Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory Reviews
Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory / Fallen Legion Revenants offers solid combat and nice presentation but lack of a well told story holds this collection back from being great RPGs.
Despite the apparent added value of including two games in one package, Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory / Fallen Legion Revenants is neither worth the retail price nor does it carry with it must-have titles to be displayed on anyone's shelf. Both deliver too similar an experience, with Revenants adding pointless and needlessly complex mechanics. Combat, meanwhile, an important figure in any RPG, becomes a bit repetitive and formulaic, requiring in later levels a huge reliance on the block button. Still, for all intents and purposes, Fallen Legion has good ideas, it's just a shame about its execution.
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Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory is the type of game that requires playing first before purchasing. It looks great, with some gorgeous hand-drawn art, and some cool looking combat. That combat system looks like a fresh take on the classic Valkyrie Profile, but once getting hands-on, it's quickly evident it doesn't live up to its promises. The premise is solid on both the action and the gameplay, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The story is horrendous, hugely convoluted, lacking any sort of pivotal moments, or interesting characters. The combat system is too manic and messy to master, leaving it as a real disappointment, overall.
I wish that there were more for me to discuss regarding Fallen Legion, but that is more of a fault of the game’s content than my review. Outside of town sections and battles, there is nothing else to do except browse the glossary and mess around with your (limited) equipment options. The most damning criticism I can give of the game is that, at its core, its content feels akin to a mobile game, despite my confidence that its battle system would never be executable on a system lacking buttons. Even so, the difficulty spikes in the game force the player to practice stringent Perfect Blocking or return to earlier stages in order to grind out Exemplar tributes, which kills any sort of narrative momentum established up to that point. When your game is all grind and no side-content, it tends to grate on the nerves, which is exactly what Fallen Legion ended up doing. While the idea of having two full-blown narratives may sound enticing, outside of the decisions made, both characters end up facing the same enemy types and using the same group of Exemplars. If you are looking to test the limits of your ability to enjoy new and creative combat systems, I might halfheartedly recommend Fallen Legion. With the ability to replay scenarios there’s no shortage of combat to be had, but you’ll only get so far before the flaws in its execution start to wear you down.