Legend of Legaia is quite an ambitious RPG. Unlike any other RPG of it's time, it uses a graphics engine that renders a fully polygonal 3D world and a battle system with sequenced button actions, much like a fighting game except not in real time, for physical attacks. But even with these two very interesting and well-implanted features, the game suffers from unstable difficulty and slow progression.
Let's start with the deep combat system. It has the basics like magic, items, and sometimes (in this game's case, frequently) necessary run feature. While the item and run-away feature are fairly self explanatory, the magic and physical attack deserves some explanation. The physical attack system is a great idea. String together high, mid, and low hits into combos for greater damage and string multiple combos for even more damage. You're only limited by you action bar (which limits the number of actions) and AP (which acts like MP except for physical attacks). The magic attacks are very annoying to sit through after the first few times as each one lasts anywhere from 5-45 seconds.
The combat system itself suffers due to being very slow. While the random battles are infrequent, battles can take a while to finish. These two things may be overlooked though but the inconsistent difficulty of game is inexcusable. Normal enemies are rarely any trouble but nearly every boss in the game is very cheap. The main thing you need for boss fights is luck. A lot of luck. Bosses take a very long time to beat and are incredibly cheap. They can wipe out your whole team (fully healed) in one hit. It's very common to defeat a boss half way or almost completely only to die from one attack. Bosses seem as if they're about 15 levels beyond what you are capable of handling. Sure you can level up to make things easier but due to infrequent battles it takes a long time. Spending the necessary time level grinding you need, the game lasts about 35-45 hours and is lacking in the side quests department.
Visually, the game looks splendid for the most part. The fully 3D world is great to explore if you have the patience to. Game suffers from break-ups, slowdown, and a lot of 'jaggies' due to visual prowess which hurts the overall quality of the visuals. The FMVs are very well done even if there are only a few minutes of it in total. The sound quality and music suffice for most of the game. There are a few standout tracks in the game but otherwise decent.
Legaia is a world filled with an evil mist and Seras. Seras attach to people to give them special powers. But due to the mist, Seras turn people into horrid monsters and ultimately lead to their own destruction. Three heroes emerge to save the world, each with his or her reason for seeking a resolution to this mist. The story is very good and probably one of the better reasons to keep playing, though not enough of a reason in most cases.
While Legend of Legaia has some very interesting ideas, the game's slow pace and cheap difficulty level makes it very tedious after the first 10 hours or so. It's just hard to stay dedicated to a game in which you'll have to level grind for nearly every single boss because they're overly powered. The level grinding would not have been that bad but it just takes too long.
Final words: Some great concepts completely ruined due to a lack of balance in the gameplay.
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