Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory is a side-scrolling action filled JRPG that breaks the norm yet still retains enough traditional value to keep gamers happy. Developed by YummyYummyTummy and published by NIS America, Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory is the combination of two games released on PS4 and PS Vita respectively. Rise to Glory is the complete package featuring the entirety of Sins of an Empire (PS4) and Flames of Rebellion (PS Vita). As such, it cements the two stories together. Rise to Glory completes the intricate tale of action and intrigue woven by the previous games and is an obvious choice for newcomers to the franchise.
Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory presents gamers with two different generals to choose from. There’s the fiery Princess Cecille and the mysterious looking Legatus Laendur. Both characters are fully voiced during cutscenes and show solid character growth throughout the game. The character you choose takes a sort of backseat during combat gameplay though since they act as a commander. Cecille or Laendur summon “Exemplars” to do battle for them and this is where most of the fun in Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory lies.
The Exemplars you summon have a finite action meter which lets you press a button to perform a specific attack. Heavy or light attacks are performed with ease and comboing button presses in an almost rhythm game-esque manner leads to gratuitous enjoyment. Y, A and B along with the shoulder buttons are used in battles and characters are able to both block and deflect projectiles to deal damage to enemies. Your main character is also able to unleash a special attack or use magic to supplement your Exemplars in battle. Occasionally, attack cards linked to the face buttons pop up in the battle that allows for special effects to be triggered. These generally alter the flow of battle in your favour.
The combat, therefore, boils down to a strategic sequence of button presses and combos that’s seriously addictive. Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory perfected it’s ballad of rhythmic strategic combat and the entire game benefits greatly from it. Newcomers may struggle at first with getting to grips with the game’s combat system and strategies involved with facing tougher enemies but after spending some time playing through previous areas and employing different attacks and skills, it gets easier.
Graphically, the game features an anime aesthetic that works perfectly for its theme of warring empires in an age of swords and magic. Character sprites in battle look detailed and combat maneuvers and magic spells are incredibly flashy. Some of the special attacks have a visual flair to them that is downright gorgeous and it’s quite great to see that the game doesn’t suffer from any slowdown or input lag even during chaotic battles.
The soundtrack to Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory is quite standard with orchestral themes and catchy J-Electro Rock battle music blaring throughout. The storyline, however, is not standard at all and doesn’t pull any punches. The character’s attitudes towards story decisions are up to you to decide with multiple options to choose from in cutscene segments. The game hits players with some difficult moral decisions at times will leave you thinking long and hard about some choices you’ve made. A Morale system makes things even more complex and further adds a level of depth to the already rich story in the game.
Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory is overall, a great strategy action side-scrolling JRPG. The game has a colourful cast of characters and while it may be confusing at first thanks to the intricate interwoven storylines between the previous two games, it all comes together perfectly. The two campaigns are incredibly enjoyable and the combat and strategy involved with the game itself will have you hooked. If you’re looking for a solid story driven Nintendo Switch game, look no further than Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory.
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