While it's a solid RPG, proceed with caution: RPG cliches and overdone concepts abound in this title.
User Rating: 7 | Legaia: Duel Saga (PlayStation 2 the Best) PS2
Legaia 2: Duel Saga, is the sequel to a little known RPG which many gamers missed a few years back. It featured a somewhat innovative battle system that involved attacking in an unusal manner. By executing left, right, up, and down attacks in specific sequences, players could execute special skills called "arts", which were essentially the way to deal big damage. While somewhat innovative, it could hardly compensate for lackluster plotline and world present. While the battle system is back, so too is the rather cliched world and plotline. Instead of battling against an evil fog filled with sentient symbiote-like "seru", we are put in the shoes of Lang, a young man from a small village (in the middle of the woods, no less). He and the other young men of the village seek to keep their humble burg free from danger by taking care of monsters in the outlying forest. It seems like your typical story setup for an average adventure, but the appearance of a man with "golden eyes" causes trouble for our would be hero. And this is no ordinary man: it seems ol' golden eyes has some weird looking spirit thing as a part of his being, giving him power well beyond the village chumps. Without revealing too much, said spirit is called an "Origin", a race of sentient life-form that resides with special people called "mystics". And most assuredly, our protagonist just happens to be one as well, though at the outset of his journey from the village he is not aware of this. Along the way, you'll meet several other characters ranging from an aging martial artist, to a taciturn young girl, to a pirate captain. These characters don't really bring much to the table that hardcore gamers haven't seen before, but they are enjoyable nonetheless. And while the story doesn't have the appeal of say, Kingdom Hearts or Suikoden III, it's still enjoyable enough for hardcore gamers to tolerate, those gamers of which it is no doubt intended for. Visually, it seems mediocre at best, with nothing terrible and nothing too spectacular. The scenery is for the most part forgettable, and the character models aren't particular realistic, but they get the job done. Monsters and characters alike seem to have jerky, quick movements in combat, though you'll be more concerned with pounding your adversaries' skulls in. The musical selections are just as unobtrusive, with nothing to really wow you or cause your ears to bleed. However, the voice work in the game is a bit hard on the ears, as Lang's voice doesn't even sound realistic. It's hard for me to imagine a real person's face to go with that voice. Overall, it doesn't take too many chances. It's a game steeped in tried and true RPG conventions, but it's black-and-white, cookie cutter story will likely be one many might want to skip. Truthfully, it's not a bad game at all, but even at the time of its release, were much better offerings for the PS2. Rent it first to see if it's for you.
