That feels amazing to say that.
I have finally completed Legend of Dragoon!!! YAY!!!
12 years and ~70 hours later I am done.
I don't know why but it feels as if a huge weight is lifted off my shoulders. A giant sigh of relief that I have checked off a game that has almost been a cornerstone to this blog and my backlog.
Legend of Dragoon.
Wow.
Ok. I am done now just blabbering about how wicked cool it is that I have completed it. I will do a celebratory dance later. On to business.
Some time has passed since I completed LoD (Legend of Dragoon). This was in my master plan. I wanted to make sure that I had time to breathe, process all that had happened properly, and then compare my memories from years ago to now. I wanted to make sure that my thoughts are properly projected onto this medium.
I loved LoD when I was young. Around the age of 15 I was into FF games and anything Square made. Besides Nintendo (which at that time was my first big developer that I liked) I had learned that Square games were things that I would always go out and directly buy. No questions asked. I would be at the store no release day and be buying the game. Or I would have a preorder in so that I would get the games on release day when I was in college. I would get upset when I wouldn't receive the game on release day. I have luckily grown since then, and I have learned how to relax and wait for a good deal. Yet I still find myself buying main FF games sometimes at midnight release.
So I was young and so attached to this company that made games that enlightened my mind and led me on journeys across far off realms, allowing me to escape my own tortures. So I see this game, LoD, and I figure that it has to be good. So I buy it (or I got one of my parents too. I can't remember). I buy it and take it home. 4 discs. "Man", I thought, "if it has 4 discs then it has to be amazing. Cause FFVII was 3 discs, FFVIII was 4, so the more discs the better".
I popped the game into my Playstation and started to play the game. And I loved it.
I can't remember exactly all my thoughts and emotions from then, but I do know that I greatly enjoyed LoD. I thought the graphics were great. OH LORD there was voice acting in it (something new to me in console games), you could transform into a Dragoon and summon a Dragon and cast magic. I can see myself now sitting on the carpetted floor of my father's bedroom playing this game with wide eyes trying to absorb everything that flowed out from the TV.
I do remember things that I didn't understand or care for at the time. I didn't like how you were limited to 32 items in your inventory, that you had to use the addition system. I didn't have enough hand-eye coordination to master that. I didn't like how you had to plan things. I love RPG's, but as a kid I wasn't that good at thinking ahead and planning that well. I sometimes found myself just charging forward into battle and trying to make it work. Thats how I ended up stuck at the final boss and not able to defeat him cause I was unable to plan ahead and overlevel, and have enough healing items to keep me alive.
Stuck. For almost 12 years. Now we come to today. We come to a time in which I am older and am able to plan and strategize better. I know not to always rush into battles without thinking of the setup.
I respect the limitation of 32 items. It makes me plan and think. I like it.
I like the addition system. In fact, its one of my favorite parts of the game with regards to fighting. I have written about it in the past and I still respect those views. It beats a lot of the bad things.
Bad things you say???
Yes. There are some things that I have issues with.
First, translation. Maybe things have just improved over the last decade, but the wording for things on LoD is horrible. Sometimes it is hard to make connections with things since the dialog makes you want to rip your eyes out and boil them. It made the story hurt me sometimes because I couldn't keep up with things.
The bad translation also lead to problems with story flow. I talked about this earlier some, so I won't expand too much on things. I think though that translation issues partially led to sudden, random points to the plot that were added with no back story to them. I understand sidequests and small diversions to the main story, but that didn't happen here. You had to suddenly do these things that took you way off from the main flow of the plot. Along with this was the fact that certain elements to the game were not explained or brought to light, however they served a purpose. The Sacred Sisters of Mille Seseau should have been explained more. Tell me what their importance is to the story. Make me care more about them. Damnit, that is all I want.
Well, that and more.
In the end I feel like the love of this game that I had built up when I was young was partially burst. I am glad I replayed it and completed it. Its a small personal goal that I was able to check off. Would I play through LoD again? I think probably not since I gained all I needed from the game. I do think that it needs a sequel since it would be another revenue stream that SE could use, and many fans would cheer it on. You could almost do anything you wanted with a sequel since so much time has passed since LoD came out. I would definitely play that for sure. For those who haven't played it yet, if you like classic games from the PS era then you should give it a shot. On the PSP its a good play. However, I think thought for now my time with Legend of Dragoon is done. Good game Square, good game.
