A rise to the occasion or does it fall flat?
You may or may not have heard of Fallen Legion, if the name does sound familiar then that’s because these are games that were released previously with Fallen Legion: Rise of Glory being available on PS4 and Vita while Fallen Legion Revenants released just on PS4. These games now have a re-release on PC, PS5 and Xbox. This bundle contains both titles which were previously released as standalone games.
I didn’t know much about this series before delving into these games and after having played them I am still none the wiser. Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory is the first game to have been released so is the first of the two that I decided to try. Firstly if you are not an avid reader in any capacity the story of this game will just fly over you. The general setting begins with a character named Princess Cecille whose Kingdom has fallen into despair after her father who was king died suddenly. The story is fine but it’s mostly told in old English, there is text to read on screen and an abundance of it so you’d be forgiven if you just end up on auto-pilot and forgetting what was just said just as I did as I listened to a talking book talk about radiant mountain-tops and flower-strewn fields. Also talking books are becoming rather Cliche, especially in Japanese-style fantasy games to the point that almost feels like it’s the norm.
It is a novel-type game though, for the most part, there is action thrown in so it definitely appeals to you if you are a fan of reading. The gameplay side of the game can be very confusing for a new player that has never played this kind of game before. The gameplay consists of usually 3 screens, the overworld map where you pick a point to go, this is usually to progress the game and is indicated by an exclamation mark over it. The second screen is the cutscenes taking place which contains the character’s portraits and the text on the screen. Finally, the third screen is where the action takes place. This is a side-scrolling map where your team of characters will be running from left to right taking out anything that is standing in their way but these too can include small speeches going on between battles. The battles themselves require the player to execute a button which corresponds to each character on screen but it’s not as simple as mashing them. It is a semi-turn-based style where you can attack depending on the action points shown around the corresponding button. There is a total of 3 segments shown around the action button so if it is full you can attack 3 times instantly. There are not many games that I have played that have this style of gameplay, it feels like a hybrid of Dragons Crown Pro and Super Neptunia RPG. Nevertheless, the combat is fun but requires you to make some personal decisions during each battle segment which have an effect on battles and overall Morale which is a mechanic of the game. As you are the Queen of a kingdom, naturally it falls on you on the decisions about how to handle it and its residents. A pop-up in battle will usually ask a question on how you would deal with a situation, something like someone has been caught red-handed stealing, do you execute them straight away or do you let it go to a fair trial? There are 3 answers and you choose one by picking the corresponding cards on the screen. These cards represent Good, Evil and Neutral, all of which provide a buff during the battle but going down the evil route will result in an instant backlash from the residents disagreeing with your decision. These decisions have an overall effect on Morale which is displayed on the map screen. I am not sure how this has an effect on gameplay in the long haul but I believe it is there to change the dynamic of the story and question your motives.
Apart from this, there is not much else in terms of gameplay, tactics wise you can rearrange your party and switch them in front of other members during battles on the go but there are no over-the-top battle mechanics. Cecille who stands at the absolute rear has the most interesting arsenal of weapons at her side as she can shoot flame towards the enemy as well as heal and revive your comrades. You can also equip gems to Cecille which upgrade certain characters and their abilities although I am unsure as to why only 3 can be equipped at any one time and why they are strictly for Cecille herself rather than her henchman individually.
Overall I think this affects the mechanics of the game in that it feels very lacklustre for the most part which had an overall effect on how I feel about the game. The game definitely does some things right, a lack of things to do makes it more of a novel with some button-mashing battles thrown in and while you do need to think about your choices in battle I never found them super challenging. I was hurting for things to do outside of the battles such as collecting and upgrading my arsenal of characters but there isn’t any of that. If you do feel compelled to do another playthrough then you can play from another perspective in the form of Legatus Laendur who is originally a part of the Flames of Rebellion DLC which is now packaged into the game. There’s plenty of replayability to be found if you can find it in yourself to do it.
Fallen Legion Revenants is the sequel which took a long time to come out after Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory initially by a margin of 4 years. During this time a lot could have been improved upon but sadly it wasn’t. Fallen Legion Revenants is much the same as the first game only you play as two characters who become intertwined within the world and eventually fight together. This is a great dynamic that I love to see in games but much like the first game, Fallen Legion Revenants suffers the same lack of anything to do except narrating a story, which both failed to keep me invested for very long.
At least these games are pretty although I am unsure as to why they needed a release on PS5, it has simplistic artsy graphics which are great but it doesn’t benefit from being on a more powerful console, the UI is clean, never overbearing and everything is laid out well. I will say that my biggest plus with these games is the music as it is actually really good. The voice acting too is also great but there is so little of it which is a real shame because it’s clearly obvious that they put hard work into it. I never felt a connection to the characters either as they quickly became forgettable and for a game that is based purely on decision-making and outcomes dependant on character choices, this was the main focus and selling point.
A PlayStation 5 code was provided by NIS America
