Legend of Legaia
| Legend of Legaia | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Prokion |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Director(s) | Kazuhiro Kobayashi |
| Producer(s) | Contrail |
| Composer(s) | Michiru Oshima |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Legend of Legaia (レガイア伝説 Regaia Densetsu) is a 1998 PlayStation role-playing video game developed by Prokion and produced by Contrail. It was followed by a 2001 PlayStation 2 sequel, Legaia 2: Duel Saga, which reveals the different story set in the eponymous world.
Gameplay
The combat of the game is turn-based. At the beginning of each turn, the player inputs a command for all three characters, selects each targets and confirms the selection. This initiates the action phase, during which each character and opponent perform their own. The order is prescribed by each character's speed, status and equipment. The damage is indicated for the 'Tactical Arts' battle system. Instead of simply selecting a 'Fight' command in order to initiate a physical attack, the player specifies the location of each attack; 'Right' and 'Left' will strike with both arms, respectively, and 'High' and 'Low' strike at their respective heights. Each direction has its own pros and cons, depending upon the opponent, weapons equipped, and level of the character's Ra-Seru. The player creates a string of each directional attacks for each character. As the game progresses, the length of the string or "action bar" increases and each characters deal more damage for each turn. The number of strikes is used and affected by several factors, including level and weapon. Certain weapons can be used by more than one character, such as small axes that can be wielded by both Vahn and Gala. However, Gala's affiliation with axes are better than Vahn. If Vahn equips the axes, his 'Left' attack will occupy more space in the action bar, and cannot make many attacks overall. Certain strings of attacks initiate combos known as "Arts," which deal substantially more damage than would a non-combo string of comparable length. The player can uncover each character's Arts by experimentation, or through non-playable characters throughout the game who reveal Arts to them. "Arts Points" (AP) is necessary to initiate Arts, draining AP in quantities and is proportionate to the length and power of the combo. Inputting an Arts sequence without the requisite AP will cause the character to simply perform the string of attacks, without the Arts animation or damage bonus. AP can be earned in three ways; dealing physical damage without performing Arts, taking damage from opponents, or by foregoing actions for one turn in order to charge up using the Spirit command. Arts can also be linked by the last and first inputs. For example, an Art ending with 'Down' can linked with another Art that starts with 'Down', allowing the player to use two Arts in a row costing fewer inputs.
On the Spirit command, each characters can take a defensive stance for a turn, to reduced damage, increase the chance, regain AP and boost the length of the action bar for the next physical attack. Some boss battles involve enemies with massive damage that the characters can only survive by using Spirit. Each characters can partner themselves with a Ra-Seru into lending powers. Once bound, a Ra-Seru strengthens the latter with a primary arm for use in combat, allowing the human to absorb the powers of Seru defeated in battle. The human can use the absorbed Seru's powers as spells; consistently calling upon that Seru's power will level it up, making it more powerful and causing additional effects. All Seru possess an elemental affinity which determines what type of attacks it will use in battle. Ra-Seru also possess elemental affinities which influence how effective they are in casting spells of various elemental types.
Plot
Setting
The game takes place in the eponymous world, populated by humans and objects called Seru, which can join with humans and grant fantastic powers. While they had once peacefully existed, the world was covered in a mist which upsets the Seru when it came in contact with them. Seru were transformed into monsters attacking humans, and human civilization nearly collapsed. Ten years later, human survivors band together in remote regions to hide from the mist.
Characters
The main protagonist is Vahn, the quiet martial artist living in the town of Rim Elm on the far south of Drake Kingdom. He owns the fire Ra-Seru Meta. Noa, a feral child, and the daughter of King Nebular and Queen Minea. She owns the wind elemental Ra-Seru Terra and abandoned the devastated city of Conkram. Gala, a warrior monk and the second-in-command teacher, who owns the lightning Ra-Seru Ozma. The main antagonist is Prince Cort, the son of King Nebular and Queen Minea, and Noa's older brother, who owns the evil Ra-Seru Rogue and the Mist Generator. He is assisted by Gala's rival Songi and Karisto Kingdom's female ruler Zora.
Story
Vahn, Noa and Gala set on a quest to revive ten Genesis Trees throughout the world in an attempt to vanquish the evil Mist and save the world. They join up with entities known as Ra-Seru, which grant them powers like Seru but are immune to the effects of the Mist. They travel across three continents, reviving the trees and remove the Mist from small areas, and destroying the Mist Generators. Later, they confront Songi. At Conkram, the heroes travel back in time to locate the origins of the Mist to put an end to it once and for all. They discover that Cort uses it as a biological weapon. They fail to save the city and Noa's parents in the past, but when they return to the present, they destroy the final Mist Generator and defeat Cort. However, before the dying Cort merges with Juggernaut, a Seru that has grown gargantuan through exposure to the Mist. Songi and the giant Seru Juggernaut devastate Rim Elm, but the heroes defeat him, travel inside the beast and defeat Cort again. With the world restored, the reincarnated Cort becomes a baby whom Noa takes care of.
Reception
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The game received a score of 77.33% at GameRankings, based on an aggregate of 23 reviews.[1]
References
- 1 2 "Legend of Legaia". GameRankings. Retrieved 2014-09-06.
External links
- Legend of Legaia Shrine at RPG Classics