Legend of Dragoon - Chapter 1: Serdio at War

Welcome to my completionists coverage of the classic story, Legend of Dragoon. While generally considered to be an attempt to create an epic on the scale Final Fantasy, Legend of Dragoon has managed to carve a niche and following of its own with its colorful characters and memorable worlds. Take a journey with me through the lands of Endiness as we explore every nook-and-cranny!

The story opens with a night raid on the secluded village of Seles by the Imperial forces of Emperor Doel of Sandora. They will have taken captive a local girl, Shana, and the Great Commander tests a mysterious gem that appears to resonate with her.

 

Meanwhile, another mysterious woman overlooks a large forest where the Green Tusked Dragon, Feyrbrand, emerges ushering us into the first chapter of the game: Serdian War.

We're introduced to our main character, Dart, as he sits and reads the War Bulletin item from his inventory (Joined with the Father's Stone item, as well). He's startled by a pair of Sandora soldiers making their way through. Their argument doesn't last long as Feyrbrand sends the soldiers fleeing and Dart into self-defense. Thankfully, the mysterious woman rescues him from the Dragon. Hearing the fate of Seles, his village, Dart rushes off, but not before a stone the woman is carrying reacts to his presence.

 

In control of Dart, rush down the hill and use the action icon to jump the rickety fence to be thrown into the first battle of the game. Additions are Legend of Dragoon's main source of offense and, for a first-time player, can be rather tricky to get the hang of their timing. They're a bit reminiscent of the attack-timing from Super Mario RPG, but on a multi-hit scale. You will have a chance at a tutorial soon, but even without good timing, these Sandora Soldiers fall easily.

Back in control, you can nab your first treasure chest near the fence, containing a Burn Out item, and use the nearby save point. Items like Burn Out will be your primary way of attacking enemies magically; at least until your characters become Dragoons. These items use the acting character's magic statistic, so it's always best to use them with a character with high magic skill. You should also be mindful of the element of the item before using. Each playable character, and most monsters (Color-coded when their name is displayed), have an affinity for an element, as well as a weakness. For example: Dart is of the fire element, so naturally, fire magic will have a lesser effect on him, while water-based magic will damage him more. This only applies to magic, however, and a character's element has no bearing on his physical attacks (Outside of Dragoon form) unless the weapon they are wielding is elemental, itself. However, when it comes to a character using magic items, this is solely based upon the magic statistic of the character and element of the enemy; it is not effected by the using character's element whatsoever, so don't be afraid to toss a magic item that is the opposite element of the using character.

 

Exit to Dart's left and he will check in on some of the fallen residents of Seles. He'll learn from Plos that his childhood friend, Shana, has been taken by the Sandorian troops. To find out where, he's going to need to beat some information out of some of the soldiers still swarming about and you'll engage in your first serious battle of the game. A very important aspect of battles in Legend of Dragoon is finding the proper camera setting to use, which is adjusted with the R2 button. Almost all battles have a set number of camera angles available for you to use. It's not just cosmetic, however, you will quickly learn that the camera determines your view of the character's addition being performed; which, if you're not use to the angle, can really mess with your timing. Generally speaking, in my opinion, I try to keep the camera to the back of my characters so additions are performed from their backside.

 

As for the battle, one Double Slash will easily defeat one of the lesser soldiers, causing the other to flee the following turn, leaving Dart and the Commander to go one-on-one. He hits surprisingly harder than his flunkies, but don't be tempted to use one of your Healing Potions. Instead, in Legend of Dragoon, if your character selects Defend, they will regen 10% of their maximum HP, cut all types of damage in half, and prevent all status ailments; extremely handy considering your item space is severely limited in the game and you'll want to conserve your healing items. The villains will have boasted to taken Shana to the ghastly Hellena Prison and it's off to the rescue.

After the Commander battle, Dart will have leveled up and gained the Volcano addition. While Volcano is significantly better than Double Slash, albeit harder to pull off, don't switch Dart's addition yet. All character additions have levels, which increase with their number of uses. Besides making them stronger, reaching level 5 (The maximum) in all of a specific character's additions unlocks their final, and strongest, addition. So, I recommended sticking with each addition until it has reached level 5.

 

You'll want to take a look at Dart's initial equipment, as well. All of these items are rare and can never be purchased; with opportunities for more than one being scarce, so when you find better equipment, don't sell them by accident. The Bracelet accessory, just to note, has no special effects, and each character that joins your party will come equipped with one.

In the northwest of Seles, have Dart search the lower-left tombstone, nearest the tree, to receive your first Stardust item. Make sure not to miss out on any of these: they are vital not only to obtain rare items, but to challenge the game's ultimate boss, as well. You'll find Dart's master, Tasman, near the northern exit to town and you can learn most basic battle information from him, if you are new to the game. When finished, exit north and out to the world map for a scene at Hellena with the warden, Freugel, and the mysterious robed man who was present at Shana's abduction. Back as Dart, follow the dotted path to our first dungeon: the Forest. Note: You can fight random battles out on the world map, but there is no way to recover back in Seles, but having Dart Guard is more than adequate to restoring his HP, for now.

 

Inside the Forest, you'll find your first merchant directly to the north of the entrance. He sells some basic items, of which you should save your money for now, but he will offer Dart a tutorial on battle item usage after he shops, if you need it. Afterwards, look for a chest containing a Healing Potion in the upper-right of the screen and continue north to the next screen.

The Trent enemy that appears in the Forest frequently drops the earth elemental magic attack item, Pellet. This is a rare item since its only location is in a shop that is open for a very limited amount of time. Once that shop closes, having them dropped by enemies is your only way to obtain them.

 

The Goblin monster you also encounter within the Forest drops a rather rare item in the Detonate Rock. There are only three places in the entire game to pick up one of these and they can never be purchased, but besides being rare, its usefulness is questionable. When used it inflicts a small amount of non-elemental damage on all enemies. I generally keep one in my inventory due to its rarity, but with only 32 item slots, you should decide for yourself. You can always come and pick them up again here later in the game if you change your mind.

Cross the makeshift log bridge and open the chest nearby to pocket a Charm Potion. Used outside of battle, it will lower your encounter rate for a brief period, but it's best put to use during battle. In battle, it prevents a character from being single-targeted for three turns. However, this does not work during boss fights, but it is handy against several rare monsters later on.

 

To the south you'll find a simple maze of brush. Have Dart following the first path over to the right, then exit right again to reach an area with a chest containing 20 Gold.

Go back the way you came, but use the lower-left exit this time to find a chest holding a Burn Out. To reach the southern exit, follow the pathway to the upper-left. In the next area, Dart will have a childhood flashback of him rescuing Shana from a beast, then you can continue south down a long, curving path and back out to the world map. I suggest trying to reach at least level 4 with Dart before entering Hellena Prison, that is on the linear path to the south.

 

Pondering how to infiltrate the prison, a wagon carrying goods will attempt to enter. Have Dart run after it, then activate the action icon at the correct moment to avoid being detected, to stow away inside of it.

Now inside Hellena, have Dart exit to the northwest and under a bridge to take a Burn Out from within a treasure chest. As you can tell, there is another chest that is out of Dart's reach. You will see several of these on your trek through the prison, but they are, as of now, inaccessible. Not to worry, though, you will eventually be able to explore the entirety of the dungeon later in the game.

 

Back in the previous room, try to exit to the southwest and you'll be engaged by a Hellena Warden. Take him out and the merchant will offer to sell Dart some items. Nothing of any real interest, although you may want to pick up an Angel's Prayer; they are the game's primary source of resurrecting fallen characters. Outside the room, there are no random battles, but there are Wardens swarming all over the prison that Dart can either avoid or take out. I highly recommend using this opportunity to get the Double Slash addition to level 5 and switch over to the Volcano one. The exit to the west takes you to a broken elevator that will be useful during your second visit, so for now, climb the stairs to the east and enter the next room. Battle the Wardens through the linear room, taking the northern exit to be in a large, multi-tiered room containing a save point and an elevator going up.

Pass by the elevator and enter the Warden barracks nearest the save point. There are two treasures on the top floor, containing an Angel's Prayer and Leather Jacket armor, and 50 Gold in the lower room. If you take the Wardens out here and then reenter the room, they will have respawned, making this a nice place to finalize Double Slash at level 5. Back outside the barracks, look for the action icon to take the elevator to the second level and enter the passage to the west for a scene.

 

The Wardens will be seen pushing around a group of POWs from the war with Basil, until Lavitz Slambert, having broken out of his own cell, intervenes. Quickly outnumbered by the Wardens, and his men having been killed, Dart will come to Lavitz's aid and join him in fighting them off. Refusing to leave without helping Dart rescue Shana, he will then join the party.

Like Dart, Lavitz comes with a few rare items already equipped. His Spear can never be purchased, but can be dropped by an enemy a little later into the game. The Leather Boots, along with the one Dart has equipped, are the only two of these in the entire game, so save at least one when you find better alternatives for leg gear. Lavitz is wind elemental, and thus is strong against wind magic and weak against earth-based ones.

 

From where Lavitz joins, have Dart exit to the left, then enter the first door to the upper-right to find a treasure containing a Spark Net item.

Back in the previous room, use the upper-left door this time and have Dart hop across the boxes to find 20 Gold in another chest. Exit once more, taking the left path, then the center exit (With light coming out of it) to exit the first cell area. As you're exiting back out to the large room, a group of Wardens will be riding an elevator from the upper levels down to yours. Take them out and use their elevator to ascend to the top floor. The door to the area Shana is held is locked, so take the exit west.

 

All exits in this room are blocked by congregating Wardens, but Dart can conveniently use an unguarded path that twists around the upper level and pick up the Prison Key that was haphazardly left on a box. Take the key back to the door locked to the eastern area to reach the second set of cells.

Take a right, then enter the first cell to the north to plunder another chest containing 20 Gold.

 

Take the right exit, once again, to find a group of Warden guarding a cell. Defeat them and Dart will be reunited with Shana, but not before the group will have to fight off another group of Wardens outside.

Shana will then grab a nearby bow and join the party. Still on the same screen, use the upper-right door to find a chest containing another 20 Gold.

 

Unlike the rest of the characters that will join your party, Shana has no additions, making her very weak physically, however, she makes excellent use of magical items and will eventually be a great support character as a Dragoon. Shana's Short Bow she comes equipped with is the single one in the game, so for item collectors, make sure not to sell it. The same goes for her Clothes armor as well; it is the sole one in the entire game, but you can switch it out for the Leather Jacket you found earlier. The number of Felt Hats and Leather Shoes in the game are limited in number, too. Having saved Shana, we need to make our way back to the beginning of the dungeon, but be prepared for a boss fight. If you'd like, you can fight groups of three Wardens in Shana's cell area for some extra EXP and Gold. Also note: Shana is of the light element, and will be strong against light magic and weak versus darkness.

Freugel's pissed off, and so is Dart, so there's going to be a fight. The Wardens with Freugel have more HP than the basic ones, but Dart should be able to take them out with Volcano while Shana/Lavitz team up on the other one. Once they are out of the way, you can target Freugel, himself. He's fairly strong against additions, so have Shana and Dart throw magic items at him for best results. After taking enough damage, he'll summon two much stronger Senior Wardens to his side. Once defeated, they throw a Gushing Magma item that will damage the entire party; particularly Lavitz, so be prepared to use a Healing Potion if need be. With the Senior Wardens gone, Freugel will easily fall next. For defeating the boss, the party will receive several Healing Potions and a Knight Shield accessory you should immediately stick on Shana. The party will flee Hellena on horseback while the hooded man scolds Freugel for his incompetence. Back on the world map, you'll find the Forest back to Seles is swarming with Imperial soldiers, so you'll have no choice but to head north to the Prairie area.