, vagrant story, what about xenogears?

[Ryos]

Xenogears rocks, but it's nothing like any of those games. You could have started another thread about that, by the by. I would post my opinion of LoD, but the internet archive seems to be down... :(

[Recca]

Personaly i think Xenogears beats LoD with countless numbers:)

[Zell]

They are diffrent !! Personly i can't decide betwen them , but i like LoD more Than FF9

[fujita]

I would put Legend Of The Dragoon above Chrono Cross, but bellow FF7, FF8 and FF9. But that doesn't mean it's not a bad game. I love all of those. For me, there are certain thing that one may have that others may haven't. For example, in term of storyline, LODragoon may be better than Chrono Cross. But I like the battle system of CC because it's more unique an interesting.

Recca: I agree 100% with you. Xenogears beats all the above game.:D And Valkyrie Profile also beats all the game above.

[Ryos]

I reviewed this one. No need to think up more about it when it's already there. :p I think there are some minor spoilers in here, but I don't remember.


Sony's self-praised RPG, Legend of Dragoon, took over three years to make with a staff of over one hundred people. Sony thinks that this classic alone is enough to give it the respect and credibility that of all the RPG companies, only Square and Enix have. Is Legend of Dragoon this good?

Dart, whose hideously spiky hair bears more than a passing resemblance to that of Cloud from Final Fantasy 7, is a swordsman who has heard rumors about a war again breaking out between Emperor Doel and King Albert. Hoping these are just rumors, he returns to his village to find it has been attacked and that Shana, a friend of his since his childhood, has been kidnapped and sent to Hellena Prison. The valiant Dart vows to rescue Shana single-handedly. This minor task gives way to an epic quest that pits Dart directly against an ancient curse that threatens to destroy all of the world of Endliness.

Legend of Dragoon's plot is almost entirely character driven. While this would ordinarily be a good thing in an RPG, it is the reliance on characters that is one of the RPG's main flaws. With the exception of Rose, a mysterious individual whose witty comments will keep you wondering what she will say next, the entire cast is basically just a bunch of stereotypes, most of which have already been seen before in an RPG. Dart is basically just a mindless warrior who continues to fight against the villains with absolutely no reason to (until right at the end of the game). Shana is the pure girl whose lack of any true emotion gives you more reasons than not to hate her with every fiber of your being. Meru, the definitely not funny token Cait Sith character, Kongol, the character who is dumb and durable as a rock, and Haschel, an old man who basically joins the party for no reason at all, are about as interesting as watching the paint peel off the wall. The villains are similarly forgettable. One of the main antagonists is a fellow who essentially is just Sephiroth with a new name and outfit. Other than his weapon and final act, he is just another rehash. Again, this brings the point back to Rose. She was well thought out; unfortunately, Rose is such an appealing character that the rest of the cast is just that much more annoying. Oddly enough, however, Legend of Dragoon has a certain character whose sacrifices are some of the most moving moments in any current RPG.

Legend of Dragoon's soundtrack shares similar bright spots and annoyances. Most songs are forgettable (mostly because the Playstation hardware is not maximized to its full potential), but a few stick out (and not for the better). The main battle theme is a heavily rock influenced theme that is quickly overshadowed by the other two (and unfortunately far less heard) battle songs. One may think that with three battle songs, the battle music would be less repetitive, but this could not be further from the truth. The songs are heard in different areas, with only one given melody played in one whole area. The second, and decent, song is only heard in roughly seven areas. The third, and most spectacular, battle song is played in only four areas. The main song, one of the most annoying songs in the soundtrack, can be found in roughly twenty areas. However, there are a few songs of note that positively enhance the game. One is the final boss theme (as well as many other themes found in that fight which are also quite impressive), which serves to accentuate the pure hatred of the fiend and the struggle as well. There is also a heroic theme played periodically throughout Legend of Dragoon that is excellent (even if it doesn't really make you want to continue the quest more). All in all, the soundtrack is pretty good, but one would think that Sony could have done a better job overall.

Legends of Dragoon has some of the worst methods of getting anything done in any RPG yet. Towns are built in such a way that it is literally challenging just to find anything you actually want. Apparently Sony decided that gamers no longer need signs indicating whether a place is a shop or an inn, which leaves each and every building looking the same. Not only that, but the actual layouts defy physics as well. A boat that you obtain later on, for instance, has an entrance going upstairs that leads to another set of stairs going up that literally lead you to just a bit above the initial staircase. I have no clue how you can go up two sets of stairs and return to the same level. But the worst offense of all happens in battle. One of Legend of Dragoon's new "features" is Additions, which gives you more damage if you time your attacks according to a blue box shown on the screen. While at first this is nice, later attacks have faster timing and more needed successful combinations to get a successful attack (most of the characters hit six or more times in later Additions). Not only does this slow down the game tremendously, but this also ensures that all gamers with no ability to begin with can not do any decent attack. Luckily, the Ultimate Wargod accessory (which costs a fortune) does all attacks with complete success, which makes characters with tricky timing (especially Haschel) a viable option.

Although the original game may take a relatively long time to complete, there is next to no reason to play again. There are only six optional bosses, and five of those yield crummy rewards, so there is no real desire to finish them off (assuming you did not take them out the first time, which is highly improbable). The insane timing of Additions also more or less limit the choice of what party members to use for roughly 80 percent of the game, further deterring extra playing time. Furthermore, most of the bosses require exactly the same strategy (attack, guard, guard, guard, attack, guard, guard, guard, etc.), which is simple but extraordinarily repetitive. The difficulty is also something that will prevent many from traveling the lands of Endliness again. While most enemies are ridiculously easy, some bosses (particularly the Divine Dragon) are as ridiculously next to impossible to defeat.

What is really funny about Legends of Dragoon is the graphics. For a game that had been in development this long, everything looks quite primitive. While most monsters look good, player characters suffer from a lack of polygons. One of the characters has a cape that moves around during his attack, during which the cape breaks up in multiple places, showing the landscape beneath it. Rose also suffers this problem - her legs flicker, although maybe this was intentionally done to attempt to discourage players from wanting to use her in battle.

For a game that took three years to make, there is very little to prove that this game deserved even a few months to do. Whether it is the appalling translation or just Legend of Dragoons itself, this RPG is just a waste of one hundred workers.

Plot: The plot is crude and highly predictable in literally every "surprise". It doesn't help that phrases like "when I young" are found too often in the dialogue. I've seen better plots in a Final Fantasy 7 frantic site than this garbage. And why was a certain relationship between Dart and another character never brought up again after it pops up on disc 2? That at least broke up the monotony...for twenty minutes or so, anyway.
Rating: 6/20
Characters: Only two characters in this game are done well out of a total of thirteen main characters. And unfortunately, one of those two makes only rare appearances, so neither of them is capable of preventing this mediocre cast from receiving its rightfully low score.
Rating: 2/10
Music: Some of the music is good...and much of it is not. Luckily, the moving Celtic intro gives Legend of Dragoon a decent score that it would otherwise probably not obtain.
Rating: 15/20
Control: Although the controller itself has no problems, the actual interface is so shoddy that it detracts from the overall game experience. Or maybe the game itself does.
Rating: 2/10
Replay Value: Again, this game has only six optional bosses. With an entirely linear game, there is thus no reason to play this game again.
Rating: 1/10
Graphics: Maybe if this RPG had been released after Final Fantasy 7, one could pardon all of the graphical flaws in it. Granted, the FMVs (when they are not basic looks at a plaque, which happens more times than you would think) look good, but the rest of the game looks entirely outdated, especially compared to other new games like Vagrant Story.
Rating: 4/10
Difficulty: When a game is too easy or too difficult at any given time, the difficulty is just not appropriate. And why in the world does guarding restore 10% of one's HP? Just by adding this, what would be horrific bosses become dunces doing less damage than characters can naturally heal.
Rating: 5/10
Fun Factor: What fun is there when the only interesting things are those implied but never explored in Legend of Dragoon? All of the flaws in this RPG are enough to make even the most ardent Sony follower grimace. Sony should stick with what they do best - letting other companies like Enix and Square do the RPGs for them.
Rating: 1/10


Overall Rating: 36%
Final Verdict: This RPG isn't even worth bothering with. Spend your time doing more worthwhile things such as playing Star Ocean the Second Story or looking at a cardboard box all day long.

[chaosblade]

RYOS ??? I cant believe this .
where is that pile o' lies came from ? hopefully not from you !
LoD is a fine game with some challange , not like ff7 and alike ,
that were TOO easy . Wonderfully built story with nice MDEC's ,
graphics and a beautiful soundtrack . i give it 9.5/10 anyday ,
and sony should keep going this direction !
why dont you just worship Sqaure all day long and be done with it ???