Let's play The Legend Of Dragoon

I have finally decided to start my own LP, and surprise, surprise - it's not an otome game!

Instead, I'm going to play one of my favourite games ever - The Legend Of Dragoon. The game came out on the original Playstation back in 2001, and it was love at first sight for me. I have completed the game more than 15 times, and I still enjoy playing it.
Spanning 4 CDs, the game is rather long, but hopefully y'all stay with me until the end. It's worth it, I promise!

But enough talking, let's watch the intro!


And the first cut scene:

Mm, they always had this game on demo in stores and I always meant to pick it up if I ever acquired of a PSX (or equivalent) of my own....and once I did, I promptly forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder!

After the cut scene, the scene changes to a landscape, with a mysterious woman looking down on the forest.


Suddenly, the screen starts to shake, and... What is that?

A dragon? That can't be good. The woman jumps down the cliffs to investigate.




Everyone, meet Dart. He's the main character, so we're going to see a lot of him from now on.
He's currently traveling around Serdio. The kingdom is seperated, and at the verge of war.


To further prove this point, we suddenly find ourselves surrounded by soldiers.Dart draws his sword, ready to attack, but ...


... the dragon appears and mistakes us for a snack. Dart realizes he's to weak to face the dragon and runs. Not wanting to look for something else to eat, Feyrbrand starts chasing him.



Mysterious woman to the rescue! The dragon gives up and leaves.
Dart thanks the woman, and asks what the hell that was about. She tells us again that we just saw a dragon, but she does not know why it showed up. The village behind the mountain was easy enough to conquer without its help.

Village behind the mountain...?

And with that, Dart runs off.

Next post: we finally take control.

This game ç___ç My Childhood ç____ç So many memories ç_________ç

Dart arrives at Seles, some soldiers still loitering around.
I do not approve of killing civilians, and neither does Dart.


Time to kick some Sandora ass!
The battle screen is pretty straight forward. You can attack, guard, use an item, or run


Attacking, however, works a bit different from other RPGs. LoD uses an "Addition" system. By pressing X at the right time, you can extend your attack and deal more damage. Right now, we can only use Double Slash. We'll gain more additions by leveling up.

The fight is over pretty soon, we are rewarded with two potions, and the soldiers run off. We came to late, the villager dies right in front of our eyes.
Shaken, but determinded to find out what happened, Dart starts to look for survivors.


Rubbing salt into the wound won't change anything, old man.
Anyways, Plos informs us that the Sandora army took away Shana, Dart's childhood friend. Where they took her he does not know.

Luckily, the two soldiers we defended earlier came back with their commander.

You, sir, are pretty talkative for an enemy.


We beat him up without any problems, and get more potions, and Burn Out - a magic spell item. We also level up and gain a new addition. We could switch to Volcano now, but I'll continue using Double Slash for the time being.



Seles is now save again, so Dart decides to free Shana. What a daredevil.

To end this short first update, let's take a look at our stats:


And our additions so far:

ADD tells us how often we have to press X in order to complete the additions. SP are insignificant right now. We'll need them later, once we can transform.

NDJAFKNEJIGFREWGMERJGNMRJEWNGJFEHGBFHJEBVHFEJBGFHE


This game.

Oh boy! This game, how fiendish some additions are.. Then they get more complicated!

I can't wait.

Dart's, Rose' and Meru's additions I can do blind, but Haschel's kill me.

Before leaving for Hellena, we pay our respect to the fallen people.
But what's that?

Throughout the game, 50 stardusts are scattered. You don't need to collect them, but you'll get something nice if you manage to find all of them.


I... what?

Meanwhile

Can we please take a second to admire the beautiful backgrounds in this game?


That's what I'd like to know, too.


Very informative. Thank you, man in hood!

In order to get to Hellena, we have to cross a forest. I stock up on potions, Dart is reminiscent of his childhood with Shana, lots of fighting... The usual.

But on the subject of fighting, let me tell you about guarding.

Guarding in this game is kind of broken. Not only does it half the damage taken, it also heals 10% of the total HP and shields against any negative conditions (poison, charm, etc). I'm a cheapskate, so I love healing by guarding, instead of using potions.

We arrive at Hellena without problems, but

That's the question!


We're lucky. A merchant is about to enter the prison. Dart is using his secret ninja powers to hide himself, and we sneak in.


But Dart is not a ninja, so of course we are discovered soon after. We kill the guard, and the merchant agrees to keep silent if we spare his life.

Not knowing where to search, we aimlessly wander around the prison.




The man in green - Lavitz - takes out the prison guards, before Dart even arrive at the scene. I like Lavitz already.


I take that back. Stop trying to kill the Hero!

More guards show up, and Lavitz decides to trust us. We take them out, and Lavitz introduces himself. He is the head of Basil's First Knighthood. His unit was wiped out in a battle against Sandora, he was the only survivor.


Yes, please!

And now let me look at your stats.

Together, we continue searching for Shana.


First the Commander readily tells us that Shana is in Hellena. Now the guards run around telling people where exactly she is.
Why not just tie her up outside the prison, with a big red arrow pointing to her head?


Well, at least they locked her cell.



But the key just randomly lies around in the next room.

Back in the other tower, we finally free our friend.



Aren't they adorable?

Lavitz, however ...

Aw, he's jealous.


Against Dart's wishes, Shana joins our party. She uses a bow, so no additions for her. I forgot to screencap her stats, sorry.


Uoh, I smell a boss battle coming up!


Called it.


Fruegel is the head warden, and known for his sadistic ways. Two guards help him out.
After we knock them out, he calls for two new ones. Doesn't help him though, he goes down pretty fast.


Or maybe not.
The party still manages to get away, resulting in Fruegel throwing a fit.

To conclude this update, have some omnious foreshadowing:

I could do Lavitz's (and his buddy), but I simply couldn't do Meru's. I agree that Hachel's is very, very hard. (Hello fight that takes 10x as long if you can't combo as him!)

I've actually never thought to use guard as a way to heal... Haha, clever!

Meru's got some hard ones. But especially Perky Step (her last addition) is worth it, with 600% damage bonus. Then again, she is so weak that she needs it.

Lavitz I can play fine, Albert not so much. His timing is different from Lavitz, and I can't get used to it!

Oh god Perky Step. I can't do it. I didn't know it had a 600% damage bonus though, sheesh. But I can do Albert's just fine. I looked them up on youtube to remind myself of the timing.. Flowerstorm (and Gust of Wind Dance) doesn't seem to flow as easily as Perky Step.. So no idea why I'd find his so much more easier than Meru's. God forbid, though, when you get one of those "Blocks" during those combos.

He is quite flashy though, haha.

I love you for LPing this game. The last console I had (and still have) is my trusty PSX, and this game has always been my favourite for it. I've played it many times, some of them with my mom (who doesn't know a lick of english, but still liked the music and backgrounds), and I always come back to it.

That said, I'll be watching this thread very closely.

Also, Meru is a beast. Fast as hell, attacking two-three times for everyone else's one turn, with that awesome damage... it takes a while to unlock it though, and for me at least it took another while to learn how to perform it reliably.

Knowing that people enjoy the game as much as I do makes me very happy~

The route back to Seles is blocked, so the party has to take a different one.


Lavitz, having a pretty bad speed stat, has problems keeping up.


And ends up being shot in the leg. Poor Lavitz, everything seems to be against you.

The three of them manage to get away, but the guards catch up fast.



However, they are not the smartest cookies, and they end up leaving without finding our party.


Well, damn. Let's look for another way.


While searching, Lavitz breaks down. He insists that he's fine, but Dart and Shana decide to take a break to patch him up.

Backstory time!

Dart was not born in Seles. He's from a town in the north, but 18 years ago something happened.



His family managed to flee. But his father and mother decided to return to the town, and save as many other people as possible.
They never came back.
When Dart returned to the town the next day, he only found a small red stone his father owned.

Afterwards, Lavitz gives us a short overview on what's going on between Basil and Sandora. There used to be a truce, but ever since Sandora obtained the dragon, the war reassumed.
Lavitz is now on the way to Bale and inform King Albert. Dart and Shana agree to accompany him.



I doubt that'll work, but let's try.


Taking things from houses is called theft, you know?



See, I told you it wouldn't work!


... The river current proves me wrong.

The only thing seperating us from Bale now is the Limestone Cave. Everything seems to be alright, until we have to cross a river using stepping stones.


Lavitz, where does all the bad karma come from?
Luckily, Dart manages to pull him up in time.




Bros before hoes.



And some free healing, nice.
We're going to need it. Why, you ask?

That's why.


Ew.


Urobolus, our next boss fight. This thing can be a bit tricky for two reasons.
1. It's able to poison the party. If you stocked up on Body Purifier this won't be a problem.


2. It can hide inside a cave, making it impossible to attack it with anything but Shana's bow or magic.


But I've got this.


... Fuck.

The Urobolus raises and get ready to attack Shana. Dart and Lavitz are too far away to help her. This is not good.



What is going on?


You tell me! You're the one glowing and making monsters combust.

Ah, whatever. Next stop - Bale!

Not pictured: Lavitz and Dart throwing an arm over each other's shoulders and merrily walking away, while Shana stares at this display of homoeroticismfriendship in awe.

Dart and Lavitz have a true bromance going on.

I love Lavitz, haha. "AW".

Lavitz-heavy update! I love him.

We finally arrive in Bale and enter the first house we see.

Dart. You can't just take money.

Turns out, the house owner is one of Lavitz' fangirls.



Are you jealous, Dart?


Then we run into this merry fellow. He won't move unless we give him some booze.


I buy him a bottle. For the cheap, cheap price of 500G (for comparison, a Potion costs 10G).
What do we get out of that deal? A stardust.

Anyways, we have more important things to do, so let's head to the castle.



DART. You're stealing money from the king there.


He doesn't mind, though. He's happy we brought Lavitz back with us.

Blah blah, lots of talking.
Finally, we can ask Minister Noish about the Black Monster. He doesn't know much, however.



So instead, he tells us about the Dragon Campaign.

King Albert and Lavitz have a war meeting, Dart and Shana excuse themselves. They talk a bit about Seles, the past and the future.
Finally, the meeting finishes and Lavitz has some news.


"...on Hoax."


"...senseless bloodshed."

Before leaving for Hoax, Lavitz wants us to meet his mom.





They are just precious.



F-f-f-friendzoned!

Shana and Lavitz' mom leave to make dinner. Dart has never been to such a big house before, so he asks Lavitz to show him around.


DART. Stop it.



Aw, and your dream came true <3

Dinner happens.




But then Dart and Shana leave ...


Such a momma's boy <3

Dart stealing stuff will become a running gag for this LP, won't it?

One thing my mother said when watching me play, even when she couldn't understand much of the action aside from what I translated, was... "Hey you, don't learn from this guy. Being a kleptomaniac is bad, mmkay?"

Yes, I love my mom.

It might become the running gag. We will see about that~

It's nice when moms are interested in the games we play. For mine it's The Legend of Zelda. I think she was more excited for Skyward Sword than I was.

And oh man does this game bring back memories. I almost beat it, got to the 4th disk... and I am not quite sure what happened. I guess now is a good time to dust off my copy and play again.

Throwing out another update, because I feel like it.

After buying some new weapons (no potions, I have yet to use one this playthrough, ohohoho), we arrive in Hoax.


That's war for you.

We meet up with Kaiser from the Basil army and discuss plans.
Lavitz and Dart are going to have the night watch. Shana won't be joining in, instead she's ask to cook for the soldiers.








Men.

Dart and Shana look around the town, Lavitz has another war meeting, we pick up some stardust, and then it's time for the night watch.


Everything is silent, so Dart decides to check up on Shana.


But as soon as he reaches the end of the stairs, the enemy starts attacking.
We kill some Sandora soldiers, everything is going according to plan.


Until this guy shows up and taunts us.
He's a pretty easy fight, the only hurdle you might face is his special move.


Once his HP are down to yellow, he will use his NINJA POWERS to create two doublegangers.

Still, he's a push-over, considering our next fight.


That giant is a Giganto, called Kongol. He works for Sandora and is said to be undefeaded in battle. I like a good challenge, so bring it on.


Dart agrees.

If you know what you're doing, he shouldn't be a problem either. Unless you can't do your additions.


At one point, Kongol will put away his axe. From now on you HAVE to finish additions, or he'll grab you and throw you back.

I can do them, so no worries.
Kongol is about to go down, Dart charges at him to deal the finishing blow, but ...

Ouch.


What's that?


Winged woman to the rescue! Dart sure likes getting help from pretty girls.





Dart, engulfed in flames, slams into Kongol, sending him flying.
Game, set and match.


He, you're the ones using dragons and Giganto!


And then Dart was a dragoon.

Dart collapses.


Calm down Shana, sheesh.


Poor Rose.

Dart wakes up and Shana demands to know what kind of relationship he and Rose have.


So tempted to choose the second answer, just to spite Shana.


Rose explains that she saw the red stone Dart carried, and wanted to see if Dart was a dragoon like her.

Reasons I LOVE Rose #1:




Shana apologizes for jumping to conclusions about Rose and Dart.

Baby, come into my bosom ;_;

A commotion outside catches the parties attention.


Great, more fighting.

Where did the Sandora army come from?

Alright, we finally know where we have to go.


Random Rose quote, because I love her. Yes, I will say that very often from now on.

And now please welcome today's guest lecturer Rose on "How to be a Dragoon"!



Once the SP bar is full, you can transform.
After that you have two commands - Attack or Magic.


I don't like the Attack command. The blue light thingy spins around and you have to press X everytime it reaches the top. That'll make the attack charge up. I'm really bad at this.


And this is our magic. Right now, we only have one spell. We'll learn more whenever we level up.
There are 5 Dragoon levels. They don't affect our power, only how long we can stay transformed - one round on lvl 1, five rounds on lvl 5.

And to end todays update, Rose's stats.

I've mentioned it at least trice, but she's my favourite character.
Her attack and magic attack are great, she has good defense, magic defense and speed. The only thing she's lacking in is HP, but there's ways to fix that.

The attack command in dragoon form. Ugh. Never could quite do much with that. It was a blessing if I ever got to 2, miracle if I hit three (I think you could tap it 4-5 times, hm?)

I think my favorite part about Rose is the headband, haha! Lavitz is just so great (And Albert too).

Ffffriendzoned FOREVER SHANA. Speaking of Shana, I never used her unless I HAD to, I didn't really like her combat style.

Shana was broken as hell... well, at least her last dragoon magic was. I only got there once though, and then my dog (then a puppy) attacked the PS1 and mauled both the controller cord and the memory card. And one of my only shoes. That little...

Eh, I generally managed to tap the dragoon attack four times or so, but since I couldn't tap it reliably I just used it to accompany the magic if I were to run out of SP, or if I wanted to delay the magic use with morphing bosses. It was generally easier than... let's say... Haschel's additions. God I hated those.

Ha! I never could pull em off on Haschel. Think they were quite fast..
Yeah, I only attacked simply to burn turns when out of sp. Never really messed with Shana's dragon magic, since I just never carried her.

Shana's attack is abysmal. She's only useful if you like using magic items (she's got the highest magic attack), or if you need lots of healing. 3 of the 4 Dragoon spells are healing spells.

We leave Hoax to help out the Seventh Fort.


We have to fight all these guys one after another~


Oh yes. I finally switched from using Double Slash to Volcano, so this can happen now.
If you use an addition with ADD over 1, enemies might guard mid-attack. In this case, you have to press O instead of X to continue the addition. If you don't, you're send flying.

After slaughtering the enemy army, we head inside the fort.
We came too late.


Why?
Alas, we do not find out, the guy dies before telling us.
We'll have to find out ourselves.


Next stop - Volcano Villude!


Yeah, just our luck.


Turns out, it's not an eruption after all. Just a burning bird.


Or you could just, idk, kill it? I stocked up on Water Magic before we left, it'll be a walk in the park.
No?
Okay, fine. Run.

Don't mind me, just standing around in a sea of lava like a badass.


What's calling you? The lava? Maybe you should try jumping in..

Shana runs off, we follow her.


Dart tries to touch it, but Shana stops him.


What's a Virage?


Oh. Okay.
Wait, wasn't that 11,000 years ago? Why is it still alive? In a pool of lava, nontheless.

And then it starts moving.


The Virage has three parts - head, body and arm. In order to win, you have to destory its head. Attacking body and arm will result in it having less ways to attack, but they regenerate over time. So there's really no reason to attack them.


Needless to say - we win.


Suddenly a voice!



His cloths! Burn them!
We still help him, though.


We never get an explanation what this Burning Gem thing is. I want to knoooow!
Dabas leaves, and so do we.


Ugh. I told you guys to kill it before, but you didn't listen!

Not much to say about Fire Bird. Just attack it and it'll go down soon enough.

We leave the volcano behind and enter the dragon's forest.


So that's what the knight from before wanted to tell us. I didn't bring any Body Purifier. You guys better stay healthy.

Shana starts coughing. Goddamnit, Shana!



Rose: "I'm a woman, too."


That she is.

We take a short break. Shana regains her strength, we continue.


The forest is ending over there. Where's that stupid dragon?


Sonofa...

What is this place?


Taking the words right out of my mouth.


After a random encounter, Rose became Dragoon lvl 2.
New magic, yay! This spell attacks all enemies on the field and has a small chance of inflicting fear.