"Not bad...but not too good."

Just for knowledge sake, I never played the first Legaia, so I have nothing to base improvements on, so this will be straight up how I feel about this game. I may rate kinda harshly, so give me a break. Plus, it's my first review.;P We'll see if the review synopsis, ''Not bad, but not too good'' makes another appearance, shall we?

We'll start with the most important...

Story - 6

Very very very...well, it's a cookie cutter story. Orphan Boy with Lost Memory starts in Small Town, has to go on Fetch Quest for Small Town, and upon finishing said quest, story erupts into something far larger. Definitely not an original plot, but the way it is executed isn't bad at all. Just not really good. My main peeve is that the story progression sequences definitely aren't the most exciting around. I had to basically force myself to get through some of them. Not a good sign. And if anyone has played Xenogears, I read through that just fine and Xenogears turned out to be my favorite game of all time. So it's not that I don't have patience...it's just...too...slow. Not bad, but not too good.

Sound / Music - 8

Hmmmm...well, some of the music seems rushed, illy composed, and seems to consist of 16 notes...while others, like the battle themes, rock my rocktron so to speak. Having voices at key sequences is also nice, but everyone is stereotypical. Just when I think the voice acting is getting good, they throw in one really really poorly delivered line, thus destroying all hope it had...for a little bit anyway.:P Not bad, but not too good.

Graphics - 7

The way all the graphics are presented remind me strongly of one game. Dark Cloud. Since that was the first PS2 RPG around, the graphics aren't top notch, but the faces convey emotions and the such just fine. The animations in combat were good, I never got tired of some of the combos and the such. Not bad, but not too good.

Battle System - 10

YEAH! This is what the game is all about. The fighting. Basically, what the system consists of is the up, left, down, and right keys. You input any combination you want, and hope for a normal, super, hyper, variable, or mystic art...AKA a way of crushing your opponent with style. As you move on through the game, more arts and combos open up to you. It's very fun discovering new arts
and finding the ultimate crush all combo. Or, if you get bored, summon your origin to do some giant smite attack. Simply the best thing about this game is the battle system...which is a good thing, because...

Challenge - 10

*groans* I think the first 10 hours of the game would have made me commit suicide if it wasn't for the fun battle system. As soon as I could get items to reduce my encounter rate, I used them out the wazoo. Why? The encounter rate is so abnormally high! Sometimes you go through 3 battles getting across one screen...and the battles, with all the talking and overkilling going on, take a good minute or two, at very least. Not only that, some of the battles are HARD. Not just the extremely hard boss battles, but there is one place in the game where you get ambushed almost every encounter, and are beaten to a writhing pulp, and if you get out alive, have to use your heal items to heal you. Only one character has any heal spells...which means you'll be going through items faster than..something quick. Make the analogy yourself, I'm lazy. This game is no cakewalk unless you gain alot of levels. By alot, I mean 6 or 7 above what you normally should be at. I never lost a battle, or even had anyone die in any of FFX's battles...but in this, I saw a game over screen. Fast enemies = death. Good luck with this game.

Overall - 8

To summarize it, well..it's a good way to spend some time. And some money. Don't get me wrong, it's a really good game, despite my rantings about how bad some of the aspects are. I bought it, and I'm an avid RPG player. And hell, if anything, it'll tide you over until Wild Arms 3 or Suikoden 3 come out. In the end, it's not too bad...just not too good.

Buy or rent? But it if you like RPGs. Some extras in the game raise the replay value up, such as cooking, aquiring nicknames, and mastering the minigames. You'll be spending at least 30-40 hours getting everything, so in the end, it's your choice. I know I'll eventually play through it again.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/15/02, Updated 10/15/02