Legend of Legaia
Reviewed by Dyson Turner
Legend of Legaia was truly a wonderful RPG, in my opinion
this should have been the RPG of the year, last year because
it was just so great. This was leaps and bounds over Final
Fantasy VIII, the story in this progress faster, and I
really liked the system better. A lot of people just thought
that the story wasn't evolved enough for today's standards
not enough characters not enough twist. I think it had the
right amount of characters so that each character can get
their own time as main characters, because when you have 3
they are all like main characters and not a one of them were
forgotten. When I first played this I had to admit that I
didn't like it, I thought the graphics and battling were all
great but it just didn't grab me as special. But in hour or
so in when all the characters meet, the game caught my
interest until the end. This game has its faults just like
any game would but the good I nit out weighs those faults.
The main characters were so distinctively different it's a
miracle how their different styles didn't clash and get in a
way of things, but I think that was a good virtue to have.
For the most part this was a wonderful game that I had to
play through again just to relive.
Story 8. 0/10
A great story, but it had its faults. The story was about
Genesis trees, Mist and Seru. There was this terrible mist
going throughout the world, which turned Seru, which not
under mist conditions was a great help to humans, into
living dead. Then the Seru went crazy and tried to kill
people. Few people survived the mist, either they knew the
mist was coming and had secret and creative ways of blocking
it out of their villages. The story starts with Vahn, a
young 14-year-old boy who was going on his first Hunt.
That's when the Mist entered his home village, and he had to
drive it off. By reviving Genesis Trees and destroying Mist
Reactors was the only way to get rid of Mist, he also got
help from his Ra-Seru a Seru, which was a leader among the
rest. As he explored he met the other 2 characters and
together they were determined to rid the world of the Mist
and revive all Genesis Trees, with their Ra-Seru. The
characters in depth are:
Vahn: I mentioned above he's the leader and he has a lot of
courage. He is sort of the quiet type it seems, even though
he being a leader he seems to have the quality in him he
doesn't show it. He is sort of typical hero but not to
boisterous and not conceited at all, his also seems to be
pretty smart and everyone around him Noa and Gala that is
looks up to him. Usually the main character has a
combination or even skills at everything, even though he is
pretty young.
Noa: Finally an original Female Led! She is about as
original as they come and she is pretty funny. A Wolf who
was possessed by the Ra-seru raised her, so she isn't too
keen on Human Ways. Although this fault she has a big heart
and a lot of hope. At first I thought she was sort of a dumb
character but she will grow on you, she becomes a very
interesting and unique character. I'm glad they didn't go
for the Rinoa type who is all in love with the hero. As
usual she is the fastest of the 3, but one thing is she
never does any wolf like attacks.
Gala: He is an interesting and very noble character. He
reminds me of a Japanese samurai so deep yet he won't let on
to his feelings. He was raised in the Biron Temple and I'm
pretty sure he's an Adult or at least older than Noa and
Vahn, and even though he is not in the temple any longer he
still holds true to his teachings. He is the most powerful
of the 3 and carries a mace axe or club to destroy his Seru
and non-Seru foes. One weird Gala fact is some times, he
shaves some times he doesn't. What I mean is the programmers
goofed on him and he has a mustache then it instantly vanishes.
These 3 characters eventually meet and at first aren't too
keen on each other and each other ways, because the culture
clash of a well rounded village boy like Vahn, a very deep
and strict Gala, and the innocent child like Noa. They get
along eventually.
Visuals 9. 0/10
The graphics resemble very closely those of Final Fantasy
VII. But the big difference either close or far the
characters have features that can easily be seen, like you
can see their facial expressions. For example, Noa has to be
the most animated, you can see sadness, happiness or when
she is in pain or angry. This was a very good idea because
sometimes you can't get that from the text. The backgrounds
are basically the only graphic problem I had they are too
flat, and life less, most of the houses, only have things
which you can take and they all basically look the same, one
bed a dresser and cupboard and a few other miscellaneous
things. The characters during the fighting sequences look
splendid if you have the camera view on close. When they do
their arts it looks great like a fighting game because of
all the splendid motion and high frame rate. The summons and
Seru magic could have been better not too many effects were
put into it, but for the most part it passed and was good
enough to get the job done. Overall the graphics on this
game were splendid, though crude at some moments they still
got the job done well enough and made the game feel alive
and felt like I was their.
Audio 8. 5/10
The music in this game was indeed wonderful at well, some of
the tunes were dark some were more up beat and cheery I
really liked all the music in the game it really expressed
the mood and everything perfectly. I especially liked the
boss theme it was that fast quick boss theme, that either
rung when your 3 characters were all down in defeat which
felt good or it was that feeling of the undefeatable boss
that was in your way, who just 'murdered' you. The music in
this game really brought out things and made them seem a tad
bit better than expected. The sound effects really had some
nice effects like when a character did a 'Hyper Art' and you
can make out what they say most of the time some times you
just can't. Anyway some of the music and other sounds were
quite memorable like the battle theme and such. I really did
like the music it wasn't final fantasyesque but it did hold
its own. Overall I think the music in this game did a great
job and it was very to listen to.
Game Play 10/10
This game is for one player only. Like I mentioned above you
have 3 characters, and the basic system for magic is through
Seru. Your Ra-Seru can absorb a Seru after you fight it,
which can wield some great powers. Some curative some are
just powerful. These can be helpful when you have low
Spirit. You also have arts what looks quite close to a
fighting game combo. You have your basic Arts, Hyper Arts,
Super Arts, and Miracle Arts. Your Spirit Meter has to be
high to pull off the last one. Your Hyper Art gets taught
through books and they are based on the element you are
aligned with. Each character has a different Element Vahn
use Fire, Noa uses Wind, and Gala uses Thunder. Your arts
basically are what get you through battles, especially
against some tough bosses. You also had mini games and all 3
of them were undeniable fun. The first one you'll get to
play took me a while to get the hang of. It's the slot
machine, the slot machine can get you an unbelievable amount
of tokens if you hit the bonus rounds. The Tokens can be
used to buy some righteous accessories at the local stores.
Next one is Baka Fighter, this one was probably the easiest
and most sure fire way to get tokens. It was an arcade type
fighting game that was quite similar to the 3D-Fighter from
Final Fantasy VII, but this one is better and a lot more
fun. Its like Rock Paper Scissors, where one attack can out
rule the other. The last mini game was fishing, yes fishing
this was fun to do in your spare time at the fishing whole.
Instead of tokens you get points for the size of the fish
and how much you struggled with it if it wasn't much of a
struggle you get more points, points can be used to buy some
righteous stuff as well. The difficulty is hard and this
game requires one block of memory.
Fun Factor: High
I had a sure blast playing this one this game is so much fun
to get through, playing the mini games were addictive but
they didn't distract you like Triple Triad. Actually
fighting was fun as well, and just going places it didn't
seem too much like a chore and only at the end did things
stop having a fun atmosphere.
Replay Value: High
I definitely will play this one again some things at the
beginning I just didn't pick up on and some parts of the
game I want to do over because the sheer fun involved in
them. I'm 99% sure you will play this one to relive the
adventure of saving those Trees!
Good Points
Fun mini games
Interesting characters
Innovative fighting system
Bad Points
Leveling UP
The leveling up is just as bad as Sony's Legend of dragoon,
it is very difficult to level up in this game without the
aid of a boss, most of the time only a boss fight can
improve your levels. You have to fight many random battles
to get a 'good' level
Mazes are too easy
I for one had no trouble making it through this games
various mazes and tunnels they should of improved on this
and made it a tad more difficult to get through all the
mazes but they didn't.
Overall 10 out of 10
Even with this games flaws it still comes out as one of my
favorite RPG's of all time there are so man things you can
do in this game it makes it all worth it, in my opinion.
This game is one you won't be putting down soon because of
the shear fun involved in it, it is truly one of the great
games that will be remembered. I truly enjoyed my time spent
on it. The graphics were good the sound was good but they
combined to make the game look impressive. The Arts fighting
system was a nice change of pace from the usual hit fight
and watch your character wail away, but it did take a while
to get use to what to do against the enemy. For the most
part though this game was one of the best on the market last
year and it's a steal this year because many just didn't
hear of it with all the hype surrounding Final Fantasy VIII
st the time. The characters in the game were equally
enjoyable, I mean especially Noa. I mean she says, 'What's
a Pimp? That was classic. Other things about this game make
your trip to Legaia an enjoyable and quite memorable one. If
you are looking for a good one to round off your RPG
collection and a fun one this is definitely a game for you.
