Summary
2015’s Nintendo 3DS titleThe Legend of Legacyis returning in March 2024 asThe Legend of Legacy HD Remastered, and classic RPG fans will want to pay attention.The Legend of Legacybrought together industry veterans, like director Masataka Matsuura, designer Kyoji Koizumi, promotional artist Tomomi Kobayashi, writer Masato Kato, and composer Masashi Hamauzu, to recapture the golden age of RPGs and the team’s experiences withFinal FantasyandSaGain particular. Now,NIS Americais bringingThe Legend of Legacy HD Remasteredto PC, Switch, and PlayStation consoles, allowing people to catch up on a cult classic they may have missed.
Set on the mysterious continent of Avalon, a party of three is formed from seven possible protagonists to uncover Avalon’s secrets, which is most of the story that players see. Even more so than2013’s all-time great 3DS titleBravely Default,The Legend of Legacywas an old-school RPG centered around dungeon crawling, multi-layered combat, and character progression. Because of how unusual and deceptively deep these elements were, many players preferred the game’s more narrative-driven successor,The Alliance Alive. Now thatThe Legend of Legacyis getting an HD remaster to matchThe Alliance Alive’s own, RPG fans can try both titles in their ideal forms with similar improvements.
The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered Lives Up To Its Name
The biggest change inThe Legend of Legacy HD Remasteredis how much clearer the game looks. Modern consoles’ HD resolutions have combined withLegend of Legacy’s simple art style to create a spotless look. Presumably, the audio quality was also improved, but this wasn’t advertised in the game’s marketing. The results speak for themselves, althoughLegend of Legacy’s lack of a world map and single-screen hub town Initium betray its humble 3DS roots.Alliance Alive’s remaster, despite being from 2019, arguably has better visuals thanks to its more ambitious environments and cutscenes, but it’s hard to understate how crispThe Legend of Legacywill be on PS5.
The Legend of Legacy Made The Jump From Handheld To Consoles Gracefully
Second only to its resolution is howThe Legend of Legacy HD Remasteredcan now fit on a single monitor.Like many great 3DS RPGs, the original game’s map, menus, and other UI elements were spread out across the handheld’s dual screens. Using the lessons learned fromThe Alliance Alive’s remaster,Legend of Legacyhas condensed its information onto one screen while remaining just as legible. Menus and HUD elements in battles frame the character models without obscuring them, and players will have all the information they need to keep tabs on the deeper layers of combat.
Quality of Life Upgrades Round Out The Legend of Legacy’s Remaster
Apart fromThe Legend of Legacy HD Remastered’s presentation, very little about it was altered. Much likeThe Alliance Alive HD Remastered, the writing and gameplay are preserved as they always were. There is now a toggle to grow, shrink, or hide the map, but that’s just in line with the many quality-of-life features in the original game.Legend of Legacyfeatured quick saving everywhere, fast-forwarding in combat, and even the option to skip its first cutscene to reach its dungeon-crawling gameplay faster. Despite its difficult reputation,The Legend of Legacytries to help players however it can.
Outstanding Changes to The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered
The lone remaining enhancement does the same, providing a Guidebook that’s present almost everywhere. Players can quickly remind themselves how every mechanic in the game works, from the ship-dispatching Trading system that no longer involves StreetPass, to the obtuse combat andsemi-automated,SaGa-like character growth. These tight, but detailed explanations enhance the Help functionLegend of Legacyalready had, and should ensure that future players can jump intoThe Legend of Legacy HD Remasteredwithout pulling up another guide.
The Legend of Legacy HD Remasteredwill be released in North America on March 22 for PC, PS4, PS5, and Switch.
