Since its release in 2000, The Legend of Dragoon has been given both good and bad reviews. At times, the bad reviews seem to outnumber the good as there seems to be a genuine distain for this large 4 disc Playstation RPG. Upon replaying the game for review purposes, I couldn't help but think "Does The Legend of Dragoon really deserve such a bad rap?" I mean, when I first got the game I didn't think it was that terrible. In fact, I actually enjoyed the game. But, perhaps it was just the ignorance of youth as there were some things about The Legend of Dragoon I didn't notice back in the day.

     Just like the other countless reviews available for this game, The Legend of Dragoon is filled with good and bad qualities. For starters, The Legend of Dragoon is a pretty bloated game spanning 4 discs as I mentioned earlier. Having an RPG span three or four discs was fairly common on the Sony Playstation platform, and isn't inherently a problem for most players. For an RPG to be successful however, all of the game play elements have to be interesting and epic enough to hold a player's attention which in return drives them to complete the adventure. The Legend of Dragoon has interesting and epic moments, but it isn't nearly as well put together as say Final Fantasy VII or even Final Fantasy VIII for that matter.

     The Legend of Dragoon is a tale about a red armored clad warrior named Dart, who players will be controlling almost exclusively throughout the game. Dart is just returning home after an unsuccessful 5 year stint of trying to hunt down a black monster who burned down his village and murdered his parents. With the quest of vengeance seemingly done with, Dart finds that his home is once again under siege by Sandora armed forces. His childhood friend Shana has been kidnapped, and if things weren't bad enough Dart is almost taken out by a dragon. After being saved by a shadowy character named Rose, Dart learns that he is a Dragoon which is someone who control the spirits of certain dragons. Not a bad start to the story by any means, but as the game progresses there are some problems to the story's presentation overall. Anyone who has played any almost any RPG on a platform predating Playstation 2 or the Microsoft Xbox will be familiar with the use of written dialect as the main source of story progression. Similar to comic books, this written dialect appears in conversation bubbles over the character or characters that have something to say, and for the majority of the Legend of Dragoon players will be spending most of their time reading these conversations. Unfortunately, this portion of the game is really lacking. The written dialect is typically dull, and this is do to impart by poor translation. That's right, poor translation. The Legend of Dragoon is filled with grammatical mishaps, and translation errors. Now back in the good old days of the NES, translation errors were common and generally forgiven. Being the Legend of Dragoon was released in the year 2000, we're talking about a new millennium in gaming here people. Such mistakes should not have occurred, and down right hurt the game. On the brighter side of the spectrum, this game is filled with excellently crafted cinematic cut scenes that come with their own equally impressive voice acting.

     The Legend of Dragoon plays like most RPGs that were available at the time, with a few elements that give the game its own personality. Players will roam the environments as Dart, with the rest of the party neatly out of sight until needed. While going through each of the many environments, there are plenty of things for players to interact with including side characters, treasure boxes containing useful items, an have combat encounters which brings up a battle screen. For the most part, combat is identical to the Final Fantasy series. Graphics are improved in the battle mode, characters and environments have more textures, and the action is turned based. There are no real surprises here, except The Legend of Dragoon has two additional features. The first feature, which is a topic of heated debate, is the ability to string together attacks by hitting the correct button combinations when prompted. Early in the game, these string attacks are easy to master, but as the game progresses they grow more difficult as they grow longer. By the end of the game, perfectly timed string attacks are crucial for producing enough damage to bring down bosses. Each character also has their own unique string attacks, adding to the difficulty. Some would say the string attacks are too complicated, and distract from the overall experience. I disagree. True, these attacks can be difficult, but the effectively keep a player engaged in an otherwise mundane turned based experience. The most memorable feature to the Legend of Dragoon, is the ability for characters to take on dragoon form. When characters in combat transform into their dragoon state, they grow a set of wings, get stronger armor, and gain access to better spells. Although transforming into a dragoon really is only necessary when taking on bosses, players will be wanting to use this in combat as frequently as possible. Being random attacks are incredibly frequent in this game, almost too frequent, there is plenty of chances to use this and completely dominate lesser enemies.

     Graphically, The Legend of Dragoon really doesn't shine except for the cut scenes. Character animations are adequate enough to get the job done, while background environments are very detailed. Considering the amount of detail that was put into the cut scenes, it is disappointing that the rest of the game looks so average. There is a good use of sound and music in the game, and they do add to the overall presentation to the game.

     Sony put in a lot of time to bring The Legend of Dragoon to the Playstation. Considering the final product, there were some misfires to the game. That doesn't mean the Legend of Dragoon is the critical failure some would lead you to believe. Sure it might not be the best RPG ever made, but it still has qualities that caused Dragoon to have a cult following. I myself am among The Legend of Dragoon's fans, but I have no choice to tell it like it is. Anyone who is interested in the game, I urge you to play it and decide for yourself. Just don't expect a Final Fantasy experience.

Written by RB

Over and Out

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