The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered

The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered is a solid port of an interesting but flawed game. If you want to explore some dungeon-like areas, rock some SaGa-like combat, and listen to some beautiful music, then it’s worth journeying through Avalon. Otherwise, this remains a game I think is neat but wouldn’t necessarily emphatically recommend to most aside from the specific group I just described.

I still love The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered. I wished this new release could have fixed some of my gripes with the original game. While it can be an obtuse and stubborn game to learn, once you get past this you are met with a pretty and charming world, as well as a strategic combat system with some interesting ideas. The best thing going on for the remaster is that it makes accessible an 8-year-old game that was trapped on the Nintendo 3DS. For fans of the SaGa series this is a must.

The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered is a decent, though unspectacular, dungeon crawler that does a good job of defying some traditional RPG tropes. Mechanics like the elemental system and the randomized character progression help this stand out from the pack, while its simple dungeon-crawling format carries the basic, but satisfying gameplay for dozens of hours. Still, it doesn’t take very long for this one to feel like it’s overstaying its welcome, and more could’ve been done to sand its rougher edges. Legend of Legacy may not be the best example of this genre, but it’s still an enjoyable release for the dungeon-crawling cognoscenti.

The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered for Switch does a decent job of modernizing the visuals of the 2015 3DS game, but the important issues from the original still remain. Its lack of story and the difficulty spikes with its unique combat system make it hard to recommend to anyone other than the most fervent of JRPG fans.

The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered is a solid JRPG, but its story leaves something to be desired. There is almost nothing to emotionally latch onto. However, it offers a satisfying gameplay loop for those who enjoy grinding out weapon skills and spells, and exploring vast regions. If you're looking for a more engaging narrative and deeper gameplay systems, however, Emerald SaGa might be a better choice. While both games share similar turn-based combat, Emerald SaGa boasts a richer story and more robust mechanics.

The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered is a serviceable RPG, but when there are so many brilliant alternatives it's hard to recommend.

Although I see what it was going for, Legend of Legacy HD Remastered doesn’t quite stick the landing. The visuals and music are excellent, and the concept of filling maps out through exploration scratches a very specific yet satisfying itch. But, the repetitive nature of the overall gameplay, along with punishing you for any sort of experimentation with characters or weapon loadouts, leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, overall.