Legend of Dragoon, one of the most beautiful games on the Playstation 1. Awe inspiring graphics, catchy and unforgettable music, and a plot so cliche that you'll see EVERY twist coming a mile away. But there are ten ways we can make Legend of Dragoon and turn it from a mediocre game into something far more memorable. Here's the list:
1- The plot about the Black Monster went nowhere fast, to the point that its resolution (which SHOULD have been a heart wrenching turn of events that provided tears and catharsis) was instead a six second aside. In spite of the fact that the hunt for the Black Monster motivated Dart for most of the game, once he finds out it's Rose, he's quick to forgive her. For this reason, my suggestion is this: make a boss battle against the Black Monster. It will be one on one, Dart versus Rose, where the player's actions determines the outcome. Will the player choose to kill Rose, or spare her? This turn of events will have astronomical consequences for the rest of the game, and even influences the ending.
The battle will be obligatory, with three different outcomes. If Dart chooses to not attack for ten turns straight, choosing instead to Defend, the battle is over and Rose is spared. If Dart fights and kills Rose, well, Rose dies. He can then choose between being the Black or Red Dragoon in battle. If Dart fights but can't win, it's Game Over. High stakes, high risk, high reward. Satisfaction guaranteed.
2- Whereas most major antagonists in the game had sympathetic reasons for being who they are, the final villain of the game is just a cookie cutter megalomaniac completely lacking in depth. I believe that Melbu Frahma should be greatly rewritten as a man who truly believed that, since Winglies were the most powerful beings in Endiness, that they should protect the other races. However, as he made himself the ruler of the Winglies (and by extension, the world) he fails to see that his "protection" has turned into slavery. When the humans rebel against him, Melbu is driven not by hate, but by a sense of betrayal.
In a bid to save the world, Melbu Frahma separates his soul from his body, inhabiting the body of a man that died in front of him. As Melbu lives out his life as a human, he watches the world around him descend to a permanent cycle of war and death, with some internments wrongfully called "peace." He sees that the world has gotten worse, and so he recruits a young, idealistic man named Lloyd to execute a plan. His new goal: retake the world and lead it to peace, by any means necessary...
3- Though the game has some GREAT character moments for Dart, Shana, Albert, and Lavitz, not all characters get equal treatment, Particularly, Kongol practically vanishes from the plots as soon as he joins. To remedy this, I'll give him a subquest that the player can choose to partake at their leisure, but whose rewards can serve the player as a good enough incentive to partake in it.
Kongol travels Endiness in search of other Giganto, his people's race. His search leads him to find ruins where he will find, among other things, his Dragoon Spirit, his best axe, his best armor, and learn a new attack. At the end of his sidequest, Kongol discovers a hidden Giganto village, which he swears he will protect once he finishes his journey with Dart.
4- Miranda replacing Shana had to be one of the lowest points of the original game for several reasons, but perhaps the biggest may be the fact that we barely knew her when she took Shana's place, whom the player had grown either attached or simply used to. To remedy this, Miranda should be introduced in the equivalent of Disc 2 as someone from the kingdom of Mille Seseau who is looking for information regarding the Moon Child. She tags along with Dart and crew a little after the Ghost Ship incident, but doesn't become playable until much later.
5- Speaking of, Miranda and Shana should have access to the Addition system that the rest of the party has. For this, I'm replacing their weapon (a bow and arrow) with a staff.
6- The Dragoon transformations should be game changing modes that give the player access to more power. In the original game, this was often not the case; in fact, towards the end of the game you'll be transforming just to heal yourself. As if this were not enough, the transformations would run out after a few turns!
I believe the transformation should last until either the battle ends or the character gets killed. Furthermore, the transformation into a Dragoon should carry far more weight to it. The Dragoon's magic attacks are by no means limited to MP; rather, they are the reward for doing a perfect Addition attack. Also, each dungeon in the game should have at least 1 common enemy that's so strong that the player will HAVE to turn into a Dragoon to beat it.
7- The player should not be forced to carry Dart ALL game. Any reboot to Legend of Dragoon MUST include the ability to switch out Dart from the active party with any other character.
8- A strong point of contention in the game is just how. Fricking. Often. Shana gets kidnapped, hurt, or otherwise taken out of action from the game, making her totally dependent on Dart. Can we cut out at least half of these occasions, please? Preferably down to three, instead of around three per disc?
9- You know what really bugged me from the get go? The menu music, arguably the most unnecessary element of the original game. Let's remove it and simply let' the BGM continue whenever the menu gets opened.
10- The game's theme should be "breaking free from one's chains." This should be reflected in ALL the character's stories. My suggestion:
Dart- Wants to kill the Black Monster, so his chain is his desire for revenge. His main arc should be about hunting the Black Monster and... (see point 1)
Shana- Her chain is her dependence on Dart. Her personal character arc should see her becoming more independent and sure of herself.
Rose- She is chained by her past. Her main character arc should have her try to break free from who she used to be, and decide who she wants to be.
Haschel- He is chained by the guilt he feels for causing his daughter to flee. His character arc should be about self forgiveness.
Albert- Chained by his duty as King. His character arc should have him grow up to become much more capable of ruling the kingdom.
Maru- Chained by her Wingly heritage. She learns to accept herself and reject her people's racist past.
Kongol- Chained by his loneliness as the last Giganto. He will free himself by learning that he is still loved by his friends.
Lavitz- Chained by duty to his kingdom.
Lloyd- Chained by the world's rejection of his race, the Winglies. He seeks to unchain himself by joining with Melbu Frahma and enslaving the world once more.
Emperor Doel- Chained by believing his nephew, Albert, as being incapable of ruling the kingdom of Serdio. He becomes a despotic tyrant who starts a civil war just to ensure Albert won't repeat the mistakes of his father, the incompetent Carlo, who nearly Serdio. This was somewhat present in the original game, but it wasn't made clear until well after Doel died.
Lenus- Her love for Lloyd is her chain. She would do anything for him, even give up her life. Basically, how she was in game already.
And those are my ten points to making Legend of Dragoon better.
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