For those with an interest in Japanese
Role Playing Games, there are a number of iconic developers who have
been churning out new and exciting releases. Square Enix, Atlus,
Falcom, and others have contributed a great deal to the landscape of
this current console generation. But FuRyu might not be a familiar or
memorable name to many, and that's admittedly because only a few of
their games have made it over to the West. On the 3DS, FuRyu has
released two particular titles of note, with a third on its way-
Unchained Blades, a first person dungeon crawling RPG with an
emphasis on story, and The Legend of Legacy. The latter of the two
possessed an impressive pedigree, with a number of veteran creative
forces working on the title, in particular, Masato Kato and Masahi
Hamauzu, writer of a number of classic JRPGs and the ambient composer
for several titles, respectively. Kyoji Koizumi, a longtime veteran
of the SaGa series, was also a lead game designer, which can be felt
in a great deal of the game's mechanics.
The Legend of Legacy is not a
particularly astounding game. It features some absolutely incredible
concept art, a lovely, dreamlike soundtrack, a very charming popup
aesthetic, and a combat system that feels organic and uses player
risk as an incentive. It also has an extremely satisfying exploratory
loop, one that turns the entirety of its world into a dangerous and
winding series of dungeons. However, a key function within the game
that makes this loop work is the way the retreat option functions- not
only does it allow the player to escape from battle, but it also
transports them back to the entrance from which they started. This
means that enemy encounters, should they become too taxing, can
easily provide a means of backtracking and healing, but not without
similar consequences. Should the player choose to continue exploring
or not, they'll have to push through their previously conquered enemy
encounters once more. Likewise, if a player has gathered all of the material drops in an area and they wish to reset them for another loop, they merely have to retreat from a battle to quickly do so. While it's not quite the same as the looping
design found in other dungeon-crawling RPGs, it does allow players to
slowly accustom themselves to certain kinds of engagements, and
what's more, they can quickly and effectively remove themselves from
high risk situations they have purposefully put themselves into.
The game was ultimately a stepping stone towards a future goal- or perhaps, a means of
ironing out the kinks in a master plan. The same team at FuRyu has
stated that the concept for a grand, sprawling, story-centric JRPG similar to
classic titles has always been their goal, finally realized in The
Alliance Alive, but that plans for that game were set in motion
before The Legend of Legacy. In many ways, this is evident in the
design of the latter, as its freedom of choice and organic leveling
options allow players a great deal of customization within what is in reality a fairly linear experience. No matter the chosen
character, the maps will unlock in the same way, and only the
starting party and the opening and closing cutscenes will differ.
This isn't to say the game is not well-designed- as mentioned before,
its combat is actually fantastic, its dungeon design is satisfying and cyclical, and the atmosphere is
extremely well-executed. But it does feel like the infant stages of
something far more impressive, something truly worth looking forward towards.
Affinities:
Gaining skills is a major part of the game, but certain characters actually have innate affinities, as well. Subtle clues like their character profile might help glean what their innate affinities are, and of course, the weapons they start with upon recruitment are innate. But affinities extend beyond weapon skills and also include the three base stats and magic. Character affinities are:
Muers - HP, SP, S-Sword, Spear, Staff, Bow, Shield, Water, Air, Fire
Bianca - Fist, S-Sword, L-Sword, Axe, Spear, Staff, Bow, Shield, Water, Air, Fire
Liber - Fist, S-Sword, Axe, Bow, Water, 2x Healing + Medicine Box/Health Pack/Emergency Kit/Healing Charms
Garnet - HP, Fist, S-Sword, L-Sword, Spear, Bow, Shield, Water
Owen - HP, S-Sword, L-Sword, Axe, Spear, Staff, Shield, Air, 2x Healing + Medicine Box/Health Pack/Emergency Kit/Healing Charms
Eloise - SP, Fist, Staff, Air, Fire, 2x Healing + Medicine Box/Health Pack/Emergency Kit/Healing Charms
Filmia - HP, S-Sword, L-Sword, Axe, Spear, Staff, Bow, Water
These are the affinities each character has the highest chance of “Awakening” skills from. Awakening only occurs within combat, and is facilitated by utilizing weapons and elements repeatedly. Additionally, weapon skills and magic can also grow in efficiency. This is determined by what stance a character takes in battle as well as the types of battles you fight. Making sure your stances are in proper order is very important, as is utilizing the right skills within those stances. Boosting an art skill (a weapon attack) or charm skill (magic attacks) in an improper stance is ultimately a waste of time. The player will start with three basic stances, with variations that allow specific strategies and growth formulas discovered later in the game.
Art Skills that are based around attacking and guarding excel in their respective stances.
Charm Skills are based around attacking and support. Offensive skills are best suited to the attack stance, while healing, buffs, and debuffs are better utilized in the support stance. They are used by equipping Whispering Stones UNLESS they are Awakened, only requiring their respective Singing Stone equipped in this instance. Art Skills Awaken randomly and vary greatly in SP cost. Charm Skills Awaken via tiers, though skipping the tiering process is possible by finding the skill's respective Whispering Stone in a dungeon and attempting to force its Awakening.
You can use these skills with other stances, but they are less likely to grow when not in a stance that suits them. It is important to balance them depending on your most frequently used formations, of which you can create and assign several. Keep in mind that the overall base stat has a factor in the power or proficiency of the move as well as the base stat of the move, for example, a character with a high guard stat will take less damage when using a defensive move in the guard stance, but its effectiveness is increased when it gains a bonus for that specific stance. The move's power also plays a role, which is most important. A move with the power of 3 might never really become viable without extensive growth in a base stat, which may require needless grinding. The most important question of all is "how to encourage growth and Awakening?" This is something that contributes greatly to character and map progression, so thankfully, the answer is quite simple.
-Art and Charm Skills have the highest chance of growth or awakening in "gimmick" battles and boss battles. Gimmick battles are those that are the specialty of the map. For example, a rare mob or a mob that appears in a special fashion. For example, that shadow panthers hiding in the trees in the first map.
-Base Stats have the highest chance of growth when the party members use their respective stance. In the case of HP and SP, neither stat has a specific trigger for growth- they do so based on the affinity the character in question has for them.
Charm skills also have a decent chance at awakening in normal battles as well, especially when used in high frequency. It is important to remember that battles in which the odds are stacked against the player are more likely to encourage growth- this is why ambush encounters are good opportunities for growth. The key to remember is this- you can force growth of art and charm skills without defeating an enemy, as they will remain even if you run from a battle. Many people do not realize this since many ambushes, gimmicks, and bosses cannot be escaped.
Elementals:
One of the trickiest mechanics of the game is the use of Elemental Contracts in utilizing magic. There are a few important rules of Elemental Contracts to remember:
-Contracts weaken over time, and their benefits will do so, as well. It is possible and viable to strengthen contracts depending on the element you need in battle. PASSIVE BENEFITS OF CONTRACTS ARE- Water grants HP Regeneration, Air grants SP Regeneration, and Fire raises Ailment Affliction. These remain in effect UNTIL THE CONTRACT IS "STOLEN".
-Dominance depends on the strength of all elements on the field and contributes to the strength, accuracy, and duration of all Charm Skills. IT ALSO CONTRIBUTES TO FOUR CORE "STATES"- With Water Dominance, Elemental Damage is halved, Air Dominance halves Physical Damage, Fire Dominance doubles Physical Damage, and Shadow Dominance triples Elemental Damage.
-Stolen Contracts can occur on both sides, removing Benefits, States, AND rendering queued spells inert. For example if your character steals a Contract before an enemy casts a spell of the same element, the enemy can no longer use that spell- the same will happen if you attempt to use a spell after an enemy steals a spell. You may also input spells before you steal a Contract from an opponent, then, during the turn, steal the Contract and perform the previously-useless spell.
-Charm Skills can be utilized with a Singing Stone, Whispering Stone, AND an active Contract. Once Awakened, the Whispering Stone no longer needs to be equipped.
-Enemies have elemental affinities, and usually have a visual cue which gives these away. The encyclopedia does not detail these.
-Devices present on the map can gift the party with an automatic Contract for the party if both a battle begins in close proximity and they have been activated, beneficial for growing and Awakening.
-Weapons can have elemental affinity, which can drastically boost or diminish in strength depending on field dominance, NOT contract.
Keep all of these in mind, especially when tackling particular maps. Again, the affinity of a map also contributes to field dominance and it may be wise to equip party members depending on this.
Economy:
Materials are few and far between, and defeating Shadow Titans may require exploitation of the economy. A few things to remember:
-Selling Maps upgrades the goods in the shop.
-Hiring Ships is beneficial, as they usually pay for whatever funds you lost in hiring them in addition to gifting rare weaponry and duplicates that can be sold to the shop. This function is activated via Streetpass, but does not require another player to own The Legend of Legacy. Although ships can be expensive, they can contribute greatly to your economy and often pay for themselves.
EVERYTHING THE SHOP HAS USUALLY SUCKS save for Star Herbs.
With all that in mind, have fun with the Legend of Legacy! Knowing when to retreat and when to place oneself in a precarious position is key, as it factors into almost any aspect of character growth. This covers only the most basic aspects of the game, which will continue to throw surprises and challenges at you during your playtime.
The Legend of Legacy is not a
particularly astounding game. It features some absolutely incredible
concept art, a lovely, dreamlike soundtrack, a very charming popup
aesthetic, and a combat system that feels organic and uses player
risk as an incentive. It also has an extremely satisfying exploratory
loop, one that turns the entirety of its world into a dangerous and
winding series of dungeons. However, a key function within the game
that makes this loop work is the way the retreat option functions- not
only does it allow the player to escape from battle, but it also
transports them back to the entrance from which they started. This
means that enemy encounters, should they become too taxing, can
easily provide a means of backtracking and healing, but not without
similar consequences. Should the player choose to continue exploring
or not, they'll have to push through their previously conquered enemy
encounters once more. Likewise, if a player has gathered all of the material drops in an area and they wish to reset them for another loop, they merely have to retreat from a battle to quickly do so. While it's not quite the same as the looping
design found in other dungeon-crawling RPGs, it does allow players to
slowly accustom themselves to certain kinds of engagements, and
what's more, they can quickly and effectively remove themselves from
high risk situations they have purposefully put themselves into.
There is a specific reason as to why
high risk encounters are an important aspect of The Legend of Legacy,
but that is far better explained in the survival guide below. Instead
of discussing the finer points of its strange systems, I would
instead like to mention the curious nature of both the game's story
and its role as a foundation for The Alliance Alive, a semi-sequel
slated for release later in 2018. The Legend of Legacy is extremely
bare-bones in terms of plot, with details being filled in by singing
shards and the character cutscenes found at the beginning and end of
each respective playthrough. However, there is an impressive amount
of lore behind the scenario, which players must keep a keen eye out
for by interpreting and recording the numerous Whispering Stones
scattered throughout the maps. This backstory is lush, and it serves
to contextualize the sometimes sleepy but more often thrilling
adventure the player undergoes during their time with the game. You
may not catch all the details of The Legend of Legacy's plot in your
first playthrough, but that's okay, because you have a wide amount of
options available to you. Because of its lack of structure and
guidance in a number of ways, however, The Legend of Legacy can prove
frustrating at times. It will tell the player as little as it can
while still executing a number of concepts extremely well, but it
demands attention and perseverance in many ways.
My personal experience with The Legend
of Legacy was one of venturing into the unknown. Having never played
a SaGa game before, its leveling mechanics and open-ended nature were
daunting to me initially, but I slowly came to conquer the game's
systems and environments in a way that was all my own. While I have
replayed the game since, I am fully aware that it is not a perfect
product, and those looking for a story-heavy JRPG should likely hold
off until The Alliance Alive releases later this year. If you are
curious about where that game's systems found their start, however, I
recommend giving this game a try. It is not a particularly long
experience- a player can finish a full story scenario in under forty
hours- but its replayability is high and its sense of momentum is
very satisfying. The game was enough to sell me completely on its
spiritual sequel despite its flaws, which become more evident upon
reaching the endgame or upon restarting.
Still, The Legend of Legacy
will not tell you very much. So without further adieu:
The Legend of Legacy Survival Guide:
Congratulations! You've decided to play
a game shrouded in mystery. One where, if you have no knowledge of
its pedigree or the nature of its story, you may end up having
absolutely no idea what you are doing. The Legend of Legacy is an
isometric dungeon-crawler that utilizes limited field of vision and
winding pathways in order to bewilder the player, though this is not
its only nebulous facet. The game's combat and growth systems will
never be overtly described within the actual game itself, which can
lead to some frustrating wall-banging. I've created this survival
guide in order to help newcomers understand what they are in for-
this will not spoil any part of the game's narrative or dungeon
design, but it will illuminate some of the more convoluted aspects of
its fundamentals.
Gaining skills is a major part of the game, but certain characters actually have innate affinities, as well. Subtle clues like their character profile might help glean what their innate affinities are, and of course, the weapons they start with upon recruitment are innate. But affinities extend beyond weapon skills and also include the three base stats and magic. Character affinities are:
Muers - HP, SP, S-Sword, Spear, Staff, Bow, Shield, Water, Air, Fire
Bianca - Fist, S-Sword, L-Sword, Axe, Spear, Staff, Bow, Shield, Water, Air, Fire
Liber - Fist, S-Sword, Axe, Bow, Water, 2x Healing + Medicine Box/Health Pack/Emergency Kit/Healing Charms
Garnet - HP, Fist, S-Sword, L-Sword, Spear, Bow, Shield, Water
Owen - HP, S-Sword, L-Sword, Axe, Spear, Staff, Shield, Air, 2x Healing + Medicine Box/Health Pack/Emergency Kit/Healing Charms
Eloise - SP, Fist, Staff, Air, Fire, 2x Healing + Medicine Box/Health Pack/Emergency Kit/Healing Charms
Filmia - HP, S-Sword, L-Sword, Axe, Spear, Staff, Bow, Water
These are the affinities each character has the highest chance of “Awakening” skills from. Awakening only occurs within combat, and is facilitated by utilizing weapons and elements repeatedly. Additionally, weapon skills and magic can also grow in efficiency. This is determined by what stance a character takes in battle as well as the types of battles you fight. Making sure your stances are in proper order is very important, as is utilizing the right skills within those stances. Boosting an art skill (a weapon attack) or charm skill (magic attacks) in an improper stance is ultimately a waste of time. The player will start with three basic stances, with variations that allow specific strategies and growth formulas discovered later in the game.
Art Skills that are based around attacking and guarding excel in their respective stances.
Charm Skills are based around attacking and support. Offensive skills are best suited to the attack stance, while healing, buffs, and debuffs are better utilized in the support stance. They are used by equipping Whispering Stones UNLESS they are Awakened, only requiring their respective Singing Stone equipped in this instance. Art Skills Awaken randomly and vary greatly in SP cost. Charm Skills Awaken via tiers, though skipping the tiering process is possible by finding the skill's respective Whispering Stone in a dungeon and attempting to force its Awakening.
You can use these skills with other stances, but they are less likely to grow when not in a stance that suits them. It is important to balance them depending on your most frequently used formations, of which you can create and assign several. Keep in mind that the overall base stat has a factor in the power or proficiency of the move as well as the base stat of the move, for example, a character with a high guard stat will take less damage when using a defensive move in the guard stance, but its effectiveness is increased when it gains a bonus for that specific stance. The move's power also plays a role, which is most important. A move with the power of 3 might never really become viable without extensive growth in a base stat, which may require needless grinding. The most important question of all is "how to encourage growth and Awakening?" This is something that contributes greatly to character and map progression, so thankfully, the answer is quite simple.
-Art and Charm Skills have the highest chance of growth or awakening in "gimmick" battles and boss battles. Gimmick battles are those that are the specialty of the map. For example, a rare mob or a mob that appears in a special fashion. For example, that shadow panthers hiding in the trees in the first map.
-Base Stats have the highest chance of growth when the party members use their respective stance. In the case of HP and SP, neither stat has a specific trigger for growth- they do so based on the affinity the character in question has for them.
Charm skills also have a decent chance at awakening in normal battles as well, especially when used in high frequency. It is important to remember that battles in which the odds are stacked against the player are more likely to encourage growth- this is why ambush encounters are good opportunities for growth. The key to remember is this- you can force growth of art and charm skills without defeating an enemy, as they will remain even if you run from a battle. Many people do not realize this since many ambushes, gimmicks, and bosses cannot be escaped.
Elementals:
One of the trickiest mechanics of the game is the use of Elemental Contracts in utilizing magic. There are a few important rules of Elemental Contracts to remember:
-Contracts weaken over time, and their benefits will do so, as well. It is possible and viable to strengthen contracts depending on the element you need in battle. PASSIVE BENEFITS OF CONTRACTS ARE- Water grants HP Regeneration, Air grants SP Regeneration, and Fire raises Ailment Affliction. These remain in effect UNTIL THE CONTRACT IS "STOLEN".
-Dominance depends on the strength of all elements on the field and contributes to the strength, accuracy, and duration of all Charm Skills. IT ALSO CONTRIBUTES TO FOUR CORE "STATES"- With Water Dominance, Elemental Damage is halved, Air Dominance halves Physical Damage, Fire Dominance doubles Physical Damage, and Shadow Dominance triples Elemental Damage.
-Stolen Contracts can occur on both sides, removing Benefits, States, AND rendering queued spells inert. For example if your character steals a Contract before an enemy casts a spell of the same element, the enemy can no longer use that spell- the same will happen if you attempt to use a spell after an enemy steals a spell. You may also input spells before you steal a Contract from an opponent, then, during the turn, steal the Contract and perform the previously-useless spell.
-Charm Skills can be utilized with a Singing Stone, Whispering Stone, AND an active Contract. Once Awakened, the Whispering Stone no longer needs to be equipped.
-Enemies have elemental affinities, and usually have a visual cue which gives these away. The encyclopedia does not detail these.
-Devices present on the map can gift the party with an automatic Contract for the party if both a battle begins in close proximity and they have been activated, beneficial for growing and Awakening.
-Weapons can have elemental affinity, which can drastically boost or diminish in strength depending on field dominance, NOT contract.
Keep all of these in mind, especially when tackling particular maps. Again, the affinity of a map also contributes to field dominance and it may be wise to equip party members depending on this.
Economy:
Materials are few and far between, and defeating Shadow Titans may require exploitation of the economy. A few things to remember:
-Selling Maps upgrades the goods in the shop.
-Hiring Ships is beneficial, as they usually pay for whatever funds you lost in hiring them in addition to gifting rare weaponry and duplicates that can be sold to the shop. This function is activated via Streetpass, but does not require another player to own The Legend of Legacy. Although ships can be expensive, they can contribute greatly to your economy and often pay for themselves.
EVERYTHING THE SHOP HAS USUALLY SUCKS save for Star Herbs.
With all that in mind, have fun with the Legend of Legacy! Knowing when to retreat and when to place oneself in a precarious position is key, as it factors into almost any aspect of character growth. This covers only the most basic aspects of the game, which will continue to throw surprises and challenges at you during your playtime.
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