The Sega Saturn console actually had decent third party support early on in its life. It just wasn’t a very popular choice with consumers (at least outside of Japan) and that leaves us with a lot of hidden gems in its library. Dark Legend is one of these such titles. Released very early on this fighting game was actually an exclusive for the platform in the West. Dark Legend is a two dimensional brawler based off of the classic Chinese novel the Water Margin. While it has since been released on the PlayStation Network this is the only time we’ve ever had the game translated into English. Is Dark Legend a worthwhile fighting game? Let’s explore it today and find out!
The story here centers around a tournament in the 11th or 12th century China known as the Dark Legend. A mastermind of the emperor it is used to thin out the hungry warlords by offering prizes that simply cannot be turned down. Defeat is death, and many enter and die trying to win the ultimate riches and glory. It’s a pretty basic set up but I do like the fact that everyone in the cast is basically an outlaw all fighting for their own selfish reasons. I couldn’t be bothered to delve too deep into the scenario, but it wasn’t offensively bad by any means.
Dark Legend is like a combination of Samurai Shodown and Street Fighter II. This mix in my mind can do no wrong, and for the most part that’s true. The game makes use of all six buttons on the Saturn controller and each character has their own signature punches and kicks. Special moves are a major part of gameplay and these are mostly performed with the traditional directional sweeps and other combinations stolen from Street Fighter. These include uppercuts, thrusts, and projectiles. As far as special moves go there’s not really anything special, but this system is perfectly functional. The roster is fair but hardly anything special. The characters are largely generic except for one that has a large shadow beast following him around that can attack for him. Now that’s pretty cool if you ask me. You also have the generic muscular guys, weird purple colored fighter, and token female.
 |
| Meticulously drawn backgrounds and well animated sprites make this one a real looker. |
While not exclusively weapons based several of the cast members in Dark Legend use swords, nunchucks, sticks, etc. These improve their reach and strength but generally come at the cost of speed. Some of the other characters who lack weapons can instead jump off of walls which to some players will be a worthwhile trade-off. The most interesting aspect of Dark Legend is the fact that you can opt to throw your weapon away (if you’re using a character that by default has one) and you won’t get it back until the end of the three round match. This changes your basic attacks and some special moves and alters the mechanics of your character. It’s a pretty cool system that really helps to set this one apart from the rest of the pack.
If Dark Legend has any problem it’s that, aside from the weapon system, it doesn’t do a lot to differentiate itself from the rest of the pack. The special moves are performed exactly like they are in pretty much any other fighter, and there’s that constant nagging reliance on projectiles that we all hated back in the day. You can spam attacks to great success unless you’re playing against a decent human opponent which can be annoying when up against a button masher. The combo system is pretty easy to manage but that’s because the game’s pacing is a little slower than usual. Dark Legend moves slightly slower than both Street Fighter II and Samurai Shodown but only slightly. I like a nice change in pace in my fighting games every once in a while, but it makes the combination attacks a little more focused toward beginners. Opportunity windows feel a little bigger here.
 |
| The weapon system is pretty much the only thing that keeps this one fresh. |
Dark Legend is a pretty fighting game. The character designs have a lot of character with plenty of exaggerated features, unique clothing, real martial arts poses and moves, etc. The backgrounds are beautifully drawn and have a ton of detail. I especially liked the marine based stages such as the ships and dock. The special moves are all nicely animated and some are really impressive for the time in which this game was released. The only complaint I have is that some of the sprite work is a little underwhelming. A few of the characters just don’t look very impressive to me and are an obvious step down from what Street Fighter Alpha was doing at this same time. The zooming camera is a nice throwback to Samurai Shodown and helps to show off the character models while also focusing on the vastness of each stage as well. What does make up for it is that the animations are highly detailed with tons of frames that make animation flow extremely smoothly.
The soundtrack makes use of the CD hardware’s redbook capabiltiies and I really liked all of the music. It’s a mix of rock and techno with some traditional sounding Chinese instruments thrown in for good measure. It’s all pretty darn catchy. Unfortunately none of the spoken audio has been translated, and for some reason everyone in China apparently spoke Japanese in the era in which this game was based. I kid, I kid, but an English track would have been welcome.
I would call Dark Legend a hidden gem in the Saturn’s library. I’ve never met anyone who has even so much as heard of it; it seems that gamers back then only cared about the latest and greatest 3D graphics back when it was released. It’s not one of the best fighting games I’ve ever played, and it doesn’t have a lot to offer to set itself apart from the pack, but it’s a pretty legitimate experience. It’s deep enough that if you spent a lot of time with this game I’m sure it would be plenty rewarding.
