Who Is The Bad Guy?: A Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory Review

Player(s): 1
Platform(s): PS Vita, Switch, PC (via Steam)
 
Most of us who play the typical RPG game are familiar with taking on the role of characters who are thrust into an evil plot and have no choice but to stop it or sit by and watch bad things happen. It’s been the formula for most games if one thinks about it in a broad perspective. Let’s not forget that there are few games where you can select to be the villain, enjoying the perks of villainy and even the thought of destroying something just because you can. Well, as you read in the title, this isn’t a particular PC game called “Black & White”…

Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory presents an interesting concept when it comes to telling a story. When you first start the game, you’re given a choice regarding who will be your main character. While most games tend to have different paths, this one offers a different ending. This starts the journey where you play the good guy trying to stop the bad guy. And who’s the good guy in this story? Well, it depends on who you pick. It’s all about perspective in this game, where one person’s story about being a good guy is another person’s story about how they’re actually the bad guy. Tired of hearing about good guys and bad guys? Get used to it, as that is the game’s main plot point.

The two main characters are: Princess Cecille, a battle princess that was sent to help the troops on the frontline and oversee the current war. Then you have, Legatus Laendur, General of said army and overall tactician of the royal crown. Each of the characters has a story of their own to tell and it would be wise to learn about each as this is a very story rich game.
 
The game starts off as Legatus is planning a coup and then takes off from there depending on who you pick. This would be a tutorial run of the game to learn the mechanics and it is one of the strangest of these you’ll come across. While many don’t believe in hand holding in modern games, this game clearly doesn’t offer that, you’re forced to learn to fight on the spot or die and risk a restart. After you finish with this stage you’re sent back in time to where within the story and see the buildup that leads to that fateful night. That is for the players to uncover for themselves though, so let’s talk more about the game itself.

When you do a mission you are presented with the main character and three Exemplars. The Exemplars are physical manifestations of long-dead legendary heroes that do most of the dirty work and take all the heat of the attackers. Each one is different depending on what they wield. These characters are each assigned a button that makes them attack, with the exceptions of the main character in which you use the D-pad to select three spells. You can use different combos obtaining ways to use special skills along the way. You can also read and select the skills when you select your Exemplars at the start of each mission (unless it’s just a story stage). You gain Exemplars throughout the game t the end of a stage. After a boss fight you add them on your roster.

Not only must you deal with the threat of attackers, but also the consequences of choices that pop up throughout the stage. You are also limited to how long you take to make a choice. More so it isn’t a simple black and white type of choice either as often the most “obvious” of the choices seem that seem good often have the most dire of results. This is what really makes the game interesting; the idea that you must be a leader and make the tough choices to better the people that follow you. It also plays into the story later, so it’s quite the interesting choice system that isn’t a mere illusion where you think you’re making a decision but you’re actually being railroaded. However, what counters that is the gameplay itself. You don’t choose where to go during the stage, only when you go to the overworld to select which stage to play. This system could easily have been made for a mobile game and it was for the PS Vita when this one first one came out.
 
Then there’s the amount of characters and the poor overlay. One thing you have to learn to do during the game is block attacks, but that is very difficult when the screen is very crowded and you have a cluster of characters so you often can’t see them doing things that you need to react to.

 The campaigns are not very long in both settings, but that is a good thing as there is a ‘one life mode’ on both. If all your Exemplars are killed, your character will be attacked. If the character dies, then it’s game over. There are no continues. There is also a New Game Plus function that unlocks the game’s epilogue.
 
One thing to fully brag about in this game is the music. As a fan of music there was never a reason to turn it off. In fact, one can say that even when the music was looped, it’s not seen as annoying, but instead hearing it again is something very welcome. It’s the right beat, carefully selected for each situation, and it makes the boss fights just a little more intense.

The Switch version is out now. (Being released on May 29) It includes both games from The Vita version, Fallen Legion: Flames of Rebellion and the PS4 version, Fallen Legion: Sins of An Empire. It’s a forty-dollar game, including both games at twenty each. Hard to say if the price tag is worth it, but the game is very fun to play. And if you don’t have a Switch, you can find it on Steam as Fallen Legion+. Check it out either way as I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

⦁ MCV Driver

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Story: A++
Graphics: B
Sound: A++
Value: A
 
OVERALL: A+
 
Pros:
+Fun gameplay
+In-depth storytelling
+Fantastic music
 
Cons:
-Bad overlay character sprites
-Controls are a bit confusing at times
-Very linear
 
 
Sources:
www.fallenlegiongame.com/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/612820/Fallen_Legion/
www.nisamerica.com/games/fallen-legion

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FULL DISCLOSURE: This title was provided to A-to-J Connections free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of review.