The Legend of Dragoon, published by Sony for PlayStation

WHILE Final Fantasy is currently dominating the role-playing market - and rightly so - The Legend of Dragoon should not be completely overlooked by the eager gamer.

The game follows the same format as the Final Fantasy series - an epic tale, spilling across four CDs, a huge land to explore and more.

When you come to battle with the enemy, the combat sequence is similar to Final Fantasy, with the game cutting away to a battle screen, where up to three of your heroes can slug it out with your enemies.

The graphics are quite special in this game, especially the beautiful fire and water effects, but you do wish that as much attention had been lavished on other areas of the game. In particular, the dialogue is quite shabby. Perhaps something has been lost in the translation, or perhaps the original script was simply poor, but sometimes the exchanges are frankly awful.

It also takes the game quite a while to get going, and it's very easy to overlook the little touches that make this game worth while. Combats can often be played blindfold, but by timing your blows correctly, you'll find you perform a lot better in fights, stringing together sequences of hits to take the opposition out that much more quickly.

Ultimately, the game tells the tale of the Dragoons, ancient spirits whose form the party members are able to take on thanks to certain crystals that the team carries. The Dragoons were the ancient rulers of the dragons, who formed an unstoppable partnership during an ancient war. The time of need has come again, and the Dragoons must overthrow the evil Melbu Frahmd to save the world of Endiness.

With a bit more effort in other areas, this game could well have been a classic, but in the end, it's just a chip off the old Final Fantasy block.

Graphics 5/5

Sound 3/5

Gameplay 3/5

Gamespan 5/5

Overall 3/5