Antarctica
Want to share an interesting article!
Original Article:
A team of modders have breathed new life into cult Playstation RPG The Legend of Dragoon, a first-party game for the original console developed by Sony Japan. The game was released in Japan in 1999 but wouldn't reach North America until 2000 and Europe by 2001, and the combination of a mixed critical reception and a new generation of hardware saw it overshadowed.
Some players, however, have always held a candle for this most unusual and somewhat pioneering title. The Legend of Dragoon may have arrived nearer the end of the PlayStation's life cycle, but that meant Sony Japan really knew what it was doing by this point. It produced one of the machine's most visually impressive games, a huge singleplayer adventure, a clever turn-based battle system where characters could turn into the titular Dragoons, and realtime elements (early QTEs), all packaged-up with elaborate and fully voiced cutscenes.
Sony has kept the game available (with a few gaps), and a recent port to Playstation 4/5 even added a few features like quick save, but this is one of those games where you'll always be able to find the die-hards begging for a proper remake or even an actual sequel. Neither seems likely, which may be why a group of modders are going way beyond that and have created an unofficial PC port of The Legend of Dragoon, which is currently playable but "in a few months" will add no less than 4K resolution and 60 fps to the 25-year-old game.
The port is called Severed Chains and per lead coder Monoxide is "a reverse-engineered (unofficial) PC port of Legend of Dragoon and a full reconstruction of its game engine [that is] pushing the boundaries of traditional emulation software." Their point is that this "rebuild" is not based on another piece of software mimicking the PlayStation hardware, but standalone and "for that reason the game runs faster, leaner, and has breakout modding capabilities."
"I started by helping moderate and improve the subreddit [in 2016], then I created a Discord server so we could have a place for live chat," says Drew, a Dragoon fan who marshalled the game's fans. "By 2018 I was focusing on archivism, sharing rare concept art and promo images most fans had never seen before. Around 2019 I started our unified website."
Drew's passion for the game and keeping Dragoon alive led to fan events and podcasts, but when Monoxide turned up on the scene things got serious: "we were used to reversing being really intensive and difficult in general," says Drew. "Turns out, [Monoxide] was a senior engineer in real life. In under two years the whole game was decompiled, and he started converting it to Java. We now have additional team members and are making great strides together."
This is, as Drew will tell you, "the wayyyy shortened version." The achievement here is not that something came from nothing, but from years of hard work, dedication, and perhaps some childish love of the very idea of transforming into Dragoons.
Drew's glad that the pair's work is getting some attention and hopes this is "just the beginning" but cautions that the 4K 60FPS and upscaled graphics are "runnable now in our devbuild which can be downloaded, but the stable release will take a few months. For now, we're still on software rendering with RecBuild 2.1. We don't want to mislead anyone."
The project has been available in a beta form but Monoxide reckons the newest build is where they really start cooking, with among other things the music now working. They acknowledge a few minor graphical bugs in combat but, outside of that, "the game is fully beatable with no issues that negatively impact gameplay."
What's seriously impressive is the list of improvements made to the base experience: after all, this is a 32-bit RPG released in 1999, and 25 years is a long time. This version of Legend of Dragoon features instant loading, the option to skip FMVs, max item slots, unlimited save slots, tweaked controller input, mouse support in menus, higher quality audio, and "we’ve even fixed many retail bugs." There are a whole bunch of optional enhancements like text scrolling speed and automating certain regular commands, and then debug options that let you skip around the game's battles and maps at will.
-- I am a big fan of 60 FPS, so this will be huge once released!
Greetings everyone!
We have now decided that we allow emulator to be used in all categories. The reason it has taken so long is that we needed to ensure that the emulator we decided on is stable, and that it is fair for those who have run on console to not feel disheartened by emulator being faster. With these settings you can compete, as close as possible, to real hardware. The difference is hard to determine exactly since emulator load battles faster, and console load screen transitions faster. In the end the difference should be minimal since I did extensive testing against my PS2 turbo footage.
If you are interested in speedrunning this game, in any category you wish, just make sure to download the emulator provided below (or in the resource section) and follow the settings provided! While submitting a run you need to select "PC" category and "Emulator was used".
Enjoy!
Duckstation 0.1-4918 now available in the resources tab or download below!
Duckstation (55.7 MB Zip): https://www.speedrun.com/static/resource/e4e23.zip?v=9fa38ff
Note: Please use the Duckstation version provided with the settings included in this thread. Red means it is mandatory and Green means it's recommended. While submitting a run you need to select "PC" category and "Emulator was used". Proof of settings isn't needed, but if you want to show them at the end of a run feel free to do so for easier verification process.
Duckstation vs. PS2: I have done some extensive testing on the Duckstation emulator, and this is the closest I could get it to while tuning it. It won't mimic the PS2 exactly, but it should be very similar. So console benefits everytime the screen needs to load a new area, whileas emulator will get into; and out of battle faster to mitigate the timeloss from screen transitions.
Turbo settings on emulator: Putting 1 frame on X button is optimal. You can have a higher number if you want a slower turbo speed (to make shopping easier). Turbo is optional; so if you want to play in the Legit category it is totally fine!
Hello,
yesterday it was discovered that you can by-pass the block of FAST DISC SPEED on 79K and 90K model PS2s (which were previously ignoring the setting FAST DISC SPEED and instead played it with NORMAL speed). This is due to an internal list of PS1 games that had issues for some reason and got its FAST DISC SPEED option removed even though you enable it (it had no effect).
There is a way to by-pass this check easily by inserting another PS1 game of the same region until the SONY PLAYSTATION logo appears (then open disc tray and insert your The Legend of Dragoon Disc 1). It will boot up as normal but it will have ENABLED the Fast Disc Speed on a 79K or 90K model. But there is more...
All Japanese PS2 consoles seemed to ban Fast Disc Speed on JP version. The current records in JP board use "NORMAL" speed at the moment, but now you can run with FAST.
Details about how the block works:
- Some games have its GAME ID blocked due to issues that can cause softlocks or similar issues. In some cases the issues were so extreme that the PS2 had to block FAST DISC SPEED option since it broke some games. It's true that Dragoon would softlock 100% somewhere if you use dragoon during some boss battles, but that's not due to Fast Disc Speed... They didn't know that so my guess is that they banned it due to too many issues. Want to see it softlock? Try Dragoon on Lenus 2 and you won't get past the EXP screen.
PS VITA/TV has banned some games from using Fast Disc Speed: The Legend of Dragoon (JP/US), Final Fantasy VIII + Final Fantasy IX. To by-pass the check you change the game's ID which is normally looking like this:
- Disc 1 (Disc ID SCUS94491 + Game ID SCUS94491)
- Disc 2 (Disc ID SCUS94584 + Game ID SCUS94491)
- Disc 3 (Disc ID SCUS94585 + Game ID SCUS94491)
- Disc 4 (Disc ID SCUS94586 + Game ID SCUS94491)
So to by-pass it you would change both the Disc's ID and the GAME ID to something else like Wing Commander 3 (4 disc game on PS1). Game will work like normal with saves being displayed as The Legend of Dragoon even though the GAME ID is Wing Commander 3. Only thing that happens is that you avoid the ban list of the PS VITA/TV to automatically disable Fast Load Speed (same as Fast Disc Speed on PS2).
This could be useful even if you just want to play casually with enhanced read speed. That's it. Merry Christmas!
Hello everyone!
Important changes for The Legend of Dragoon is upon us all. I have now updated every category's ruleset to include no Save File corruption in some of these.
Firstly a quick note: Some can't menu after warping to the debug room, that's because of ghost saves. More on that later as we find an easy/confirmed method to replicate it. This should work on any console and disc as long as the ghost save data is correct.
Any% (Save file corruptions will be allowed and is now the new Any% speedrunning of this game). This category will have both Legit and Turbo categories separated still as in the old days. The optimal route will be to warp to Disc 4 and do whatever is necessary in your opinion to kill Melbu Frahma. Debug warping to Mayfil and back-tracking seems to be the most optimal way as of now.
Any% Classic is of course the old run we've been seeing for years if anyone is still interested in speedrunning without the debug room galore. Category rule now states that you can not use the save corruptions in your run.
Any% JP will be split for Any% and Classic the same way Legit and Turbo categories are.
Segmented Save file corruption will be allowed henceforth. So enjoy and break the game in pieces if that's what you like to do!
99% No Save File corruption will be allowed for obvious purposes. The purpose is to beat as much of the game as possible as close to perfection as possible.
Faust will be split as well into Any% and Classic once it's confirmed it can be done without issues while using the debug room.
All Bosses will probably follow the same route as 99% by not banning Save Corruption since you need to defeat all the bosses.
New Game+ is a new category that allows ghost saves (previous save data that can interfer with your new game data to warp you anywhere you like; furthest point being before Melbu Frahma).
The run must be performed on the same console to avoid multi console purchases, of course.
I don't know if this will be good or bad news for you. Some might not like that you can instantly warp to Disc 4; so we will have the Classic category still available as it was prior to this discovery.
To perform the Save Corruption into Debug Room:
Pre-requesite: --- Empty your Memory Card in a way that ghost saves are not present. One example is to save 15 times with Metal Gear Solid and then delete those. (Other games should work too, we just don't know which other games also work besides Metal Gear Solid).
1. --- Save in Seles as soon as you can on Save File 1.
2. --- Save in Seles on Save File 2 but RESTART your console ~4.7 seconds into the saving process to not let it finish completely.
3. --- Load up Save File 2 (you will be in the Debug Room)
4. --- Go to Chapter 4/Disc 4 - From the middle go straight down as far as you can, then to the left to enter Mayfil (back-track).
5. --- Once in Zenebatos (or anywhere you want to save) you have to OVERWRITE Save File 1 and RESTART your console ~3.7 seconds into the overwriting process to restore Character's corrupt levels (I recommend selling all items/armed before saving).
6. --- If everything is done correctly you will now be able to beat the game as quick as possible while starting in Disc 4 (or where ever you want).
Optional. You can use this method over and over to dupe the inventory or if you find other clever things to do with this. Don't let the mind stop you. Endless options await us all!
There should probably be a rule to not allow Northern Cave Save Glitch to be used. It does not work on Switch either, and I don't know the status on Xbox. This may have been patched on all consoles, but there is a secret hidden reason to ban it. That is for those who have an old version unpatched. They could still potentially do this if they avoid updating the game. You cannot revert back to old version anymore. So I propose to ban save glitch in Northern Cave altogether from being used (in case you care about the merged fair competition). If you don't then it doesn't matter.
An alternative way to kill Red Dragon & Demons Gate...
Red Dragon/Demons Gate strategy (Throw Materia Version)
The fight was not the best since I purposely heal myself. This is just a random attempt to show case how safe it is.
// Spider Web is stolen from Kimara Bug in Gongaga.
// Throw Materia is obtained from fighting Yuffie in Forest after Materia Keeper. You replace Tifa with Yuffie for Diamond Weapon until the end and removes the RNG of misses that can happen with Tifa.
The materias are from the old setup before Kalm Skip, but the fights will be the same. Just need to lower ATB speed a bit more I guess.
It is finally time to reveal the best way to play Expert Grid. The route was already done last year, but I lost interest in the game for a while. Got back to practicing it again last week and got a good run on PS3 so I can showcase it well. I have added commentary to explain as well. I have a big warning! If you learn this you won't go back to Standard Grid again...
I go for Kimahri cutscene instead of Auron at Lake Macalania
Differences:
- No Luck Sphere in Kilika Forest
- Always early Haste in Luca (Mech #3)
- Need to win Blitzball
- Steal available right after Chocobo Eater (to steal Bomb Fragments, Electro Marbles and Smoke Bombs with Yuna before Flee)
- Grenades at MRR for fast level ups
- Stealing Petrify Grenades on Djose Road (2 minimum, 7 maximum)
- Tidus has 16 Agility to outspeed all enemies in Moonflow Road
- No Magic Defense Sphere in Moonflow Road
- Extractor about ~1:30 faster due to Electro Marbles
- Dodge 50 lightning bolts (2x MP spheres, 3x Strength Spheres)
- Crawler mix (LV 2 Key + Lightning Marble)
- Faster Seymour & Anima (Self Destruct) always below 2 minutes!
- Shiva for Wendigo (stun-locked)
- Steal for Zu (Can steal smoke bombs for free on forced battle)
- Petrify Grenades for 2x Plants, 3x Home Battles (instead of Stone Breath)
- Only need Teleport Spheres, no LV key spheres or other chests...
- Chaos Grenade for Evrae (~1:00 minute fight if played well)
- Faster Bevelle Guards
- Yuna (attack) kills Larvas in Via Purifico
- Shiva kills all Isaaru battles (9999 damage)
- Yuna (1x attack kills YKT-63 robots with 1 hit) and Tidus the Long-Range robots with 1 hit on Highbridge.
- Bahamut (1 shot on Seymour Highbridge)
- Bahamut (2 shot on Defender boss)
- Kimahri solo (Lightning Marble, Water Gem)
- Seymour Mt. Gagazet (1 shot Bahamut - 87.5% or 100% impulse)
- Sanctuary Keeper (1 shot Bahamut 90.6%)
- Friend Sphere in Zanarkand necessary (and the Luck Sphere and Fortune Sphere if you want to make it safe from misses)
- Seymour Omnis (Haste Yuna, Armor Break from Yuna, Yuna summons Bahamut 1 shot)
- Wakka backup for Zombie Attack if necessary (only needed EXP from 1 boss for example Crawler or Seymour Omnis (Auron can swap out for Wakka).
Everything is much easier with Expert Grid. I think I cover everything well in the video. There is a little bit of hidden time save due to Tidus being so fast after Djose Road (16 Agility) since he can flee so nicely from Moonflow Road to Spherimorph. On PC you lose about 3:52 with the safe lightning dodges (you could YOLO last bolt on your way for a 3:45 time loss). That is ALL the time calculated (enemies + chest grabs included). That was last year, maybe it's even faster now with walking strategy.
Proof video:
I think a lot of people will get interested in the route after this being public now. It helps lower skilled players getting a better time as well because it has a lot less RNG involved. Ambushes on MRR is no longer a problem. Yuna cannot die due to 975 HP. I will get sub 9 on PC soon to prove it is easy. :) Have fun!
Hello!
I just finished a new version of the Playstation 3 route. It looks so well optimized and hopeful for those who wishes to run it! With some borrowed ideas from the Xbox version, I was able to improve the route significantly. I will remove all traces of the old PS3 version notes once I publish the new ones. I will try and tell you a little bit about it. I will run through the game one more time before I finalize the notes to ensure there are no mistakes in the guide.
So in the beginning I was going to include Prill Cotton, but as it turns out it has been nerfed. :'(
Changes:
- Marlin Glaive is no longer present in the run. Has been replaced by Vandog (bought in Casino) and has a mobility of 3 (means he can move a lot better in battles to align the combos easier).
- Valkyrie is no longer present in the run. Has been replaced by Lilly-Lilly who is much stronger than Valkyrie but less durable. Not that it will be an issue in this run.
- Increased Casino Coins required by around 15K (won't really be noticable timewise).
- Buying Smoky Champ (London #1 instead of London #2 - deals more damage early for bosses, but extends the transfers by a bit.)
- All bosses are easier, faster and have better movement and reliability than ever before... PS3 was really terrible when it came to stability of battles. In some bosses you had to get a specific position on your characters to be able to win, but should no longer be the case (which is why it was difficult to create a RTA route for it - runs that are done in real-time).
- Stats path has been updated to be easy to follow and prevents most ambushes that can happen in the game.
- Better EX path (sacrificing characters in random encounters or dancing).
Random information: Some of you might not know that if characters are dead during a boss battle for instance you still get the experience (level ups and stats). Meaning you will always have a level 33 Atsuma at the final boss regardless of if he was dead in every encounter or not. The downside to being dead in a boss battle is that you get no SP. I have routed in a way that doesn't require all the SP in battles. Especially with Atsuma who is expected to be dead in some battles since he has Smoky Champ and gets killed in 1 hit in some battles. The plus side is that you get +10 EX everytime a character dies in a battle. Sometimes it can be intentional.
This makes it perfectly possible to calculate all of the endgame stats in advance. Easiest way is to keep track of how much it costs to upgrade HP, EP or other stat points.
Normally it looks like this: HP: 3600 EP: 1650 Direct: 300 Ranged: 30 Support: 30 Agility: 30
Knowing what the stats will be at the end (HP will land at 7590 to upgrade) helps to route this game into perfection.
Anyway, short story long... I will be running next weekend and releasing the notes next weekend (available in the guide section) for those who are interested in looking at them.
I have limited data plan so I can't stream with good quality, but I will upload the high definition footage once I am connected to a wired connection so don't worry if the quality of the PS3 run is terrible, it's just temporary.
(Part 1 of my PS3 routing, just including it so you can know which channel I will be streaming it on next weekend). Will also upload it if I get a full run completed here to the leaderboard.
I am really happy with how the PS3 version turned out. I was scared for so long it was going to be brutal since it's more difficult than the Xbox version, but I did it and I feel confident now! Expecting the run to be 45 minutes slower than Xbox 360. If I had to guess I would say somewhere between 6:30-7:00. Hard to tell in advance. Can give a better estimate once I do my first full run. ;----)
- Dart Level 30
- Dart Level 60
- 99% (Everything but maxed out levels)
~ Dart Lv 30 & 60 ~
- I expect these categories to become very popular. How to participate? There is a save file you can download containing both of these on the same Memory Card to use in ePSXe emulator (which can also be found in the resource section). You start off with Dart in Hellena Prison at either level 30 or 60 with maxed out additions. Your other party members will be the same level as usual (meaning only Dart is strong). This is obviously a fun category, but the emulator of use must be ePSXe 1.9.0 to keep a fair game for emulator users. You are also allowed to play on console if you happen to have a save file for that.
~ 99% ~ This will be a category for those who are crazy enough to want to get all of the repeatable items, equipment, stardusts, dragoon magic, additions & goods in the game. The only thing not being done is leveling up to 60 with every character. A tutorial/guide will be created for this category very soon. I will upload it very soon. Should be available in December (2020).
All these categories will be available to everyone. Meaning emulator is allowed, however no turbo controller for these categories as it is not really necessary and to keep the addition's strength valuable throughout the playthroughs.
Hi, I want to run the JP PS2 version soon and I wonder why most of the skips are banned? Also are you going to add Clasko skip since all the other ones are banned pretty much? Clasko isn't listed so it would be nice to pre-emptively add that to the rules in case you want to ban it after I do a full run. I don't want to waste my time running with a skip that is going to get banned.
If there are any skips allowed please state which ones. JP probably needs more clarification. I am trying to get WR if possible and I want it to be clean.
Hi!
I made a guide for those who are interested in seeing how you can defeat the final bosses. I explain in detail why and what you need to do so that you understand the basics of what you are actually doing when following the actual (text guide).
I explain how to defeat all bosses from Mystery Man to Infinity (all in 40 minutes). So if you speedrun this part should only be around 30 minutes. I never felt satisfied knowing I could never defeat her. Now that I have both routes up I will start speedrunning this game for real!
Hello!
I just finished the routing for Wonder Woman Route (the fastest route ever possible!)
There may be room for small optimizations in the future, but it should be a breeze to beat the game now! Stop learning other routes, this is going to save you 30 minutes on any other route!
A link to the route is here: https://www.speedrun.com/The_Legend_of_Dragoon/guide/dooh4
Enjoy guys! Doesn't require insane mashing skills either! Actually easier mashing than traditionally necessary!
Hey, this game never released in US? So there is only the Japanese version if you want the fast speed, right? It doesn't specify which region was played on the leaderboard; unless America has got a release. :) I might give this game a shot once I get hold of JP version.
Hi, just want to let you know that Meesbaker got the unofficial world record for the game in the Turbo category with a 10:23 end-time. I will post the video below once it has been processed. The emulator runs faster than the actual console, but by how much we don't know. He will do a full run on the console in the future for an official world record. Either way, this is a way to see in advance what kind of strategies that were used. They are really good for Turbo category (to always hit 268%). :)
Hello!
As of 2018 we have finally gotten our first Enchanted Arms speedrun with video evidence! If there are any questions regarding this game or any speedrun related questions we can all ask them here. I will be happy to answer your questions, and hopefully you will join the amazing Enchanted Arms speedrun master race!
The Airwalk Glitch:
Menu Abuse Guide:
Xbox 360 vs Xbox One (Load Times Comparison):
Legend of Dragoon (Discord Channel): https://discord.gg/rQWXgK5
Fruegel Skip (Tutorial Video) 2 Minutes Time Save
Mashing 250%+ without a turbo controller
Teleport (Debug Feature) You can press START after grabbing a chest or when you want to return back up to instantly get back.
Skip Questions (Kid - Black Castle) Glitch This one I have not been able to replicate on emulator, but it might be possible on console. Probably only on PS3?, but if someone finds out how to do it please let us know!
I will add more as more things gets discovered!
If you happen to have any questions regarding the game or the speedrun route, this is the place to ask them! I guess any question is valid here as long as it is related to Legaia 2. :)
DARAKIN CITADEL (PRE-KAZAN)
2x Poison Charm (Nohl) 1x Vigor Charm (Nohl) = 1600 G
Poison Charm + Speed Charm = Sharpshoot Charm (WEIGHT 9)
Sharpshoot Charm - (HIT RATE +10%, POlSON GUARD, ESCAPE RATE UP +20%) It takes 20 SKILL EXP to get the ESCAPE RATE UP +20% ability!
1x Poison Charm (Nohl) 1x Vigor Charm (Nohl) 1x Power Jewel = 3600 G
Power Jewel + Speed Charm = Jab Charm (WEIGHT 9)
Jab Charm - (SUPRESS STRIKE 1/32 previously 1/16, AGILITY +10%) It takes 20 SKILL EXP to get the SUPRESS STRIKE ability!
1x Power Jewel 1x Cool Jewel = 4400 G
Power Jewel + Cool Jewel = Tiger Jewel (WEIGHT 9)
Tiger Jewel - (STR +5%, HIGH POWER) It takes 75 SKILL EXP to get the HIGH POWER ability!
1x Vigor Charm (Nohl) 4x Chance Jewel 2x Power Jewel = 14800 G
Handmaiden's Ring + Dodge Charm = Guard Ring (WEIGHT 12)
Guard Ring - (GUARD CHANCE +20%, FIRST STRIKE 1/8 previously 1/16) It takes 20 SKILL EXP to get the FIRST STRIKE ability!
DARAKIN CITADEL (KAZAN IN PARTY)
1x Venom Ring 1x Eagle Ring 2x Black Ring = 13800 G
Valor Ring + Wizard's Ring = Banshee Bangle (WEIGHT 12)
Banshee Bangle - (AP COST +10%, POLE POSITION, ART EXP, MP SIPHON) It takes 20 SKILL EXP to get the POLE POSITION ability and 100 SKILL EXP to get the MP SIPHON.
2x Poison Ring 1x Venom Ring 2x Eagle Ring 3x Black Ring 1x Barricade Ring = 31800 G
Wisdom Bangle + Banshee Bangle = Savior Necklace Savior Necklace + Eagle Ring = Fugitive Necklace (WEIGHT 13)
Fugitive Necklace - (MP COST +20%, MAX HP +20%, ENCOUNTER RATE 1/2) It takes 50 SKILL EXP to get the ENC-HALF ability. It DOES NOT stack with Heaven's Path for a potential 1/4 ENC RATE.
1x Venom Ring 3x Eagle Ring 4x Black Ring 1x Barricade Ring = 31800 G
Beggar's Bangle + White Bangle = Power Necklace (WEIGHT 13)
Power Necklace - (AP ATTACK, NO SURPRISES, ART ATTACK UP) It takes 20 SKILL EXP to get the NO SURPRISES ability. It has the two other useful abilities for increased damage!
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// You may add your own accessory combinations below, but they really need to be optimized for speedrunning to be added to the list above! ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
