The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered review

Not quite legendary, but nine years on, FuRyu’s role-playing legacy endures.

In 2020, FuRyu’s The Alliance Alive made a reappearance, bringing a graphically improved port to most contemporary platforms. Now, the Shibuya-based publisher is reaching a bit deeper into their archives with the release of The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered. Sure, it’s a curious revival that’s not quite as enjoyable as Alliance Alive. However, it would be a shame for Legend of Legacy to drift into obscurity. There’s an undeniable feeling of discovery that permeates through the game’s campaign.

A Treasure-filled Isle Awaits

While the game’s plotline centers around seven different playable characters, traditional storytelling isn’t one of Legend of Legacy’s strengths. The focus here is on context, emphasizing the history of the game’s island setting. Strewn about the isle of Avalon are blessed artifacts like the Star Graal- a relic that purportedly grants its owner immortality.

Legacy documents Avalon’s fall into ruin, prompting ferocious creatures to take over. And that’s where you come in. After selecting a protagonist, you’re commissioned by the island’s ruler to chart the unexplored regions of Avalon. Pleasingly, you’ll be paid handsomely for each map you complete.

The Holy Graal?

As you play virtual cartographer, you’ll steadily learn more about Avalon and the circumstances that led to the creation of Star Graal. Gradually uncovering pieces of lore is appealing, but if you’ve played many RPGs, the exposition will undoubtedly be familiar.

While the game’s playables all have different motivations for undertaking island exploration and have their own distinct endings, there’s little character development. Considering Masato Kato’s (Final Fantasy VII, Chrono Trigger) role as writer, you might expect a tapestry of richly intersecting tales. But largely the amount of character connection is minimal, which feels like a missed opportunity.

Mapping it Out

Fortunately, the process of exploration is moderately enjoyable. Unlike having to draw walls and hallways in an involved, Etrian Odyssey-style dungeon crawl, most of the work in Legacy is done for you. Periodically, you’ll be given blank maps, which automatically fill in as your reconnoiter new areas. At the top of a map is a number that divulges how close you are to completion. And while it would have been nice for the game to highlight the elusive areas prohibiting you from earning 100%, the maps themselves aren’t big enough to make this a lingering issue.

Each of these maps don’t have the kind of gimmicks found in a delightfully prickly dungeon crawl. Yet, steadily ebbing away at vacant areas can be gratifying. Many genre entries demand your attention. Even a single misstep in Etrian Odyssey can have perilous consequences if you encounter a roving F.O.E. But generally, Legend of Legacy signals you’re in a hazardous place before killing off your adventuring party.

But that’s not to say that Legend of Legacy is a pushover. Many of the game’s mechanics are given only a brief overview. You’ll need to experiment to learn their intricacies, which feels like a deliberate design decision created to provide a sense of discovery. Occasionally, quest directions are ambiguous. Other times, just attempting to advance the plot can cause a bit of frustration. But on the upside, the remaster includes a guidebook that offers a more detailed explanation about some of the core gameplay systems.

Fall into Formation

Although the menu-driven combat is turn-based, Legacy makes several departures from tradition. Before heading into an encounter, players can establish different Formations, which provide small statical advantages. Before each turn, you’re able to shift between your different configurations to boost your attacking output or have a member shield their teammates from harm, providing a bit of strategic nuance.

Remarkably, Legend of Legacy shirks traditional RPG leveling for a SaGa-style system. The more each character uses their weapon arts (think ‘skills’), the more likely they’ll learn new ones and improve existing arts. While randomized growth might distress traditionalists, the approach does allow players to cultivate their own character builds. Unfortunately, it doesn’t reduce the need for grinding. And given the game’s disparity is difficulty between subordinates and bosses, you will still need to enhance your team.

On the upside, Legacy removes the concern of having to revitalize between battles; both your health and the points you use for weapon arts are refilled after every fight. Should a party member be defeated in battle, they’re reawakened after the conflict, albeit with a small penalty to their maximum health. But since you can reset your capacity in the island’s only town, the consequence is only temporary.

Conclusion

During the creation of the original Legend of Legacy, mobile games were all the rage. Subsequently, director Masataka Matsuura worked alongside a team of industry veterans that ranged from the aforementioned Masato Kato, Kyoji Koizumi (the SaGa series), to Ryoji Shimogama (Resident Evil, Parasite Eve), worked to rekindle an appreciation for console RPGs. Although Legend doesn’t quite live up to its distinguished legacy, it’s an above-average adventure that should entertain fans who appreciate the genre and yearn for the delight of discovery.

The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered was played
on PC with review code provided by the publisher.