With Legend of Dragoon recently arriving to PS4 and PS5, the cult classic is a major draw for players looking to dive into the classic catalog that has slowly been growing on modern consoles. However, the current state of this latest classic could hurt the perception of the classic catalog, and especially the PS Plus Premium service that offers these retro titles as the primary benefit.
While Legend of Dragoon is completely playable through these new ports on PS4 and PS5, there are a number of bugs and glitches that players have run into since it launched. These glitches range from minor rendering errors to a consistent softlock that completely removes an entire segment of gameplay, and they need to be addressed if the current flagship title for the PS Plus Premium catalog is going to draw in players who are still on the fence.
Legend of Dragoon's Glitch-Plagued Port
The glitches across the most recent port of Legend of Dragoon are specifically interesting, because many of these problems didn't appear when the game was brought over to PS3. Some of the minor rendering effects, with light peeking in from around different sprites and objects on each map, can sometimes be found on the PS3 version as well as the new PS4 and PS5 ports. However, the more intrusive bug comes whenever players attempt to use the Dragoon Magic tied to the Dragoon transformations that become available after completing the first few dungeons.
Whenever attempting to use this Dragoon Magic, these latest ports of Legend of Dragoon run into a softlock where the game fails to find the next enemy or character to take their turn. This means that one of the five fighting options available during Legend of Dragoon's unique combat is completely locked off by the threat of forcing a reset to the most recent save. Altogether, this isn't a strong showing for any fans of the classic title who might be on the fence about picking up the classic, or the PS Plus Premium service that gives access to the game within the classics catalog.
Poor Classic Performance Doesn't Bode Well for PS Plus Premium
The Premium tier of the PS Plus service is an impressive addition to PlayStation's online subscription model, with the classics catalog being one of the biggest draws alongside limited game trials to entice fans to upgrade to the top tier. However, with Legend of Dragoon being one of the biggest names to have recently been added to the classics catalog, the port launching with performance issues risks giving players a terrible first impression of the service. If this is the first game that really got players on PS4 or PS5 to dive into the collection of retro games that PlayStation has available on the PSN, then it sets a bad precedent for how every other game will perform.
Considering that one of PlayStation's most popular requests from fans is for a new Legend of Dragoon remake, the port was always going to be a hit when it came to modern consoles. Ideally, dropping a cult classic for mass appeal should be leading players to other high profile classics like the first three Wild Arms games, or the Dark Cloud series. These are massively influential games, many of which run totally fine on new consoles, that PlayStation fans might not engage with because the first game they tried kept crashing, jittering, and softlocking. This could then mean that no one will be looking to upgrade to PS Plus Premium for games that might not run properly.
One Patch Could Easily Save PS Plus Premium's Good Name
To be clear, the Legend of Dragoon port is still new, and some of the major issues may have slipped through playtesting because they aren't necessary to start or even beat the game. So, there is still time for PlayStation to release a patch that could fix Legend of Dragoon on PS4 and PS5 before it comes off like the game was dead on arrival and the company never bothered to revive it. Especially if PlayStation plans to give Legend of Dragoon the remake treatment in the future, it is important to make sure that the original runs better on modern consoles. This could help keep PS Plus Premium's appearance as a good investment for players and bring in a host of new fans for the remake down the line.
Legend of Dragoon is available now for PS1, PS3, PS4, and PS5.
