The Legend of Dragoon

The Legend of Dragoon is a role-playing video game developed and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It was released in December 1999 in Japan, June 2000 in North America, and January 2001 in Europe. Set in a high fantasy fictional world called Endiness, the game follows a group of warriors led by the protagonist, Dart, as they attempt to stop the destruction of the world. The player controls a party of three-dimensional (3D) character models through pre-rendered, linear environments. Combat uses a combination of turn-based mechanics and real-time commands. The game includes a quick time event called "addition" during each attack, requiring the player to press a button when prompted in order to continue inflicting damage.

The game had a development budget of over $16 million, a notably high figure for the era. Production began in 1996 and spanned three years, involving a team of more than one hundred people. Reviewers differed in their assessment of the game, although many unfavourably compared it to the Final Fantasy series. The game sold more than one million copies worldwide, with most sales coming from North America. An album of the game's soundtrack was released in 2000, as well as a novel and manga inspired by the game.

The Legend of Dragoon is a role-playing game (RPG) focused on fantasy elements. It features three modes of play: the area map, the field, and the battle screen. In the first mode, players explore the world of The Legend of Dragoon by following predetermined routes on a linear 3D map. At the end of each route are towns and dungeons for the player to explore. The player can access new routes and areas as the plot progresses. In the field mode, the player navigates fully scaled versions of the locations represented on the area map, superimposed on pre-rendered backgrounds. The player can explore the environment, interact with characters and advance the story. At important story moments, the game will explain plot elements using CGI clips.

At random intervals on the area map and in field mode in some locations, and at specific moments in the story, the game will enter the battle screen. A maximum of three characters are used in each battle. The player's opponents include monsters and characters introduced in the plot. On a party member's turn, the player chooses a command for their character to take such as attacking with a weapon, guarding to recover health, using items, or running away. When the "attack" option is selected, a quick time event mechanic called "addition" is activated. Two blue squares appear on the screen and start to converge. If the player presses a button when the squares overlap the character will continue the addition and do more damage. Characters gain access to multiple additions over the course of the game, which have longer chains and deal more damage. The longer additions, however, allow enemies the opportunity to counter and the player needs to press a different button to continue their attack. A player can also select a magic attack item where the player can increase the strength of the attack by repeatedly pressing a button.

During the game's story, each playable character will obtain a Dragoon Spirit, giving them the ability to transform into "Dragoon form" while in combat. Dragoon form changes the character's appearance, giving them wings and making them float in the air. The character can only become a Dragoon during a battle if they have obtained spirit points, which are received when physically attacking an enemy while not in Dragoon form. In Dragoon form, the character receives a boost to their damage and damage resistance, and their commands of attack, guard, items, and run are replaced with Dragoon Attack and Dragoon Magic. If Dragoon Attack is selected, the player enters a new quick time event to extend the number of attacks they execute. A circle appears with a line that moves clockwise and when the line reaches the top of the circle, the player must press X to execute an additional attack. Dragoon Magic allows the player to execute a powerful offensive or defensive spell. The Dragoon form is only usable for a limited number of turns and must recharge to be used again.

When not in battle, the player can use the menu screen. This screen is used to review each character's status and statistics, use items and abilities, save the game (when on the world map or at a save point), and select an addition attack for use in battle.

The Legend of Dragoon takes place on a world referred to in-game as "Endiness". Its aesthetic resembles the Middle Ages with fantasy elements such as magic and dragons. The world contains a variety of species including Humans, Dragons and Winglies. Humans live as farmers while Dragons look like winged creatures and possess Dragon Spirits. Winglies are an aggressive species who can fly; 10,000 years before the start of the game they enslaved humans. After obtaining the help of Dragons, Humans became Dragoons to defeat the Winglies and, at the time of the game's events, live in relative peace.

There are nine playable protagonists in the game. The main protagonist is Dart, a warrior who is searching for the Black Monster. Shana is Dart's childhood friend and love interest. Rose is a warrior who teaches Dart how to fight as a Dragoon. Albert is the king of Basil, a duchy within the game, and Lavitz is one of his knights. Meru is a Wingly and Kongol is a Giganto, a giant-like human, and the last of his species alive in the game's world. Haschel is an elderly man searching for his daughter and Miranda replaces Shana as a playable character. Through different story events, each playable character gains the ability to transform into a Dragoon, a tool used to gain additional abilities and a greater power to defeat enemies.