Legends Untamed

A lesson in adorableness

Legends Untamed is an RPG Maker game that wears it’s influence on it’s sleeve. If you are unaware of what that influence is, this may not be the game for you. Starting with cute pixel art and adorable monster designs, the game goes right into letting you jump right into catching monsters. No running about for an hour of exposition before you get into why you are here. The three starters are incredibly adorable and fun, but the real treat is when you see all the other monster designs, especially the Sworgi.

Surprised or not, this is still a very good boy.

The game is great to look at, but there is still some balancing that needs to be done. One thing existing games get right is that your starter should be stronger than the monsters you run into in the starting area. I’ve played this game since it’s first iteration as a gamejam entry and the balance has swung like a pendulum, from extremely easy to very hard to nearly balanced as it is now. I have no real complaints, but a bit more testing could benefit this.

Another small issue I find is that the game does not take full advantage of going full screen, I am unsure if this is a design choice, a limitation of the hardware or just something they have not gotten to you, but it’s not as appealing as it could be to play this in full screen.

What happens if I reach the void? I fear it is watching me…

The game includes a nice Rest ability that acts as defend, it also restores a small amount of HP and SP, not a lot, but enough to make traveling just a little easier on the player. The game has a vibe, a mix of fantasy and modern, but not like the jrpgs of yesteryear, there are no steam engines and blimps. You see TVs and airplanes, but your characters live in small villages and dress as knights and witches. You would think this would make the game feel all over the place, but it’s very cohesive and works well within the game world. Despite all these positive design choices, you do occasionally see something that feels a bit jarring, or in this case barren.

You are exposing yourself menu screen

The menu screen shows very little information and feels lacking. This is an early enough build and there could be plans for changes, but something that fits into the theme of the game would be really nice to look at, like how Pokemon uses a bag for inventory. This is not the worst possible thing that you could encounter, but it is just a bit of a let down/

The game gives you the option to switch out party members at any time, which is very nice when you come across the next cute monster you want to use. One decision that boggles my mind is forcing the starter to be stuck in the party. As great as Mossloth is, this really puts a hamper on my desire for a party entirely made of Sworgis.

The combat in the game has changed a lot from the original version, going from the type of attack (powerful, agile, smart, ect) to the standard elemental strength and weaknesses. While this is an easier to understand system it’s a little disappointing, especially as it seems there are only 3 elements that I can see so far. I hope more elements will come into play or that perhaps the devs will revisit the old combat system, it added a lot to the game.

Trainer battles are on a whole other level.

I have not said much about the story, but it is a fairly standard affair. An evil team intends to take over the world with the power of crystals and only this monster raising child can stop them. The dialogue is funny and well written, but it is certainly not the heart of the game. While this is still a very short experience, it has come so far from the first iteration I played, and i thought that one was pretty amazing.

Graphics - 8/10

Overall the graphics in this are great, there was a lot of effort put into the pixel art and it looks great. The monster designs are wonderful and fun, but where this stumbles is in the UI choices. The default RPG maker boxes and hp bars, as well as the very basic menu screen leave a lot to be desired.

Music - 8/10

While I’ve not found anything that I’d listen to outside the game, the music fits nicely and does it’s job well. It adds to the atmosphere in a good way and is not a pain to listen to.

Gameplay - 9/10

This is where the game shines for sure, overall it is a ton of fun to fight and recruit monsters, but the very basic elemental system and need for balance hurts it just a little bit. It is going in the right direction, I’ve listed above my issues with it, and perhaps I am alone, but either way this is going to be a fun game.

Fun Factor - 8/10

Overall this is a very fun experience, there is a good variety of monsters, and exploring is nice. There is a lack of areas to explore sadly, and the battles tend to drag on or end up a bit too hard, but in general it is still really fun, do not pass it up.

Overall - 8/10

I can’t say enough how well made this game is, there is so much heart put into it, especially in the art design. It as an experience worth having, and as the game grows I can only imagine it getting better. It is still a bit rough around the edges, but those are things that can easily be overlooked in pursuit of the real jewel of this game, An army of Sworgis.

They come in different flavors!