The Legend of Dragoon is a classic PlayStation title that got re-released on modern consoles in February 2023. It is a JRPG with a unique action-oriented combat system and surprisingly detailed animations. Despite being almost 25 years old, this version of the game launched with trophy support. Below, I detail my (spoiler-free!) experience going for The Legend of Dragoon’s platinum trophy.
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Why The Legend of Dragoon?
— PlayStation Store
“Unveil a fantasy of magnificence, deception, magical combat, and retribution as you join swordsman Dart and his companions to harness the spiritual forces of Dragons and triumph over evil.
Using a unique and innovative tactical combat system, transform into Dragoons and unleash extraordinary powers. Control a wide variety of characters that wield unique weapons and Dragoon attacks powered by the elements in this unforgettable role-playing game.”
When trophy support was announced for this game, I knew I had to obtain the platinum trophy. I played The Legend of Dragoon dozens of times back when I was a kid. I still remember my older siblings reading all of the characters’ dialogues aloud for me, each with a unique voice.
Despite loving the game, I never got the chance to actually complete it. Every time we got to Disc 3, the game would skip and no longer play. We purchased several replacements online, but the game never seemed to work properly. With the recent release, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally see the game’s story to its conclusion. So, I got to work.
The Trophy Hunt
Thankfully, the trophy hunting experience for this game is very straightforward. You basically just need to beat the game, pick up a few collectibles, and fight a couple of optional bosses.
Although there are 50 Stardust collectibles in the game, the trophies only require you to find and collect 30 of them. This leaves plenty of room for error should you miss any along the way. That said, you will 100% want to use a guide—these collectibles are not visible, and you must investigate seemingly random spots in the background environment to find them.
I’m more of a visual person, so I searched for a guide with images. I found this walkthrough to be short, sweet, and perfect for my needs.
The “optional” bosses are located along a linear portion of the story in Disc 4. They are impossible to miss. These are the Dragon Spirits in Mayfil. I did not personally have any problems defeating these enemies. Thankfully, you will not have to battle the harder optional bosses in the game for any trophies.
If you have any trouble later in the game, you can always opt to go back and obtain the extremely powerful Legend Casque armor piece in Lohan. This helmet can be equipped by every party member and has high magic defense/evasion. That said, it comes at a steep price of 10,000. You don’t need to worry about traveling back to get it, though—in Disc 4, you will have temporary access to a means to easily fast-travel between all the cities in the game’s world. I personally bought one set, not because it was necessary, but because it made it a lot easier to use the party members I preferred that unfortunately suffered from low defense.
All the other trophies are story-related and primarily pertain to either defeating bosses or completing story chapters (in other words, the game’s discs).
I decided to go out of my way to grind additions to the maximum level. For those unaware, these are the character’s attacks in combat. Each character has several moves they can perform that become their most powerful after the player successfully performs them 80 times. I mostly did this for completion’s sake, although they did also make future battles much easier as well. I personally employed a team composed of Dart, Meru, and Rose.
PlayStation 5 Release Quirks
One significant positive to the PlayStation 5 version of this game is the ability to rewind. If you make a mistake in battle, select the wrong dialogue option, forget to heal before a random encounter, or any other problem occurs—you can easily pause the game and rewind back a few frames to try again. This is especially nice for when you mess up on the more challenging additions, particularly if your gaming set-up is more prone to input lag.
You can also use up quick-save slots at any time; no in-game save point required. This makes the game incredibly accessible and a lot more forgiving in its difficulty.
When the game released back in February 2023, there were some game-breaking bugs related to using magic while in Dragoon form in battle. Since then, updates to the game have patched these issues. I did not personally experience any problems while playing the game normally.
Also, the game does NOT automatically pop trophies. If you want both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 stacks, you will have to play them separately.
Reflection
I would give the game a glowing recommendation. It was great getting to experience the story to its conclusion for the very first time.
I found myself often surprised by how detailed the animations in battle and during talking sequences with the party were. Every enemy has unique attack animations, often with a great level of detail. For example, I remember being dumbstruck during the initial fight with Kongol. Also, despite being polygonal in nature, the character models were surprisingly expressive during emotional beats in the story. The story also had some interesting twists near the end, too.
Since I took my time and engaged in some side activities, I ended up clocking in about 50 hours by the time I unlocked the platinum trophy. Generally, anywhere between 30-40 hours seems about right for the average trophy hunt if you’re using the rewind feature or a guide as needed.
Have you already collected the platinum trophy for this classic game? Consider checking out our guide for Monster Prom: XXL if you’d like to read about another platinum trophy we’ve acquired.
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