Legend of Tianding – Spotlight
Both historically and geographically, Taiwan is a fascinating place to visit. It’s a sought-after sliver of land because of its location in the triangular triangle formed by China, Japan, and the Philippines. Furthermore, the Qing dynasty held sway over it, and Japan even invaded and occupied it. While this may sound like a massive tangent, it’s important to understand both the game and the publisher Neon Doctrine, which is based in Taiwan, because of this.
Taiwan’s struggle for independence is chronicled in The Legend of Tianding. At some point during Japanese occupation in the early 1900s, the storey takes place. In addition to being oppressive and cruel, Japan treated the people of Taiwan as second-class citizens. A gentleman thief and folk hero steps forward: Liao Tianding. What comes to mind is a cross between Robin Hood and an Asian Robin Hood. His storey is based on real-world events, even if many readers are unfamiliar with him. His storey is a cautionary tale about the price of freedom, and how difficult it is to maintain it once you’ve achieved it. See how well Neon Doctrine handles this historical fantasy in this Legend of Tianding review.
The visual flair of The Legend of Tianding immediately wowed me. As if playing a live action comic book, the game’s various panels pop into action to show off the action. Despite the fact that the game is based on historical events, it is also not bound by them. There are many real-world issues to contend with, such as the aggressiveness of Japanese police and the involvement of Taiwanese accomplices. Additionally, real-world sites like cemeteries and military facilities have been incorporated. Things from mythology, like cursed fates, cursed swords, god-like martial arts, and all kinds of magical mayhem, can also be found. Despite the fact that it’s an unusual combination, it actually works.
An icon and a man are one and the same. Liao Tianding A champion of justice, he’s well-liked and respected across the island. Armed with a lightning fast spiderwire and a super-agile red sash, he can turn the weapons of his enemies against them and take on hordes of foes all by himself. But he’s more than just a super-adventurer. An endearing personality and genuine concern for Taiwan’s well-being are revealed in the narrative. He stands up for those who are oppressed and despised while wreaking havoc on those in positions of power. It seems as though he keeps falling from one outlandish scenario to the next, but he always manages to save the day despite the enormous odds. To get to one of the best parts of the game, the combat, there’s a lot of random errand running and rickshaw travel.
The game’s battles are not only intricately detailed, but also absurdly large. You’ll race through vast labyrinths, battling armed Japanese, and eventually taking on powerful bosses in this action-packed RPG. This would be a problem if the combat wasn’t dynamic and fast-paced, but they did an excellent job of it. By stealing weapons from weaker opponents, you can quickly arm Liao with more than just his fists, feet, and trusty knife. Press X to swaddle them in your red sash after you’ve pounded them to a pulp. That means that you can then toss the armed individuals in any direction you like, grabbing their weapons as you go. To put it another way, Liao is equipped to deal with them no matter what. Axes, pistols, and rocket launchers are all included.
Stamina is a resource that you’ll use to perform special moves in addition to fighting in the traditional sense. These only cost one stamina point each, so they’re not particularly powerful to begin with. However, as you progress through the narrative, you’ll gain stamina simply by completing each chapter’s objectives. Getting similar rewards by completing side objectives is an option, but I steered clear of it. As a result, you had to replay them all in order to complete fetch quests after you beat certain stages. I would have preferred it if the sidequests had been introduced in a more natural way, such as the first time you played a stage. However, even if you don’t complete any sidequests, you’ll still have access to a wide variety of special moves, including flying kicks, ground stomps, and shadow clones. Using these, you can unleash a barrage of devastating attacks on your opponents. My only minor gripe is that once you get a handle on how combat works, it gets a little tedious. That’s a shame, because a dynamic game like this has so much potential.
The Legend of Tianding has a few boss battles, and they’re all excellent. They remind me in a strange way of Viewtiful Joe. They’re all hulking, some of them ridiculous, and none of them are going down without a fight. Attack patterns will change frequently, and finding safe spots will be a constant challenge. Your effective damage will be doubled when you learn how to use the Shadow Clone technique. This is a helpful, but not overly powerful ability once you master it. A wide variety of bosses can be found in the workplace, from fat money-grabbers to psychopaths and Japanese military officers. It’s a battle with a sly kunoichi who fights you with kunai, summons pink tornadoes, and does so while being sexy and condescending that’s my favourite, however. Bosses are great, but you’ll die many times before you get the hang of them.
Amulets are the final and most important aspect of combat. There are several as you progress through the game, and by equipping them you can change the way Liao fights. It’s possible for him to gain more health from food, while increasing the damage he can inflict, or increasing the rate at which he regains his strength. There are so many criminals in your path that you can mix and match his abilities in order to take them down.
While combat is the primary focus of the game, there are also plenty of opportunities for exploration. Liao is able to perform stunts such as a double jump, wall jump, and eventually ride the rising air currents. Spiderwire also allows you to fling him in any direction by pressing a button on his shoulder. I appreciated Liao’s agility, but the spiderwire was a bit of a challenge. In the event that you’re not perfectly positioned, Liao will be sent plummeting into a pit of spikes rather than safely landing on another platform. It would have been nice if the game would have frozen so you could better line up your shots, but that’s a minor complaint.
You can also play a mini game in addition to running around and defeating enemies. Four Color Cards is a popular Taiwanese card game. To win, you have to match up four sets of identical cards before anyone else does. However, I found the mini-explanation game’s to be a little overloaded and a little confusing. When the storey required me to, I played the game once. You can also use it to buy additional amulets and item upgrades if you enjoy spending more time mastering it.
Despite the fact that I’ve already talked about the game’s fantastic art style, I’d like to talk about it again. The Legend of Tianding has a comic book feel to it, and it works really well. When I play games on the Switch, I usually take a lot of screenshots, and more than half of the hundred or so I took were of the cutscenes. Other than that, the Hokkien voice acting in the game is excellent. Despite the fact that I couldn’t verify the accuracy of what they were saying, the subtitles were quite good. Listening to a game’s characters speak in their native tongue adds a lot to the experience for me. However, the translation work was a little iffy, but nothing too bad. As a whole, The Legend of Tianding is a stunning piece of art with a number of memorable songs.
The following kept the game from receiving a higher rating from me:. There were many save points in each stage, but even so, I found myself wishing each chapter’s stage was divided into two halves. After all, the game only has six chapters in total; why not make the stages a bit more manageable by doubling that number? There are many popular series that are referenced, but I never felt that the game truly stood out from the rest. In spite of its unique storyline of political turmoil and rebellion, the adventure’s arc is similar to many other videogame stories out there.
Although The Legend of Tianding is a fantastic game, its scope does limit its potential. Taiwan’s historical context and focus are unquestionably unique, but the island has never done enough to stand on its own. In addition, the sombre conclusion that I received probably didn’t help matters, as it demonstrated the often painful consequences of rebellion. That being said, it’s a fun and easy game that can be completed in a matter of hours. The fact that it’s the developer’s first game and it’s so reasonably priced makes it easy to recommend it to others. Let’s hope this isn’t the last time Creative Games, Computer Graphics Corporation, and Neon Doctrine create a historical adventure.
