The Legend of Dragoon - A Literary Analysis

This Japanese RPG from the original Playstation has something of a cult following. Let's dig into the story to see what it all means.
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Music:
Arcade Academy, by Pixel Head -
/ arcade-acadmey
Art:
Jimi Bonogofsky-Gronseth - jimidoodle.blogspot.com
Footage:
www.longplays.org
Facebook: / gamesasliterature
Twitter: / gamesaslit

[@berserkchip]

This video was pretty good, and did a lot of justice to an often overlooked game. I will say, however, that there were several scenes and dialogue boxes that you overlooked that may have answered some of the questions you have about the game's story, notably Dart's willingness to forgive Rose so quickly despite it being one of his primary motivations to kill the Black Monster. Technically, Dart has already dealt with this exact same journey. Pursuing Lloyd for killing Lavitz, his best friend, (idk why you saw him as the old man and not the best friend btw, since it's hammered in several times how good friends they are and friends can give advice too) has a great many parallels with Dart's journey to pursue the Black Monster for killing his parents. And, ultimately they come to the same conclusion. With Lloyd, Dart struggled a lot more to reach that conclusion, about as much as you would have expected him to struggle with Rose. But throughout the course of the story, between experiences and dialogue scenes, Dart had been conditioned to come to the conclusion that killing X won't bring Y back. He'd seen it first hand with Lavitz getting revenge. So when Dart finds out Rose is the Black Monster, he's basically left with the same conundrum he was faced with when it came to Lloyd, and logically he came to the same conclusion, only this time easier because he had done it already, and with someone who he wasn't even friends with.

[@1ch1r1n]

You find out about rose around the start of disc 4, but Lloyd is middle of disk 3 and at this point you also find out about darts father being alive and pretending to be emporer dias. You end up in the wingly city after Llyod gets knocked down in the forbidden city or whatever when Darts "Father" reveals the truth. Order goes like this: "Lloyd kills Lavits" "Bunch of stuff" "Catch up to Lloyd and almost kill him but chicky-poo jumps in the way and dies instead" "Lloyd agrees to take you to Emporer Diaz" "Llyod goes to kill Diaz" "Lloyd gets Roflstomped" "He reveals he isn't Diaz, but is Dart's father!" "Hillarious cutscene with Rose's voice actor" "Reveal that rose is the black monster" "Go to wingly city where that woman that gave rose the necklace to keep her alive is" "Dart goes to fight rose but instead decides what's past is past and there is something more important to take care of"

[@ALGOChannel]

yeah I thought it was really weird how he almost didn't talk about Lloyd at all

[@catsthelimit763]

Wink doesn’t die when she jumps in front of Lloyd. She’s just injured. She’s seen limping away with Setie while dart and Lloyd have their conversation

[@kyyleleerk7651]

Yes wink doesn’t die and dart finds out at the beginning of disc 4 and he fights Lloyd two times on disc three and one

[@kwamouflage2515]

Racism, War, Slavery, Extinction, Honor, the call of Duty, Regicide, Revenge and some of the most psychedelic boss fights to come on the PlayStation one, this game had A LOT as far as jrpgs are concerned. This is why I love the Legend of Dragoon.

[@cvernon5256]

I love the interconnectedness of the characters, how small the world truly is, and the fact that everyone's actions have repercussions and ramifications for others. Further, you get to see forgiveness and acceptance from various standpoints: Haschel with Gehrich and trying to forgive himself with his daughter Claire, Dart with his father Zieg, Kongol and the rest of the group, and even the perky Meru.

[@kyyleleerk7651]

Yes I like how they connected dart with Claire and his master it was very cool and how rose and zing who was darts dad loves her

[@nathaniel_pardue]

I love the crazy art design too. So many creatures look like eldritch nightmares. The architecture is unique, the clothing fashion in each country is unique. Yet it all feels like it jives.

[@Nexuish]

I don't always wish for a novelization of an RPG, but LoD has my vote if they never remake/expand upon it. With some good narrative elbow-grease, I think it's story could really shine for what it is. That's really the main reason I want a remake: polish and push the story where it needed to go.

[@lunavarion]

+Nexuish I'm with you on that one. This could have been an amazing franchise. However, things just didn't go their way. I think Sony should give it another go.

[@BlueHokage]

I recall there being rumors of a PS2 sequel. I'm guessing Sony didnt want to fund another rpg sequel after the ho-hum Legend of Legaia Sequel.

[@lunavarion]

BlueHokage Still, due to the loyal fan base and its semi-legendary status among gamers, I'd say a remake wouldn't be amiss. It might even spawn that franchise I mentioned. I have to wonder how the sales are for it on PSN. Maybe someone should write to Sony to give them the idea.

[@blltsrrfrnd]

Actually the CEO of Sony didn't know that the game was canceled, and yes it was in production. He explicitly stated that it was one of his favorite games that he had worked on in a comment(made personally) in the Playstation forums.

[@lunavarion]

blltsrrfrnd Somehow I doubt a remake/prequel/sequel of the LoD will ever see the light of day, although I would buy it in a heartbeat if there was. I just think it would have happened already if there were plans for it. Then again, the recent remake of FF7 may encourage studios to revisit old classics.

[@judoshrew]

Deism in legend of dragoon is precisely the reason I want a sequel to legend of dragoon. There is this big man Soa, who pretty much had to exist, seeing as all the set pieces attributed to them exist, the divine tree, living things that come from the fruit of the tree, the destroyer god at the end of it all... and you go out of your way to shut down his divine plan. That has to be something to piss off a god, right? Now what happens? You have society where winglies and humans are integrating and trying to intermingle, but there is bound to be tension between them. You have the framework for playing new protagoists, finding the Red Eyed Dragoon and the Dark Dragoon, and you have some mechanisms that would be really interesting to see. Through out the story, it is said that the dragoon spirits have a will of their own, and we know that the dragoons are fueled by insanity, so what kinds of affects would they have in times of peace? I imagine they wouldn't like that. I could see some interesting internal struggles going on with dart trying to handle the influence of the divine dragoon in times of peace. There is just a lot of room for interesting things. Everybody I talk to wants a prequel, but I think a sequel has room for really interesting ground.

[@jaydemetrick8399]

Kongol probably wants to go on a quest to find any possible other surviving Giganto communities. Maybe the game could look more at the neglected Minitos people with a new hero from their race. Since Shana is the lost daughter of Queen Theresa, that makes her the heir to Mille-Sesseau. After rebuilding Seles, maybe Shana & Dart return to Mille Sesseau to take up royal duties with the support of Miranda and the Sacred Sisters when Queen Theresa eventually dies. There has to be other Wingly communities where Lloyd and Lenus came from and they may not be so friendly as Ulara & the Wingly Forest ones. Maybe Soa finds the Darkness & Red-Eye dragon spirts and bestows them to fanatic followers who will finish his plan to destroy the world after the failure of his Virage. Maybe he sends them out to steal the rest of the dragoon spirits to complete his plan of destruction of Endiness so he can grow a new world. There is a lot that could be done in a sequel. It could even take place after most of the original dragoon characters are dead and gone with maybe only Meru and possibly Kongol left? Meru could be a secret caretaker for the dragon race and you could get a Vassal dragon from her to fight by your side once you and your new friends recover the dragoon spirits. So many cool possibilities.

[@HalcyonSerenade]

You, sir, have my respect. I'm an intense fan of literary analysis, especially with an emphasis on themes and thematic support, and I find your thoughts very well articulated and--even better--similar to my own. I had played Legend of Dragoon nearly a decade ago and loved it, though it was my first JRPG to ever play. After so many years and much more experience, I assumed that it would just be a storm of RPG cliches, and while that's not terribly inaccurate, it's far from the whole truth. I was very surprised to encounter a game that was astonishingly deep for my expectations, both in gameplay and story. I touched on pretty much all of the character arcs you mentioned, up to and including loving the direction of Miranda's conflict toward the end but disliking its rushed presentation. I did not, however, pick up on the thematic significance of the central plot with Melbu Frahma and Soa's plan. Thinking about it, perhaps I was aware of the connection--because aren't we always, at some level--but I didn't recognize it consciously. I consider myself obsessive and hyper-analytical, but for you to see things as deeply as I saw, yet go even further... I tip my hat and click subscribe. I'm interested in your thoughts on the characters of the secret dragoon bosses. They're out-of-the-way secrets and not worth fighting yourself if you don't have a backup save from before the Tree of Life, but I think they're interesting enough to at least look up footage of the dialogue. Essentially, after "Emperor Diaz" is revealed to be a resurrected Zieg, you can return to Vellweb and fight the lingering spirits of the four remaining ancient dragoons in their old personal towers, their minds trapped looping the days before their final battle. (Of course, two of the seven are alive as Rose and Zieg, and a third, Shirley, exists as a ghost). The ancient jade, violet, gold, and sea-blue dragoons strongly parallel their present-day counterparts in terms of general characterization, but have some interesting, dark twists (that are compounded further with the knowledge that these characters have already met grave fates). We learn about them through Rose's asides to Dart as well as their dialogue with Rose, who is the only living person they perceive (though they perceive Dart as Zieg once or twice). The jade dragoon Syuveil is, like Albert, primarily an intellectual. Yet in his knowledge, he learned of the dark hell that awaited the victims of Mayfill and grew intensely afraid of death, lest he suffer such a fate himself. (Interestingly, he looks and fights closer to Lavitz than Albert, despite being closer to Albert in character). The violet dragoon Kanzas fights with his fists like Haschel, and is totally dedicated to battle and martial arts. In a dark twist on the idea, he has quite a blood lust. He seems very flat, but after his battle, he drops some beautiful lines (even in the English localization) about joining the Dragon Campaign in hopes of ending up in a noble place better than he deserves, and still hopes for such a fate after death. The gold dragoon Belzac, predictably enormous like Kongol, is also somewhat of a gentle giant. At least, he wishes strongly for children to go unharmed. He also died protecting Shirley, whom he loved, but was never sure whether he successfully protected her (he didn't). That uncertainty alone kept him tied to the world. The sea-blue dragoon Damia is half-mermaid, similarly to how Meru is a dragoon despite not being human. She is notably very young as well, and was bullied and harassed before becoming a dragoon. Even after gaining the support of her dragoon peers, she still has confidence issues, and greatly fears being alone. She thus clings to the world, afraid of being eternally left behind. Honestly, there's some pretty impressive characterization despite such little dialogue, especially for Damia (her lines ripped my heart out, I swear). Her lines imply a whole slew of undescribed events that actually led me to believe that, building from these simple characterizations, you could make a pretty strong Legend of Dragoon prequel set in the Dragon Campaign. Though we already know the war has a bittersweet outcome with only a lone, cursed survivor, there's plenty evidence that the team wasn't exactly a happy family and there's plenty of heart-wrenching tragedy to be had. Anyway, thematically, it's pretty clear on a low level that these guys support the "let go of the past" theme in a pretty classic way as ghosts with lingering regrets and feelings. Syuveil must let go of his preconceived notions of a hellish afterlife, Kanzas must let go of his self-perception as a bloody beast unfit for a peaceful afterlife, Belzac must let go of his uncertainty of Shirley's death and take comfort in her presence in the afterlife, and Damia must let go of her fear of being shunned and accept that friends are waiting for her. They're given simple enough characterizations and situations to be pretty straightfoward. But how about on a deeper level, as parallels to their present-day counterparts? I think they could possibly represent some kind of a dark or "failed" path of their counterparts. This is most clear with Kanzas, who fought for pure pleasure, which kind of embodies the ultra-focused, rugged teacher side of Haschel. Perhaps Haschel could also have become a bloodthirsty warrior if not for his compassion for his daughter. Damia is easily connected to Meru as well, since they are both not human, hated by at least one group of people, and are the youngest of their group. But while Meru had her friends support her through her turmoil, Damia had what was likely a somewhat dysfunctional group in the midst of a war. Syuveil also makes sense as kind of a "dark" Albert, for rather than being enlightened by knowledge like Albert, he eventually becomes so obsessed with searching for it that it drives him mad. Belzac is a little harder to connect to Kongol, but like you mentioned, Kongol wasn't fleshed out a terrible amount anyway. Perhaps he represents an inner conflict of interest left behind by excessive kindness in an inherently hostile environment? Not sure about that one. So could these characters possibly not just be past, supporting examples for the main theme, but also serve as examples for what might eventually happen when some burdens and feelings of guilt are NOT let go of and ignored? Maybe I'm just a sicker for good character parallels, but it does feel like more than just a simple rehash of the "let go of the past" thme.

[@821lancevance]

I don't care that this was 2 years ago. Very well said my friend

[@melbu6311]

@@821lancevance legend of dragoon is a very deep game with prequels and sequels even deeper!

[@aspieatheist6040]

The Legend of Dragoon had the best story of any RPG I've ever played. There were so many mind-blowing twists and turns along the way, and it did raise some real questions, especially about revenge and forgiveness. Dart wanted nothing more than to avenge the people who had died in Neet. When he found out that Rose was actually the black monster, he didn't kill her, realizing that revenge doesn't accomplish anything in reality. I've always thought that a prequel to this game would be a good idea. I would have liked a game that takes place during the dragon campaign. Melbu Frahma never wanted to carry out Soa's plan. He wanted to become the god virage, and in so doing, become God. He knocked Shana, the moon child, away at the last moment and fused himself with the ultimate virage. In fact, this is the final battle of the game.

[@ocelot-sensei4384]

Damn, you forgot to analyze Lloyd! :/ he was one of the most interesting characters in the game.

[@m2000x]

Ocelot-sensei facts! He was like this games Sephiroth but cooler

[@RukixReklats]

i feel as he is an interesting character, the game underplayed him where we really dont get to know him or why hes set on the path hes on. other than being a rival to Dart and a means to the plot of the story.

[@jaydemetrick8399]

@@RukixReklats You don't even get to know where he's from, as neither he (nor Lenus for that matter) came from either the Wingly Forest that's Meru's home or Ulara where Rose's Wingly friends live.

[@RukixReklats]

@@jaydemetrick8399 right?! thats another thing? where did he come from? the elder in the forest clearly didnt know him and none of the ones in DF even mention him. he could be from another colony that survived but it seems so unlikely.

[@jaydemetrick8399]

@@RukixReklats We only see the one continent (and some islands) on this planet though, plus there must be regions outside of where the story leads us that haven't been explored where more Winglies, Gigantos, Minitos, Dragons, etc. probably live.

[@jasondeutschbein8102]

I want to point out that the gameplay DOES lose something when Lavitz dies. Albert's additions are MUCH quicker. To the point of having to do extra fights for me to figure out the rhythm of it. I felt the loss via the story, and a loss of effectiveness for almost the entirety of disc 2.

[@user-xc1hf2eg7p]

Lavitz was a bit too slow

[@armandogiordano1226]

This is a beautiful video, thank you so much for covering such a long game. Though, I don' t agree that much with what you said about Lavitz being the "old wise" for Dart. I played the italian version of the game, which I can assure to anybody was VERY well translated, with care, so I don' t know if that has to do with anything. Lavitz clearly shows fragility: he NEEDS Darts' company in particular AS MUCH AS (if not even more it appears to me in some scenes) Dart needs his. I don' t see him as a "guide" for Dart, sometimes he is wise (wiser than Dart for sure), that' s true, but that wisdom kind of...requires Dart's friendship, it is not for the sake of instructing anybody. Lavitz doesn' t have all that much more experience than anybody he meets in the game, and doesn't even care, he simply never behaves like he represents the wisdom gap between an Obi-Wan and a Luke Skywalker: he even says stupid things, he' s often nice and funny, his heart is like a "kid", in fact he can' t even control his anger, his fighting and competitive spirit, and that leads to his death as you showed. Once he is dead, maybe he took the role you gave to him, but not when he was alive. His advice is the advice of a friend more than a guide.

[@LockG66]

First time I have watched your vides but after this video I think I will try to stay up to date with the series. I wanted to add that Melbu Frahma is not just wanting to fulfill the will of Soa, but is in direct opposition to the theme of the game. The theme is something along the lines of accepting change and being able to move forward but Melbu does the exact opposite. After reawakening, he clings to the old world, and his old power and wishes to regain it (his lost power being the power drown out of the 108th soul signet). Fighting Melbu Frahma at the end is like fighting against the opposing theme of the story. If Melbu's true goal was to fulfill the plan set out by Soa then he would've just let Shana become the 108th species, instead of bastardizing the 108th species by taking her place and becoming the 108th species himself. From what I remember this all adds up (anyone who wants to argue against this theory is welcome to do so), but I wouldn't have thought about it like this had I not seen your video. Either way, I never thought of the game this way had I not watched this video, so keep up the good work.

[@BraLoD]

Yeah, I wish you would get deeper on the analysis, you ended up just mentioning Lavitz second sacrifice earlier and not developing over it later on his part, Albert could get some more weight as well, as he ultimately serves as a connection to two of the major countries of Endiness by his marriage with princess Emille from Tiberoa, so not just finishing Serdio civil war with Doel demise which was his main purpose right after the first disc, for his people as a king, but also uniting Serdio and Tiberoa, for all the people, as a king on the heart, he was really passionated by learning, and protecting just like Lavitz, which was his closest friend and also master on the fighting, which can explain how he inherited Lavitz style (but not fully convice as we was exactly like Lavitz right after Lavitz death, hahaha). Maybe that has more to do with how you choose to analise the plot and development and not the result, as Miranda would also fit on there getting Mille Sesseau also in unison by the end of the game and Meru got the Wingles back to society as well, closing a full cycle of all of Endiness in unision by the end of the game, which was a complete opposite situation by it's beginning. So that could be just the way it is, I don't know. But I really believe Lloyd deserved an analisys as well, he wasn't a playable character but was the main antagonist during the majority of the game and also the one pulling most of the strings for the development of those, even as he was being used by Melbu in the name of Diaz on Zieg body, Lloyd beliefs, which also led to Lavitz death, shaped most of the game development itself, he was definitely a major character and really important plot wise. Anyway, with more time I'm pretty sure you would have got into most of that, just Lloyd analisys was a something really necessary I felt was strange by being missing there, but overall it was a great video, you got me interested on looking up on some of your other work, so yeah, really good job on that hahaha, and thanks for sharing a bit more of this game I just never get enough from, I'm really happy for this video.

[@Nexuish]

Also keep in mind that though Alberts Addition level carried over, the pattern/timing of his combos was different from Lavitz. Visually, they use two different styles of wielding a lance. I thought that was a nice touch despite the replacement.

[@BraLoD]

+Nexuish Their defensive dragoon magic is also different, Blossom Storm for Lavitz and Rose Storm for Albert, with sakura leaves during Lavitz skill and roses during Albert skill, they use the favorite flower for one another, as we can see with Flower Storm skill, their finest skill, Lavitz yells Rose Storm and Albert yells Blossom storm, their favorite flowers names, so their defensive magic skill, which is the manifestation of their desire to protect, Lavitz as a knight and Albert and a king, they show they beautiful friendship during it. But yeah, Lavitz and Albert movements are quite different, Lavitz was brute, power focused on his blows, and Albert was refined, speed focused on his blows, their timing and pace are different and they have each their own fighting style, despite the same addition skills.

[@GameProf]

+BraLoD Glad you enjoyed it! Hope you enjoy the other videos too. ^_^ And yeah, most of that was either not included due to time (this show is weekly and analyses are monthly, so I can only do so much) or that, however interesting it was, it didn't really contribute to the overall interpretation. Lavitz' second sacrifice is a great example; it's an important thing that happens to the character, in a way, but it doesn't really affect the way we see him. It's just further confirmation of his sacrificial loyalty. So going into detail on it would have meant more time and work with little real addition to the analysis. And as interesting as Lloyd is, I ultimately made the same decision regarding him; he's an important part of the story, but his arc is pretty simple (misguided/misinformed ambition, betrayal, sacrifice to correct his mistake) and he acts as more of a plot device to make everything happen than a fully-realized character in his own right. I need to make a lot of decisions like that when I do analyses like these, and I'm glad there are people who care enough about the games I talk about to notice when something like that is missing. ^_^

[@llertac1]

BraLoD

[@80sRocker4life]

BraLoD lol we have the same image :D

[@Parietal-Polymath]

This game was sooooo good. The music was amazing.

[@kodytiffany5686]

One of my favorite final boss battles. The story was awesome to me and still is; I feel that Drake and Shirley should of replaced Albert and Miranda. Yes, that is mostly my bias of wanting a ghost and Drakes atks in my party but I loved the snipit of story we got from them. But, I seriously love that every character got their own moment of spot light in the final area. Haschel and Meru are my favorite characters; but one point you missed is that each character some what repressented the element of their dragon. Dart was self consuming and as likely to destroy as to save. Miranda was really pure and shana really bright. Lavits and Albert were light and caught up with every little thing. Meru was solid at times and vapent at others (even if an act) she went with the flow and was cool. Kongol was dense. Haschel at times was flashy. Rose was Dark and caught in her own gravitose. I know not the best comparisons but I am sure you can see how they each were thematiclly linked to the elements of their dragoons.

[@Flight_of_Icarus]

The death of Lavitz, man.... ;_;

[@jaydemetrick8399]

About Miranda: she's the oldest of the 4 adopted daughters of Queen Theresa. She's a woman in a traditional man's job as the head of the Queen's guard. She feels responsible for her younger adopted sisters, one of which is blind, as well as the entire kingdom as Queen Theresa's right hand. Her childhood was terrible, she was neglected by her dysfunctional parents, abandoned by her mother which forced her to become the caretaker of her drunkard father until he dies, leaving her an orphan. She's adopted by Queen Theresa and feels intense loyalty for that, as well as huge pressure from that responsibility, and deep unworthiness because she realizes that may make her queen Theresa's heir eventually as well. She has anger issues from her childhood that flare up often, making her impatient and even physical at times, slapping people who frustrate her. She's awkward with expressing her emotions but she cares deeply, especially for those she is close to, like Queen Theresa and her adopted sisters, and it obviously takes her a while to open up and connect with the other Dragoons. She finds a strange comfort in the harsh, freezing barrenness of the glaciers north-west of the city, and that seems to be the only place where she can cool her anger issues and find some peace. She's gruff, abrupt, impatient, speaks her mind, is the traditional female soldier type who feels she has to be better than the men at fighting simply to be treated with any kind of respect. The moments where she interacts with her adopted mother and sisters shows how deep and raw her gratitude and love for them is, which is why the white-silver Dragoon spirit chooses her. Yea, she gets nowhere near as much time to reveal and resolve her issues as the rest of the characters but I think she's a great character all the same and rather misunderstood and dismissed (and resented) by fans of Shana. Speaking of Shana/Miranda's usefulness... sure their bow damage is weak but their magic attack and defence are the best. The attack power they get out of the elemental potions is devastating and they're the ones who best survive getting hit by magic. If you use them enough, their SP builds quickly and you can use them to pop into Dragoon form for healing and laser attacks faster than a lot of the other characters. Their final elemental dragon magic is one of the most useful in the game as it attacks all enemies for massive damage and heals the entire party pretty much to full at the same time.

[@michealcormier2555]

I enjoyed watching this video. The Legend of Dragoon is one of my favorite games. Mainly because I feel like I'm watching a movie more than really playing a video game. I'm just helping it move along for the story to unfold. It really feels like a movie franchise to me in how each chapter in the game was like a stand alone story in a bigger saga. I look forward to watching more of your videos in the future.

[@berserkchip]

"I mean (shana's) basically useless in battle" Throw magic with Shana. Her magic stat is higher than most of the other characters.

[@hockeater]

Only slightly better on the whole than meru, who is strongest character in the entire game, and rose who is easily at least third strongest behind haschel if not second. She's also slower than all of these characters, and can't use additions. Literally fighting kongol for weakest party member. He's slower and is weak with magic, but at least he can hit things competently.

[@blltsrrfrnd]

Actually Shana/Miranda are the second fastest characters in the whole game, and yes their magic is superior. Her normal attack scales with how many times you use it(just like the others, capping at 250% damage and 150 sp after 80 uses) and you can get Miranda the Detonate Arrow which hits all enemies(very useful, and works with her dragoon form which gets 250% more damage boost as well, though she still specializes in magic). Shana is the Kongol of magic, quite literally. She has the highest magical attack and defense yet lowest physical attack and defense, while Kongol has the opposite. Kongol is the slowest, and Shana/Miranda are the second fastest (speed 65, Meru is 70 but with lower magical stats and higher physical stats) Meru can cleanse status ailments but cannot actually heal allies with her magic, so she's there as a sub-in for Meru if you use items, or you can forgo both of them and just run with Dart, Haschel, and Albert for physical nuking(which works quite well if you give them bandit's ring, and bandit's shoes additionally to Albert).

[@hockeater]

blltsrrfrnd I've literally used meru's dragon ability to heal before so, no, that's wrong. Second you should be using bandit/dancers EVERYTHING on every character you use as many as you can get. The only thing I'd consider dropping the ring slot for is a legend casque which was the legendary armor equivalent for magic. Speed is the most important thing in this entire game. Second only to additions which are second most important. Also item healing is already overpowered and a better use of inventory space than attack magic. Only things to keep in the inventory besides healing, mana, and the occasional purifier are repeat items which tend to have hilariously powerful effects and can be used once a battle. Like the magic sig stone which locks non-boss enemies down for three turns straight, or the stat modifers.

[@johnnyboi0h347]

Sorry to break it to you G, but she's still garbage. Pretty much the poor man's Meru

[@GundamGokuTV]

She's also your white mage. Like most people do the party of Rose, Dart and Shana/Miranda because it's just a good set up.

[@BigBoiTurboslav]

One of the best channels on KZbin. Informative and entertaining, keep it up!

[@GameProf]

+Quel Thanks! I certainly will!

[@adamparker43]

One of my favorite all-time games... so glad I came across this channel. Now I'll anxiously await an episode like this delving into the story of the original Dark Souls.

[@Avernalism]

Thankyou so much for doing this. The legend of Dragoon has always been an absolutely magical part of my childhood, and just hearing the songs, and remembering the story conjures up the amazing feeling of playing it for the first time. Just listening to people dig into this game feels incredibly gratifying, so again thankyou for this video!

[@andrewwestfall65]

Besides change the game also says a great deal about power in its many forms and how people handle it. Almost all of the stories, be it the personal character arcs, side plots, act plots or even the main plot has to do with people in power and how they handle that power. The Winglys are more powerful than humans, and they believe that their power gives them sovereignty over those weaker than them. Haschel was obsessed with passing on the family legacy of power to the point where he lost both his legacy and his family. Dart was powerless to stop the black monster, so he went on a quest to gain power to defeat this monster, giving up the rest of his life to dedicate it to stopping his tragedy from repeating itself. Every story you covered had to do with power, because as you said the game was about fighting a system of inept power.

[@Pimpgamer101]

0:35 I see a Trails game, I squeel. Glad to see someone with a love for that severly overlooked series. I know this is an old video, but DAYBREAK HYPE!!

[@dt2568]

Im only through the plot summary, and color me impressed. Such a good summary. So brief. So nice.

[@vittorioviegas]

This is the first video I've seen from your channel and I loved it! I played the game to completion back when it was released but I didn't remeber a thing about it. Good to have a refresher and an interpretation I probably couldn't have as a child.

[@mykbrooks598]

I was trying to figure out why Final Fantasy XVI reminded me of LOD. As it turns out, they both have the same core message in the end.

[@gustavomenezes12]

for some weird reason, youtube decided to recommend me this video, 8 years after its release, and i thank it for that, your analysis rules!

[@kentsemenuk157]

I noticed nobody ever mentions why rose doesn't recognize zieg when she destroys neat the game says darts father goes back to the village to fight but it never gets talked about. Even if melbu framah took over ziegs body zieg was in control up until he dragooned

[@bandoelsarkas1321]

LOD 2 : story of the Dragon Campaign LOD 3 : story of Dart's descendants

[@magnamic5614]

Or just a prequel as rose ending in the player, as Rose, destroying Darts town. Then a Remake of LoD. Then a Sequel of Dart’s descendants.

[@bandoelsarkas1321]

@@magnamic5614 yeah, that's pretty good.....I just hope to live long enough to see that happen

[@matthewbussin5277]

First comment on KZbin ever. Had to jump in and say thank you. LoD is my favorite game of all time, and for the most part you did it justice. It would have taken hours to completely explain the plot and themes of this game and in 40minutes you did one hell of a job. Every time I replay this game I learn something new about the world and the lore and for you to have reached an understanding as in depth as you have and be able to explain it in a simplistic yet articulate way, in what seems to be one play through, you are very intelligent and worthy of a sub. I will check out your other videos and wish you the best!

[@baddragonite]

Love this game. Just discovered your series here and it seems like my cup of tea. I'm looking forward to seeing more of it. :)

[@Shademp]

Thank you greatly for making this video. I hope that your popularity increases and that you'll continue with your channel. I am currently writing a "TLoD Blog" on a Final Fantasy VII forum (the irony does not escape me) called The Lifestream and in my most recent post I made sure to highlight your TLoD analysis. I am slowly picking apart TLoD as I began by playing through the European game, then finally getting to the American version and now looking forward to when I'll finish that run so I can enjoy the Japanese game. I am learning more than most people ever do about this game and one of the more interesting observations I've made so far is that the English European release generally suffers from more translation issues, poor grammar and lack of quality control than its older, American counterpart. Quite fascinating. It is as though the European English game was made from files that predate the final text files that were used for the American game, even though the latter was released seven months earlier than the former. Thanks again for your video. I will make sure to check out some of your other work soon.

[@vincenteychenne6198]

Hey, That was awesome! I can see all the work you put into it!

[@CreamerOfTheDairySquad]

After haschel discovered dart was his grandfather and then later that rose was the black monster he never even mentions to her that she killed his daughter. I'm surprised you didn't mention this

[@bryancole4022]

My favorite JRPG of all time! Thank you for this video, sir!

[@alexsklavenitis302]

Hope your channel grows. Its awesome.

[@jefferyrlc]

Ah a JRPG, many good ones, my personal favorites include Crono Trigger, Crono Cross, FFV, FFIX, FFX, Wild ARMs, Grandia, Persona 4, and .hack//GU. Nice to see that you did LoD.

[@Tiberoano]

This game reminds me of Tales of Destiny: I find in both games some key elements: 1. There was in the distant past a powerful race that dwelled in the sky, from where they ruled the entire world. However, they were eventually defeated (the winglies in TLoD, the aetherians in ToD). 2. The main antagonist is the ancient leader of the ruler race (Melbu Frahma in TLoD, Miktran/Kronos in ToD). 3. The dragoon spirits are somehow similar to the swordians, since they choose they owner by fate. 4. The bad guy possess the body of the father of a main character (Zieg in TLoD, Hugo in ToD).

[@MoeHasubandoAbsolver]

I have a problem with your conclusion in that Melbu Frahma wanted to do anything good, as if he wanted to fulfill Soa's plan, he would have simply let the Moon Child rejoin with the 108th species' body. What he instead does is use the Moon Child's power to open the little hatch and put himself into instead, trying to apotheosize himself as the destroyer god. Melbu Frahma's plan is more wingly misuse of other races. Soa's original plan is sort of irrelevant to everybody, both the party and the villain.

[@IchiHishi]

That's a really impressive analysis! I haven't played this game for almost 16 years iirc. And now, more than ever, I want to play it again! Thanks to you! :D Keep up the good work! Ps: I wish Legend of Dragoon was a well known game here in Brazil.

[@GameProf]

+IchiHishi It's not really that well-known a game here, either. More like a cult-classic. Glad you enjoyed the video, in any case!

[@RafaelAAMerlo]

I'm from Brazil and this was one of the classics of my childhood ^^ Of course, it was shadowed by many others in the genre (Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and Final Fantasy Tactics being my favourites) but alongside others from PS1 like Brigandine: Legend of Forsena, Legend of Mana and Legend of Legaia they belong to the "hidden gem" category from which I'll make a tattoo one day

[@MegaDraconus]

This was a great video and you did a great summary of the over all plot. I had a couple of points of disagreement, but the one that sticks the most in my mind is with Melhbu Frahma. I feel like you misunderstood Melhbu Frahma. Melhbu couldn't care less about Soa's plan, and even feared the birth 108th fruit until he was able to hatch a plan to harness it. First, Melhbu used the 108th fruit as a source of infinite magic power preceding, and during, the Dragon Campaign after the Winglies as a whole successfully seperated it's soul from its body. Secondly, after his reawakening within Zieg when Rose attack Neet as the Black Monster, Melhbu found a way to harness the power of the 108th fruit through using Shana. This is why we see Melhbu replace Shana at the end of the game and he becomes the 108th species, the God of Destruction. Melhbu didn't care about Soa or any other deity, he craved power and refused to accept death because he saw himself as the perfect being that deserved that power and immortality. I'd wager that if the dragoons hadn't stopped him, Melhbu might have recreated the Winglies in some, form or another, and purposely placed them at the top of the totem pole once more even if just to have his own worshippers inflate his ego and lust for power further.

[@ChocolatierRob]

Damn, I need to play this again. it has been too long, the bgm got me all nostalgic. I can see myself bingeing this channel a bit today. As a side note I always took it to be that the destruction wrought by the Virage was to be the final test for the first 107 species. Survive/defeat this and you are strong enough to continue, fail and the system starts again. Also I doubt that the God signed his name anywhere. Soa would simply be a description of his role rather than his actual name, though this difference may have been lost over the years. So it doesn't necessarily have to be seen a lazy/bad writing.

[@MoonsAnarchy]

Excellent! Thoroughly enjoyed this!!

[@Grimgariano]

Today I said to myself "Hm, I want to see a video about Legend of Dragoon", since I was too young to understand english when I played this game... So thank you for giving me all the context of this game... Which seems cursed to me, since every damn time that I get into the 4th disk I have some kind of hardware problem. Lost my playstation, lost my memory card, lost my computer... Anyway. Great video. Just subscribed and i'm expecting a ton of great content from now on :D

[@fostersingleton3514]

That's weird me to! I have played the game so many times and always get to basically the end of the game and have issues!

[@alexpluskett241]

What is the 108th creature to destroy the world was Soa's way of setting a cosmic alarm clock to wake himself up... and Rose has spent 11,000 years killing the moon child and thus Soa is going to wake up late.

[@Silversorcerer]

I; too, found the Rose and Zieg death unnecessary. I also couldn't understand everything they were saying in the final cutscene, so I always just assumed the two decided to die together in a weird suicide pact. Having completed their mission from The Dragon Age, they decided to go down making absolutely sure Melbu Frahma was destroyed forever. I was hoping she would live and marry Zieg.

[@AstralArchon]

Damn, that was a great analysis. Liked, and subscribed.

[@MrInuhanyou123]

Good analysis bro, i really enjoyed it!

[@yukaslayer4784]

I like the conclusion. You put things into words really well. I agree with many others about Lloyd. I feel that after Lavitz' death, Dart was even more obsessed with Lloyd than the black monster. His conflict with Lloyd prepared him for the revelation about Rose as other has mentioned. We were even sort of conditioned to think that Lloyd was the black monster. He even taunted Dart about destroying his village and killed his loved one. In Lloyd, we saw someone we expected to be the black monster or the wingly nazi who wanted to return the world to the good old day. Since you explored quite a lot about racism, Lloyd's story was actually quite central to this. Since he was a wingly and the antagonist, the player aka Dart would be prejudiced to think he was a supremacist, except he wasn't. When it comes to race, his view was closer to Meru than the rest of the winglies. The game was always subtle when handling racism as an issue. It has never shoved it to your face. While it is stated that Lloyd's mission was to stop the world from devolving, his idea of utopia was more about a world where everybody would get along without racism. Even more so, the game got him a potential love interest in a human woman. Had the creator decided his story should continue, the extent of his involvement with human would far surpass any wingly.

[@Azeizel8Talon]

legit salty I'm just finding this channel. Amazing stuff!! TIME TO BINGE

[@GameProf]

Glad you like it! Hope you enjoy the rest just as much!

[@Jdogtoocool]

Beautiful analysis!

[@rianrodrigues8195]

Thank you for the video, LoD is probably my favorite Rpg of all time

[@miket2354]

This was great! I love this game l, I’ll have to replay it soon.

[@attackofthecopyrightbots]

the scene with lavitz mom only exists to make you feel bad when he dies

[@attackofthecopyrightbots]

lloyd clearly the best character second to rose and then meru

[@Harryeaster]

Still my favorite video in all of GAME AS LIT. I love it (and the idea behind the story).

[@anthonybutler6123]

This was a most excellent analysis!

[@marksalvi3626]

A wonderful analysis of the game. I'm surprised you didn't bring up Lloyd. He was integral to the story and had an interesting character arc. This game could have had an entire spinoff based on the events of the story seen through Lloyd's eyes.

[@oscar-rode]

You are becoming really good at this. Keep it up. I enjoy them a lot. :D

[@GameProf]

+Oscar Rode Thanks! Glad you like them.

[@maximus8940]

That was a very good analysis! You did forget one of the most important characters in the game though... Lloyd

[@iamonthetube]

I freaking love you for this man

[@821lancevance]

I love legend of dragoon. This video is so amazing and In depth. You got an easy sub

[@YanaAinsanovaTunes]

Great and very interesting video! Thank you! :)

[@tonybones5509]

I refused to use King Albert after Lavitz's death unless forced to. I was so pissed at how that was handled. haha

[@nathaniel_pardue]

43:00 I've always thought of the plot about Soa as Gods respect for free will. God could've at any point stopped the Winglies and set his plan in motion millenia ago. Instead things are allowed to transport organically.

[@ReignSupreme2014]

If I wanted to reach out to someone and ask about making a HD remaster or remake of Legend of Dragoon, who would I try to get in contact with? Sony?

[@kuyajeff7385]

Can you do a literary analysis as well for Legend of Legaia?

[@madderHare]

this game continues to haunt me 13 years after playing it the first time.

[@NatanielVonHardstein]

I juste discover your channel with this video and well... I cannot more agree with your analysis on this game. It was awesome. Lavitz best character forever ;)

[@morrigannibairseach1211]

Legend of Dragoon was already in development before FFVII came out. It's not accurate nor fair to say that Legend of Dragoon was inspired by it when they use similar tropes.

[@pelgervampireduck]

I loved this one, and I loved rose!!!

[@vvswordfishvvv3082]

Enjoyed this

[@Cheezmonka]

Just imagine one of these videos on Xenogears (with analysis on the "Complete Works" book as well)

[@attackofthecopyrightbots]

0:52 thats it folks videos over

[@fandomewhisper]

There are so many parallels to the plot of Star Wars IV .

[@paleriderpalehorse55]

Still have this for the first PlayStation!

[@willlauzon3744]

My step brother brought this over back in the day. He hated it and traded it for my brother's copy of some game I also had so we won the deal. He played it first and was describing it and I would watch from time to time. Then he beat it and lent it to me. Jizzed in my pants but had put it aside when he gave me final fantasy tactics because he downright hated it. I became obsessed with it and couldn't put it down. Years later I came back to finish it 100%. Should have done it years ago. Thank you for focusing on just the story. But it's pronounced drag goon. Say dragon. Now say goon. Now say dragoon.

[@willlauzon3744]

I agree Albert replacing lavitz right away was shitty. But I never used Albert because I loved Lavitz so much. So for me the wound was twice as deep. Lavitz was a shining example of what a knight should be. Like how as a kid I would imagine myself as a knight only he grew up and wasn't jaded by life's harshness allowing him to live that dream and being happy while doing that.

[@cocoon69]

thank you for making this video.

[@Dzzy123]

Could you do a video on Final Fantasy 9 or Vagrant Story?

[@red5robb1]

my most favorite game of all time

[@BlueHokage]

Please do a lore video on Xenogears!

[@daoyang6055]

probably couldn't do it. you need a special brain for that.

[@ElBribri]

Do a Xenogears-Xenosaga-Xexoblade one ill give you all my money

[@progressevol]

Thank you

[@BooksandBrothers]

Thank you for doing this :)

[@Parietal-Polymath]

Good job and i forgot how classy this game was.

[@sarevok6]

Very cool video! I'm a little bummed you didn't include Lloyd, but on the note of Melbu Frahma, Charle mentions that he wanted the moon objects made so he could destroy the signets. I extrapolated from this that the Dragon Campaign had been going and he saw a possibility of losing. I think he planned it as a type of "In emergency break glass" type of thing. In this scenario the thinking would have gone like - "If I can't rule the world, nobody will have it. I'll unleash the god and burn us all." Of course, then the dragoons attack Kadessa directly and he doesn't have time to smash signets and get to the moon before he is hunted down by Zieg. This makes a few assumptions though.

[@GameProf]

For what it's worth, I talk a bit about Lloyd in my recent addendum video to this analysis. Granted, it's just me explaining why I omitted him and how I have no idea why people find him so interesting, but I do address it. Kind of blindsided me how many people wanted me to talk about him. :P

[@sarevok6]

Fair enough! I'd argue the reason most like him is his manipulation skills. He tells you to follow him to Mille Seaseau..... but why? He could have just gotten further ahead of you by saying nothing. But he knew the Divine Dragon could stop him and you can kill it. He orchestrated a coup, at least 1 war, and stole artifacts from royalty of multiple kingdoms. Its like breaking into Fort Knox, and that is only the first third of your plan. But yes, I agree with the video that what we see of him isn't much.

[@zreed545]

Pretty decent analysis all the way up to Melbu (not perfect but as a fan I'm a bit biased) but I think you missed a few central themes like the corrupting influence of power and the pursuit of it which Melbu fit far more Squarely within. Honestly I feel you kind of shoehorned him into being the antagonist of accepting change because honestly he constantly changed his plans in order to gain Power for himself. But you've inspired me to make my own video on the subject.

[@Smarfton]

Lloyd....I mean not even a mention of the villains in detail?

[@vermilliondervish2172]

Meru is awesome

[@thaitichi]

Nice choice of a game. It was both a challenge and an experience.

[@daw1d.e]

Still my fav game.

[@AnimeSquirrel]

Love Legend of Dragoon. Also, do Jeanne De Arc. Such an under rated game.

[@bramin420]

best psx game ever .. i demand a 2nd or remake HD version if not i replay it again like i do for 20 ish years

[@theguyinthere]

im gonna get this game because of you

[@tenshinpham]

theguyinthere the only thing youll regret after finishing this game is not playing it sooner.

[@davemarx7856]

Lavitz : My name is Inigo Montoya Graham : ...what?

[@AspelShuyin]

So what you're saying is that Melbu Frahma doesn't know about Death of the Author?

[@bretthicksomega]

Ah, that profile picture. XD

[@AspelShuyin]

👍🏾 I love when people know where it's from.

[@bretthicksomega]

Rory Walker I know where its from, and its one of my favorites ;)

[@pr9039]

Huh...neat concept for a series! Also...gimme your tie.....GIMME YOUR TIE!!!

[@pearljamm3636]

liked. subscribed. i loved this game. in retrospect though theres something ive noticed. there's something to be said for a game that tackles its themes deliberately and as a priority to the project vs. a game thats themes come as a consequence of the genre or in a desire to "make a good/expected product." much as i love LoD i think it falls in the latter.

[@francesfuego6950]

that tie !!

[@gdroff]

Why did Rose want to kill the moon child??

[@komaytoprime]

"I will be giving a very very VERY brief summary of the story." *notices the video is 48 minutes long* Oh. Oooohhhh....that's a big story.

[@izzotgsm6555]

You should’ve wrote it as “Laaaaaaviiitzzzz “ missed opportunity

[@jamesmason3734]

From how it sounds the Lavitz part was probably done better in final fantasy 5. Not sure if I should go into more detail because I don't want to spoil things but I will say that the sacrifice happened in gameplay (And I don't just mean the player uses a special attack that kills the character, not to put down examples that do,) and it's probably feels less forced than in this game (Though I haven't played it in a while.)