Legends Of Talia: Arcadia Review – It Started With a Kiss

We like to go that extra mile to support publishers which we’re fond of here at PS Legends. No, I’m not talking about preferential treatment; that we definitely don’t do, but we’re more than happy to show off coverage of games that catch our eye, regardless of said game’s budget, genre, or even quality. If there’s an element of fun and excitement there, we’ll give it a shot, and hopefully the publisher will appreciate that.

Introduction

Today, I’m rather reaching out to a publisher who, despite releasing countless games that really tickle the theme of what we like to showcase here at PS Legends, has unfortunately slipped under our radar for far too long. We love you, Gamuzumi. Let’s start your story where it all began with your very first game as we tackle the charming visual novel that is Legends of Talia: Arcadia.

Legends of Talia: Arcadia is a very cheap (£2.49) but cheerful kinetic visual novel game with a notoriously easy platinum trophy. The game is developed by Winged Cloud and the first title released under Gamuzumi’s label, arriving on PS4 on 8th April 2021. A later update patch also bundled the game with a cross-buy PS5 edition at no extra cost.

Story

Despite her youth, Arcadia is a knight who has fought in countless battles in the war-torn land of Talia. She has defeated hundreds of enemies with her blade, becoming something of a celebrated legend. Sadly, not all of Arcadia’s victories were flawless; There is one story regarding Arcadia that most would rather forget.

A little over ten years ago, a horned dragon attacked Freycross Village. Arcadia was a young girl and a rookie adventurer at the time, yet bravely drove off the dragon, though her victory came far too late and the village was burned to the ground, and the majority of villagers perished. Arcadia might be a hero now, but those who survived the attack on Freycross Village resent her, blaming her for their past misfortune.

Now, the horned dragon has returned to Freycross, and despite hostility from the villagers, Arcadia has also returned to settle the score, however she isn’t alone this time. An amateur mage from Freycross named Cecily also fights to protect her family. While Arcadia would rather work alone, Cecily insists the pair team up to finish the job. Will this unlikely pairing prove successful? The duo must put aside their differences and work together to slay the dragon, despite their troubled pasts.

Progression

Legends of Talia: Arcadia utilises a single-button interface to move the text forward. Tapping the Cross button will move the text on to the next line or paragraph, while tapping L1 allows you to rewind to the last line. Pressing the Square button will let the text auto-play, while R1 acts as a fast-forward feature, allowing you to jump ahead or skip through the game entirely if you’re so inclined. Text display speed can be adjusted from the main menu.

The game doubles as one of those notoriously easy-to-platinum games. You could skip all text entirely in this linear-style visual novel, flashing through instantly to get your platinum trophy in as little as a minute. For a genuine playthrough, collecting all of the game’s trophies legitimately will take around an hour, maybe an hour and a half if you prefer to take your time and digest the story.

Graphics/Sound

Legends of Talia: Arcadia really makes a beautiful start and really showcases what stunning artwork is to come for ecchi-style developer Winged Cloud. Focus is placed on the female characters, particularly leading ladies Arcadia and Cecily, as you’ll soon notice just how gorgeous and flatteringly curvaceous they are. Outfits are often revealing, but not quite enough to anger the censors.

Characters aren’t animated and will only move or gesture as their sprites are regenerated after each line of dialog advances. Sadly, there are no independent blinking or lip-syncing attempts, not that the characters are voiced anyway. This is a lower-budget visual novel, and so it’s fully text-based.

There’s solid, atmospheric music throughout to accompany the brilliantly detailed backdrop images and super-pretty anime girls, if that’s your cup of tea, though that image floating around of the two girls kissing (which I might as well include here; you’re welcome) is blown out of proportion somewhat. The full scene is less hentai, more friendly peck of approval. Sorry guys.

Conclusion

For a low-budget title, you know, it’s actually not bad as far as visual novels go, largely due to a linear plot with no player choices. I vastly prefer this style of storytelling since it follows a clear canon. This also increases the possibility of a sequel without resorting to Deus ex Machina again, though sadly Winged Cloud’s grander ‘Sakura’ saga seems to have taken priority instead.

There is some room for improvement here; The pacing could use a little work. Despite the short runtime, the characters don’t actually cover much ground, but rather tend to go on for pages about their pasts, their feelings and their conflictions. It could actually benefit from some editing here and there. Maybe enjoy it for what it is; a very quick, very affordable, and very easy platinum game with a bit of eye candy.