Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory / Fallen Legion Revenants
Avid 1UP Infinite readers will recall the name Fallen Legion as we have covered the PS4 version of Revenants a year ago. Much like its physical release, the Fallen Legion collection includes downloadable content for its soundtracks as well as a mini artbook. Upon playing Revenants, a higher resolution and sharper graphics accentuate the hand-drawn artwork exceedingly well. The same treatment is given to Rise of Glory, which is arguably the "star" of the collection.
As I've discussed Fallen Legion Revenants in detail already, I won't focus too much this time around on the game itself. Gameplay and presentation-wise, it's on average compared to the PS4 version. My thoughts and complaints have remained similar as far as the voice direction and fast paced gameplay. I will say, having played Rise to Glory, I did enjoy the strategic advantages you could give your party. Placement mattered more in the sequel where it was otherwise nonexistent before. Using a party member's special attack felt like I had more control in Revenants as well. For comparison's sake here are screenshots of both games on both versions.
Rise to Glory is the more interesting of the two as the game was split into two games when it was first released. Originally, the games were released as Sins of an Empire and Flames of Rebellion in 2017. The latter served as a companion piece to the former, releasing on the PS Vita. It was the same story but told through the perspective of the seemingly traitorous Laendur. Both games would eventually release on the Switch under the title Rise to Glory, combining the stories of Princess Cecille and Laendur in one package with bonus content.
Unfortunately, this bonus definitive edition wouldn't release on the PlayStation until the PS5 port as featured here. This makes this the absolute definitive version of not only Rise to Glory, but Revenants which was kept the same for the most part. Rise to Glory centers around Princess Cecille and her former aide, Legatus Laendur, who starts an uprising shortly after the princess's father's death. As she is next to be heir to the throne, she must stop the uprising of Laendur while also figuring out why her former trusted allies would show apparent deceit.
The gameplay consists of summoning spirit warriors known as Exemplars with each button assigned to a warrior. The difference between Revenants is that there's a combo meter that fills as the player performs well. If the player drops their combo or gets hit, the meter resets. The meter can also add beneficial buffs depending on answers given to proposed problems. These not only affect the flow of battle but how your residents respond to you. This is calculated via a moral system and the higher the moral the more beneficial combat buffs are.
From what I played, there is no sense of espionage as shown in Revenants. It's all pure combat and it's something I praised when I looked at Revenants for the first time. It's as satisfying pulling off long chains, defending the enemy attack in the middle of the chain, and using that momentum to continue the pressure as it was a year ago. If you've already owned the physical release of Revenants last year, there's very little incentive of owning the double pack as the versions are similar enough to each other.
For Xbox owners, this is a no-brainer for RPG fans as this is the first time both titles appeared on a Microsoft console. While having a physical copy of Rise to Glory is great to have for Sony players, it may be cheaper to find other methods unless you're a die-hard collector. With that said, the Fallen Legion series is pure indie work, but it shows that dedication to telling a story can lead to a fun game not bogged down by conventional measures.
The Fallen Legion Collection is available on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
