In the beginning, you assume the role of Dart. Returning to his hometown Seles, our intrepid hero discovers the town has been burned to ashes. What's even more worrisome is that his childhood friend, Shana, has been kidnapped and thrown into a prison camp. The plot carries on from here, set in a stage of civil war on the continent of Serdio. As things progress, Dart learns of the mysterious Dragoons and an ancient war 11, 000 years ago. Dragoons were empowered people who could control dragons. They used this ability against the Winglies to gain freedom from their tyranny and oppression. How Dart and Shana fit into this is a mystery at first, yet slowly develops into the realization that the two are indeed Dragoons, as are other people in the world. All of this accumulates into the basic "you save the world" storyline, but it's quite enjoyable.

There are only two problems about Legend of Dragoon's storyline. The first is stunning similarity Dart and Shana have with Cloud and Tifa from FF7. Both sets of characters were friends from childhood, separated for unknown reasons at the start of the game, and have a romantic relationship. Not only that but Dart shares a stunning resemblance to Cloud - ditto for Shana and Tifa. Thankfully the déjà vu ends there, as Dart is not the emotionally imbalanced jerk that Cloud is. Instead, he is quite friendly (though a bit shy) and very heroic from the outset of the game. The next problem - and this is a big one - is the writing. Someone at SCEA must have had a screw loose when translating LoD because the writing is awful. With a plot that is epic and emotional, the full pakage falls short when the translation is busted. Many sentences are pure enigmas and the attempts made at development within your party are lost to crappy writing. I doubt the original Japanese version was written so bad, so my guess is the blame should be put on the translation team.

Setting aside that, let's move onto the graphics. I'm quite sure these are the most taxing 3D visuals to date for the PS. Think Final Fantasy 7 or 8 in terms of quality and then magnify it tenfold. Backgrounds are entirely pre-rendered allowing for settings that are painstakingly detailed. To inject a touch of life into these, small parts of the backgrounds animate ala Fear Effect. Story is progressed through a lot of text, realtime cutscenes, and FMV, the last two being the most impressive. Characters are always in 3D, be it their SD renditions or their full-sized battle models. Speaking of fights, I must say that LoD is another high mark in 'cinematic battle.' Multiple camera angles, incredible spells, and all the other bells and whistles accompany fights. Sometimes this drags fights out longer than they should be, but I think that's something we'll see in most RPGs for a long time to come. All of this resembles the Final Fantasy game technically, but has a style and flavor all its own.

With such spectacular graphics, it is a shame that the game plays so dull. Everything outside fights are standard RPG-fare; lots of menu management, dungeon running, and 'mini games' are abound. Legend of Dragoon's only standout features are inside fights, and even these feel flat. Battles are menu-driven and include the basic fight, guard, item, and run commands. The game even adheres to the 3-party system, which means you have to juggle characters to make sure everyone levels up. However, added to the mix are Additions and Dragoon abilities. When you send a character off to hit an enemy, an outer box closes in on an inner box. When these two line up perfectly, you press X to extend the attack. That is basically the process of Additions, which can be used towards learning newer and more powerful Additions. The back of the box describes this as "totally unique and innovative tactical combat," but I just see it as boring. Pressing a button when I'm told to is far from tactical and, while looking impressive, is far from fun. At first it may be hard to get the timing down but after awhile, an Addition can be finished with pinpoint accuracy. These combos drag fights out even further but are necessary. Unfortunately your party cannot inflict serious damage unless you use Additions, so be sure to keep caffeine ready. You might wind up falling asleep without it.

The Dragoon portion of fighting fares a bit better than Additions, but still lacks something. Not far into the game you learn about Dragoons and Dart can change into one early on. In a fight this proves as useful, since increased attacks, parameters, and the use of magic become available. Attacks and Additions buildup the Dragoon bar, enabling your character to transform. From here you can choose to either fight or use magic. Fighting as a Dragoon utilizes Additions; think flashier moves but easier to perform (uhg). Magic is as simple as choosing a spell, then sitting back as you watch the devastation unfurl. As your characters level up, so do their Dragoon levels, which increases your stats and adds magic spells to your list.

Now let me warn you about the music. If you wind up liking it, fine but don't force me to buy the soundtrack anytime soon. Every tune is insipid to the point of insanity and loops more than I would expect from a PSX game. Repetition would be such an issue if the music was inspiring, but this is not the case. There are a few shining moments of crafty composition yet is hardly enough to save the dismal soundtrack. On the sound effects side, I was quite impressed. Some interesting samples are tossed around, and the character voices are a breath of fresh air. I wish that could save the overall sound, but sadly this is not the case. I'd say keep the volume down on this one, but some FVMs come with voiceovers so keeping the TV audible is a must.

All in all, Legend of Dragoon is somewhat of a must see title. The intriguing story and striking visuals are enough to draw anyone in. What will determine whether you should buy it or not is solely your tastes. If you don't mind bad translations, less-than-innovative fights, or bad music, this one is definitely a keeper. Otherwise it would be best to just rent this first and see what you think.

· · · Hero