Fallen Legion: Flames of Rebellion

An American studio YummyYummyTummy is popular among the players for the Nommons series, which encompasses educational games released for mobile devices and Nintendo Wii U. However, because of their great interest in Japanese RPGs and beat'em ups, the team decided to combine these two genres together. As a result, Fallen Legion was developed and the game came out for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. The two versions differ mainly in terms of the story, which can be experienced from the perspectives of two different characters - the princess Cecille (PS4) and Legatus Laendur (PSV), who's plan is to take control over the Kingdom of Fenumia. Visual differences also appeared between the two versions – for obvious reasons, the game makes a better impression on PlayStation 4, as this version offers higher resolution and better-quality textures.

Plot

In Fallen Legion for PS4 and PSV, the player takes on the role of a young princess by the name of Cecille. Her father – the king of Fenumia, died prematurely, leaving his daughter with the duty to ensure the country's well being. A mysterious, talking book with a power to bring a steel weapon to life is one of the most confusing elements of the deceased father's heritage. Apart from that however, the book has held a dark secret of the kingdom – as it turned out, Fenumia is a place far less idyllic than its inhabitants thought. In order to fulfill her duty and bring both peace and safety to her subjects, Cecille has to face dangerous enemies and monsters.

Mechanics

Fallen Legion for PS4 and PSV combines a series of features typical for jRPGs with incredibly strong elements of classic, side-scrolling beat'em ups. As a result, the game offers a complex story requiring the player to make crucial decisions, as well as a relatively typical character development system. However, the core of the experience is constituted by fighting in real time - although it bears a resemblance to the Active Time Battle system from the Final Fantasy series, it is based on mechanics relatively unusual in this particular genre.

In combat, the player controls the princess Cecille or Legatus Laendur (depending on the gaming system used), as well as three companions - they are actually weapons brought to life by a magic book. Each of those characters has slightly different skills and represents a different fighting style. For example, Zulfiqar can strike the enemies with his powerful shield, Longinus can pierce their bodies with a spear, and Apollon can unleash a hail of arrows at them. Randomly appearing cards constitute another modificator, as one's fighters can temporarily increase their power using them, heal their wounds or surprise the enemy with an unusual technique. When fighting, one of the buttons on the gamepad is assigned to the actions of each character; the key to success is to skillfully combine attacks of the entire team into complex combos. Good timing is not less important, as for instance, the player can stun enemies or reflect their projectiles thanks to blocking at the right moment.

Technical aspects

Fallen Legion for PS4 and PSV is played from a side view, which is relatively unusual in this genre. The game's hand-painted, 2D graphics bring the modern-day browser-based MMORPGs into mind, though compared to such games, Fallen Legion is definitely a better-quality product.

Last updated on 15 December 2017