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Classic Game Corner - Legend of Dragoon

If you're an old-school role-playing enthusiast who longs for the trappings of a pre-FFXII gaming landscape, the good news is that you have a feast of choices. The bad news? Most of the best games in the genre have gotten little to no real promotion in the States, where we tend to favor action games and FPSes. If you still have a console that will let you play it, one of the best RPGs of its era was Legend of Dragoon for the PlayStation (PS1).

Released in 2000, just as the PlayStation 2 was preparing to make its debut, Legend of Dragoon was released in the U.S. With a markedly smaller inventory than its Japanese counterpart – overseas gamers could unlock extra space via a PocketStation minigame – Dragoon is unintentionally an exercise in strategic item management, a big change of pace from the more prevalent Final Fantasy style of limitless inventory space.

Legend of Dragoon isn't ashamed about its old-school roots, either. The game features nearly every standby role-playing cliche you can think of without so much as a wink. The game follows the story of Dart, who:

• 1)is a young spiky-haired warrior
• 2)is the sole survivor of his destroyed village
• 3)is on a quest of vengeance
• 4)is a gruff jerk who warms to the other party members as the game progresses
• 5)experiences shocking revelations concerning his lineage.

Comparisons are frequently drawn between Legend of Dragoon and Final Fantasy VIII. While the two games are similar in theme and in some gameplay mechanics (timed button presses for extra damage during combat), Legend distinguishes itself from VIII with a more sweeping, fantasy story and the Dragoon transformations undergone by party members, turning them into powerful draconic hybrids.

If you're jonesing for a retro diversion that will last a good 30+ hours, give some consideration to Legend of Dragoon. GameQuest Direct has brand new, factory-sealed copies of this sixth-gen classic RPG. Fans have been clamoring for a sequel for years – see what the fuss is about.