This review contains spoilers
This is the most thought provoking mid game for me. At face value there's really not a lot to take away from Azran Legacy, the puzzles are solid, but the story is the weakest in the series and certainly the most unfocused. Completely separating the chapters from one another in a non-linear fashion prevents this game from having a cohesive developing narrative unlike its predecessors. By the end of the plot nothing has had any time to develop and the conflict is wrapped up way too quickly, which would normally lead to a totally unsatisfying ending. However, while I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking that way, despite it all I was completely satisfied for reasons which I can't tell were intended by the developers or not.
This is one of the most depressing and somber video games I've ever played. That may make me sound insane, but I derive most of this game's meaning from areas outside of the main story because where else are you supposed to get that from lmao. This game just has a sense of "I don't want it to be over" in the tone and music from start to finish if that makes any sense. I think the nature of this game, at the time anyway, being the last entry in the series gives it weight that it wouldn't otherwise have. I can feel the devs desire to make one last grand outing before the series must be put to rest, and gives the seemingly weak story and execution much more significance to me.
I obviously expect a lot of people to not really understand what I'm talking about, and that's fine, we all interpret different things from art. I just think that regardless of how this game turned out, even if it's the weakest of the original six games, the emotional weight is more prevalent than ever. To me, Azran Legacy is a story about things ending, life changing, but moving forward. And regardless of its quality, I think that's still a perfectly satisfactory way to end the series. I know that even though I find this finale underwhelming, I still cried harder than I ever have at any piece of media before in my life. I still cared despite my many issues with the game, gaming is an interesting medium huh?
I just hope that New World of Steam doesn't miss the point they may or may not have been trying to make here, as excited for it as I may be.
Not all empires can last forever, what matters is the legacy they leave behind
This is one of the most depressing and somber video games I've ever played. That may make me sound insane, but I derive most of this game's meaning from areas outside of the main story because where else are you supposed to get that from lmao. This game just has a sense of "I don't want it to be over" in the tone and music from start to finish if that makes any sense. I think the nature of this game, at the time anyway, being the last entry in the series gives it weight that it wouldn't otherwise have. I can feel the devs desire to make one last grand outing before the series must be put to rest, and gives the seemingly weak story and execution much more significance to me.
I obviously expect a lot of people to not really understand what I'm talking about, and that's fine, we all interpret different things from art. I just think that regardless of how this game turned out, even if it's the weakest of the original six games, the emotional weight is more prevalent than ever. To me, Azran Legacy is a story about things ending, life changing, but moving forward. And regardless of its quality, I think that's still a perfectly satisfactory way to end the series. I know that even though I find this finale underwhelming, I still cried harder than I ever have at any piece of media before in my life. I still cared despite my many issues with the game, gaming is an interesting medium huh?
I just hope that New World of Steam doesn't miss the point they may or may not have been trying to make here, as excited for it as I may be.
Not all empires can last forever, what matters is the legacy they leave behind