I mentioned in my ultimate post about Legend of Legacy that I had ordered the game's official art book, just for the sake of diving deeper into that game world that enthralled me so very much. I received the book a mere couple of days after receiving the special edition of Summon Night 6, and it went a long way toward alleviating the disappointment generated by said special edition. I got much more than I bargained for in purchasing that book, and it was worth many special editions I've purchased lately. See that beauty for yourselves, fellow gamers:
The colours are splendid, and the art is no less: Kobayashi Tomomi, of SaGa fame, did an absolutely stellar job there. The character designs are stunningly gorgeous and make them look so much more impressive and charismatic than in the game, where they are little more than cookie-cutter 3D models:
The beauty! The elegance! Such a display of resplendence would have been enough to sate me, since I bought this art book solely to gaze at gorgeous pictures related to the game; but to my utter surprise and delight, there was more in store for me. See, this art book is actually supposed to be the game's "official graphical guide", as the cover states; and I quickly discovered that this somewhat vague designation actually means that the book is a strategy guide with some art included. In other words, my absolute dream idea of what an art book related to a game should be.
Look at this! Detailed maps, replete with annotations! And that's only a fraction of the book's content: from spells to items to stances to fighting strategies, it covers every aspect of the game, with tons of text, data tables and pictures. It's a splendid book that contains all the data a Legend of Legacy aficionado could dream of, along with a copious amount of eye-candy. The art and the game designs—main characters, foes, places and the like—occupy a good third of the book whilst the strategy guide occupies the last two thirds. That's just the perfect balance, if you ask me.
It goes without saying that I wholeheartedly recommend these 255 pages of splendour to any Legend of Legacy aficionado who wants to invest in a book related to the game. Just like its source material, this art book is a true work of love, and it shows beautifully. Thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!
I have to admit that your enthusiasm is making me interested in LoL. I'd kind of had written it of as a poor man's SaGa game, but I guess it has some identity of its own? Maybe I'll pick it up.
ReplyDeleteAlso, that is one nice looking artbook. 255 pages of high quality art. Nice. The art really is gorgeous. A shame that the 3DS can't replicate this beautiful art on-screen.
Well... Although LoL IS a poor man's SaGa game in many ways, it also does have an identity of its own. It stands really well as a dungeon crawler and the fighting system is quite fulfilling. The game's strongest point is clearly its oniric and solemn atmosphere; I've never seen anything even remotely similar in any other RPG I've played and it had me hooked from beginning to end.
DeleteSince I loved it, I would definitely recommend it... But it's up to you an your tastes! :)