It's French!!!!
Anyway, Legend of Legaia (la Gaia, get it?) is a game I know nothing about. What's the main character, the villain, the world, etc.? I do know it's well regarded by JRPG fans with bad backs these days. It was developed by several companies but was published by Sony in 1998. Were they looking for their Final Fantasy killer at this time? Could this have done it? Let's find out!
The game starts with important backstory. God created humans who had his wisdom. But they were weaker than the beasts and really stupid, so they were constantly almost going extinct. To protect his failed children, god created the seru. These stone like creatures fused or equipped themselves onto humans to make them stronger, faster, and not suck. That was the beginning of human history. But a few short years ago, a strange mist descended onto the world. It caused the seru to go crazy and attack the humans. And any that were equipped to humans made the humans act like zombies. Humans have now withdrawn to isolated areas of the planet, away from the mist and protected by walls. One such village is named Rim Elm...
A young man named Vahn leaves his house one day and walks around the village by the sea. He peeks into a house but keeps waking until he finds a green, dead tree in the middle of Rim Elm. The village elder and some random little girl come up to him, and they discuss the Genesis Tree. It exists, and it calms the spirits of many villagers, especially Vahn. It's his last day as a child, and he'll be joining the hunters, a group of people who leave the village to hunt food for the town, tomorrow. The three pray for good luck before Vahn takes another walk around town. This is when we gain control. As he leaves the well the tree is in, a woman exits the house he peeked into earlier named Mei. She's sowing Vahn's new hunting clothes but needs some updated measurements for him. Vahn can take this conversation in several ways, depending on player's choice, but they'll lead to Mei waiting at Vahn's house.
I took this time to look around the village and get a lay of the land. Vahn's martial arts instructor is on the beach and can give you the rundown on combat. It's part turn based, part fighter, part programming. On a character's turn, you can input a series of commands that the character will act on. These commands are based on enemy position, so don't use low attacks on flying mobs. If you input a certain series, the character will perform a special attack called an art. Tetsu teaches us how to summersault.
Mei bemoans that Vahn has grown a lot since the last measurements, but she does what she needs to do quickly. Vahn's little sister, Nene, embarrassed her when she asked if Mei is in love with Vahn. But Vahn's not-girlfriend leaves, and twilight falls upon the town. The hunters return home, and everyone is excited. But they shouldn't be. The men haul back a deadman. Juno, Mei's father, was attacked when the mist rolled in. While the mist doesn't affect humans, it always brings forth the mad seru. The villagers take Juno's corpse home, and an elderly couple stay with the grieving Mei. Vahn heads home and goes to bed.
The entire village is awoken by a loud bang. Vahn checks it out and sees most of the village is at the massive gate. Something is knocking on it... A voice from nowhere talks to the villagers and says they're all going to die. A strange being that resembles a lich teleports in and suggests the humans end their struggle and accept the seru. Vahn's master tries to attack the lich, Zeto, but a barrier stops him. He then calls outside the walls and tells a massive (presumed) seru to attack. The wolf like being screams, and the wall crumbles. A squad of tiny seru invade the town.
Random battles against a green slime and a wolfman can occur, but the seru, gimard, appears on screen. Don't fight the gimard. They're too tough and take a long time to kill. Instead, just walk around the village. Villagers ask for a safe place, and Nene can heal you if the mobs get to ya. The goal is to talk to the Genesis Tree but check in on Mei first. She'll give you a reward when all this is over that I don't think you'll get if you ignore her or don't take her back to your house.
Vahn will approach the Genesis Tree, and another voice calls out to him. A green and red rock appears before Vahn, urging Vahn to equip him. This is Meta, and it's unlike any other seru. Meta is a ra-seru, and they're not affected by the mist. Vahn fuses with Meta, who wants him to bring everyone in the village to the tree. This is done automatically, and everyone gathers around the deadwood. Meta wants everyone to pray to the tree for safety and peace. Despite everyone not trusting a seru, they trust Vahn and do it. The tree begins to glow and bloom before a wave of mist clearing energy shockwaves out from the tree. The mad seru... disappear, and neither Zeto nor the wolf titan are anywhere to be seen. Vahn, out of exhaustion, collapses.
He awakes in the morning to see the funeral for three people. Two randos and Juno. The elder preaches about the world's gods and the afterlife as they push the bodies out to see. A mourning Mei chases her father's coffin, but the tears stop here. They actually made tears for her. The devs are good, and why is that what I was focusing on? A mother tries to teach her young son about death as the scene skips towards midday.
Vahn will no longer be a hunter. Meta has given him a new role: save the world. Vahn's to travel the world and revive the Genesis Trees scattered throughout. This will remove the mist and restart human development. As he leaves, Mei runs out to him. She's finished his hunter clothes and wants to see them used. She also gives him her pendant, which increases HP by ten percent. The village elder suggested Vahn visit Bueno Temple to the north. He believes that Mei's mom, Maya, could still be alive if she's there. That's where she was ten years ago when the mist first appeared. A shop has also opened up in Rim Elm that sells gear.
Along the route to the temple, Vahn finds a fountain where the village hunters are resting at. A stranger no one has ever seen before is also there, regaling them about his home, Drake Castle. The man asks Vahn to see if the king is alive, which I'll do...
...tomorrow!
I'm enjoying LoL so far. Obviously, there's nothing groundbreaking yet, but the charm is already apparent. Also, the wall being destroyed reminds me that the Attack on Titan: Final Season, this time we probably mean it, I swear; trust me starts tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment