The Legend of Korra Review

Let’s face facts: licensed games tend to be bottom of the barrel junk unfit for play. Conversely, titles from the development studio PlatinumGames are almost always quality releases worthy of praise. So where does The Legend of Korra, a licensed game from PlatinumGames, fall on the spectrum?

The Legend of Korra Review

Based off of the Nickelodeon show of the same name, The Legend of Korra places you in the gentle yet firm hands of Korra. A master of air, water, earth, and fire bending, she has the power of these four elements at her fingertips, ready to fight against an ancient evil that has awoken.

So the story isn’t all that hot. Despite its years of source material, the plot of The Legend of Korra takes a backseat to its throngs of mooks, robots, and otherworldly creatures.

But surely it plays well, right? After all, The Legend of Korra was made by the same people behind the well-received hack-n-slash titles Bayonetta, MadWorld, and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Combos do consist of their standard light and heavy strikes, with four elemental styles of bending spicing things up. However, it is counter-intuitive to switch between styles on the fly, as combos lose any sense of fluidity once a different element is in play. In addition, some of the elements are simply too overpowered. Once air bending is unlocked, players can simply mash the attack buttons to victory. This system is a valiant attempt at trying something new, but it comes across as broken and unbalanced in the end.

Unfortunately, this brokenness extends to other elements of the game. The Legend of Korra can be manipulated quite easily with the right combination of items and farming spots. The moment you equip a rechargeable energy comb or a 2X currency item is the moment you can mash away at an endless stream of enemies to unlock everything in an hour.

It’s not like you need many of these items though, as The Legend of Korra can be finished in three hours flat. Despite this, however, you will fight the same handful of enemies multiple times in your journey. One boss in particular, a mechanized robot, is fought three separate times in one 20 minute level. It reeks of laziness, poor programming, and a lack of the creative spirit its source material is known for.

Not all is doom and gloom in the world of The Legend of Korra, however. The over-the-top nature of PlatinumGames can be seen at times, with button-mashing quick-time-events and an intuitive counter system that rewards offensive play. They are much needed injections, but they also feel like they were added post-production.

The Legend of Korra game simply does not reach the pedigree of its protege. There are some redeeming features to be found, but the game still has a number of issues that keep it from greatness.