Eternal Legacy Review

Eternal Legacy, developed exclusively by Gameloft, is a much greater game than the sum of its parts. Because the new-fangled title follows the Japanese RPG formula too closely and rarely takes any risks, it never truly manages to reach the level of Zenonia or Elven Chronicles.

Most of the gameplay and combat found in Eternal Legacy takes place in the 3D realm of Algoad. Instead of random encounters, players engage in battles with roaming packs of creatures and combat takes the form of turn-based actions. The touch based menus are large and actions can be quick sorted for easy selection, allowing you to queue up to three moves in advance. Items can be customized with gems, providing additional skills and super moves can be activated once a progress bar is filled in battle. The actions of your companions are automatically dictated by the mode you’ve set them to (stagnant, offensive, defensive, etc.) however those after an authentic old-school experience can set the game to full player control.

This by itself is quite enjoyable as far as RPG experiences go but progressing through the otherwise bland storyline is hardly kept afloat by the occasional challenging boss battle and less than stellar side quests. That said, there’s no excuse for frustrating features like being unable to use spells outside of combat and the inability to unequip an item without having a replacement on hand.  Even worse, the game often fails to show the actions and status bars of your other members.

These and a handful of other minor, yet frustrating details highlight the developer’s lack of familiarity with the genre, resulting in a game that’s more of a pastiche than an homage. While JRPG fans may still want to take a chance with this game, but you’re not missing out on anything you haven’t seen before if you don’t.