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21 of 21 found the following review helpful:
 What rpgs should be Nov 02, 2002
By Timothy Bleach
After playing Legaia1, i couldn't wait to get my hands on Legaia2, and let me say, the wait was worth it. It doesn't have all the flashy voice acting and graphics that games like Final Fantasy X have. There is some, but it doesn't stop anyone from continuing the game as long as the story and gameplay is good. and it is. Those familiar with Legaia 1, should expect the same form of battle with the Arts system, where you use the d-pad to put in Combos, which to me is a very original way of doing things, and fun, where other games it seems your just fighting all the time to get to the next area, Legaia 2 actually gives you a reason to fight (Besides of course, leveling up). The story line is nice and long, just like the game, its PACKED with side quests and mini-games, which keeps the game enjoyable no matter how long it is. The character development is great, its not like you gain 4 people at once and you have to choose who you want to play with, you actually get the new members of your party spaced out a little so you can see which ones you like the best. In conclusion, if you like RPGs, I would really suggest buying this game, its fun, good and lengthy and theres plenty of things in the game to keep it fresh. The only reason not to buy it is maybe because you want a lot of flashy cutscenes and voice acting by some famous people because the game isn't that great (*cough* grandia Xtreme).
17 of 18 found the following review helpful:
Long review Aug 11, 2002
The game's story opens in Nohl, a village that has thrived in a lush land because of a magical water crystal that has supplied the residents with an inexhaustible source of water. You'll take the role of a rookie member of Nohl's militia named Lang. The militia is charged with protecting the crystal and the residents of the town. The arrangement works well--until the game starts. Not long after you begin your adventure, things go horribly awry when a mysterious stranger shows up and steals the crystal. The ensuing solar eclipse and the appearance of a sinister black light, along with the increase in the local monster population, obviously spell trouble for the locals. In true RPG fashion, Lang ends up heading out to set everything right before evil overruns the world. If you've played the import version of the game that was released last year, or even the PlayStation predecessor, you should be familiar with how Duel Saga will play. You'll explore areas, interact with the locals to get clues on the whereabouts of the grabby mysterious stranger, shop, combine items to create new accessories and weapons, and, of course, fight evil. The game retains its predecessor's innovative tactical arts system that lets you input attack commands during a brawl. Unlike other RPGs, where you'll select from a menu of set attacks, the system in Duel Saga gives you a greater amount of control. You'll use the D-pad to specify where you'll attack an enemy: high, low, left, and right. You'll also be able to discover new attack combos, called arts, which will do some serious damage. ... In terms of the game's graphics, Legaia Duel Saga shows its age a bit more than most PlayStation 2 games. The characters are somewhat blocky but are balanced out by the game's environments, which are nicely detailed and quite large. While the game's polygon count may be a little modest by this year's standards, Duel Saga is still a solid-looking game. The frame rate is decent, and there's a nice assortment of eye candy during combat, especially when you use your party's origins to attack. Unfortunately, you can't rotate the camera. Sound in the game is pretty low-key. Ambient noise is sparse but effective, and the game's soundtrack is in the same vein as that of the original Legaia on the PlayStation. The characters in the game are pretty silent for the most part, although they do speak a bit during combat. While it would be nice to get a little more out of the game's sound, Duel Saga's audio seems good enough so far. From what we've seen, Legaia 2: Duel Saga is shaping up to be a solid game that should appeal to fans of the original. The unique combat system is fun and offers some depth for players eager to discover every art. A solid selection of minigames to play ensures that there will be plenty to do as you make your way through the main quest. The localization is coming along fine; the build of the game we checked out was easy to follow and didn't seem to have any translation weirdness. If you enjoyed the original Legaia or are looking for something a little different, you should keep an eye out for Legaia 2: Duel Saga when it ships this September for the PlayStation 2.
12 of 13 found the following review helpful:
A sequel to a classic RPG Jun 25, 2003
By S. Rhodes
The Original Legend of Legaia on the PSX was everything an RPGer could dream of. A unique battle system, lots of difficulty and a good storyline too. When I heard of the sequel, I waited and waited and when it finally got here it was very well done and the battle system was even refined. But the game didn't have that great storyline and the difficulty that the first one gave off was lost. But this was made up for with tons of sidequests and great character developement. The gameplay is much like the first one. However, there's a difference. You'll be asked LOTS of question that you must make a choice too. This helps you develope your character. The choices you make affect the dialogue in the game and how others view your character. Thus, you're developing your OWN chracter. Also, characters get nicknames in this, which also define how they're viewed. Interesting boost of gameplay (and try and find ALL the nicknames for EVERY character). The battle system has been a little redone. Where as in the first one, normal battles could get teadiously long, this one allows for you to shorten those battles. For example, there are arts that add AP to your AP gauge (I'm assuming that most of you have played the first one) and they never subtract. Then you've got super arts which detract from your AP gauge. The only way to fill up an AP gauge is to use normal arts. This is a good idea but there are tricks to the point where you could use the same combo over and over full of a bunch of normal arts and the use a super art or a hyper art (A VERY POWERFUL attack) and NEVER lose AP. This made the game severely easy and I was already doing 25000 HP of damage to enemies by level 30! That's really sad (and considering I'm a maniac at raising levels my level 90 characters killed the final boss in one round). You have art techniques that are much too powerful making the difficulty level of this game seem like a joke. The storyline in the game was not as good as the first Legaia. You've got no serus or ra-serus this time. Instead each chracter has an "Origin" because they are a "Mystic." The main guy is trying to destory the world and revive it with only mystics or something like that...must've dozed off halfway through the storyline. Why? Because the story moves at an incredibly slow pace. Not only that but the way its told seems like a rip off of the very first FINAL FANTASY game! You go around collecting the sacred stones so that you can restore the world back to the way it was. Sort of like the role the crystal's played in Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy V. The dialogue is also a little annoying at times as there are parts where some of it is useless and meaningless. But at least whatever your next task to do is always highlighted in blue making it easier to never get lost. Wandering on the world map isn't slow like it was in Legend of Legaia. But that's because you can't explore the overworld at all. I'm not mad at this very much but it makes so that you must talk to another character to reveal the location of the next town or dungeon. There aren't any hidden dungeons either. The only hidden locations on the world map are shops. But the shops are very useful... As far as secrets and sidequests go this game is chalk full of them. There is a hunter's guild to do which contains several sidequests that provide a challenge. There is also a hidden dungeon in town that has 100 battles to do (and that takes a hell of a long time!). Also, your chracters are always hanging out around town when you visit them. Talking to them reveals different things and each time you leave the town and come back they're in a different location. This helps further develop the chracters and gives the game more interface. THe music in the game is somewhat weak. Battle music is great but dungeons are annoying. They also took tunes from "Legend of Legaia" and that music was beautiful. The problem was that they took TOO MANY tunes. While some are remastered and played smoother, they got annoying at times. The game presents a long 40 hour or so and it's A WHOLE LOT MORE if you decide to attempt all the sidequests in the game and learn all the nicknames and such. OVERALL: I could tell you more but the game is immensely huge giving for much more RPG goodness than any other RPG I've seen before. On the good side
+Improved Battle system
+More character developement
+Lots of interface
+A deep story nonetheless
+Nice graphcis
+Good music at some parts
+Lots of "Legend of Legaia" nostalgia
+TONS of sidequests But on the downside
-Improved battle system makes the game VERY easy
-Too much old music and not enough new
-Magic animations are too long
-Slow paced story
-Weak story (though deep)
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
One of the Best of the Not Quite Best Jan 31, 2005
By Marc Ruby™
"The Noh Hare™"
Duel Saga is the second game in the Legaia series, and probably the last, which is unfortunate. While unassuming and more than a little derivative of its bigger brothers (Final Fantasy, Suikoden, etc.), it manages to be a very entertaining game with few grievous faults and a lot to like. Sad to say, longer playing RPGs are viewed with an inordinately critical eye. With the result that playable games often get sentenced to the bargain heap ahead of their time.
Duel Sage is and upgraded version of the first Legends of Legaia. There are no Sera to go mad and overwhelm their human hosts, but there are Origin spirits that coexist with certain humans who are often subjected to mistrust and anger by the 'normal' folk. In this story, Avalon, the villain, is a host who was so mistreated that he has become determined to wipe humanity off the earth. Opposed to him are our heroes - young Lang the village guard, Maya the silent witch, Kazan the martial arts whiz, Sharon the pirate, and Ayne the mysterious giant.
Play is an adaptation of the first game's system, made a bit more complex. The Origins have more skills, you can make incredible weapons and armor out of what you find or win in battle. You can literally cook up spells, and even indulge in a bit of gambling and trading. Money remains an issue in this game, but there are some interesting ways to raise it instead of a couple of monotonous mini-games. Overall feel of the controls is better as well.
Play and storyline are fairly predictable, with enough twists to make this a genuine 60 to 80 hour game. Anyone who doesn't expect FFX-2 everytime they play a new game will find that, at this price, that game is a very good value. No, it isn't the best thing since sliced bread, but it's more than good enough.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
No more FF fighting YAY!!!!!!!!!!! Mar 28, 2003
By Scarlet Dragon
Am I the only one or does anyone else think the hit-and-run style of the Final Fantasy's is kinda dumb?? Like the first Legaia you actualy order your party to do a high, low, left, or right attack. When you begin you only have two attack slots in a turn however this is raised to about fourteen at the end of the game. This replaces the tiresome traditional "magic this and magic that" with tons of combos called arts, hyper arts, super arts, variable arts, and mystic arts. The great thing is we see a bit of Chrono Trigger in the variable arts. The variables work kinda like Chrono's dual techs in that two people combine their powers, very usefull. Oh yeah there is even a bit for the die hard magic fans. They are called Origins a bit like FF9's summons. Anyways....
Upsides:
Fighting System- (if you couldn't guess already)
Graphics- (a bit cartoony and not quite on level with FFX but still good)
Characters- (development, design, situations. Funny or serious its all good)
Towns- (each original with its own storry original people and adventures)
Side Quests- (Love the Guild quests)
Wepon and Item System- (no spoilers!!) Downsides:
Storyline- (not all that engaging but not bad)
Battle Time- (14 slots no way to skip the sequence.... battles can last a while every now and then)
Repitition- (after finishing the game and all the guild quest you have gone through a certain sewer 5-6 times... ughhh) Overall it is a great out of the ordinary RPG that will last you about 40 hours if you skip most of the sidequests 80 or so if you play it my way.
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