There is no doubt that Legend of Dragoon’s artwork was stunningly beautiful twenty years ago. Even today most of it is pleasing to the eye despite its age. However, due to technology limits at the time, there is a growing demand for enhanced image quality and resolution today.
A general-purpose upscale package is being developed by theflyingzamboni, Zychronix, and Mr. Scentless. The project started a few years ago with the intent of covering the background images or “submaps” that the player traverses along their journey. Since then it has grown to include revised UI elements and even a soft pass on 3D model textures.
Many have asked about the progress of this mod lately. Zychronix has shared an update (March 16 2025) which should clarify why it has taken so long, and what the trajectory is now. Click this text to read it!
We announced the upscale project as soon as texture replacement was implemented in the Beetle PSX emulator for Retroarch. I finished upscaling disc 3 and disc 4 and all the battle textures in 2022, while theflyingzamboni finished a good portion of disc 1 and a bit of disc 2. However the game with 8x res textures has constant slow downs in Beetle and I wouldn’t consider it playable. Beetle’s texture replacement feature hasn’t been worked on in 4 years (last checked mid-2024).
In 2023/2024 new AIs were releasing rapidly and have greatly improved our image quality. Along with SCs rapid development and modding API where we can upscale the background, we decided to scrap all of the old upscales and change the project to SC only. In short a lot of our old upscales look like they were drawn with crayon. Much of our time in 2020 – 2022 was researching and developing our own AIs and trying to find ones that can make good upscales and ways to handle the pixel perfect cutouts of the original. Every time a new AI releases we have to do the same research to see if the AI is good for the LoD maps which is what I am doing in currently, and posting around every month in Upscale Project thread of the LoD Discord server, so I don’t fall behind in the AI new developments.
For now tfz is working on fixing up SC and I am working on Dragoon Modifier, which is my priority to release before SC 3.0 is complete. I will resume full work on upscale project once DraMod is complete and TFZ will likely resume work after SC 3.0 as well. However, we are sharing my computer for the upscale project so only one of us can work on it at a time. These new AIs we use are fairly large and I would recommend having at least 96GB of RAM and 24GB VRAM which I don’t even have at the moment. We appreciate the continued patience and interest of players – rest assured this project will be completed.
Here are some examples of things we can upscale:
- background images
- textures that will be seen on a 3D model
- UI elements
- particle effects
Useful Links
- Video Playlist (Location Previews)
Gallery
Future
The project has expanded beyond just background images. There are already some experiments with portrait art and UI elements such as icons and text font. There is even a soft pass on 3D model textures! All these things require time and effort to flesh out, but the project is now even more exciting than it was before.
Originally, the upscale project was slated for Beetle PSX HW. Now that Severed Chains is becoming the best way to play Legend of Dragoon, and that there has been no progress of the issues of texture replacement in Beetle PSX HW, the upscale project will only support Severed Chains.
FAQ
Q: When will the project be finished?
A: While a vast majority of the work is finished, there is no estimated completion date. The two volunteers who work on the upscale are currently helping finish SC Rec. Build 3. After RB3 is released, this mod can be resumed and completed.
Q: When can I download the mod?
A: Once the project is finished, a download link will be added to this page. It will also be listed in the main Modding area of the site, and we’ll make an announcement so everyone will be alerted when it becomes available.