Customer Rating:  
Summary: It's an OK game, but...
Comment: I've had "Legend of Legaia" for a number of years. I've picked it up and tried to play through it countless times. The verdict... It starts out OK story wise, has a nice battle system on it, but it falls flat after a while. Let me elaborate.
First off, the good about this game. An RPG's battle system is one of the most important elements of the game. About 50% of your gameplay time in an RPG is spent battling. That being said, "Legend of Legaia" has a very nice battle system. It's turn based (which means you can stretch between hits) and offers what many have called a "fighting game inspired" attack system. Basically, what that means is that the directional buttons are used as the primary selection tool in battle (the X button is only used to confirm attacks and select magic). Combo attacks are initiated by entering certain combinations in "Attack" mode (up {high kick}, down {low kick}, left {left hand blow}, right {right hand blow}) and not only are nice and damaging but are pretty spectacular to look at too. But, the good stops there.
Here's the bad. First off, the random battles. I love RPG's, but I hate random battles with a vengance and in "Legaia" they spring on you every two steps in any given dungeon. This ensures that the player will quickly become tired of the battle system.
Secondly, the way that the magic system is set up is a pain in the butt. Creative, but a pain in the butt. Unlike most RPG's, where the characters aquire new magic by gaining levels or buying it from shops, "Legend of Legaia" has a somewhat Pokémon-esque method whereby the characters must absorb the powers of enemy Seru into their Ra-Seru in order to learn new spells. This wouldn't be too bad if the chance of absorbing a Seru's power weren't so low (maybe a 20% or 40% chance) and that for a character to aquire that Seru's powers, he or she must land the final blow him or herself. That can lead to hours of frustration trying to learn new attack and healing magic. When trying to learn new spells becomes a chore, you have a problem.
Third of all, the story line. The plot is really thickest toward the beginning of the game, then becomes less and less engaging as you play. I mean, it starts out promising but never really picks up the pace! The most exciting moment in the game is the attack on Rim Elm (right at the beginning of the game) and from there it never really takes off. For the love of God, they had a demi-god that sleeps in the form of three freaking infants giving random prophecy in a freaking cave town that keeps falling apart! What the Heck! That's the part when you know whoever wrote the script for this game was having some monster writer's block that never really went away.
Fourth point, the music. Now, I know most people don't care much about the music in an RPG as long as it's bearable, but the music in "Legend of Legaia" would be better replaced with the sample music tracks from "RPG Maker". It's OK for short sperts of playing, but after a few hours in a dungeon, it gets redundant.
Number five, the graphics. Now, I know this game has OK graphics for its time, but it's more the way that the graphics effect the navigability of dungeons that has me. The color pallet for this game tends to be overwhelmingly dark, especially in caves, and in certain areas it's hard to tell a wall from a door from an extension of the floor because the colors and textures merge together so much. Not fun when you've been through 800 random battles, are low on health and healing items, and are just looking for an exit.
Lastly, the two most annoying things about "Legend of Legaia": Save Points and the price of upgrading equipment. In this game you can only save on the overworld map and at save points. The problem with the save points is that they are so far apart from each other in the dungeons. The save points tend to be one per average sized dungeon and sometimes two, and always about an hour or three apart from each other. This can cause headaches when you just want to quit but there hasn't been a save point in sight in the dungeon for hours on end. And the price of equipment upgrades is just plain wrong. To afford new equipment, you have to run around in circles of about an hour or so fighting to just be able to afford the next sword...after fighting every monster from the last town to the one you're in now without running from a single battle. This leads to hours and hours of trying to get into a fight (which, as it turns out, is the only time when you're not jumped every three steps). This, in turn, leads to boredom.
So, in closing, "Legend of Legaia" is a decent game if you can stand the frustrations stemming from its faults. The battle engine is good and you can always "Mystery Science Theater" on the plot if you're so warped in humor. But, if you hate getting hit with random battles, being over charged for equipment, never being able to find a save point when you actually need one, and getting lost in confusingly rendered dungeons, then leave this game alone.
Customer Rating:
Summary: My first rpg experience.....
Comment: Legend of Legaia was the first rpg I ever played which started my love for rpg's. When I first played this game I could not put it down to eat, sleep or go to work. I called in 2 days in a row because of how addicted to this game I was. Anyways, to get to the review part and after beating this game 3x since and played many rpg's it still holds as one of my all time favorites just under Lunar:SSSC, Final Fantasy VII, Grandia and Xenogears for the original playstation.
Storyline: I still after all these years love the storyline to this game. Van, Gala and Noa are the only members in your party (which after playing other rpg's, I wished you had a few more people in your party). Basically there is a mist that turns people and animals into crazed monsters and you need to activate the Genesis trees and destroy mist generators. It has some really good twists in the story and it stays for the most part intersesting and keeps you hooked. Van is a quiet and just good all around guy, Noa is a girl who grew up on her own until she met Van and Gala is a monk who seems to be angry most of the time.
Graphics: Definitely for its time some of the best around but there were no cg clips or fmv's to help move the storyline on. With games around its time using cg clips, like FFVII, or anime scenes like Lunar, I think Legaia could have used some clips as well. As far as graphics when your characters were fighting, very nicely done, a bit blocky but when you buy armor and the change is actually noticeable on the character its a very easy to get over.
Combat System: Probably the very best thing and most enjoyable part of the game, even the random battles are easy to get over because it actually get you into the fight. You get to do whats called "arts", "hyper arts" and magic that is used through your Ra-Seru. Magic is learned by killing monsters but getting the actual spell is random so it can be on your first kill or 200th kill. The power of your magic goes up the more times you use it and the Kamero spell is easily my most favorite.
The game can take anywhere from 50+ hours to finish depending on how much you do. There are a few mini games but none that are noteworthy and I only have few gripes about the game itself.
The first is when roaming around on the world map Van moves really slow. Also, money is an annoyance to get and armor starts getting really expensive so you'll spend a lot of time money grinding if you want the best stuff.
The money grinding, lack of a few cg clips or fmv's to help move the story and long levels keep this game from being one of the greatest rpg's ever. It gets delightful 4 out 5 from this long time Legaia fan.
Customer Rating:
Summary: One of the Best RPG Games I Ever Played
Comment: And this is coming from someone who has played so many other RPG games including the very impressive Legend of Dragoon and also of course the famous Final Fantasy games.
The characters for one are quite memorable. Let's take Noa first. She eventually will become, if not your strongest, then second strongest in the entire group. Her speed is superior over the men's and thus makes her deliver some hard hits. She became my best fighter and unlike others she was my favorite character. Many here say that Noa is annoying but honestly people she was raised her whole life in a cave without any human contact. Of course she doesn't understand how to behave in public how could she? So I think reviewers should cut the game some slack with her since they're just trying to make her realistic.
Gala is a great fighter due to his body strength. He eventually hits the hardest and does great damage to the enemies. Gala himself is a rather interesting character as well. At first he doesn't warm up to either Vahn and Noa, but only because of his extreme dislike for seru and anyone who wears them. When he finds out how special Ra- Seru though, he warms up and becomes a willing and actually humorous character.
Vahn is the one you have to control. He only speaks what you choose for him to say but everyone loves him. He's the nice guy and a good fighter as well. He's not as quick as Noa, or as strong as Gala, but nonetheless when you get his levels up he can be a great fighter as well.
Now for the game itself, it is a very fun, and long game. If you're not patient enough to last through a long video game then you better steer clear of this game. It took me 70 hours to finish it and that's mainly because every town that was filled with the Mist I stuck around before saving it to level up a bit more. Some people I notice complain of how hard the bosses are. I found none of the bosses truly hard at all- even the final boss I did not break a sweat over. Maybe because I have played so many other RPGs that they were easy, but I think even someone not really into RPGs could easily beat the bosses of the game. It's just I think a lot of people didn't level up as much as they should have. At the very end of the game I was at level 52 for my group and that was more than enough for me to beat the game.
Leveling up can be a pain once all three characters get to higher levels, but the bosses are easy to beat as long as you level up a few in every Mist- filled town. So I advise gamers to do so. Also leveling up the magic creatures your Ra- Seru takes in as is very easy and necessary- just use them frequently in battle and they will easily level up in no time.
Also it is smart to level up anyway to get a lot of money. Because I do agree with one complaint- the weapons in this game cost a lot of money eventually. I think the point is to fight a lot so you don't have a money problem- but I do agree the weapons still, especially towards the end of the game, get to be too pricey. Just fight a bit, or even sell an accessory you don't wear, and you will eventually find the money for them.
The plot and subplots of this game is what keeps you overall entertained. I won't repeat what the Amazon review already has wrote out so well, but the basic goal throughout the game is to destroy the Mist all over the world by reviving Genesis trees and destroying Mist generators. Along the way many interesting characters come along and you fight a few and help a few.
The best part of the game is definitely the outfits though the three get to wear. The new weapons and armor they wear are always different in appearance and visually appealing. Noa's outfits are especially beautiful. It's worth the money I think to pay for them.
So overall this is a long and very creative game. The storylines throughout the game connect well and the plot itself unravels well as you go along. The characters are likeable and as said before the battle scenes are visually appealing and fun. The levels do take awhile as you get up to higher numbers, but you do not need at all to get anywhere near level 99. As said before, I beat the game easily at level 52. I would say the only really minor negative parts are the long levels and amount of money for armor- other than that, this game is a true joy. Highly recommend for people who like games such as Final Fantasy.
5/5
Customer Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Comment: I First played a demo version of this game on a demo disc and was immediately addicted. One of the best RPG Games to come out for PSX.
There's a sophistocated fight sequence mode, which allows you to do combos and discover 'arts' kind of like special moves and there are different levels going all the way up to 'master'. The graphics are great for a PSX RPG.
The storyline, although quite odd, is very interesting, and did i mention it's addictive as crap?
One downside. Actually two.
Tough bosses and insane invironments in which i had no clue where i was going and found my self going nowhere for a while, but i didnt mind since i was up for the challenge.
You'll get some serious gameplay out of this game.
This isn't a game you'll be finishing in a few days. oh no.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A miost underrated game!!!
Comment: What could Legend of Legaia bring to the table against such powerhouse releases as LUNAR: THE COMPLETE SILVER STAR STORY and FINAL FANTASY VIII? It cannot compete against the graphics and complexity of FF8, nor against the sweeping storyline of Lunar. But don?t sell this game short?it?s quite good! It features a good balance between storyline and battles. My personal thoughts are that this is one of the most underrated RPG?s on the PS1 console. And it?s a great bargain ? this single disc will play for 40-60 hours! Believe me, this game has a lot to offer.
The graphics are quite nice for a PS1 RPG once you get used to them without having the eye-popping layouts and characters as game like Final Fantasy VII and VIII. And though the world map screens are nothing special, the battle screens feature nicely detailed (though a bit blocky) characters. It?s also nice that as you change your characters? battle gear (robes, headwear, boots, etc.), you can actually see their appearance change on the battle screens (without using a magnifying glass). Towns and villages are pretty routine-looking (with a few exceptions).
The storyline here starts out just as noble and bland as possible (as most run-of-the-mill RPG?s do), with one small group of unlikely heroes who step forth to save the village (and ultimately all civilization) from an evil mist. The story starts off pretty slowly and doesn?t really draw you in at first. After the first few quests (once you have all three members of your team together) it begins to pick up the pace. There are some interesting twists splattered throughout the rest of the game, with side quests ?built in? to the storyline pretty nicely.
Be forewarned: The dialog can be quite awful at times, and the on-screen gyrations of the characters as they speak is often just plain (and unintentionally) silly. You have three (and only three) playable characters : Vahn is the ?leader? of this quest, but has very little to say or do other than be a middle man between the other two. Gala is straightforward and all business, and always seems to be angry. Noa (I dubbed her ?Ditz?) is flighty, impulsive, and VERY animated. Despite her spinning, clapping, and waving her arms like a bird, she turned out to be my favorite character. She also has the most endearing storyline.
The battle system is worth making note of. Rather than a swiping at your opponents, the battles are performed using martial arts. In addition to basic moves, you can learn combinations to perform special martial arts called ?hyper arts? that inflict more damage. The ?Spirit? option allows you to increase your defense for a turn, while also raising the number of strikes you can make on your next turn. Or you can use your Ra-Seru to cast magic that you?ve acquire by defeating enemies and possessing their magical abilities, but the cost (in Magic Points) is pretty steep. So battles on here have a bit more strategy than most RPG?s (and are more fun to watch). Hand to hand combat is usually enough to beat most opponents early on, so there?s temptation to forget about the magic aspect of battle when your magic points are few near the beginning of the game. But the more that you use magic, the stronger the spells will become. I found myself racing to bring my magic up to par toward the middle of the game just in case I needed it.
The game doesn?t have much of a ?puzzle? aspect to it. There is an arcade fighting game that you can play where winning the bouts is dependent on countering your opponent?s moves, but that is relatively easy to figure out. And there is a maze that you need to work through that can be quite tricky (I wandered back and forth for several hours before my son clued me in, then I figured out the rest. I cannot recollect any other puzzle elements. Luckily, the game doesn?t really need it.
The game features multiple endings that appear to be based on the answer to a simple question near the end of the game, after your battles have all been won. It?s kind of a cheap way to throw a little variety into the ending, and ultimately that part of the storyline that I chose wrapped up a little too neatly. But it was still a decent ending after 50-plus hours of gameplay.
The game?s overall simplicity is, oddly enough, probably the most positive attributes of the game. With RPG?s getting more complex and having better graphics, it?s nice to remember the charm and innocence that the older style of video RPG?s had. Legend of Legaia fits somewhere in the middle of the old and the new, much like an old game would be with improved graphics and gameplay. Though it may not make many people?s ?best of? lists, it DID make mine. Play it and decide for yourself. If you accept it for what it is, you WILL have fun with it.
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