Legendary Legend

With all the gaming-themed webcomics scattered liberally across the internet, it was really only a matter of time before someone took the next logical step and actually made one into a real game. Thus was Legendary Legend born, and I must say, it is a truly fantastic experience.

The game opens in the “Real” world with our three heroes, Steve, Nick and Brian, three college students who seem to be in various stages of denial over their inherent nerdiness. But they aren’t given much time to fret over that before a mysterious being flings them into a fantasy land full of magic and elves. They quickly team up with Rixis, an elven ranger, who promises to show them the ropes of their new world. Before long however, our heroes naturally become embroiled in a complex plot involving them being the heroes of legend and having to save the princess before the evil demons destroy the land. And thus do our heroes set off on their quest, pointing out the various absurdities of the fantasy setting as they go.

Balance 2/5:
Let’s get this over with quickly. Not much thought was put into the battles in this game. Each of your three heroes has a different area of expertise, Nick the fighter excels at dealing damage and has high HP, Steve the thief excels in status effects and gets two attacks per round, and Brian the mage excels in group attacks and elemental damage. Other interesting tidbits spice up battles such as how Rixis summons animals to attack her enemies, and the resident cleric happens to be a servant of a dark goddess who hates humans, and her heal spells are quite evil looking. However, enemy formations are random and nonsensical (this is probably intentional) and enemies tend to take a little too long to defeat. Fortunately, you can run from most battles in this game quite easily, and there are no situations where grinding is required as bosses are very reasonable. Additionally, your status effects actually work on them, which is great. And the custom battlers used in the game are awesome.

Level Design: 3/5:
Most maps in this game are centered around making fun of various RPG conventions, such as how unusual it is to find an unopened treasure chest in the middle of a busy road. Towns are mostly RTP and nothing special to look at, and most dungeons are simply filler between story events. Fortunately, each dungeon area has quite a bit of story going on within it to help keep your attention.

Characters 5/5:
Each character is spectacularly written, sparkling with wit and humor. Most characters are written around skewering specific fantasy character archetypes, and they manage to achieve this while also staying true to that archetype’s actual purpose and role. Even the NPCs in each town trigger hilarious conversations with our heroes. The various unique face portraits associated with many characters add a great deal to each character as well.

Storyline 4/5:
The story is somehow both a traditional fantasy epic and a parody thereof at the same time. While no holds are barred in skewering the RPG genre, at the same time all the basic plots are at work here and used to great effect. Many sequences are supplemented with fine original hand-drawn art that enhance many scenes nicely. Moreover, the “fish out of water” story archetype, one of my favorite conventions, is used here to great effect, as our heroes understand that they are in an RPG world and try use this knowledge to their advantage, only to find this world isn’t quite as much like a traditional fantasy world as they think…

Music and Sound 5/5:
The soundtrack of this game draws from a wide variety of sources that fit the game perfectly. Supplemented by expert usage of the RTP tracks, the upbeat world map and battle themes fit perfectly with the upbeat, innocent adventuresome spirit of the game while more serious and somber sequences are given appropriate musical treatment as well for a truly unique musical experience. Don’t you dare play this game with the sound muted.

Overall 4/5:
Although the battles of the game are nothing special, they are not the focus of the game at all. Gameplay purists will likely not be impressed here, as the game really plays more as a series of cutscenes that you simply must walk to. However, each and every scene is incredibly well written and presented expertly with an eye to detail most RPG projects cannot hope to match. If you want to just have fun, laugh, and see absolutely fantastic story-telling at work, you should definitely give this game a spin.