If you had fun before, you'll be ecstatic now
How does one select 10 important things for a game that has so many little things going on? If one is important, then they're all important. Rogue Legacy is packed with surprise. What starts off as a seemingly basic platformer (to be more precise, a metroidvania game) quickly becomes very deep and elaborate, before you even realize it! Here's a few examples.
1. You can be a dragon!
Did you know there was a flag on top?
Bet you didn't know that. Maybe you did if you played a lot, but it was probably a surprise. There's this so-called "secret" upgrade in your stronghold. It's not really a secret, you just need to have the sense to scroll up. Once you buy it you're half-dragon, which is...not so awesome. It's not the all-powerful class you were expecting it to be.
You're frail and die easily, but to compensate you have great mobility and can breeze through (literally!) all the levels. You can fly, you're faster and all of that without the use of runes. Pretty good, but it also means you need to know the game really well to survive. A skilled player who can read enemy movements is going to find great freedom in this class. While those who get hit often will find great frustration.
2. Paladins have an upper hand
Try and hurt me, I dare ya!
Paladins are the only class that get a second ability and man it's good! You know that shield block you had as a knight that was really helpful? Well imagine something similar, active, that can also damage foes. Not bad eh? That's the paladin for you.
Hold the down key and press the button for special - you'll turn into a statue. As a statue you are impervious to damage, while damaging enemies at the same time. Nice, but it comes at an MP per second cost. Still, not bad for an ability that can cull a mass enemy rush.
3. The game does give you a break every now and then
Relax, no need to go back in...yet...
Thought it is only one break - you don't have to fight bosses more than once. Unlike all the levels and enemies, when you beat a boss, the boss is beaten. The seal to the main chamber is broken and no one else in your family will have to face that same foe again.
Of course, this means that you can't fight the boss again at all. At least, not until you beat the game. After that, once you enter New Game+, you will not only get to fight the bosses again, but they'll be much harder. Isn't that great?
4. Death is a thief
Well, that's 220 gold down the drain...
Hide your coins! Better yet, spend them all as soon as you can. While you do carry over your gold when you die so your descendants can use it, you lose all of it once you enter the castle again. Yep, the entry fee is crazy expensive, but lucky for you it's a flat rate of "all your gold".
This makes choices easier. Should I buy that cheap upgrade to MP or should I save up for that massive boost to damage? You can't save up. Spend everything you can, because you lose it anyway. There, I saved you a headache. No thanks necessary.
5. Architect and spelunker are made for each other
You can't keep secrets from me.
The architect may seem like the stupidest way to spend gold. Why in the world would you want to save a dungeon layout you just played through, that probably massacred you, when part of the charm is seeing new things? Likewise, the spelunker may seem like a pointless profession. Sure, you can see where all that treasure is, but what good is it when you can't survive enough to reach anything?
Have you tried putting the two together? They're great friends actually. Get a spelunker and have the architect save your dungeon layout. Are you doing the math? The spelunker will show you where all the treasure is. Mark it down anywhere you like. Then, once the spelunker fails miserably at exploring the place, you can grab a more capable class and everything will still be exactly where it is! Eat your heart out, randomness.
6. No one tosses a dwarf, but you can fit him in small holes
Can't catch me!
Picking a character with the dwarfism trait may seem like a minus. Sure, you're a smaller target, but your reach is also much smaller and you'll learn soon enough that reach is far more important. It's harder to avoid enemies when you have to get really close to hit them.
Why does everyone want to be a dwarf then? Rogue Legacy, in all its sneakiness, added several secret areas that you can only access with a tiny character. Many of these areas can not only contain extra gold, but runes and equipment blueprints. Don't be ashamed of being small.
7. That one trophy everyone rages about...and we don't have it
Have you ever heard people rage about the incredibly unfair "Thanatophobia" trophy? It's all over the sites and forums, usually followed by questions, suggestions and downright slandering of the achievement. Thanatophobia means "fear of death" and you get it if you complete the game with a minimal amount of deaths - 15 to be exact. Yep, complete the game in 15 deaths. Tough.
Sadly, us PC gamers won't get a chance to prove our mettle in this challenge, because this particular trophy is exclusive to the Playstation version of the game. I guess they fear the unrivaled awesomeness of the PC master race.
8. Can you find all the goodies?
Quite the party for a cursed castle.
Do you even know how much there is? Put aside the things that are supposed to boost your character. Put aside the gold, the mini bosses, the journals, the mini games and anything else that actually serves game progress in some way. How about that picture showing a previous game made by the developers? How about that jukebox?
Did you even look at all the portraits around the castle. They're not all of kings. There's some strange person Keep your eyes peeled.
9. The end is only the beginning...what?
You won't see these numbers in the basic game.
So you beat the game. Congratulations. Now you know the story, you conquered the big baddy you can pat yourself on the back. That is, until you find out that there's a new game+ and boy is it terrifying! All the enemies are upgraded to bigger and badder versions and the bosses are much tougher. I hear tell that Khidr doesn't pause between attacks anymore. Yep, expect to die often. The plus side? More gold and new blueprints for gear. Is it worth it?
Then you go through the forums and see all the people bragging about getting up and beyond new game+10, stirring the challenger in you. I'm not even sure I can believe some of those claims considering how tough the game gets.
Speaking of which, how far did you get? For real, I mean. Maybe you have some great tips and suggestions for those of us stuck at just the first rise in difficulty. Help the players by sharing your experience in the comments.
10. How far do the levels go?
You've noticed there's no experience bar here right? Yet, there's still a level and the monsters have a level. In Rogue Legacy, your level is equal to that of the number of upgrades in your castle (the one you can upgrade). Taking account all the possible upgrades, the maximum level is 507. Sounds pretty epic doesn't it? It is, until you get past New Game+10 (yes it goes that far and more), then all the enemies are over level 1000... Good luck with that.
As for New Game+, no one really knows what the upper limit is. Highest I've seen documented is New Game+51. I have no idea how a person can even get that far. In case you're wondering - yes, the difficulty does continue to rise...each and every time. Of course, so do the rewards, but if you're that far along you've probably maxed everything anyway right?
