Since The Legend of Dragoon is apparently coming to PS+, it seems incredibly fortuitous that it happens to be the next game I'm reviewing as part of my bucket list. You might find the timing to be coincidental, but what you don't know is I've spent months hacking into the Playstation Network trying to get the game added.

A little background first: I had a roommate who was bi and he played this game all the time on my PS2. It was during this period of time I was also coming to grips with the fact that I am bi as well, so because I apparently have brain damage this game has entered into my mind as "The Bisexual's RPG." This is our game, if you're straight you're not allowed to enjoy it. I'm sorry. Actually, I'm not.

Despite the fact that this game left a rather unique impression on me, it's kinda just average. A perfectly good time but far from a must play. Dragoon follows Dart, whose hometown is destroyed in a raid and his childhood friend Shana taken captive. After teaming up with a soldier named Lavitz - whose name sounds like a brand of shampoo - Dart rescues Shana and is subsequently recruited by King Albert (I don't remember if there's a "Prince Albert in a can" joke in this game, but I'm sure there is, I can feel it in my bones) to defend the fort city of Hoax. It is there that Dart discovers he is a Dragoon, a member of an ancient order tasked with preventing the reunification of The God of Destruction's body and soul, and as it happens, its soul currently resides in Shana.

The plot is really nothing special, and the story mostly lives and dies on the interpersonal relationships of your party members. In particular, I really like Rose and found her connection to Dart's father, her regrets and sense of duty to be some of the strongest stuff in Dragoon's narrative. Unfortunately, I can't say any other characters besides Dart and Lavitz really stuck with me, and outside of a very general overview of the game, there's few set pieces or emotional beats that come to mind even two years after finishing the game. Looks damn good for a PS1 game, though, and if you read up on its development even a little bit, it becomes quite clear that Japan Studio put a lot of thought into the look of Dragoon.

The Legend of Dragoon also tries to strike its own identity with its battle system. Attacks can be chained into a combo - dubbed "additions" - by timing button presses, which helps keep you more involved in what's happening on screen. Playing in emulation may pose some potential issues due to latency as these button presses are rather precise to begin with, but as you continue to learn each character, the specific rhythm of their combos begins to click and it all starts to feel like second nature. Once you accrue enough spirit points from successful additions, you're able transform into a Dragoon, this game's equivalent of a limit break or an Esper. While in this state, you have access to additional spells and attacks as well as heightened stats and resistances. I always appreciate when a game lets you hit that Kaio-Ken and start fuckin guys up. Feels good. However, this feature is unfortunately lacking in some mechanical depth, and I feel like it could've been expanded on a lot more. It is vital to rely upon your Dragoon state in the end game, but it always feels more valued from a purely statistical standpoint and not because it adds a layer of strategy. Like, I need the number to go bigger, and that's really all that matters.

While I think Dragoon is an overall enjoyable game, it is worth noting that Japan Studio was working on Ico and Ape Escape at the same time Dragoon was in development, and those are much better games by comparison. They're also wildly different, so perhaps that's not really fair, but if you laid all three of these out on a table like they were starter Pokemon and told me to pick one, I gotta go with Ape Escape. I will always go with Ape Escape. Sorry, Legend of Dragoon! I may have found you during a very important time in my life, but you ain't got no dumbass lookin' monkies to catch and for that I have to destroy you with a very large hammer. I don't make the rules around here, but I damn sure follow them.