Written by Patrick Orquia
Title: Alwa’s Legacy
Developer: Elden Pixels
Publisher: Elden Pixels
Genre:Platformer, Action, Adventure, Metroidvania
Number of Players: 1
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: September 29, 2020
Price: $17.99
A couple of years ago, I reviewed an indie game called Alwa’s Awakening. It was a cool, retro-inspired metroidvania game that looked, sounded, and played like it legitimately came from the 8-bit era. I really enjoyed it. Flash-forward to now, a sequel to it has been released, called Alwa’s Legacy. Right on the get go, it is quite obvious that it aims to be better in every way that its predecessor. Does it achieve that goal? In this review we’ll find out.
Spoiler alert: YES, IT DOES.
This game improves upon every element of the first game. The visuals look more vibrant and detailed, now in 16-bit aesthetics; the chiptune soundtrack is catchier and more varied; and the gameplay is much better. The world is also even more expansive, with a lot more NPCs to interact with, enemies to defeat, and areas to explore, with more skills and abilities to open the titular land of Alwa up for further exploration.
The game starts right where the first game left off. You play as Zoe, the protagonist of the first game, who has woken up on a shore, with no recollection of what happened to her previously. You are tasked with a magical book that you have to bring along with you as you go through another epic journey across the land of Alwa, with the goal of obtaining artefacts that will help you get rid of the Vicar, who once again threatens the world. You will have to go through dungeons and work your way towards defeating their main bosses in order for you to have a face-to-face battle with the Vicar. Do you have what it takes to save Alwa?
At the beginning, Zoe only has her wand at her disposal, which she uses for melee attacks. Later on, you will be able to find three gemstones that gives Zoe her 3 basic skills (like in the first game): green gemstone that allows her to conjure a green block that she can use to reach high platforms, blue gemstone that allows her to conjure a blue bubble that floats upwards which she can also use to reach even higher areas, and yellow gemstone that allows her to shoot yellow lightning which hurts enemies. Scattered across the land are blue orbs, which serve as this games main currency of sorts, as these are used to upgrade the gemstones, which unlocks enhancements to Zoe’s skills, such as the green block being able to float on water or the blue bubble no longer bursting after floating a certain height or the yellow lightning having higher enemy damage. A certain number of blue orbs are needed for the upgrades, so you have to find as much of them as you can. Visit the wizard if you have enough orbs and he will unlock the skill that you want. There are 99 orbs to collect in total, and many of them are hidden or located at hard-to-reach areas, which you will eventually able to reach or discover the more skills you unlock. You are not required to obtain them all, but if you are a completionist, you will have to unlock all of the skills to get them all.
Aside from the skills, new to this game are the abilities which further empowers Zoe. You will get the ability to walk across spikes unharmed, slow down time, pass through walls, and conjure small protective spheres that will hurt enemies upon contact. You can only use one ability at a time (you can swap between them on the fly by pressing R and selecting which one to use), and only use that ability once per screen and you will have to recharge if you want to use it again. The abilities are, of course, unlocked one by one and after obtaining the items that give you the ability.
There are a good number of area puzzles in the game that will have you use the abilities. They are usually designed to only use one particular ability, since you have to recharge after each use, but there will be times when you have to use more than one and also in tandem with your three basic skills. The puzzles are oftentimes not very difficult to solve, especially if you have unlocked the skills the necessary skills and abilities, but satisfying nonetheless. They don’t feel like a chore to do at all and don’t get too frustrating, since the complexity of these puzzles do increase as you progress into the game.
As previously mentioned, Alwa is much more expansive in this game, and since this game is a metroidvania, there will be a lot of backtracking to do. There are plenty of save points scattered across the map, with some of them acting also as warp points, which you can use to travel to other warp points on the map. You can convert regular save points into warp points by dropping tears in them. Tears are green-colored gems are another collectible in the game and they are harder to obtain compared to the blue orbs. The more save points that you convert into warp points, the easier it will be to navigate across Alwa and the easier for you to travel to previously-visited locations.
This game has no leveling up system, and aside from the skills that you can upgrade and abilities that you acquire, the only other metric that you can upgrade is your HP. You have to collect red petals for this: bring four petals to an NPC who loves gardening and he will add another notch on your HP meter. Like the blue orbs and the tears, the petals are also scattered across Alwa and are mostly hidden from plain sight or located at hard-to-reach areas. You don’t need to collect them, but if four notches on your HP meter is not enough for you, one or two more is going to help you a lot.
The main goal in exploring the land of Alwa is to reach and enter the dungeons. There are four main dungeons in the game, and each has a boss at the end. Here, you will have to solve many area puzzles and defeat enemies, utilizing all the skills and abilities that you have acquired at that point. Defeating the boss lets you acquire the gems that they possess, which you can then put on your magical book. The boss fights in each of the dungeons are unique and satisfying, and the bosses themselves have excellent character design and good attack patterns that you can easily figure out but nonetheless still challenging. Once you have defeated all four bosses, you unlock the last dungeon right smack in the middle of the Alwa, where you will have to contend with the Vicar once and for all.
Overall, Alwa’s Legacy is one awesome game. It may seem lacking in prestige and may make you look at it as another one of the lost list of metroidvanias on the eShop, but this game is really good. From the visuals to the music to the overall gameplay, it is really top-notch and deserves to a good spot on your list of games that you have to play on the Nintendo Switch. I highly recommend this game metroidvania fans, and even if you are not or just trying out the genre for the first time, this is a very good game to start with. Alwa awaits you, so go out and explore it, adventurer!
Spoiler alert: YES, IT DOES.
This game improves upon every element of the first game. The visuals look more vibrant and detailed, now in 16-bit aesthetics; the chiptune soundtrack is catchier and more varied; and the gameplay is much better. The world is also even more expansive, with a lot more NPCs to interact with, enemies to defeat, and areas to explore, with more skills and abilities to open the titular land of Alwa up for further exploration.
The game starts right where the first game left off. You play as Zoe, the protagonist of the first game, who has woken up on a shore, with no recollection of what happened to her previously. You are tasked with a magical book that you have to bring along with you as you go through another epic journey across the land of Alwa, with the goal of obtaining artefacts that will help you get rid of the Vicar, who once again threatens the world. You will have to go through dungeons and work your way towards defeating their main bosses in order for you to have a face-to-face battle with the Vicar. Do you have what it takes to save Alwa?
At the beginning, Zoe only has her wand at her disposal, which she uses for melee attacks. Later on, you will be able to find three gemstones that gives Zoe her 3 basic skills (like in the first game): green gemstone that allows her to conjure a green block that she can use to reach high platforms, blue gemstone that allows her to conjure a blue bubble that floats upwards which she can also use to reach even higher areas, and yellow gemstone that allows her to shoot yellow lightning which hurts enemies. Scattered across the land are blue orbs, which serve as this games main currency of sorts, as these are used to upgrade the gemstones, which unlocks enhancements to Zoe’s skills, such as the green block being able to float on water or the blue bubble no longer bursting after floating a certain height or the yellow lightning having higher enemy damage. A certain number of blue orbs are needed for the upgrades, so you have to find as much of them as you can. Visit the wizard if you have enough orbs and he will unlock the skill that you want. There are 99 orbs to collect in total, and many of them are hidden or located at hard-to-reach areas, which you will eventually able to reach or discover the more skills you unlock. You are not required to obtain them all, but if you are a completionist, you will have to unlock all of the skills to get them all.
Aside from the skills, new to this game are the abilities which further empowers Zoe. You will get the ability to walk across spikes unharmed, slow down time, pass through walls, and conjure small protective spheres that will hurt enemies upon contact. You can only use one ability at a time (you can swap between them on the fly by pressing R and selecting which one to use), and only use that ability once per screen and you will have to recharge if you want to use it again. The abilities are, of course, unlocked one by one and after obtaining the items that give you the ability.
There are a good number of area puzzles in the game that will have you use the abilities. They are usually designed to only use one particular ability, since you have to recharge after each use, but there will be times when you have to use more than one and also in tandem with your three basic skills. The puzzles are oftentimes not very difficult to solve, especially if you have unlocked the skills the necessary skills and abilities, but satisfying nonetheless. They don’t feel like a chore to do at all and don’t get too frustrating, since the complexity of these puzzles do increase as you progress into the game.
As previously mentioned, Alwa is much more expansive in this game, and since this game is a metroidvania, there will be a lot of backtracking to do. There are plenty of save points scattered across the map, with some of them acting also as warp points, which you can use to travel to other warp points on the map. You can convert regular save points into warp points by dropping tears in them. Tears are green-colored gems are another collectible in the game and they are harder to obtain compared to the blue orbs. The more save points that you convert into warp points, the easier it will be to navigate across Alwa and the easier for you to travel to previously-visited locations.
This game has no leveling up system, and aside from the skills that you can upgrade and abilities that you acquire, the only other metric that you can upgrade is your HP. You have to collect red petals for this: bring four petals to an NPC who loves gardening and he will add another notch on your HP meter. Like the blue orbs and the tears, the petals are also scattered across Alwa and are mostly hidden from plain sight or located at hard-to-reach areas. You don’t need to collect them, but if four notches on your HP meter is not enough for you, one or two more is going to help you a lot.
The main goal in exploring the land of Alwa is to reach and enter the dungeons. There are four main dungeons in the game, and each has a boss at the end. Here, you will have to solve many area puzzles and defeat enemies, utilizing all the skills and abilities that you have acquired at that point. Defeating the boss lets you acquire the gems that they possess, which you can then put on your magical book. The boss fights in each of the dungeons are unique and satisfying, and the bosses themselves have excellent character design and good attack patterns that you can easily figure out but nonetheless still challenging. Once you have defeated all four bosses, you unlock the last dungeon right smack in the middle of the Alwa, where you will have to contend with the Vicar once and for all.
Overall, Alwa’s Legacy is one awesome game. It may seem lacking in prestige and may make you look at it as another one of the lost list of metroidvanias on the eShop, but this game is really good. From the visuals to the music to the overall gameplay, it is really top-notch and deserves to a good spot on your list of games that you have to play on the Nintendo Switch. I highly recommend this game metroidvania fans, and even if you are not or just trying out the genre for the first time, this is a very good game to start with. Alwa awaits you, so go out and explore it, adventurer!
REPLAY VALUE: High
PROS
CONS
- Excellent visuals with 16-bit aesthetics
- Excellent chiptune music
- Excellent gameplay with good enhancements from the first game
- The land of Alwa is very enjoyable to explore
- Puzzles are very satisfying to solve
- Awesome boss battles, albeit not too challenging
- Lots of NPCs to interact with
- Lots of secret areas to discover
- Good variety of enemy types
- Good use of HD Rumble
- Ideal for handheld gaming
- Stable performance on both docked and undocked mode
- Good price point
CONS
- Takes a long time to load at initial startup of the game
- Controls are floaty at times
- Unlocked skills can be equipped and unequipped, but you are required to also equip the preceding skill to the one that you want, as the skill upgrades are sequential instead of the more ideal skill tree style
RATING: 4.5/5 Alwa goodness
No comments:
Post a Comment