RETRO REBOOT | Legend Of Legaia (Sony PlayStation)

In the late 90's, the Sony PlayStation was a burgeoning hotbed for Japanese role-playing games. A lot of companies were following in the steps of the trail SquareSoft was blazing with the popularity of the Final Fantasy series. If you were a fan and coming off the Super Nintendo playing Chrono Trigger, Illusion of Gaia, and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, there was a ton of interesting software to indulge. But for every Xenogears and Tales of Eternia, there was a smattering of mediocrity. That's what Legend of Legaia was, I feel. Sony Interactive Entertainment saw final Fantasy VII, and figured "let's publish a game with THAT energy!"

Problem is, Legend of Legaia doesn't even come close to replicating the aura of SquareSoft's title. I'll get into the traits that Final Fantasy VII established that became a stubborn nuisance for RPGs for a long time, but to provide a backdrop for what LoL lacks, it has to be stated that so many games from 1998 to 2002 tried to be Final Fantasy. Not really in gameplay, but copying a handful of tropes;

• Overly long talkie sequences

• Deadly miasma plaguing the world

• Overly long "limit break" style super attacks

• Long-haired megalomaniacal sociopath as an antagonist

I could go on. You could check these off without even trying. Legend of Legaia hits a lot of these notes, and doesn't do them any worse, or that much better than any other role-playing game. It merely exists.

Legaia was developed by Prokion, who has a small, moderately okay track record of software. They would be dissolved after Legaia 2: Duel Saga completely cratered in sales. The biggest problem with Legend of Legaia is it has a very fascinating combat system. But there's very little else going for the game, as it has very little story or remarkable characters that stands on its own. Legaia borrows from not only Final Fantasy VII, but Pokemon, Star Wars, and Digimon.

The plot is civilization lives in unison with creatures called Seru who aid humanity with their powers. A dangerous mist shrouds the land, and corrupts the Seru, turning them hostile. When a wall that protects main character Vahn's hometown collapses, his village gets attacked. Yeah, hadn't seen that a good dozen times prior to this...Vahn discovers a Ra-Seru named Meta, which helps awaken the Genesis Tree, which disperses the Mist. Along the way, you meet your other teammates. Gala, a monk, and Noa, a cave girl who was raised by a wolf.

This trio couldn't be anymore generic if they had "Brand X" stamped on their heads. Noa is the only one with any kind of life to her (as annoying as she is), but Gala is your prototypical galoot with a heart of gold, and Vahn himself has the charisma of a half melted stick of butter. The Ra-Seru make up some of the additional banter, but there just isn't much to draw from; travel around, fight monsters, rebirth tree, and find out find out menial plot reveals, like [highlight for SPOILER] Noa is actually a princess, the main villain Cort is her long-lost brother, and their parents are lost when the Mist compromises an entire kingdom. It plays out with little weight or importance, and I never found much of a reason to care.

Legend of Legaia's strength is in its combat, the "Tactical Arts System", which is quite inventive for its time. Enemies have certain weaknesses to high attacks, low attacks, what have you. By putting certain inputs, you can trigger special moves to unleash even more damage. What's also fascinating is depending on which "Arm" you equip to the left or right hand determines how many attacks you can chain together.

It's really engaging to figure out how and when to balance your attacks to get the best out of Vahn, Gala, and Noa. And also when to hold back to gather your spirit energy to charge your AP. I feel like eventually, the Brave/Default system in Bravely Default is a variation of this style of combat. Some fights, especially the secret boss battles, can be some heavy-hitters. The coliseum extra battles is probably the most collective fun I had with the game, since the main plot and characters leave me feeling sleepy.

As far as graphics goes, it overall looks pretty decent. By this point in the PlayStation's life, the textures were starting to look smoother and the colors were brighter. While the character models are alright, and some cool animations when activating Arts, there still is very little to look at. Creature designs are marginally interesting, but nothing sticks out as unique. At least when equipping different pieces of armor and weapons, they're on the the characters.

Legend of Legaia is not a bad RPG, but I have a hard time saying it's an overlooked gem. The game is merely decent at its best, forgettable and redundant at its worst. The combat system does a ton of heavy lifting. And while it does make it a standout from other contemporaries for its time period, for a game that's demanding at minimum 40 hours, the drawl story and boring cast just leaves very little to stick out or keep me engaged. Final product just comes off mediocre.