Legrand Legacy

The world of Legrand Legacy is encompassed by four main areas. The area of Tel Herran, which is a slave capital is our main starting point. You play as a slave who is freed to a new master/buyer. You start a journey with an old man who can mind-speak to you. He is a Norn, a special race of the original humans who were experimented on by a race of beings from long ago. The story of Finn is dark, grim much like the rest of the story.

You not only play as Finn but you'll have the option to explore more stories, such as that of Octopath Traveler. It won't be in the same fashion, however. You'll mostly be with Finn for the journey, but along the way, you'll meet your new party members and learn about them as well. The main central theme behind the game is hope. Most of the characters have lost hope and are trying to find their way in a dark world.

Your journey will have you going across harsh landscapes, like deserts with scorching heat. These elements will affect your character's HP, status and more. This adds a bit of realism to the RPG genre. There's also a unique battle system. Like in most RPG's, you select your attacks per character, but instead of just select and attack, each attack has a quick timing attack button. You push it while the needle is within the range and you'll succeed at a higher attack, maybe even get a critical hit.

I don't want to give much spoilers, but I will speak on the graphics. There are no voice overs, instead, you have an anime-esque art style, with words to read. The mouths move on occasion but the overall graphics are in the water colored backgrounds that set the scene for each area. The game's music also can be depressing at times, setting the undertone for most of the game. The general plot is that a war is waging on, but unbeknownst to both sides, the war is only a farce. A true war is brimming, much like in religious mythology. Demons are trying to enter the world and if they successfully do, the world will be destroyed. Your task is to find these sacred books and then add more party members that are the chosen to destroy this evil and prevent it from happening.

The other elements of gameplay include a tactical war style gameplay, as well as a unique strength and weakness system, with water, fire, and slash attacks. Water is obviously stronger than fire but fire is stronger than slash. After playing through this unique system, I have to say it is a definite thing to get used to with the button timing, but all of this combined makes this a game to pick up and play. Currently, the game is priced at $20 on both Steam and Switch. My copy was purchased on a Switch.

I give this game a 5/5 for its unique gameplay mechanics, enthralling story that I do care about, and graphics which are beautiful to look at, despite how dark the area may look.

Brian Eckels