Released in Japan in 1999, and in North America and Europe in 2000 and 2001, respectively, The Legend of Dragoon is an odd example of a JRPG that found its financial footing in the West, rather than the East. Despite a middling critical reception and a release date that came at the tail-end of the generation, Dragoon went on to sell one million copies, with most of those sales coming from North America. Understandably, its become a bit of a cult classic over the years, with English-speaking JRPG fans fondly remembering this 1st party Japan Studio title as a highlight of the PS1’s absurdly abundant role-playing library.
And now, in an era where new decompilations seem to pop up every other day, a group of talented fans are releasing The Legend of Dragoon from the shackles of emulators and old grey plastic, with the Severed Chains project. While its definitely still early days for upcoming PC port, Severed Chains promises a slew of modern advantages over playing the 1999 original through an emulator. Enhancements include:
- Higher-quality audio
- 4K resolution with upscaled pre-rendered backgrounds
- 60 frames per second animations
- Mouse support for menus
- A variety of optional QoL features like unlimited item slots
- Instant load times
- Modding API
All of this ought to be big news for somebody out there. And that’s what I love about high-quality fan projects like these: instead of waiting around for a company to remaster a beloved old game like The Legend of Dragoon, these people just do it themselves and ask for nothing in return.
Check out the work-in-progress port here
