Nomad Games went all out when creating this adventure RPG. For those unaware of the Fighting Fantasy series, imagine a single-person experience that is very similar to D&D. Essentially, this franchise has produced a line of books that mixes a choose your own adventure narrative with a dice-based action system. This video game is an adaptation of three of those books, which were written by the acclaimed Steve Jackson and Ian Livingston. So those who love games heavy with lore and uncompromising consequences will love this game.

This is especially true thanks to the adept hands of the team at Nomad games who have had years of experience creating unique games that delve into the realm of fantasy. In 2012, the team released the fantasy adventure Talisman: Prologue, which redesigned a classic board game into a single-player adventure that was later adapted for multiplayer with Talisman: Digital Editions. The game featured over 50 missions that would take you across the world slaying dragons and saving entire cities.

Fighting Fantasy Legends brings you into famed towns from the multi-million selling series of Fighting Fantasy Books and has you go about encountering numerous dangerous situations and famous characters. The game is literally set up to have you run into trouble at basically every corner, and you will feel exceptionally relieved when you turn a corner and there’s a vendor as one of the options. Admittedly, even this type of choice can lead to major issues.

The game is not difficult in the way that Dark Souls is hard or let’s say an extremely fast-paced bullet hell game. Fighting Fantasy Legends is difficult in that almost any interaction can seamlessly lead you to your death. Word of advice: don’t try to overcorrect. Mistakes will be made and a lot of the game depends on luck as you roll the dice. This can be truly frustrating if you play in the mode that features permadeath. If you are brave enough to take on that challenge, then may favorable winds carry you on your journey. Thankfully, there is an easier version that just resets you outside of the city with one hit point when you die. It still can be frustrating if for some reason you find yourself without gold at that moment.

For Fighting Fantasy Legends, you are taken through the general storyline of the three gamebooks City of Thieves, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, and Citadel of Chaos; after deciding to be either a barbarian, dwarf, or elf. Following the City of Thieves story you will enter the Port of Blacksand and meet with the legendary wizard Nicomedus in order to take on Zanbar Bone. The Warlock of Firetop Mountain will pit you face-to-face with the tremendous and terrifying power of Zagor the Warlock, while Citadel of Chaos tasks you with the impossible task of taking on Balthus Dire.

Though there is a respective storyline to conquer in each area, the story that you experience will be vastly different from anyone else’s story. This is because the number of options you have at every single corner, intersection, bridge, and so on will boggle your mind. The choices given will also lead you into incredibly different situations and play a large role in how long you survive. It is this aspect of creating your own story that will capture your heart if you enjoy RPGs and any type of storytelling type game. It also ensures a lot of replay value.

The gameplay in Fighting Fantasy Legends is rather unique. It combines a choice-based narrative (where your choice really does matter and can easily lead you to death) with a card game that has a dice-based action sequence. You have a number of dice that represent your skill abilities, which will be used with fighting and skill-related events. Then there’s luck dice, which will have their own events. The amount of skill points you align to each decide how many you will have, and when you earn a level, you can decide to level one of your dice up. By leveling up a dice, you create an extra attack or extra luck symbol on a single dice (you start with one symbol on each dice and can have up to three symbols on each dice).

This element of luck makes each battle exciting and incredibly frustrating as well. Watching your life drain away as all dice turn up blank is rage quit worthy. That being said, there’s not really any strategic input for you to handle while engaging in battle. The most you can do is simply choose what you feel is the smartest and safest choice when you are given a list of options. For example, when seeing two soldiers that belong to one of the main antagonists, you might have to choose between trying to hide from them or walking towards them. Is it best to hide in plain sight and walk casually along? Does ‘walk towards them’ mean literally to walk at them in a confrontational manner? Will they see me trying to hide? So many choices and it can be tough to decide which is the best, especially if you tend to overthink situations.

Though the main focus of the gameplay revolves around the story, making decisions and the subsequent battles that ensue, there are a lot of nice features to the game. The overhead point of view is reminiscent of Diablo and Diablo II, which really helps set the tone for the dark fantasy world that we have been dropped into. Though the overall graphics are nothing to write home about, the detail on the creature cards and quality of sound effects help flesh out the environment. Nonetheless, it cannot be denied that the narrative is the heart of the game.

Everything about Fighting Fantasy Legend provides the player with an in-depth RPG experience. The story takes center stage as you make your way through the various locations and try to make sure that your character becomes a legend in his/her own right. It’s a tough game, but if you’re not taking on the permadeath mode then you will be able to persevere to victory, most likely. All that said, the game truly endows you with a sense of excitement and achievement as you make your way through some truly sketchy situations. Each battle can easily deplete more life than you expected it to, and a lot of times you’ll simply be thankful for making it out of an encounter alive. Also, the rewards are truly satisfying as your dice become more and more stacked in your favor.

Fighting Fantasy Legend is definitely meant for a niche group of players. The players don’t necessarily need to be acquainted with Fighting Fantasy, but they should have a deep love for RPGs and fantasy worlds. If you love D&D, choose your own adventures, or simply dark fantasy worlds; then you will definitely love jumping into Fighting Fantasy Legends, as it gives you a vital and seedy world to explore. However, if you are prone to frustration, then this might not be the game for you. Often enough you’ll slowly and painfully watch your character die as you curse at the dice.