**This project is currently seeking help! To learn what coding help we need or to apply as a tester, tag @lordmonoxide in the #severed-chains channel of the LoD Discord server.

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Press Kit for journalists – Coming Soon!

Project Summary

Severed Chains is a reverse-engineered (unofficial) PC port of Legend of Dragoon. It’s a full reconstruction of its game engine, removing the boundaries typically present in emulation. In fact, it’s not emulation because this rebuild doesn’t rely on mimicking the PS1 hardware! For that reason the game runs faster, leaner, and has breakout modding capabilities. Please note that SC only works with the North American release of the game at this time. After the next major release we will look into supporting the other regional releases.

Project lead: Corey (Monoxide)

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Useful Links

• PC Setup Guide (SteamDeck Setup)
• Mods
• Known Issues
• Github Repository

Gallery

Features

A list of the current ways Severed Chains stands out, along with transparency on which parts still need work to reach parity with retail and standard emulation. Note that every item in the Current Issues column can and will be addressed in due time.

Roadmap

The next version, Recommended Build 3, is expected to release ASAP, following unforseen delays. It features a massive graphics overhaul: 4K native resolution, 60 frames per second, fullscreen, and optional widescreen support. The game will look and run much better than on emulators. There will also be many other improvements such as: Dart being an optional party member, accessibility improvements, and numerous bugfixes.

Recommended Build 4 will focus on the modding API, allowing more types of mods to be created.

Recommended Build 5 will focus on adding 60FPS support for battle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is this available to download and play?
A: Yes. View the Setup Guide linked above.

Q: Does SC change the gameplay?
A: No, generally speaking. Apart from core improvements like bugfixes, better rendering, and reduced load times, changes to the game will only be present via mods and settings that a player must opt into.

Q: Can I bring over my savefiles from emulator, or an older version of SC?
A: Yes! Starting with RB3, emulator savefiles and PS1-ripped savefiles can be placed in the /saves directory. SC will convert them next time you open it. Old SC saves are forward compatible. However, saves from a newer version of SC won’t work with an older version of SC.

Q: Is this project legal? Can I get in trouble for using it?
A: Yes, the project is legal. Illegality comes from rebuilding the game via leaked source code, whereas this project uses reverse-engineered assembly code and creates a new game engine out of it. You cannot get in trouble for downloading and using the Severed Chains platform. However, your disc image files or “roms” must be obtained by making legal backups of a physical copy that you own. We will not provide downloads of LoD disc images.

Q: Do I still need a PS1 bios file?
A: Nope! 🙂

Q: Why isn’t this considered emulation?
A: The general purpose of emulators is to act as a platform that imitates the original hardware – how it works, the processing power it can use, et cetera. This is why, although LoD can run with many improvements through Beetle or Duckstation, it still doesn’t have faster loading times even with overkill processors and graphics cards. Rather, the Severed Chains project doesn’t try to imitate the PS1 at all. This allows for many enhancements that are either not feasible or borderline impossible with standard emulation. This is the only way to play LoD with rapid load times, native high resolution, and more in the future.

Q: How long has this project been in development? What is the history/timeline?
A: Monoxide began the decompilation process in December 2020. In August of 2022, the game was starting to be playable. At that time, development was opened up to the community and made open-source. The first Stable release came out some months later. Stable release #2 was deployed in July 2023 with almost all retail features in place. Stable release #3 has been in steady development since then.

Q: When can we expect a given feature or mod to be added?
A: It is hard to create predictable timelines for each component of Severed Chains, as the team is very small and it is a volunteer project. You can follow the latest updates in the LoD Discord server‘s #severed-chains channel or study the Issues section of our Github repository.