The news of Sony of Japan Studio’s demise, all but shattered the hopes of a Legend of Dragoon “Remake” for the game’s fans. However, hope has been rekindled by a recent unexpected development.
“It has been a rough 21 years. Our parent company (Sony) showed no interest in the IP whatsoever. Our game (Legend of Dragoon) sold well in the US, but it didn’t take off here (in Japan).” Legend of Dragoon Director, Masayuki Kasebe, said in a recent interview with Sempai.net.
The Director had lost hope for Sony to greenlight the project, as the Japanese giant refused to remaster the game, “Final Fantasy sold better than we did, and games like Chrono Cross were received better than our game, but after Final Fantasy VII Remake’s success a Sony Executive contacted me.” Kasebe continued, “He approached me saying, “You know, that one internal property, Panzer Dragoon, we want you to resurrect it.” And just like that, I am pleased to announce to our loyal, and at times rabid fanbase, that it is coming, we don’t know when, but it is coming.”
When the Never-Ending Realm learned about the news, we decided to contact Kasebe himself, and he graciously accepted to be interviewed by editor and Never Ending Realm co-founder Sam Rivera. Here is the transcript.
A Remake Inspired by a Remake
Samuel Rivera: “To start off, congratulations on achieving Sony’s approval for the upcoming Legend of Dragoon project!”
Masayuki Kasebe: “Thank you! It has been a long-time coming, but Sony heard the fans pleas and they responded in kind.”
SR: “I was not a fan of the original. I, along with other critics, felt that it was a Final Fantasy VII Clone.”
MK: “Oh no, no! The critics misunderstood our intent. Were we inspired by Final Fantasy VII? Yes. But who wasn’t? Even Mario 64 was inspired by Final Fantasy VII”.
SR: “Mario 64 was released a year earlier…”
MK: “Is that so? Hmm. You learn something new every day. Either way, to answer your question, I have some regrets with the original title, Legend of Dragoon’s story did not really develop as I intended, even though I wrote the game’s script myself.”
SR: “The game has certainly garnered a cult following. Personally, I didn’t like the story, I don’t know if it was the translation, or something on your end, but I just didn’t enjoy it. However, some of our readers did like, and even loved the story, so what do you intend to do in this new chapter in terms of storytelling? Are some original cast members, like Dart for example, coming back?”
MK: “Well, everyone is coming back!”
SR: “But Lavitz and Rose…”
MK: “Ah! Our male Aeri- Ahem, Yes, well, this project will be a remake, as I told Sempai, Sony wants to ride the wave of FFVIIR’s commercial success. So, it will be a retelling of the original story, but the way that it was always meant to be told.”
SR: “So, you will stick to the original’s tradition and this will be a Final Fantasy VII Remake Clone then?”
MK: “The word, is ‘inspired’ this will be a remake ‘inspired’ by FFVIIR.”
SR: “‘Inspired,’ got you. You said, the remake would retell the story as it was ‘always meant to be told’ that sounds a lot like Square Enix’s promises with FFVIIR, which didn’t turn out to be a true remake, but more of a sequel of sorts.”
MK: “No, this is a remake, I trust that fans of the original game will enjoy our game, even if critics shower it with 7 out of 10s again. But what would you say if I told you that maybe, just maybe, Lavitz gets to live in this new original retelling of the original story in the way that it was always meant to be told?”
SR: “I didn’t really like Lavitz. His death was kind of corny to tell you the truth. However, I did like Rose, much more than Shana, which I felt was forced onto the main character. Will Rose survive? She and Dart make a better couple, Zieg can take Shana for all I care.”
MK: “Well, with the introduction of the Ghost Whisperers, which is one of the best plot devices that I have ever conceived, the possibilities are endless.”
SR: “Fantastic…your originality is truly awe-inspiring … So, do these Ghost Whisperers serve as Arbiters of Time like the ones Nomura pulled out of his rear end in FFVIIR?
MK: “No. The Ghost Whisperers are Time Keepers, they are watchers. Always watching, making sure that things stay the way that they always were, but our heroes must unite to overcome such unsurmountable odds! Change their fates, revolt against destiny itself!”
SR: “Let me guess, Lavitz and Rose survive because this entire thing takes place on an alternate timeline.”
MK: “Wow. How did you? You should be a writer! I might have to change things up if our story is so predictable already…”
SR: “You are literally doing the exact same thing that Nomu-”
MK: “So Yes! The Ghost Whisperers will make the Legend of Dragoon experience feel new again, even to longtime fans.”
SR: “At the expense of making sense…”
MK: “Excuse me?”
SR: “The Ghost Whisperers are the same as the Whispers in FFVIIR. Plot devices pulled out of the blue in order to change the original game’s story, but there is no rational explanation for their existence.”
MK: “Let me ask you a question? Think carefully before you answer, does the Kingdom Hearts Saga make sense?”
SR: “No. But then again, fighting dark shadowy creatures with Donald Duck and Goofy at your side never made any rational sense to begin with.”
MK: “Do you think people running around with colored stones and morphing into winged Dragoons is rational?”
SR: “Well, the Power Rangers…”
MK: “And there you have your answer. Within the context of our storyline, we believe that the existence of the Ghost Whisperers in the Remake makes perfect sense. In fact, it is a natural evolution of The Legend of Dragoon’s Storyline.”
SR: “Well, can’t say I am excited.”
MK: “Definitely not nearly as excited as I am!”
SR: “Any closing words?”
MK: “Yes, in order to deliver the complete Legend of Dragoon experience, and to tell the story the way that it was always meant to be told, I am pleased to announce that The Legend of Dragoon Remake will be split into Episodes, all of them complete with their own set of paid DLC. I assure you that Sony couldn’t be happier, and more excited about this project!”
Legend of Dragoon Fans Can Finally Rest Easy
As confirmed by Kasebe, the Legend of Dragoon will finally get its long-awaited remake. It remains to be seen if fans will warm up to the episodic nature of it, and the potential storytelling implications that the “Ghost Whisperers” will have on the on the original work. As always, we will keep you posted as more information becomes available.
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Why even post jokes like this when we all know what people really want? Take the fans seriously, this is not funny.
april fools
day jokes are supposed to be funny not make the person reading wish your company would burn to the ground
how many times will you delete my comments I wonder
april fools day jokes are supposed to be funny not make the reader wish your company burns to the ground. missed the mark on that one.
So development for LoD started a year before ff7 was released. They were being developed around the same time, planning for ff7 started after 6 was released but development started late 95 and was released in 97. Development for LoD started in 96 but took 3 years so it’s release was later in 99/00. Ff7 fans are so annoying with this. The only reason they were compared to begin with was due to critics and ff being the big name in RPGs but RPGs have their similarities bc they’re RPGs it’s like saying every other rpg ripped ff off just bc it’s a rpg. Think of it like high fantasy genre, is every fantasy story a rip off of LOTR? No, fantasy stories will nhave similarities due to the genre but it doesn’t mean they rest of them can’t be their own.
Honestly every JRPG ever made is ripoff from D&D because D&D and table top games existed long before jrpgs where ever even a thing. many of first ones made got there inspirations from muds & tabletop games.It like certain people think Diablo & Diablo 2 is father for Arpg’s but that isn’t true either, Falcom’s Dragon Slayer, created by Yoshio Kiya, is “the very first action-RPG & is the father of aRpg’s
Yeah I get that this is an April Fool’s joke, but it comes across as particularly mean-spirited. A lot of people, myself included, really enjoyed LoD and it brought a lot to the table. It was very ambitious in its scope, the original release required four disks to hold the whole campaign. LoD has a cult following and openly mocking the developers is just disrespectful.
i’m a legend of dragoon fan. i hope the remake will be even better as the original, hopefully on ps5 with the graphic display. a sequel would also be nice.
the story shouldn’t be straightforward. and offer more freedom in action, decisions to the player. the Producer and sonny should not follow final fantasy. the should find their own new way and style. be few steps forward against other RPG’s games. have more Innovation and creativity. the game have big potential for few sequel parts and a remake. sony should focus not about how many sold copies, instead about the quality, Story, excitement,fun, how to play the game. Give the game the soul what it need and deserve.
I read half of this before I realized it was bullshit, remove this shit click bait article. I’m assuming the writer thought this was funny because he dislikes LoD, but it’s funny because orcarina of time is an overrated pile of shit just fyi.
Samuel Rivera – The Biggest Retard in History
Now that’s a remake I would play.
Wow this was such a boring and annoying article written by someone who thinks being an asshole is funny
Fuck you for writing this
God what an annoying ass you are. Knew this was a joke immediately. Fuck off with this shit
Just coming across this now. Actually fell for it until halfway through.. But boy am I glad this ended up being a joke. Because if the characters ended up looking like that horrendous dart rendition at top, I’d be way more pissed than at this april fools lmao
This is just pompous and cruel.. Didn’t your parents teach you that April Fool’s jokes aren’t supposed to hurt people?
Legend of Dragoon was always my favorite (in my opinion). The story, sure, was a bit bad but the game play was awesome, in comparison to FF there were no combos so I’m very intrigued and willing to give this a shot as long as the “game play” remains the same.
so they’re inconsiderate pieces of sh*t? well understood
This was not an okay April Fools joke, I was really, really happy after having a really bad day when I found this.
This sucks, way to raise hopes and make me feel terrible. Your site is bad and you should feel bad.
Oh look a FF fanboi letting his bias get in the way. screaming FF7 clone FF7 clone!
Perhaps the most rational comment on this post lolol — Mont
Samuel Rivera was going for humor and just came off like a complete and utter douchebag. 🤷♂️👍
Well, there is a fine line between the two. It was never Sam’s intention to anger people, only drop increasingly more ridiculous clues that it was an April Fool’s, but what is double-funny is that LoD fans are reacting like they did to Ben Hopper from Game Critic after he originally reviewed the game (As did Sam; the review he did for the game in 2000-2001 is on the site.) https://gamecritics.com/legend-of-dragoon-critics-nightmare
Oh sorry. We thought this was written by a journalist. Not a pansy. We’ll see ourselves back to a proper news outlet.
Dude, you actually suck.
You guys are literal assholes in my book, the way you wrote this, the take on the game, and how you just wanted to troll the fans of this game.
This website should just be shut down
who ever wrote this/did the interview is an asshole.
Some one takes their time to answer your questions with full respect and curtesy and you have to let them know how bad you think their work is throughout?
seriously go outside more you fucking nerd.
oh great its all a big fucken fool huh? well you got me. What a cocksucker you are
I hope that is not a fake news.
I know the game completely by heart still knows every secret how to train properly leveling and also get the best armor.
I have spent more than 1000 hours in this game and would really like it to be released as a remake.
I would love a remake it would be great and hopefully they can put it on the switch. I will most definitely keep my eye out for this. I really love the first game never got to beat it someone stole one of the disc! But I most definitely would get a Ps5 just to get the remake!
Such a hostile interviewer, even considering this was a “joke” it’s not funny. Please tag this article properly or just delete it. It’s garbo.
eat shit and die dickhead
How very cruel of you to satirize the idea by projecting your own disappointing experiences with FF7R onto a hypothetical LOD remake. I’m sure you will happily shell out $80, $100, $250 for every installment of that underacted, Disneyfied, uninspired, investor-driven baby shit stain of a final fantasy game – not including DLC – and you’re still smug enough to take a swipe at LOD fans? Are you literally insane? Look at this comment section: people obviously badly want a LOD remake. It would at least have a chance at being unique and satisfying, and would have a soul, unlike FF7R after having any remaining nostalgia squeezed out of it by the ghouls on square’s board of directors who refuse to retire a severely overplayed IP. As someone who played through both the original FF7 and first installment of FF7R, and also loved LOD and badly wants a remake of it, this is really just infuriating to read, even for a joke.
P.S. LOD’s story is obviously not a ripoff of FF7, not even close. FF7 had a great story, LOD’s was cheesy and terrible (especially with the translation issues), but in a campy, fun fantasy way. Anyone who waves away LOD as a FF7 ripoff clearly never played both games and just interprets as gospel lazy critiques given by jaded, D-bag game critics back in a time when the industry was HEAVILY gatekept.