Might & Magic X – Legacy is not only my first take on the series, but my first take on a game of this style. Turn-based combat with a “tile” movement system? It didn’t sound appealing to me at first, but it turned out to be quite a pleasing experience.
The game was a bit difficult to understand at first (I am a newcomer to the series, after all), but I got the hang of it rather quickly, much to my surprise. The game is tile-based, so don’t expect to be free-roaming it around the world like Skyrim. Nope, you’re locked to a grid in terms of movement. Considering the way the combat works, the tile-based movement actually makes sense. Every move made constitutes a turn, so in combat, moving takes up a turn. This actually reminded me a lot about how the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series worked.
The game comes with an in-depth party customization system. Me, knowing nothing about the game going into it, chose the default party. There were plenty of options available in terms of party construction, I just chose to not take advantage of them for fear making a game-crippling mistake at the very beginning of my adventure. I originally had expected the game to be very complex going into it, but instead, I figured it out faster than I would have most games of this genre. For newcomers to the series, don’t fear!
The game’s turned-base battles are fun, but hard. Playing on the normal difficulty, I had trouble defeating a few of my early foes, especially the first boss. I still have some difficulty defeating certain foes. I am still learning the ropes of this game, even this far into it, but it’s been fun thus far. The game’s UI certainly helps. It looks complex, but it’s rather easy to understand and is very helpful once you’ve learned how it works.
This is an RPG, and what is an RPG without quests? Well, the game is full of em. There are plenty of quests that can be received by talking to the various NPCs scattered throughout the game. I spent a great deal of time exploring the many dungeons and such that I came across during my adventure. One of the earlier ones I found had a cyclops in it, who proceeded to decimate my entire party in the matter of two turns. Two turns! I’ve yet to come back to that cyclops, but I don’t think I’m anywhere near the level needed to slay such a beast.
M&M X Legacy has plenty of skills to choose from. Each party member can be customized to your liking using these skills and there are several possibilities that can result. I pretty much ended up pouring a lot of strength into half of my party, with the other half being support (in terms of shielding and such during battle).
My major complaint with M&M X Legacy is how linear the game’s story is. There’s not much that can be said about this, other than the fact that you shouldn’t expect the story to budge much. Although, the amount of extra material can make up for this fault. Oh, and the graphics could have been quite a bit better. The screenshots make it appear a lot better than the actual game does. I would have expected more from a game coming out in 2014.
Might & Magic X – Legacy is a fantastic RPG overall, plenty to do, plenty to customize. It is a bit difficult to jump in as a newcomer, but if you’re willing to devote the time to accept the game as it is, then it’s actually quite enjoyable.
cublikefoot 