Procrastinato

User Score
6.7

Presentation - 6.5
Gameplay - 7.4
Value - 5.8

This is my 2nd review with the "ye olde RPGs you find in the used bargain hunter bin" theme -- this time around, the bargain bin standout was a fairly early action RPG (ARPG) from the now-defunct Stormfront Studios, noted mostly for their later action RPGs, like The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and Demon Stone.

Just to get this out of the way, this game is from 2001, for the PS2.  It showed up in the "second wave" of RPGs for the PS2, thus I expected the tech bar to be raised only slightly over earlier RPGs like Volition's Summoner, but not to the level of ARPGs released the year after, like Surreal's Drakan: The Ancient Gates.  I didn't come to the game with high expectations... and thus I was reasonably happy with the graphics and overall technology.

This game is pretty impressive, and immersive, for its age, the framerate is good, and the combat is pretty entertaining... although it gets a little repetitive in the long run.  The combat might be described as an "early Final Fantasy XII" system, which may make, or break, the game for the player, in and of itself.  Don't take the "early" part of that comment too lightly, however, if you enjoyed Final Fantasy XII -- this game isn't going to stand up to that kind of comparison.

The story is not too bad -- it has a more "western" RPG flavor (pure fantasy, evil forces looking to take over/destroy the world, but no JRPG-style long lost high tech civilization/steampunk, etc.), which is a good thing in my book.  Its not great either... the voice acting is kinda cheezy, although its there, and the dialogue isn't nonsensical (like some JRPGs seem, to westerners).

If you enjoy large worlds, with relatively few "loading" areas, and a traditional ARPG gameplay style (albeit a pretty early example), you might consider Legend of Alon'Dar worth the bargain price -- it's usually under $10.

Overall, I put this in my "barely worth it... but I enjoyed enough to have some fond memories" bucket.  Keep in mind I am fairly tolerant of old games - the price made it worthwhile.