There are many kinds of RPGs out there, both established genres like JRPGs and others such as action RPGs, and when the genres begin to blend together, things become interesting. Fallen Legion is an RPG that blends various styles to create unique gameplay that fits its nature well. But is it a good game beyond that?
In terms of the story, Fallen Legion is a bit on the more simplistic side as with many indie RPGs. It isn’t bad, but fairly conventional, although it does try to change things up by offering choices to make This does help give a bit of variety but to be honest, the allure of the game is not in its story, and that is okay. In the end, the story while fairly generic, is more of a backdrop against what is the more unique points of the game. As stated, you must make split-second decisions that are meant to have an impact on the game’s story, but it doesn’t really go that far. What is good, is that Fallen Legion shows two perspectives in different games, to create a more immersive experience. Its nice, but what is the real draw is the gameplay.
I mentioned above, the JRPG and Action RPG genres, and Fallen Legion: Sins of an Empire serves as a blending of those two, with elements of Strategy RPGs as well. It is actually far more of an action game with RPG and SRPG elements, but it comes out well in terms of combat. The battle system is fairly unique, and fighting requires your attention for all actions. You control multiple characters simultaneously, and need to master combos, and counters to progress, which is a nice twist on the traditional formula.. There isn’t as much leveling up for characters, again making this more action based, and it wouldn’t exactly be wrong to call this an RPG inspired action game. That to me actually does sound more interesting a concept than an action RPG but that is neither here nor there.
The game’s playstyle is its draw and it does it well. It goes nicely with gorgeous hand drawn art and excellent music to create unique atmospheres for the battles. In fact, I would say the combat in the game is some of the most unique I have ever seen, and I would like to see the developers push that part forward in other games, perhaps making a full on action game with more story focus and less of a Valkyrie Profile inspired game. As it is, I would recommend this for the unique combat playstyle, it is one of a kind.
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A review key was provided by the developers.