Old-school JRPG Legrand Legacy gets a release date in new trailer

Legrand Legacy, an openly old-school turn-based JRPG, will launch on PC on January 24, 2018, according to its newest trailer. Astoundingly, that puts the PC version a full year ahead of the console versions. What sort of loopy reverse-land have we entered?

Legrand Legacy is a game drunk on old JRPGs, citing Suikoden, Legend of Dragoon and Final Fantasy as its key inspirations. You can see that in the story: as Joe reported last year, it's set in a war-torn world and stars a motley crew of reluctant heroes whose bonds, you see, are the universe's "true peril." It also uses 3D models and 2D environments to emulate the visual style of its ancestors, and its combat system features QTE-esque, timing-based follow-up attacks.

As Crunchyroll reports, developer Semisoft further explained the combat in a recent press release: "Exploiting enemies' weaknesses and unleashing powerful attacks is key for victory," Semisoft said. "Craft weapons and unlock new magic abilities as the enemies become fiercer." There's also a range of activities outside combat, like sidequests, NPC recruitment, and the obligatory fishing minigame.

Legrand's Legacy history may be the most complicated thing about it. It was already two years in development when it first appeared last November on Steam Greenlight (which doesn't exist anymore) and Kickstarter. Its Kickstarter campaign says it was unsuccessful, but according to the most recent update, its base goal was in fact met—it's the stretch goals that weren't funded. A playable demo popped up on GameJolt around the same time, and is still available for download today.

One way or another, it's January-bound. Check out the previously released cinematic trailer for a story primer.

Austin freelanced for PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and has been a full-time writer at PC Gamer's sister publication GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a staff writer is just a cover-up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news, the occasional feature, and as much Genshin Impact as he can get away with.