I think Legend of Dragoon is a great game and I'll straight up tell you why:

I loved the settings.

There are many things that can make a game great: gameplay, plot, characters, music, art direction, graphics, interactivity, and longevity come to mind immediately.

You can be a jack of all trades and try to create a game that's good in all areas, or you can lack in certain other areas but excel in one area (maybe not to such an extreme, but the certain absence of development in other areas will complement what already stands out as the best aspect of the game).

You don't have to go completely in depth here and decide whether a game's worth is based solely on a meticulous summation of all its parts. Obviously the games we rate as the best would be, more or less, nearly perfect in all of the categories that matter most to us as individuals in the gaming process. I've more than once played a game in which every aspect of the story comes together in perfect harmony, and creates the most beautiful experience in the world. That doesn't mean we have to hold all games to this standard. A way of looking at it would be saying that because they lack in certain areas, they will never be the best games, but they can be great.

A counter argument to the above sentence would be looking at this matter from an RPG party perspective. We have the jack of all trade video game which excels in all areas areas and is widely considered "the best". This is our main character. Exceptional in every area, but the fact that every area is evenly outstanding beclouds everyone's judgment at regarding a single section as brilliant. Then we have the magic user, the "great" game, which ranges from severly lacking, to lacking in one or more areas, but stands out in maybe one, two, or three. This guy has really crappy HP, but can take anything down in 2 hits and has the most MP in the game. Now the first guy can hit pretty hard too, but the mage's magic ability is so great (being his physical ATP sucks), that he can take things down much faster. Who you decide to take on your quest is subjective depending on your style of play, therefore perhaps what makes the "best" games and "great" games may also be subjective. Some gamers may prefer music, some may prefer plot, some may prefer gameplay, and couldn't give a damn about the other areas, making their best games other people's lacking, or "great" games. Different standards for all is pretty much what it boils down to. It's very difficult to judge all games the same way because they're so different nowadays.

But back on the subject of LoD, my personal opinion is that it is a "great" game because the locations were simply fantastic. Put aside the plot. Put aside the music. Put aside the gameplay. Look at the locations and environments:

The Helena Prison. Feels like it's straight out of Star Wars. The black castle is probably the most gloomy, evil feeling imperial stronghold I've ever been to in a game. The Valley of Corrupted Gravity and its enormous gate into the unknown. The Oceanic Palace and the beautiful view across the twilight lake from the Princess' room. The realm of the giants' desolation and savvy traps. A volcanic mountain graveyard, an undersea lab, a crystalline palace, a snow tower, a tropical fortress in the middle of a desert, a kingdom of lost souls, a bereaucratic office and beyond. And don't even get me started on the bosses.

Would I like to see a Legend of Dragoon 2? Yes. Do I give a damn what the plot is about, what the gameplay is like, or what the music sounds like? Not really. As long as they give me more stunning locations I'll be fine with it, because that's what I enjoyed from the original. Environments and scenery baby. Oh, and really cool bosses.