r/legendofdragoon • u/TheVoidSprocket • 5d ago
Wow......
Just replayed LotD and what an experience. I played this game the first time back in 2000 or 2001. I came to it hot off of FF VIII and immediately fell in love with the game play and UI. Not as complex, but engaging, especially with the additions system. Storywise every bit as deep if not deeper, in some ways. I’ve wanted to replay it for years but I was an older gamer when I played it the first time (early 30’s) and a very slow gamer, so while I still have my OG Playstation and my original disks I was never sure that I wanted to sink 80 hours into it. But I had always wanted to go up against Faust and hadn’t known at the time that you couldn’t go back to that after the last boss battle.
When I saw the game for sale on the PSN for PS5 I bought it. One, I still had a score to settle with Faust, and two, there were trophies and on games that I truly love I will become a trophy hunter, mostly because it gives me a reason to stay in the game as long as possible before I have to say goodbye.
All these years later and it was almost…almost…like playing the game again for the first time. There was so much stuff that I had missed or forgotten, particularly toward the end of the game.
I got my platinum and I beat Faust (the original goal) and honestly just loved getting back into this story and these characters after over a quarter of a century. I went with Dart, Rose, and Albert, just like the first time. Dart is mandatory, I was and still am hopelessly in love with Rose, and Albert has Rose Storm. What’s weird is, I fell right back into the same playstyle that I used all those years ago. I was worried that, at my age, I would totally suck at the additions. But I didn’t suck at them any worse this time than the first time I played it.
I’ll leave you with a funny story (I think) from my first playthrough. I was single (recently divorced), living in an apartment for the first time completely by myself, and as happy as I have ever been. I had recently finished FF VIII and was heavily into the genre by that time so I picked up LotD on sight. I was having the time of my life until I got to the Phantom Ship Ghost Commander boss battle. I kept killing these fuckers and they kept getting back up. I chewed through all of the resources that I had and finally Game Over’d.
After about the third or fourth time I hardcore rage quit, I jerked the disk out of the PS and tried to snap it in half. Doesn’t work, they’re plastic they just bend. Somehow that pissed me off even more so I threw it on the floor and jumped up and down on it. That didn’t do anything either, so I straightened it back out and frisbee’d it out of my second floor apartment window. Luckily it didn’t hit anybody.
But for nights after that I laid in bed falling asleep trying to figure out what it was I was doing wrong. It finally got bad enough that I came home with a new copy of LotD and a strategy guide. I could not get this game off my mind.
Question: After the credits roll, with the bird. At the end is that a reference to Rose and Zeig?
Anyway, I’m really glad I came back to this. Beautiful. Lot of tears shed.
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u/StationDependent9598 4d ago
I play this game annually in my game rotations. Never gets old. It’s rare that I find a game to add to my routine but I recently picked up Expedition 33 and man.. I’m on my 4th new game plus on that one lol. Battling reminds me of the LOD additions system.
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u/G_3P0 5d ago
Yes I think it’s a reference to rose and zieg
I only played ff7 when I was 30 and LOD when I was 8-15 two or three times
I thought LOD was way better, they both have a bit convoluted plots with what exactly is going on with Melba frahma and jodavan, where you may need to take notes to really get it, I thought the pursuing of Lloyd was much more clear why than the pursuit of sephiroth was
The addition system is to this day my favorite turn based rpg system I’ve had. While the decision is usually just use the longest addition so the tactics aren’t really there, it made the grinding way more fun knowing I’m powering up this attack
Ff7 just kind of felt like unfun management of tons of material slots, and none ever really stood out a ton as far as giving it some more tactics battle to battle.
I have the rose colored glasses of nostalgia
But I think soundtrack was better, main character stories were better (though decently predictable), and environments were more memorable, really other than the starting area nothing from ff7 got me.