Line #40 YMMV/TheLegendOfDragoon


1	%%Remember that in-universe examples do not go here. Put them in the appropriate page with "in-universe" somewhere in the example text.
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3	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Does Dart really just see Shana as a little sister, or is he just in denial of his true feelings for her?
4	* BaseBreakingCharacter:
5	** Shana. Some see her as an endearing GirlNextDoor, while others just see her as a DamselScrappy.
6	** Miranda. To half the fandom, she's hated because she's OutOfFocus and [[ReplacementScrappy benches Shana]]; to the other half, she's an emotionally compelling BrokenBird.
7	** Also from a gameplay perspective, Shana/Miranda. They're by far the game's best healer(s) once they get their dragoon spirit, and they have the easiest time building up their SP and dragoon level due to their singular attack increasing in SP gain with each dragoon level they gain, to the point that near the end their singular attack can completely fill a bar on the dragoon gauge. However, their damaging attack is absolutely pathetic, often dealing around 20 or so damage while everyone else is in triple digits by that point, and the limited inventory space of the game makes it hard to justify carrying around damage items over healing items, so they'll only really be able to take advantage of their magic stat while in dragoon form. To cap it off, they have the lowest HP and defense stats of the cast, meaning they often get three shotted by bosses at ''least'', making them a liability if they get hard targeted by a boss several times in a row. As such, while there are those who argue their raw healing makes up for it, there are also those who argue that if you ''need'' Shana/Miranda in your party for boss fights over another damage dealer, you're doing something wrong, with people arguing that once you get Meru (who also has a fairly potent healing dragoon spell but ''also'' has fairly solid damage on top of that), Shana/Miranda becomes flat-out useless.
8	* BreatherBoss: The first boss of Disc 2, Mappi and his two thieves, is a cakewalk, especially [[ThatOneBoss compared to the fight with Doel that preceded it]]. Mappi only attacks one character at a time with a weak physical attack and his thieves can be dispatched in a few hits.
9	* CaptainObviousReveal: That the Black Monster is [[spoiler:Rose]] is something most figure out long before it's revealed at the end of Disc 3. Besides the game having made it obvious that the Black Monster is [[spoiler:a dragoon]], [[spoiler:Rose]] is singled out a ''lot'' on the Phantom Ship, where everyone was killed by the Black Monster.
10	* CatharsisFactor:
11	** When giving the party a courage test to create the Psychedelic Bomb, Miranda is called out on her short temper, and even told she is "hopelessly annoying" before being asked if she was ready to die. This is one of the few times Miranda is ''ever'' called out on her short temper, and it's very satisfying for some.
12	** For those who felt Rose was a bit UnintentionallyUnsympathetic, seeing Miranda punch her can feel very well deserved.
13	* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: Most endgame/boss killer parties usually tend to consist of Dart/Meru/Haschel. Dart because you CantDropTheHero,[[note]]though Dart's naturally all around great that most would use him anyways[[/note]] Meru because of her naturally high speed that offsets her low strength and can be critical when it comes to healing against bosses, And Haschel because of him becoming a LightningBruiser with an element that makes it so he doesn't have to worry about the game's ElementalRockPaperScissors. Shana/Mirianda is a decent replacement for Meru, but requires some dedicated builds to really take advantage of her, and the fact that a lot of late game bosses pack a lot of Dragoon form hate.
14	* CompleteMonster: Melbu Frahnma was the emperor of the winged humanoid race called the Winglies. Promoting a racist philosophy, Melbu Frahnma spread the belief that every single thing that wasn't a Wingly deserved annihilation, but it was the "grace" of his empire to spare them as slaves. After being overthrown, Melbu Frahnma's spirit went dormant until he could take over the hero, Zieg. Using Zieg's body, Melbu Frahnma manipulated several massive wars and multiple murders to engineer his ascent to power and to fuse with a 'seed' of a God and become the god of destruction. He plans to become the new god emperor of the world and destroy or make slaves of every race. Not even the Winglies are exempt, as Melbu Frahma displays full willingness to wipe them out should they resist him.
15	* CriticalDissonance: While critics had mixed feelings about the game, fan opinion was, and still is, significantly greater, with demands for a sequel or a remake still being made to this day.
16	* CultClassic: Despite a lukewarm critical reception, the game sold well and went on to become this, with a {{troperiffic}} plot that manages to shift smoothly between humor, NarmCharm, and some genuinely moving moments. Its use of ActionCommands [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking is also very appreciated]].
17	* DieForOurShip: Shana has the bad luck of being a BaseBreakingCharacter by herself and of being in the way of the [[FanPreferredCouple Dart/Rose pairing]]. Needless to say, some Dart/Rose shippers aren't very kind towards her.
18	* FanPreferredCouple: Dart and Rose, who get scores of [[ShipTease tease lines]] and romantic interludes. This is especially the case in Disc 2 [[spoiler:despite the fact that she's millennia older than him and used to be ''his dad's'' lover.]]
19	* GameBreaker:
20	** Proper usage of Item Magic and Dragoon magic alongside magic improving items can blow through the bosses in the game by easily reaching 6000 or 9999 damage. Shana/Miranda and Meru can easily waste most boss battles with this. Combined with a turbo controller, even early game item magic can tear through late game bosses.
21	** There are items that are limited into once-per-battle usage. These items are ridiculously overpowered if used correctly, especially with the limited item slot in this game.
22	** Thanks to MagikarpPower, Meru can become this if you use her extensively, since she has high speed and high damage multipliers to overcome her lack of attack power. While Miranda still beats her for healing and for magic damage, Meru's physical damage can be done quite frequently.
23	* GoodBadBugs: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM3biRJuG1g The New Game + glitch]]. Through a series of contrived steps, it's possible to start a new game with the stats and items of another game's file. This can also include [[spoiler:Dart having the [[EleventhHourSuperpower Divine Dragoon Soul]] for most of the game.]]
24	* HoYay: Dart and Lavitz can ''certainly'' be quite chummy with each other at times, with Lavitz being the only person Dart's really comfortable joking around with. This is despite the fact that Lavitz himself is a ShipperOnDeck for Dart and Shana. [[spoiler:To top it off, Lavitz is this game's [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Aerith]], and of everyone, Dart is by far the most devastated by his death, capped off by him [[DiedInYourArmsTonight dying in Dart's arms]] and Dart ''holding Lavitz' hand as he dies''.]] Despite the game hard pushing Dart and Shana, you can be forgiven for thinking [[RainbowLens the game was gonna be about a gay romance in the middle ages]].
25	* ItWasHisSled: If you’re reading this page, chances are you already know everything in the spoilers.
26	* LowTierLetdown: Kongol. He's slow as all get out, has the magic defense of a wet paper bag, and only has three additions, with the first two giving ridiculously small amounts of SP, making it an absolute ''chore'' to get his Dragoon levels up. Additionally, his final addition has a pitiful 300% modifier, the weakest of any final addition in the game, which holds back his ungodly physical might. With his slow speed, other characters like Meru or Haschel will end up outdamaging him. By the end of the game, Kongol, despite having the highest physical attack by far, only deals the fourth highest physical damage, bested by [[LightningBruiser Haschel]], [[FragileSpeedster Meru]], and [[GlassCannon Rose]], all of whom do higher magical damage as well. Not helping is that there's only two wind bosses after acquiring Kongol, both of whom are optional, causing his magic to never amount to much.
27	* MemeticMutation:
28	** The many examples of characters [[CallingYourAttacks calling their attack combos]]. Post one in any discussion and many more will follow.
29	** Referring to Meru as "the only good Dragoon" of the group is common when discussing the characters, thanks to her Dragoon Spirit being the ''only'' one that doesn't fit into the AwesomeButImpractical or CripplingOverSpecialization tropes. [[spoiler:Poking fun at the fact that she's, ironically, a Wingly is also pretty common alongside this phrase.]]
30	* MoralEventHorizon: Fruegel burning down Dart's village to the ground simply because he thought that kidnapping one girl wasn't enough.
31	* {{Narm}}:
32	** The voice acting in general, especially in the CG cutscenes as it tends to get progressively ''worse'' as the game goes on. Quite a bit of the dialogue, including those that aren't verbally spoken, can come across as downright corny.
33	** Rose's general uncouth demeanor can ruin certain key scenes, or scenes intended to be dramatic. Examples such as when Shana learns she has the Dragoon spirit, or later when the characters are mourning the death of [[spoiler: Lavitz]], Rose is leaning against a wall, arms crossed, looking ''bored''.
34	* ReplacementScrappy: Miranda is usually scorned for replacing Shana. It's not because the character she replaces is liked better,[[note]]Shana is often seen as a DamselScrappy, while Miranda is not.[[/note]] but more that Miranda joins in Disc 3, and only gets a few scenes of development when compared to everyone else. She's also very abrasive, although she does get called out on this. What doesn't help either is the fact that both characters [[MagikarpPower require a lot of work in order to get a payoff]].
35	* ScrappyMechanic: Enemies countering during additions is mildly annoying early game but not too bad. It gets downright obnoxious late game though when it comes to the latter additions. Late game additions get so precise with timing and speed that reacting to an enemy attempting to counter becomes almost impossible without superhuman reaction time.
36	* ShockingMoments: [[spoiler:Melbu Frahma secretly possessed Zieg's dragoon spirit during their battle and leaves his body once the God of Destruction is about to be born so he can rule the world [[AGodAmI as its new god]]. The reveal is hinted so vaguely that nobody could have possibly guessed it.]]
37	* SoBadItsGood: The voice acting can be this or NarmCharm to some.
38	* SpiritualAdaptation: This is probably the best ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' / ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' game ever made, especially with the themes, HenshinHero elements, and the fact it came from the homeland of ''Super Sentai''. When people weren't calling it a ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' clone, others were saying it's ''[[JustForFun/XMeetsY Power Rangers]]'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] ''[[JustForFun/XMeetsY Final Fantasy]]''.
39	* {{Squick}}: The ShipTease moments between Dart and Rose, considering that Dart's already committed to Shana, Rose is [[spoiler:[[TimeAbyss really eleven thousand years old]]]] and she used to the fiancée of [[spoiler:Dart's dad.]]
40	* StrangledByTheRedString: The Dart/Shana romance can across as this to some, especially in the first half of the game, due to lack of character development between them and the issue of their supposed romance being ''really'' heavy-handed at times. That Dart spends the first disc and a half remarking [[LikeBrotherAndSister that he sees Shana as a little sister]] only to state at the end of Disc 2 that he loves her too doesn't help matters.
41	* TearJerker:
42	** [[spoiler:Lavitz's unexpected death near the end of Disc 1]] is a big PlayerPunch, especially since it happened early in the story and after [[spoiler:the whole disc allowed the player to really appreciate him by showing his relationship with his mother, his friendship with Dart, his generous nature, and his loyalty towards his kingdom]].
43	** The CallBack in the ending movie to a conversation between Dart and Lavitz.
44	* ThatOneBoss:
45	** Jiango in the second Hellena visit. He's lightning fast, often getting two turns, and will most frequently spam a powerful whole party attack, provided he doesn't inflict Confuse on one or more of your party members. Unlike with Lenus, your party is low level and if you're using [[MagikarpPower Shana]], expect to get pretty thoroughly annihilated.
46	** Emperor Doel may be a DiscOneFinalBoss, but he's also a very nasty surprise for an unsuspecting player. His [[spoiler:dragoon]] [[OneWingedAngel form]] is fast and is packed with powerful lightning spells and attacks that often hit all the team. And they hit like a truck too, especially if the characters are not in dragoon form. Basically, you have to strategically use your dragoon transformations in order to survive. However, if Doel decides to use his move that creates a magical barrier around him when they are transformed, you may just go in a corner and cry, watching your dragoons waste their turns while he [[NoSell no-sells]] all their attacks.
47	** Lenus is the biggest example the first time you face her because [[TurnsRed the number of attacks she gets increases the more damage you deal, and she will spam her powerful magical attacks if you intentionally turtle]]. It gets worse: Lenus ''immediately'' takes the gloves off if you go Dragoon. To top it off, she's water elemental, and Dart's fire elemental, and [[CantDropTheHero you can't swap Dart out of the party]], meaning you have an inherent disadvantage going into the fight.
48	** The Grand Jewel can also count. It can mess with your character's levels, changing them by 5 at a time, and it loves to lower your level multiple times in a row before actually increasing them. And it's even worse if you've gotten into the habit of getting as much of your transformation gauge filled as possible before using the Special command (all characters take on their Dragoon forms); doing that will make him use the Dragon Block Staff, which makes your Dragoon forms pathetically weak.
49	** Rather fittingly because of the build up, the Divine Dragon does ''not'' mess around. It hits like an absolute truck and can party hit multiple times in a row, and once again the Dragoon form is useless due to the use of the Dragon Block Staff in order to weaken it. If you're not properly stocked on healing items and/or haven't properly invested into leveling up additions yet, you're gonna be stone walled by it for a good while.
50	* ThatOneLevel: Zenebatos requires you change the laws in order to access the Signet Sphere, or keep the guardians from arresting you when they attack you, or accomplish much of anything. First you have to acquire legislation, then get it made into a law, then have it distributed throughout the city. Each location is incredibly far from the other two so you have to run across the city three separate times for each law you want to change. And if you haven't changed that law yet, you have to do it while dodging the guardians trying to arrest you and send you back to the starting point.
51	* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: The game bears some very slight similarities to the megahit ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', released two years prior. It's generally agreed that these are superficial in nature, since ''The Legend of Dragoon'''s storyline, gameplay mechanics, and characters are radically different.
52	* TooCoolToLive: [[spoiler:Lavitz. He's well liked for his NiceGuy persona, being an honorable knight, and having a good sense of humor.]]
53	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic:
54	** Miranda's backstory would normally garner her sympathy: she was beaten, and eventually abandoned, by her mother. Her father was a drunk who also beat her. She took to war to ease her pain until she was adopted by Queen Theresa. In the game, Rose is outright dismissive of her despite the fact that Miranda served alongside the party without any problems. However, she's introduced to the party by berating and punching her subordinates, showing very poor leadership.
55	** Miranda's mother. It's explained that she felt forced to leave her husband and daughter because she was trapped into marriage by the pregnancy, and her husband was a lazy drunkard who spent all of her money on alcohol, leaving his wife and child to starve. While that should be extremely sympathetic, Miranda's mother was ''also'' dismissive and physically abusive to her daughter, and abandoned her without even saying goodbye. [[spoiler:On the moon, an apparition of Miranda's mother is trapped in the Death Rose, obviously in a lot of pain and begging Miranda for forgiveness. Even so, and especially after the cutscene of her abandoning Miranda as a child had just played, some fans feel she got what she deserved and only forgive her because the [[ButThouMust game forces you to]].]]
56	** [[spoiler:Rose]] is clearly intended to be sympathetic, given the tragic backstory. However, their [[spoiler:past as the Black Monster who regularly ''[[WouldHurtAChild murdered children]]'']] makes sympathy an extremely ''complicated'' matter at best, in spite of everything they've been through: [[spoiler:she's undoubtedly saved more lives than she ended through her massacres, but her lack of outward emotion[[note]]Charle latter remarks that the same spell that made Rose immortal deadened her emotions and that the main cast have made her show more emotion than she has in over 11,000 years[[/note]] makes her come across as uncaring and remorseless to it all, especially during the Phantom Ship, when her moments of emotion seem more focused on being called a monster rather than her regretting the lives she took while aboard. Though she shows more open signs of regret in Disc 3 and 4, the fact that she's forgiven so quickly by Dart and the party (sword fight aside) is a point of contention for some players.]]
57	* ViewerPronunciationConfusion: Gamers often mispronounce Shana as "Shay-na,", but actually it's "shaw-na". The mistake is understandable as her name is only audibly heard ''once'' in the entire game, and it's ''during one of the final cutscenes''.
58	* TheWoobie: Shana. Her hometown is razed to the ground just to capture her and then she gets broken out of prison, but she has these strange powers she has no understanding of. The guy she likes keeps constantly rejecting and ignoring her feelings. She gets poisoned and is given a Dragoon Spirit so she can survive, which she then loses shortly after the guy she likes reciprocate her feelings and she can't travel with him anymore. Then she ends up kidnapped (again) and finds out that [[spoiler:her powers are designed to bring the end of the world as we know it and she may have to be killed to stop it from happening.]]
59	* WriterCopOut: [[spoiler:The game sets up the final dungeon making you wonder if you will have to kill your father and/or your girlfriend and then [[ConflictKiller Melbu Frahma]] suddenly shows up and makes it so you have to do neither.]]

Context YMMV / TheLegendOfDragoon