Phantom Legacy (Redux)

Okay, played through the entire thing yesterday. Great game. The dungeons were simple in their game play, but they were built to such an aesthetic quality that I didn't mind; it was nice to go back and forth and enjoy the view. Keeping the "no random battles" policy from the first game was very welcome, though nevertheless I found myself fighting everything I found, just to make sure I wasn't under leveled.

Though most of your stuff was 'shamelessly ripped' from various sources, you put it all together very well. The music is great to listen to on its own, but each and every track that I remember felt like it -belonged- in the scene, and I was caught up very easily in the moment.

Story-wise...a lot of plot-twists, and while normally this is a bad thing, it was handled rather well in this game. I found myself trying to work out what was going to happen next, and only once or twice was I actually correct in this. The ending was not at all what I expected, and aside from some initial disappointment at how it turned out, some thought and a few minutes made me decide it was for the best.

It's probably intentional on your part, but it seems like there's room for a sequel here, an end to the trilogy. I look forward to seeing what you have in mind for that, if anything. The whole "Balance" ending, while logical and a fitting ending, usually doesn't work out. Shadar certainly seems to be banking on that...

I liked the battles. I found Demon Legacy to be unnecessarily difficult. I rate myself a good RPG player, and that is the only reason why I think I actually made it through. Phantom Legacy was handled better in this regard; the battles, while challenging, never seemed like they were designed to punish me like some were in Demon Legacy, Deimos in particular.

Dialogue and Storyline, as mentioned, are both well-made and well-thought out. You don't -need- to have played through Demon Legacy to understand Phantom, but it does help things make more sense, and it definitely adds more to the play.

Now, this might be because I missed some optional business, but...is it me, or did Rhea not get a -single- line in the entire game? Given that she was one of the old gang, I figured she'd have at least as much to do with the game as Slade, Iris, Sharn and other 'old' characters. But no, not a single line, not even a battle. Am I missing something here? Did I rush through the game or such? On the flip side, it was downright depressing to find out she and Slade had become an item. We all knew it was coming, sooner or later, but right -after-? Still, she was one of my favorite characters from the previous game. Shame, really. Did Slade finally get sick of her tongue and cut it out?

On the same topic, what became of Luthera and Assassin-guy-whose-name-I-don't-remember? In the original game there were various things hinted at - she was sort-of his lover maybe, and both of them seemed to have a touch of whatever miasma had taken Shadar - but aside from a quick scene in Phantom Legacy, they aren't expanded upon at all. I was hoping we might at least see some interaction, maybe some expansion on their histories and characters, but...

Shadar is as magnificent a bastard as he always was, though I find I preferred his old avatar; his new one looks too much like a hurr-durr cyclops. I found it a little difficult to take it seriously, and I found myself trying not to look at the avatar. As ever, though, Shadar ups the standard for RPG villains everywhere.

Malakai. I read "imitation Kefka" up there in the comments somewhere, and I found myself heavily inclined to agree. He regularly gets mocked, both by the protagonists and by guys on his own team, and - intentionally or not - it seems to me like you're saying "This is how dumb you look when you come off as crazy from square one". Hilariously accurate, whether you planned it or not. Still, he was a rather effectual villain. A third wheel who thought he was the big cheese, but in the end was just a side act. Handled very well, that.

All in all, an excellent game, and a worthy successor to Demon Legacy. It could have been better in some places, and parts of it felt a -little- rushed, but no game is perfect unfortunately. And while short, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, and I found myself fastened to my seat right up until the end of that 10-hour play. Well met.