Legion

~ LEGION ~

Renovation / Telenet

CD-ROM

1990

Back when I first acquired Legion, I expected an amusingly awful game at best and a useless piece of trash at worst. As it turns out, I think it's a worthwhile shooter, and not just in a "kitsch classic" sort of way.

Many people complain about its high level of difficulty, but it can't be that bad if a Turbob Grafx rookie like me was able to complete it in a day. I acknowledge that it can be discouraging at first, when you're trying to fend off relentless enemies who fire extremely fast bullets. But the key to enjoying the game is surviving the rough early going until you power up a bit. Grabbing and strengthening the multi-way blaster and learning the layouts of the first two stages (and how to defeat their respective bosses) will lead to success. With a little bit of practice, you can reach the third stage with all of your lives and a high-powered gun that covers an enormous amount of space with its shots. Your craft isn't helpless anymore, and you start obtaining shields to boot. Suddenly, the enemy armada doesn't seem so tough.

Legion does require practice, memorization, and strategizing. But it's certainly not impossible, and the more you learn and the better you get, the more enjoyable the experience becomes. And the "getting better" process obviously shouldn't take much time. Before long, you'll have your once-hapless little ship soaring to all the right spots, reacting quickly to its speedy adversaries, and wreaking havoc with screen-spanning spread shots.

The game is fair with just about everything it throws at you. But I'll concede that one level (the last if you travel the default path) is simply crazy, and there's little you can do but smash your way through it.

Legion's graphics, as you might have noticed, aren't very good, and its music is chip fodder. I like most of the tunes, though, and can live without fancy visuals in a space shooter if the action occupies my attention, which it does here. And not every stage and sprite is a write-off.

So yes, I truly enjoy Legion. Sadly, I think I'm the only person who likes it. But I do recommend it to folks who want a decent challenge and won't give up if things seem rough at first. It's at least worth a shot, especially since it's cheap. And with that said, I now refer you to a Legion review you're much more likely to agree with, a hilarious piece by my merry cousin Zigfriedolmevich.