Additional Legend of Dragoon impressions

[12.12.99] » New impressions on battle sequences, difficulty.

   The GIA's man in Japan, J.T. Kauffman, has returned with further impressions on Sony's 4-disc RPG, Legend of Dragoon:

   Since its Japanese release last week, I've gotten a better chance to really sit down with the Legend of Dragoon and explore it more. While my initial impressions weren't the greatest due to its uneven difficulty level and lack of real-time graphical prowess, the title is beginning to even out a bit.

   The game has truly been the most difficult at the beginning. You aren't able to upgrade your weapons and armour until roughly 4-5 hours into the game; this makes all the difference to the difficulty. With the purchase of more powerful equipment, suddenly the battles are becoming shorter, and the damage amounts are beginning to even out (the key words here are "becoming" and "beginning," though...). As I stand now, 8 hours into the game, the battles are finally bearable. The Additionals system continues to be of great importance, as the battles are only even if you constantly finish the chain of attacks.

   In my initial impressions, the Dragoon system had yet to make its appearance in the game; the system finally sees the light of day during a boss fight in a town named Hawks about 8 hours in, but only for two of the four available characters. Dragoon changes require a small, color-coded jewel (each character has their own color: Dart's is red, Shana's is green, etc.). Once this jewel is acquired, the corresponding character can change into a Dragoon when at least SP are gained during battle. The jewels are kept track of on the menu screen, and are listed in a box labeled 'S'. As one can probably imagine, part of the upcoming plot will undoubtedly involve tracking down the stones that you are missing.

   Also worth mentioning is the appearance of "Stardust." While I have yet to figure out what it does, Stardust is collected by searching towns, much like the Elemental Spirits hidden throughout the towns in Thousand Arms. Fireplaces tend to contain Stardust, but it's not uncommon to find some simply sitting on a shelf either. Like the Dragoon stones, Stardust is kept track of on the menu screen, and is also shown on the saved-game screen.

   The battle animations continue to be very well done, and the in-battle effects are beginning to shape up as well. While the title may not have the in-battle graphical flair of some other games as of yet, it's got promise. The FMV sequences have been few and far between; the only true CGI FMV has been at the very beginning. The second FMV, which occurs about 6 hours into the game (although I must say that I'm being very thourough in my exploration, so it might be more like 3-4 hours in), is a series of simple parchments with voiceover. However, since the game is four discs long, I'm sure that massive amounts of FMV will kick in soon...

   While the Legend of Dragoon has so far failed to live up to its initial expectations, it's been a quality title so far, and definitely appears to be worth a purchase if it is released in North America next year.