Trivia / The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

• Christmas Rushed: As the game goes on, it's increasingly clear the game was running low on time and budget; Levels get shorter and more linear, sidequests disappear and the game begins throwing plot reveals at you faster and faster. This culminates in the game just tossing you at Sauron for the final boss fight. One moment your characters are finishing up the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, the next your party has somehow suddenly warped to the top of Barad-dur and is fighting the Eye of Sauron itself.
• Follow the Leader: The game was clearly made to cash-in on the popularity of JRPGs of the time with Final Fantasy X being a notable inspiration.
• Screwed by the Lawyers: The reason for why the main cast spends the entire game tailing the Fellowship is because at the time, EA only had the rights to the films. This meant any elements that weren't established in those films were off-limits, forcing the game to stick closely to The Stations of the Canon.