[aspa]

The Legend of Dragoon. It's one of my faves, as I remember it. It's been 3 years now, and I was getting nostalgiac, so I decided to go back and see if it's as good as I remember it being, the second time around.

I'm about 20 hours in now, and it's still so good, and so addictive. The graphics are outdated now, of course, but they were good at the time. I have something to compare them to, since I've just finished a replay of FFVII - I can say that I'm enjoying LoD's graphics more than those of FFVII.

The only things I can think of to complain about are the laughable translations and the cheesy music. I would play it on mute if I could, but I need to be able to hear the little grunts and exclamations of my characters to keep my Additions rhythm synchronized.

Additions are one of my favorite things ever - it makes me feel like a goddess when my rhythm gets going so well that I can pull off the really complicated ones consistently. (side note: I love Rose's "suggestive" Additions - i.e. "Whip Smack" "More & More" "A Hard Blade" - she's an excellent character, and I feel like the Addition attitudes are a part of the character development in this game )

What are your guys/gals opinions on the LoD? It seems most people's reactions to it are usually extreme either way - love it or hate it. Which is understandable.

I absolutely love it, but not blindly. I think that most of the points usually brought up as criticism are valid - it's by no means a "perfect" game. There are a lot of things that could have been improved on (I used to hope for a sequel that would do that, but I guess it's been too long now). But I still love it- there's a spirit behind it that makes it attractive despite its flaws. And... you've gotta love that mad 80s synth-guitar in the intro! XD LOL

Anyways, looking forward to hearing your opinions either way!
~peace

[Drive]

I don't like it or hate it. I do think it is above average though. I didn't like the additions that much and am still thinking why you are comparing ff7's graphics to LoD(7 is 2 years older). I say the game is good and should be given a try by rpg fans.

[ZtotheKatz]

LoD was a great game. Ive already played it three times, and im sure some time this summer, ill end up playing it again. And yes, I love the music too. I have the soundtrack and its fantastic.

[Revek]

I have great memories of that games too. The only real gripe that I had with it was the limited inventory. Only 32 items? Where the hell did that come from??:mad: The only other rpg that I've played with limited inventory space is Suikoden 3 and even then you could bundle some items together to save space. Oh yea, the world map...there wasn't one. You just moved from one area to the next instantly. Am I the only one who misses true world maps?? Where did they go? Why can't they just let you leave a town and explore the world on your own? Why do they always assume you want to go to the next plot-related locale?!?:confused: :mad: Sorry for all that. I just feel strongly about the world map thing. But on the positive side... the additions kicked ass. They added a little bit of twitch reflex skill to the rpg strategy challenge...something not often done. It made the battles much more fun for me. The graphics were top notch for the period and the fmv sections were well done, but to few and far between. Although to Sony's credit whenever there was a movie it was at least a full minute long, and they threw in the higher-rez cutsceens to compensate as well. Overall, I'd give it an 8.5. It lost .5 for the inventory problem and 1.0 for the lack of a world map. BUT THE GAME STILL KICKS ASS!!!

[xDonx]

LOD is a awesome game. I love the story line. You have to love the additions they are cool and something new to try. LAVITZ RULES!

[aspa]

Originally posted by Drive
I didn't like the additions that much and am still thinking why you are comparing ff7's graphics to LoD(7 is 2 years older).

I'm very distracted by the fact that you didn't like the Additions (how...?), but I'll try to answer the second half of your statement, anyways. XD
I was only comparing the graphics because they're two older games I just played back to back. Whenever I replay older games, one of the factors I think about is if the graphics have "deteriorated" (in my mind's eye, after being exposed to things like FFX) to the point where it distracts me from gameplay at all. When I replayed FFVII, I was constantly distracted by Cloud's big freakish forearms and other such things. Playing LoD, I get no such intrusions - the graphics still feel great, and very current, esp in the fmvs. Your point that FFVII is older is of course a good one, but I wasn't trying to pit them in a life or death battle against one another - just evaluating how much graphics had developed since the first time I played each of them.

Revek:
I totally understand your gripes - it's so hard to plan ahead with such a small inventory. But as to the world map thing - it feels constricting, I know, but in the games I've played where I was allowed to wander the world maps freely, the only thing to do was either head straight for the next town/plot-related locale, or run around having random encounters. I mean, there's [pretty much, not always] not much to do on a world map except fight, anyways, which you can do while travelling in LoD. And once you get your "wings" you have free rein of all the places you might want to get to. Yeah, I know, I'm not convincing you of anything. The fmvs are very enjoyable and very well put-together... I also wish there were more!

One frustrating thing that's come up: The first time I played this game, I remember being proud to master the Gust of Wind Dance (Albert) almost immediately - I can't for the life of me get it anymore!! :mad: I will persevere, though.

~peace

[John Doe III]

Originally posted by aspa
Additions are one of my favorite things ever - it makes me feel like a goddess when my rhythm gets going so well that I can pull off the really complicated ones consistently. (side note: I love Rose's "suggestive" Additions - i.e. "Whip Smack" "More & More" "A Hard Blade" - she's an excellent character, and I feel like the Addition attitudes are a part of the character development in this game )

I always thought Moon Strike was the hardest but then I got it down and it was a sinch. But I also restarted this game it is still the best I hope Legend of Dragoon 2 comes out.

[Janus Zeal]

I liked this game, not as much as I might have liked others though. The addition system was neat and great, I must say this, because it kept you active during battles, not just a sitting duck and it depended on player skill. The FMVs were indeed greatly done, even if there are few in it. The musics were nice, since not always the same genre of music.

As for the bad side...experience and G was soooo hard to acquire. I have to say something, once I see something in a store in the game, I work towards buying it before moving on for all those that it would improve equipment on. I saw Legend Casque for 10000 G in that trading town near the Green Dragon's den and I just had to buy it for my whole party (3x). I ended up staying 36 hours in the ruins just aside of it, and was at Level 25 or more if I remember right, by then most monsters in the ruins (with the spirit girl asking questions and Drake) were easy for my party, even the Ice Golem thing.

The most experience I've got is probably 800 or 900 near the end of the game (divided by 3 of course meaning only 260 to 300 exp)with a level-up required of 5000 I think. I understand them doing high level requirements for FFXI but not for Legend of Dragoon, why would they need to???

Did anyone beat the optional boss in the end? You need to collect all 5 Stardusts before you get the item required to fight him.

Again on the bad side: magic items, since the inventory was so small I sold all the magic items I got, as soon as I could sell them. They were so crappy a successful addition was 10 times better usually. The only exception to this is the Psychdelic Bomb X magic, since it can be reused every battles and is quite powerful, but you only get it near the end.

Also good things are the other reusable items, the one disabling enemy for 3 turns works great for birds and such enemies with extra evade and wanting to escape battles all the time. Well I think I've said enough haha.

All in all I give it a 7.0 rating

[aspa]

Originally posted by Janus Zeal
As for the bad side...experience and G was soooo hard to acquire. I have to say something, once I see something in a store in the game, I work towards buying it before moving on for all those that it would improve equipment on. I saw Legend Casque for 10000 G in that trading town near the Green Dragon's den and I just had to buy it for my whole party (3x). I ended up staying 36 hours in the ruins just aside of it, and was at Level 25 or more if I remember right, by then most monsters in the ruins (with the spirit girl asking questions and Drake) were easy for my party, even the Ice Golem thing.

I feel ya. I only own one Legend Casque at this moment, and it's going to be a loooong boring road to earn enough for two more. G is incredibly hard to get. But I'm too into getting on with the game to do what you did and collect tiny amounts of money from those low level creatures. I'm on disk 4 now, and boss fights have been a major help in getting chunks of G. I'm just going to fly back to Lohan once I have enough saved up

Originally posted by Janus Zeal

Did anyone beat the optional boss in the end? You need to collect all 5 Stardusts before you get the item required to fight him.

If you mean Faust, I'm on track to do so now (I didn't even know about him the first time I played the game!). I have collected all 50 Stardust and have received the Vanishing Stone, which is apparently the item you need to make his double go away. Once I've levelled up a bit by going on the Dragoon Tower sidequest, I'll go back to Flanvel and get him good.

Originally posted by Janus Zeal

Again on the bad side: magic items, since the inventory was so small I sold all the magic items I got, as soon as I could sell them. They were so crappy a successful addition was 10 times better usually. The only exception to this is the Psychdelic Bomb X magic, since it can be reused every battles and is quite powerful, but you only get it near the end.

Agreed. I sold or discarded every magic scroll I received in the course of this game except for the extra powerful ones you get from some bosses. Whenever I opened a chest and got a crappy little Burn Out, I tossed it right away. It wasn't even worth clogging my inventory to keep it around for selling in town...

Originally posted by John Doe III

I always thought Moon Strike was the hardest but then I got it down and it was a sinch. But I also restarted this game it is still the best I hope Legend of Dragoon 2 comes out.

Yeah, once you get that rhythm nailed, you can perform any addition consistently. My good news is that I'm not struggling with Gust of Wind Dance anymore. I almost dropped Albert from the party several times out of frustration, but finally the pattern must have seeped into my head, and I nail it every time now. Which is good, because I need him around in boss fights for his Rose Storm magic.

Legend of Dragoon 2? I used to really hope for a sequel too. There was so much potential with the battle system, the world, the characters... but I think it's been too long now.

[Janus Zeal]

Legend of Dragoon 2? I used to really hope for a sequel too. There was so much potential with the battle system, the world, the characters... but I think it's been too long now

Then I have good news for you, the game will be presented/announced at E3, this is in another thread in FFXI Talk (about E3). Yup they finally decided making a sequel. Let's hope they make experience and money easier to acquire this time around, because I don't want to have to get over 100 hours simply for levels and money issues (I prefer to extend my time doing side-quests).

[aspa]

Originally posted by Janus Zeal

Then I have good news for you, the game will be presented/announced at E3, this is in another thread in FFXI Talk (about E3). Yup they finally decided making a sequel. Let's hope they make experience and money easier to acquire this time around, because I don't want to have to get over 100 hours simply for levels and money issues (I prefer to extend my time doing side-quests).

/flips out

I had completely given up hope of this (now maybe I should completely give up hope on FFXI's quick release, and it will come too!)

[Kilgraw]

Nigel! He chopped my head off! ... He chopped my head off![/commerical]

[Chipmunk777]

lol, i played the demo soooo many times, but i (for some reason) never got around to buying it x_x i suppose i will sometime, soon... probably this summer. or, mayhap, before then :spin:

[xDonx]

You know what was the hardest boss for me was? GRAND JEWEL. I hated that guy. I started the game over 3 times and I got passed him on my 3rd time. He was tough and the clock thing drove me crazy. What was ur hardest boss?

[aspa]

Grand Jewel was difficult the first time I played the game - I believe I restarted at least two or three times. But it was hard for me for the stupidest reason - every time I got into the fight, it would drag on for so long that I would eventually forget that the Dragon Block Staff was a factor, and I would use up all my saved SP to become a Dragoon for 4X, effectively screwing whichever character I had just transformed, and pretty much guaranteeing they would die at the next big spell. So eventually I would just be killed off by running out of Angel Prayers. Stupid! I made that same mistake over and over, just by wanting to cast Dragoon spells ...:dead:

Then I smartened up - once the Block Staff effects wore off the first time, I would be careful to only become a Dragoon for 1x, using the SP as soon as I had it at full blue. The Jewel would only use the Block Staff again if I remained in Dragoon form for more than one turn! And I could still use my Dragoon strength/spells and Albert's vital protection spell, without danger. The time that I finally got my act together on that I won. I'm still ashamed that it took me so long to do that. :sweat:

Another boss that rocked me the first time was the Polter Armor set. It's kind of a silly boss, but I was too low-levelled for it because I had been rushing through (had just come off a miraculous near-death victory over Lloyd, for whom I was also rather under-levelled) - the Armor's spells, the Sword's instant deaths, the inconvenience of the Helmet... I came back with better items and five more levels and had no problem.

Wanna know who I found surprisingly easy after all the hype? Faust.