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I was never much of a turn-based combat fan. Save for a few titles such as the “Pokémon” and “Persona” series, I flat-out refuse to play games focused around turn-based mechanics. When I was given Fallen Legion to review, I noticed the combat wasn’t as traditional as usual. Set to a more dynamic pace, I had a small glimmer of hope I may actually enjoy this title.

Sadly enough, the combat aspect is rather hectic and repetitive.

The story revolves around Cecille. The newly appointed ruler of the kingdom after her father passed away. Soon after becoming ruler, she is given a magical book that has advised all previous rulers of these lands. She must now travel across the world in an attempt to bring peace over the kingdom which is on the very verge of collapse. Not the most interesting or original story in the world, but there are some twists and turns along the way to mix things up.

The gameplay consists of traditional party members engaging groups of baddies while progressing through various landscapes. You don’t actually control our heroes, but rather choose various paths for them to take. Each path has a plethora of different bonuses and/or effects to your party and the gameplay itself. This can make for some interesting decisions to say the least.

fallen legion sins of an empire nice artwork

People could say and think what they want about this game, but no one can take away the fact that the art work looks great in “Fallen Legion: Sins of an Empire”.

Combat, while not being traditional turn-based RPG fair, is just as mundane in my opinion; maybe even more so. You attack with each of the face buttons representing a character. Each character has a cool-down rate, with Cecille being the slowest, as her abilities are more for support. While the game encourages these moves to be used in a sort of chain or combo, I found myself spamming my way through nearly every enemy, only needing to block or heal on a few major bosses. This combat style gets extremely repetitive, extremely fast. I honestly had to make myself grind through the battles. Luckily the campaign is fairly brief, but that’s a bit of a catch 22 in itself.

fallen legion sins of an empire nothing new here

At the end of the day, “Fallen Legion: Sins of an Empire” doesn’t feel new or fresh in any way at all.

Visually, the game is fairly appealing. Reminiscent to Vanillaware’s style, the game uses a rich, hand-drawn approach that gives Fallen Legion the feel of a sort of living painting. While the animations do the job, I personally found them to be nowhere near the level of Dragon’s Crown’s overall polish. Without sounding harsh, it feels more like an emulation of George Kamitani’s art, rather than something on its own merit. Nevertheless, I still appreciate the look and flow of the game; it’s much better than 80% of RPG artwork that we have seen as of lately.

The musical score is actually fantastic. With thundering drums and heavy brass instruments mixed with electric guitars, the score really stands out. I found myself leaving the game on pause just to hear the music without the clumsy gameplay distracting me. Nevertheless, all in all, “Fallen Legion: Sins of an Empire” is a rather mediocre RPG title. So I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re a hardcore RPG player, because there does indeed exist better RPG titles out there.

Pros:
+ Wonderful Artwork
+ Great Musical Score

Cons:
– Combat is hectic and repetitive
– Doesn’t feel new or fresh

Gameplay: 2/5
Graphics: 4/5
Sound and music: 5/5
Controls: 2/5
Replay value: 1/5

tgg grade 2.5 out of 5

Verdict: 2.5/5
In the end, Fallen Legion is a bare-bones RPG that looks nice, sounds nice, but plays poorly. So if you’re a hardcore RPG fan, this is a great little title to whet your appetite. However, I don’t see this one converting anyone with its combat system anytime soon.

Title: Fallen Legion: Sins of an Empire
Developer: Yummy Yummy Tummy Inc.
Format: PS4
Genre: RPG
Resolution: 720p
Release date: 2017-6-18
Difficulty: Easy
Spent time: +4 hours
Average grade internationally: 63%
PEGI age rating: 12
Price: $19.99