The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered's Various Improvements Explained

The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered’s Various Improvements Explained

• The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered brings back classic RPG vibes with industry veterans at the helm.
• Improved graphics and streamlined UI make the game look crisp on modern consoles, while maintaining its old-school charm.
• Quality of life upgrades, including a Guidebook feature, enhance gameplay without altering the core experience.

2015’s Nintendo 3DS title The Legend of Legacy is returning in March 2024 as The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered, and classic RPG fans will want to pay attention. The Legend of Legacy brought together industry veterans, like director Masataka Matsuura, designer Kyoji Koizumi, promotional artist Tomomi Kobayashi, writer Masato Kato, and composer Masashi Hamauzu, to recapture the golden age of RPGs and the team’s experiences with Final Fantasy and SaGa in particular. Now, NIS America is bringing The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered to PC, Switch, and PlayStation consoles, allowing people to catch up on a cult classic they may have missed.

Set on the mysterious continent of Avalon, a party of three is formed from seven possible protagonists to uncover Avalon’s secrets, which is most of the story that players see. Even more so than 2013’s all-time great 3DS title Bravely Default, The Legend of Legacy was an old-school RPG centered around dungeon crawling, multi-layered combat, and character progression. Because of how unusual and deceptively deep these elements were, many players preferred the game’s more narrative-driven successor, The Alliance Alive. Now that The Legend of Legacy is getting an HD remaster to match The Alliance Alive’s own, RPG fans can try both titles in their ideal forms with similar improvements.

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The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered Lives Up To Its Name

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The biggest change in The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered is how much clearer the game looks. Modern consoles’ HD resolutions have combined with Legend of Legacy’s simple art style to create a spotless look. Presumably, the audio quality was also improved, but this wasn’t advertised in the game’s marketing. The results speak for themselves, although Legend of Legacy’s lack of a world map and single-screen hub town Initium betray its humble 3DS roots. Alliance Alive’s remaster, despite being from 2019, arguably has better visuals thanks to its more ambitious environments and cutscenes, but it’s hard to understate how crisp The Legend of Legacy will be on PS5.

The Legend of Legacy Made The Jump From Handheld To Consoles Gracefully

Second only to its resolution is how The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered can now fit on a single monitor. Like many great 3DS RPGs, the original game’s map, menus, and other UI elements were spread out across the handheld’s dual screens. Using the lessons learned from The Alliance Alive’s remaster, Legend of Legacy has condensed its information onto one screen while remaining just as legible. Menus and HUD elements in battles frame the character models without obscuring them, and players will have all the information they need to keep tabs on the deeper layers of combat.

Quality of Life Upgrades Round Out The Legend of Legacy’s Remaster

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Apart from The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered’s presentation, very little about it was altered. Much like The Alliance Alive HD Remastered, the writing and gameplay are preserved as they always were. There is now a toggle to grow, shrink, or hide the map, but that’s just in line with the many quality-of-life features in the original game. Legend of Legacy featured quick saving everywhere, fast-forwarding in combat, and even the option to skip its first cutscene to reach its dungeon-crawling gameplay faster. Despite its difficult reputation, The Legend of Legacy tries to help players however it can.

Outstanding Changes to The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered

The lone remaining enhancement does the same, providing a Guidebook that’s present almost everywhere. Players can quickly remind themselves how every mechanic in the game works, from the ship-dispatching Trading system that no longer involves StreetPass, to the obtuse combat and semi-automated, SaGa-like character growth. These tight, but detailed explanations enhance the Help function Legend of Legacy already had, and should ensure that future players can jump into The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered without pulling up another guide.

The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered will be released in North America on March 22 for PC, PS4, PS5, and Switch.

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