The Legend of Dragoon PlayStation

Ten thousand years ago the Legend was born. The ~Divine Tree's mystical powers were said to have given birth to all life. The 105th race born of the Tree was the mighty Dragons. The 106th was the human race and the 107th was the Winglies. Peace and tranquility reigned throughout the land, but suddenly a violent uprising occurred, led by the Winglies, who enslaved humanity. To counter this, the humans acquired the ~Dragons' spiritual forces and defeated their nemeses, which led to eventual harmony between all. However, the prophecy has only begun as the past and future are about to collide...

In Sony's role-playing game, The Legend of Dragoon for the PlayStation, you'll travel across the land searching for clues and discovering new enemies as well as friends you can add to your party. Up to three members per party can fight at once, in an interface that Final Fantasy fans may find familiar, the difference being that you can become a ~Dragoon with supernatural powers taken from the souls of Dragons. Animals will attack you from nowhere while other creatures and even human opponents will specifically seek and destroy.

Each warrior has his or her own weapons and magic, with the ability to retreat a fight based on chance. Experience points will add up and each member of the party will gain a level as their hit points increase. The combat technique known as ~Dragoon Additions -- shown as SP (Spirit Power) -- measures a Dragoon's ability to fight. When your character approaches an enemy upon initiating an attack, a rectangular grid targets the enemy before your weapon is swung. If you press it in time for the outer rectangle to close in, matching the center rectangle, you'll be able to hit your target and continue to get in several more hits depending on how fast and accurate you are executing the button sequence.

Magical attacks draw their power from the Elements such as water, fire, wind, earth, darkness and light, thunder, and non-elemental. Using the opposite of an enemy's element will inflict the most damage. The game also consists of another unique fighting technique that is more commonly used: the Multi-Attack. It allows one to inflict more damage than normal. When it is used, the X button appears onscreen and you must rapidly tap the X button to increase the power of the attack to over 100 percent. If you do nothing, you will only inflict a small amount of damage. There is also the interactive counterattack which, if not properly done, will cut off the rest of your combos and damage your fighter as a result.

Arm yourself with a variety of weapons such as swords, spears, bows and arrows, axes and hammers. Protect yourself with body armor, helmets and boots. Other items like bracelets, amulets or stones carry with them magical powers to enhance attacks or deflect the damage of an attack. Although your journey begins with only basic weapons, others can be purchased from merchants or found in chests. Changing and upgrading weapons for the entire party can be done via the in-game menu, however some weapons are specialized for particular warriors. There are also items that can heal or wage war and they too are won in battle, found in chests, or purchased from merchants.

Although you start out as Dart, a brave and loyal warrior swordsman sworn to avenge his parents' death by the Black Monster, other party members you'll run into have their own unique story to tell. Saving the game is done wherever you find Save Points; the only requirement is that you must have at least two blocks of memory available on a ~memory card. This one-player game is also analog and vibration compatible and comes on four CDs. ~ Cal Nguyen, All Game Guide