The Nintendo 3DS found itself home to a treasure trove of fantastic RPGs, even more so if you bring over the ones from the DS thanks to backward compatibility. Even within the genre, you could find old classics like Dragon Quest VII and VIII or brand-new favorites like Shin Megami Tensei IV and Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology. However, RPG diehards could also spend hundreds of hours discovering smaller niche experiences. One such niche game was Legend of Legacy, a spiritual sibling of Square’s SaGa titles. Now, nine years after its initial dual-screened 3D release, the legacy makes its grand return in high definition with the Legend of Legacy HD Remastered release.
When it was released back in the fall of 2015, Legend of Legacy piqued many folks’ interest thanks in part to the large number of industry veterans who had previously worked on the (at the time) untouched SaGa series – including the series designer Kyoji Koizumi and illustrator Tomomi Kobayashi. The gameplay in Legacy wore its SaGa influences proudly with its turn-based battles, random stat growth leveling approach, and special skills learned seemingly when the game felt like it. It was a game that fans enjoyed for its gameplay as opposed to its story, which some found to be lacking – if borderline non-existent. All those statements remain faithful, for better and worse, than they did back then, with the only benefit of the remaster being that folks can have a better idea going into Legacy as to the sort of game they are getting into.
Visually speaking, from Legend of Legacy’s pop-up book aesthetic to its environments and almost Bravely-like chibi character designs have all made the jump to HD incredibly well. I have always been a fan of this game’s art style, as it reads well on the small 3DS screens, but everything pops here, with the ability to now play on a big TV. The text is clear, and the game performs well with no noticeable slowdown or lag during my time on my OLED Switch.
The reduced number of screens present also hasn’t posed an issue for this remaster release. The original 3DS version relied on the lower screen to predominantly present information to you. It lacked any gimmicky touch-screen shenanigans that the developers would have to concern themselves with a remaster. All that information is now displayed on the bottom of the combat or separate menu screen – typical of how 99% of the other single-screen RPGs handle information.
Outside of the visual update and the shift to a single screen, the only “improvement” this HD port provides is a better in-game help menu to clear up the game’s more obtuse and confusing areas. While any improvement is welcome, it isn’t as if it blows all other help menus in RPGs out of the water, and I had to bust out my 3DS copy to see how much it expanded on what was previously there. When the in-game help menu is the only notable addition to a remaster, it puts into perspective how bare-bones this release comes across – especially considering the $49.99 price tag.
With so many remasters, ports, etc, of classic games in the market today, it’s hard not to feel like the Legend of Legacy HD Remastered is a bit of a rip-off. Releases such as Dark Forces Remaster or Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered – both costing you $29.99 each – add new features, cut content, redone models, and more. If your argument then is “but those aren’t RPGs,” then look to 2021’s Legend of Mana remaster (also $29.99) with its new animated opening, the addition of the Ring Ring Land minigame, among others, or Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition that was even cheaper at only $19.99 but added several features and cosmetic improvements as well.
My enjoyment with The Legend of Legacy comes from the cathartic RPG grind it gives me and its charming aesthetic – this was true with the original 2015 release and remains just as much so with The Legend of Legacy HD Remaster. This new port plays lovely and looks good to boot, and so long as you know the experience you are in for, it can be a fun game to revisit. But, in 2024, where SaGa games – both new and old – are more accessible than ever to play and have more impressive (and affordable) remastered offerings, I find this game hard to recommend.
This game was reviewed on a PlayStation 5 system with a review code provided by the publisher, NIS America.
