The Silent Protagonist – The Legend of Dragoon

Just for a change, I thought that I would take a step back instead of looking at what’s to come. I’ll be looking at one of my favourite RPGs – The Legend of Dragoon, for the PS1. It was released back in 2000 and recently got a spot on the American and Japanese PSN as a digital download. I’m hoping that it comes over our way as my copy is seriously overused and I think disk two is well beyond repair… Regardless to say, it’s one of my favourite RPGs and I’m going to tell you all about it!

So, the story begins as the main protagonist, Dart, returns to Seles, the village where he grew up. When he nears Seles, he is ambushed by the Green-tusked Dragon, Feyrband. Initially Dart draws his sword in an attempt to fight said beasty but decides that running is the better option. Whilst running away, he is rescued by a lone warrior, Rose, who informs him that the nearby town has been invaded by the Sandorans. When Dart returns to Seles he discovers that his childhood friend, Shana, has been taken prisoner. It’s up to Dart to save her.

Dart, Rose and Shana on the Queen Fury.

After the brief tutorial on the “Addition” combat system (more on this later) you’re off to start your adventure! As the adventure progresses, you learn about Dart’s mission – to slay the Black Monster, the creature that destroyed his original hometown, Neet, and killed his parents. Once the Black Monster had left Neet, the only thing Dart could find of his parents was a small pendant which his father always carried. Unbeknownst to Dart, this was in fact the object that would enable him to turn into the Dragoon of the Red-Eyed Dragon. This would mark the actual beginning of Dart’s story, a story full of friendship, betrayal, mystery and of course magic.

When in the field, battles occur randomly, although you know exactly when the battles are going to occur. Above Darts head is a blue arrow, which eventually turns red. When this occurs, you know that a battle is imminent. In these battles, each character has the option to attack, defend (which heals 10% of your HP), use items, run away and eventually turn into a Dragoon.

Should your character choose to attack, you need to correctly push “X” at the right time to continue the combo. Sometimes, enemies glow red during the attack, which indicates that they are about to counter attack. When this occurs, pressing “O” avoids the counter and you can resume the attack. These combos are called “Additions,” and the more you use them, the stronger they become. Not only do they begin to pack a more powerful punch, but they also increase the Spirit Points you receive. Every 100 Spirit Points your character receives, allows them to transform into a Dragoon.

Albert, the 4th Dragoon of the Jade Dragon

Each character that enters into your party eventually becomes a Dragoon, and becomes a master of one particular element. For instance, Dart becomes the Dragoon of Fire and Rose the Dragoon of Darkness. Each element (except the Thunder Dragoon) has an elemental weakness. When the characters initially awaken as Dragoons, their Dragoon Level begins at level one, and by fighting battles and thus using additions properly, increases the level of the Dragoons. As the Dragoons level up, they become stronger, learn more spells and maintain the Dragoon form for longer.

If you like RPGs, and you haven’t tried this game yet – I encourage you to do so. The game spans four disks and I can assure you that once the story gets going, you won’t be disappointed.

One of the things that captivated me about this game, other than the brilliantly complex story that takes place over 11,000 years, is that it was the first game I ever played that had voice acting.

I leave you with a video to one of the CGI films, which also happens to be one of my favourite scenes of any game I’ve ever played. It occurs at the end of what is known as the “Dragoon Campaign” as humans fight off their tyrannic oppressors, the Winglies:

Next up, is a look at Tales of Xillia, as Namco Bandai recently announced a Western Localisation

To Be Continued…


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