Chaos Legion
Encyclopedia
is a third-person
hack and slash
video game developed and published by Capcom
. The video game is based on Tow Ubukata
's novel of the same name.
The story of Chaos Legion is a gothic
opera
which begins November, 791 A.S. (Anno Satanis):
The protagonist, Sieg Wahrheit, is a Knight of the Dark Glyphs who is on a quest under command of the Order of St. Overia to find his former friend, Victor Delacroix, who has stolen the forbidden book “Apocrypha of Yzarc”, and to stop him from releasing the evil spirit Azrail
, who would destroy the three planes of existence: the Nether World, the Middle World, and the Celestial World.
) is unable to run and has weaker melee
attacks. Legions can be controlled to a degree: their tactics can be switched between offensive and defensive, and players can issue orders for them to attack immediately. While the legions are inactive, Sieg can perform a sort of "special attack" called an "Assist Attack" which causes a legion to appear and attack with him.
as the “Purification of the World”: whereupon he plans to use relentless hordes of hideous monsters to cleanse the world of sinners by obtaining the "Three Sacred Glyphs" and releasing Azrail—.
During his quest, Sieg encounters a member of the "Maidens of the Silver" fighting a monster alone after other Maidens are killed. With Sieg’s help, Arcia Rinslet, the sole survivor, manages to escape death.
At first, Arcia mentions that the Maidens were in tough pursuit of Victor; thus, when she learns that Sieg is also searching for the same person, she decides to tag along.
Later, it is revealed that Arcia has held a grudge against Victor for the murder of her brother.
Sieg never tells Arcia the intentions why he pursues Victor, even though he does say the two knew each other from before. Because of this lack of trust, Arcia briefly loses her faith in Sieg and sets off to find Victor alone.
Sieg eventually catches up and subsequently teams up with her once more after he consoles her.
Sieg and Arcia meet Victor several times: each time to have a little more on information of Victor’s plan revealed, but unavailable of stopping him from obtaining the Three Sacred Glyphs.
Soon, Sieg and Arcia finally meet Victor in the “Hall of Chaos” —the place where Azrail has been sealed—.
Victor decides to “punish” Sieg first: by killing Arcia —forcing her to do it with her own gun after gaining manipulation over her body—, since it seems that she is close to Sieg. The murder fails, unbeknownst to Sieg, who lashes out and attacks Victor because he believes Arcia to be dead.
After subduing Victor, Sieg learns that Arcia survives the shot, only to find that Victor is not fully defeated.
Surrounded in black aura, Victor attacks Sieg once again, but Arcia steps in between Sieg and Victor with her arms outstretched.
Instead of killing her, Victor stops abruptly and regains his right mind; a flashback then takes place back in time, which reveals the truth of the past: Three years before, Sieg, Victor and Siela were instructed by the Order to reseal the demon Azrail —discovering in reality, that the Order planned to use Azrail’s power for world dominance, but realized that was too powerful to contain—. The demon resisted and decided that, instead of being banished once more, it would possess a human: Siela; Victor tried to protect Siela, but was possessed instead.
In his uncontrollable rampage, he almost killed Sieg, but Siela withheld the mortal wound, and Victor drove his sword straight through, piercing her chest.
When he came back to his senses, he believed Sieg to had committed the murder…
Siela’s dying words to Sieg, beforehand, were: “Take care of Delacroix…” —this being the reason why Sieg can’t directly kill his friend—.
Back in the present time, Victor decides to end his own life, much to Sieg’s dismay —the only way to break Azrail’s seal is to kill the person who last created the seal or perform a secret ritual sacrifice described in the forbidden book, Apocrypha of Yzarc—. Victor breaks the seal by sacrificing himself. Azrail is then released and fights Sieg, not only in its own diabolical form, but also re-spawned in the figure of a darkened, corrupted Siela to intimidate him. However, Sieg prevails.
After all the chaos, Sieg mounts a tribute to Victor and Siela, and mourns over the loss of his two best friends, but Arcia cheers him up and relieves him…
There are 4 main areas for increasing a legion's power, namely :
Virtual camera system
A virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in videogames where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; more generally, they are used in 3D virtual worlds when a third person view...
hack and slash
Hack and slash
Hack and slash or hack and slay, abbreviated H&S or HnS, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat. "Hack and slash" was originally used to describe an aspect of pen-and-paper role-playing games , carrying over from there to MUDs, MMORPGs, and video games in general...
video game developed and published by Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
. The video game is based on Tow Ubukata
Tow Ubukata
is a Japanese science fiction light novel, manga and anime creator. He spent ages four to nine of his childhood in Singapore and ages 10 to 14 in Nepal. In Nepal, Ubukata made great effort to maintain his Japanese heritage and language abilities; he read dictionaries to keep in touch with his...
's novel of the same name.
The story of Chaos Legion is a gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
which begins November, 791 A.S. (Anno Satanis):
The protagonist, Sieg Wahrheit, is a Knight of the Dark Glyphs who is on a quest under command of the Order of St. Overia to find his former friend, Victor Delacroix, who has stolen the forbidden book “Apocrypha of Yzarc”, and to stop him from releasing the evil spirit Azrail
Azrail
Azrail is the death deity in Hausa mythology, responsible for bringing early human death into the world....
, who would destroy the three planes of existence: the Nether World, the Middle World, and the Celestial World.
Gameplay
The gameplay is primarily action-oriented. Numerous enemies attack the player in waves, and progress to the next part of the stage often requires defeat of all enemies in the area. The main feature that lends originality to the series is the addition of the Chaos Legion, which are supernatural creatures that fight alongside the player. While legions are summoned, Sieg Wahrheit (the player characterPlayer character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
) is unable to run and has weaker melee
Mêlée
Melee , generally refers to disorganized close combat involving a group of fighters. A melee ensues when groups become locked together in combat with no regard to group tactics or fighting as an organized unit; each participant fights as an individual....
attacks. Legions can be controlled to a degree: their tactics can be switched between offensive and defensive, and players can issue orders for them to attack immediately. While the legions are inactive, Sieg can perform a sort of "special attack" called an "Assist Attack" which causes a legion to appear and attack with him.
Story
In the beginning of the plot, Victor feels that Sieg was responsible for the death of his lover —and Sieg’s friend—, Siela Riviere, three years ago (prior to the events in the story which take place in the mentioned time); and has the intent on bringing Sieg into a pure pandemonium that Victor himself has prepared as retribution, not only for the sins of Sieg alone, but for the sins of the whole world —referring to this ArmageddonArmageddon
Armageddon is, according to the Bible, the site of a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location...
as the “Purification of the World”: whereupon he plans to use relentless hordes of hideous monsters to cleanse the world of sinners by obtaining the "Three Sacred Glyphs" and releasing Azrail—.
During his quest, Sieg encounters a member of the "Maidens of the Silver" fighting a monster alone after other Maidens are killed. With Sieg’s help, Arcia Rinslet, the sole survivor, manages to escape death.
At first, Arcia mentions that the Maidens were in tough pursuit of Victor; thus, when she learns that Sieg is also searching for the same person, she decides to tag along.
Later, it is revealed that Arcia has held a grudge against Victor for the murder of her brother.
Sieg never tells Arcia the intentions why he pursues Victor, even though he does say the two knew each other from before. Because of this lack of trust, Arcia briefly loses her faith in Sieg and sets off to find Victor alone.
Sieg eventually catches up and subsequently teams up with her once more after he consoles her.
Sieg and Arcia meet Victor several times: each time to have a little more on information of Victor’s plan revealed, but unavailable of stopping him from obtaining the Three Sacred Glyphs.
Soon, Sieg and Arcia finally meet Victor in the “Hall of Chaos” —the place where Azrail has been sealed—.
Victor decides to “punish” Sieg first: by killing Arcia —forcing her to do it with her own gun after gaining manipulation over her body—, since it seems that she is close to Sieg. The murder fails, unbeknownst to Sieg, who lashes out and attacks Victor because he believes Arcia to be dead.
After subduing Victor, Sieg learns that Arcia survives the shot, only to find that Victor is not fully defeated.
Surrounded in black aura, Victor attacks Sieg once again, but Arcia steps in between Sieg and Victor with her arms outstretched.
Instead of killing her, Victor stops abruptly and regains his right mind; a flashback then takes place back in time, which reveals the truth of the past: Three years before, Sieg, Victor and Siela were instructed by the Order to reseal the demon Azrail —discovering in reality, that the Order planned to use Azrail’s power for world dominance, but realized that was too powerful to contain—. The demon resisted and decided that, instead of being banished once more, it would possess a human: Siela; Victor tried to protect Siela, but was possessed instead.
In his uncontrollable rampage, he almost killed Sieg, but Siela withheld the mortal wound, and Victor drove his sword straight through, piercing her chest.
When he came back to his senses, he believed Sieg to had committed the murder…
Siela’s dying words to Sieg, beforehand, were: “Take care of Delacroix…” —this being the reason why Sieg can’t directly kill his friend—.
Back in the present time, Victor decides to end his own life, much to Sieg’s dismay —the only way to break Azrail’s seal is to kill the person who last created the seal or perform a secret ritual sacrifice described in the forbidden book, Apocrypha of Yzarc—. Victor breaks the seal by sacrificing himself. Azrail is then released and fights Sieg, not only in its own diabolical form, but also re-spawned in the figure of a darkened, corrupted Siela to intimidate him. However, Sieg prevails.
After all the chaos, Sieg mounts a tribute to Victor and Siela, and mourns over the loss of his two best friends, but Arcia cheers him up and relieves him…
Characters
- Sieg Wahrheit (GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
words for “VictoryVictoryVictory is successful conclusion of a fight or competition..Victory may refer to:**strategic victory**tactical victory** Pyrrhic victory, a victory at heavy cost to the victorious party**Victory columns**Victory Monuments**Victory personified...
” and “TruthTruthTruth has a variety of meanings, such as the state of being in accord with fact or reality. It can also mean having fidelity to an original or to a standard or ideal. In a common usage, it also means constancy or sincerity in action or character...
”) —the main character of the story, and a young Knight of the Dark Glyphs—; is a “Legionator”, who is able to sacrifice lost souls in order to summon creatures called Chaos Legion from alternate worlds —with the forbidden power of the darkest of Glyphs, bestowed unto him by edict of the Order—. Following the commands of the Order, Sieg and his fellow knights combined their powers to seal the “Spirit of Purification” and close the gateway to “ChaosChaos (cosmogony)Chaos refers to the formless or void state preceding the creation of the universe or cosmos in the Greek creation myths, more specifically the initial "gap" created by the original separation of heaven and earth....
” forever. Fighting side-by-side in battles of the past, Sieg became close friends with Victor. The Order selects Sieg to track down Victor —his former friend who now serves the dark side, when he steals the forbidden book Apocrypha of Yzarc (from the EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
word “Crazy” spelt backwards)—, and use his legions to put a stop to his actions.
- Victor Delacroix (FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
for “Champion of the Cross”) —once anticipated by the Order to be the next “Lord of the Sacred Glyphs”—; became a “fallen angelFallen angelFallen angel is a concept developed in Jewish mythology from interpretation of the Book of Enoch. The actual term fallen angel is not found in either the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament. Christians adopted the concept of fallen angels mainly based on their interpretations of the Book of...
” in his dogged quest to purify the world by collecting the Three Sacred Glyphs. His personality changes and migration to the dark side seemed to be brought on by the death of his sister, Siela. The Order he once served —and thought so highly of him— is now his enemy, especially after he murders a leader of the Order and steals the Apocrypha of Yzarc. Eventually, Sieg confronts him…, and they face the tragedy of the past that stands between them.
- Siela Riviere (LithuanianLithuanian languageLithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
for "Soul" and ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
for "RiverRiverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
") —a “HealerHealer (gaming)A healer is a type of character class in video gaming. When a game includes a health game mechanic and multiple classes, often one of the classes will be designed around the restoration of allies' health, known as healing, in order to delay or prevent their defeat. Such a class can be referred to...
” and servant of the Order—; was the only one Sieg and Victor both could trust. However, she was killed in a tragic accident three years ago. She is only seen in “flashbackFlashback (narrative)Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
” sequences during the course of the plot, and at the end, appearing as the final enemy.
- Arcia Rinslet —a Maiden of the Silver, one of several female warriors toting twin silver guns—; alongside her fellow Maidens, is dispatched by the “Intelligence of the Order” to purify towns of demons that have been unleashed by Victor. However, Intelligence was unaware that Arcia bears a vendetta against Victor, who recently slew her only brother. Alongside Sieg, she pursues him to avenge her family.
Chaos Legion
Sieg has the power to handle the Chaos Legion. The Legion is composed by seven legions, each one with their own abilities and characteristics:- GuiltGuiltGuilt is the state of being responsible for the commission of an offense. It is also a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes or believes—accurately or not—that he or she has violated a moral standard, and bears significant responsibility for that...
: Sword Legion. Attacks furiously with their broadswords. - HatredHatredHatred is a deep and emotional extreme dislike, directed against a certain object or class of objects. The objects of such hatred can vary widely, from inanimate objects to animals, oneself or other people, entire groups of people, people in general, existence, or the whole world...
: Power Legion. Uses hand-to-hand combat. - Malice: Arrow Legion. Archers that attack with crossbows.
- ArrogancePridePride is an inwardly directed emotion that carries two common meanings. With a negative connotation, pride refers to an inflated sense of one's personal status or accomplishments, often used synonymously with hubris...
: Shield Legion. A defensive legion that can absorb a significant amount of damage before their shields break. - Flawed: Claw Legion. Agile legion that uses a pair of long claws as weapons.
- BlasphemyBlasphemyBlasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
: Bomb Legion. Self-destructs as an attack mechanism. - ThanatosThanatosIn Greek mythology, Thanatos was the daemon personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appearing in person...
: The Ultimate Legion and the strongest one in the game. It changes forms as you upgrade it, starting out as an egg, then a dragon-like creature with jagged metal wings, then finally changing into its "perfect" form; An angelic being with large wings. Its attacks consist of warping around and punching enemies, as well as slowing down time to fire blasts of energy that home in on enemies. Sieg possesses this legion at the beginning of the game, but loses it at the end of the first stage. To regain it, the player must find all nine Thanatos' fragments, or chips, and it is necessary to replay certain stages to find them all.
Upgrades
In game, it is possible to increase the power of the legions at Sieg's command using experience gained in battle.There are 4 main areas for increasing a legion's power, namely :
- Force: Upgrading this increases the number of legions when summoned.
- Assist: Upgrading this increases the duration and power of the Assist Attack.
- Enchant: Upgrading this gives the player the benefits of all special attacks granted by a legion, without having to equip the legion.
- Attack and Defense: Upgrading this increases the attack and defense strength of that legion.
Reception
The game was met with generally positive to mediocre reviews on the PlayStation 2, with an average of 65/100 on MetaCritic and a 67.31% on GameRankings, but had very negative reviews on the PC with an average of 37/100 on MetaCritic and a 46.60% on GameRankings.External links
- Japanese official Site
- Chaos Legion guide at StrategyWiki