Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Legend delivers a classic side-scrolling beat ’em up experience set in a richly imagined fantasy realm. Players move along branching stages, battling hordes of foot soldiers, archers, and monstrous creatures using fluid combinations of slashes and kicks. While you won’t find any throws in your arsenal, the depth of combat comes from chaining attacks into satisfying strings and mixing in magic and special abilities at the right moment.

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Magic in Legend is divided into two categories: screen-clearing spells and a special ranged attack. Spells consume magic bags you discover hidden in barrels or dropped by defeated foes, unleashing devastating elemental effects that damage every enemy on screen. Meanwhile, your special attack taps into an energy gauge that builds as you land hits, sending a powerful projectile across the battlefield at the cost of precious stamina.

The loot system keeps each encounter fresh. Enemies regularly drop magic bags, health-replenishing food, coins, and keys. Coins increase your wealth for purchasing hidden upgrades, while keys unlock treasure chests in the game’s engaging bonus rounds. At the close of each stage lies a formidable boss—each boasting unique attack patterns and requiring different strategies to topple, ensuring every level culminates in a memorable showdown.

Graphics

Legend’s visual design embraces a vibrant, hand-drawn aesthetic that brings the kingdom of Sellech to life. Backgrounds are layered with detailed castles, enchanted forests, and volcanic keeps, each setting reinforcing the game’s dark-fantasy atmosphere. The color palette shifts dramatically from verdant greens to fiery reds as you delve deeper into Clovius’s corrupted territories.

Character sprites are impressively animated, with smooth transitions between idle stances, attack strings, and magical gestures. Enemy variety is equally strong, ranging from armored knights to spectral wraiths, each sporting unique color schemes and movement patterns. Spell effects and the special ranged attack radiate with vibrant particles and dynamic lighting, making every magical flourish feel impactful and visually rewarding.

Performance remains rock-solid throughout, even when multiple adversaries flood the screen. Background elements scroll at a steady pace, imparting a sense of depth without sacrificing frame rate. Subtle touches—like flickering torches in dungeon corridors or drifting embers around volcanic platforms—enhance immersion, demonstrating the care put into each environment.

Story

Legend casts you as the kingdom’s last hope against Clovius, the power-hungry son of King Sellech, who seeks to unleash the imprisoned soul of the tyrant Beldor. Your quest takes you through diverse regions of the realm—from mist-shrouded swamplands to the crumbling halls of Beldor’s fortress—as you thwart Clovius’s forces and inch closer to the final confrontation.

Between stages, brief but evocative cutscenes reveal the motivations of your character and the unfolding horrors wrought by Beldor’s lingering spirit. While the narrative doesn’t dwell on lengthy monologues, it provides enough context to invest you in the fate of Sellech and the personal stakes behind each boss encounter.

Environmental storytelling also plays a key role: scorched villages, desecrated temples, and guarded dungeons all echo the kingdom’s descent into chaos. Discovering hidden scrolls and overheard conversations adds lore tidbits that flesh out Clovius’s descent into madness and Beldor’s past reign, rewarding players who explore every corner of each stage.

Overall Experience

Combining tight combat, compelling magic systems, and a richly realized world, Legend stands out in the crowded beat ’em up genre. The learning curve is approachable for newcomers yet offers depth for veterans who want to master every attack string and spell timing. Defeating bosses is consistently thrilling, demanding both reflexes and strategic spell use.

Pacing remains brisk thanks to varied stage designs and the incentive of bonus-game chests. These mini-challenges provide welcome breaks from the main action, testing your timing and precision while awarding rare treasures. Finding keys and unlocking chests injects a delightful metagame that complements the core hack-and-slash loop.

For anyone seeking a fantasy-themed brawler with colorful visuals and an addictive progression of moves and magic, Legend is a rewarding journey. Its blend of story snippets, environmental detail, and combat variety make it easy to lose hours mastering each level—and with multiple difficulty settings, there’s ample reason to return for a second quest to purge Sellech of darkness once and for all.

Retro Replay Score

7/10