Legaia 2: Duel Saga

by Eidos

Product Features

• A teenager named Lang sees his small town ripped off, by a mysterious man with gold eyes. As he pursues him, he'll meet Maya and Kazan, who accompany him on his quest. While traveling, these unlikely friends unravel complicated plots and discover a threat to the entire world -- one which only they can stop.
• Gorgeous 3D graphics inspired by anime bring you the saga, as told through great action sequences and powerful animated cutscenes
• Explore the world around you, as you see huge towns, seek out hidden treasure, and learn of a mysterious group called The Mystics
• Unique fighting system combines the best in turn-based play with fighter-style combos you can unleash on your opponent

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00006C28X
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches ; 4.8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: October 1, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,319 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #25 in Video Games > PlayStation 2 > Role-Playing
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Legaia 2: Duel Saga begins in a small village called Nohl. The player assumes the role of Lang, a rookie member of the Nohl militia. The game includes features new to the RPG genre, including a unique battle system called Tactical Arts that allows players to enter a series of directional button inputs to call up special attack combos and maneuvers. Tactical Arts attacks will be accompanied by dynamic camera angles to further enhance the effects. Players will also have access to Origins, which assist characters in fighting battles and solving puzzles. Each member of the adventure party will have a different Origin available to him or her. Players can use these to battle enemies, heal injured party members, and destroy barriers.

Product Description

Legaia 2: Duel Saga -- Intense combat and role-playing strategy is waiting for you, in this amazing new role-player. Explore a new world and defend it from a hidden evil, as a boy becomes a man...and eventually, a warrior.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What rpgs should be, November 1, 2002

By 

Timothy Bleach (Andersen AFB, Guam) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Legaia 2: Duel Saga (Video Game)

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 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Long review, August 11, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Legaia 2: Duel Saga (Video Game)

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 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A sequel to a classic RPG, June 25, 2003

By 

S. Rhodes - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Legaia 2: Duel Saga (Video Game)

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)