The Legend of Tianding from CGCG and Neon Doctrine is a great-looking fast-paced 2D action brawler on Nintendo Switch. Check our The Legend of Tianding review!
The Legend of Tianding from CGCG and Neon Doctrine is a great-looking fast-paced 2D action brawler on Nintendo Switch. It’s set in the early Colonial Japanese Taiwan of the 20th century, and you’ll be playing as Liao Tianding, who acts as the vigilante of Taipei. The police officers want to find him, and so do the criminals! You rob the rich to feed the poor as you fight for justice. The game is based on real events, real people, and real situations from the era, with a look that is based on traditional Chinese manga.
Tianding will use the might of Kung-Fu to fight against the colonial authorities and the criminals, taking the fight from the ground to the air before slamming opponents onto the floor. You’ll need to pay attention to enemies that attack from a distance since, if you’re not careful, they can catch you off-guard, leaving you open to a flurry of attacks. You’ll also be able to steal weapons from your enemies to turn the tide of battle, use your waist sash to tie up enemies, and continue combos. You can play in one of two difficulty settings. There’s the Gentleman Thief option, which will allow you to enjoy the game and its story without worrying too much about battles, or the Wanted Outlaw option, which has more challenging stages and enemies to take on.
You’ll control Tianding with the left or right analog sticks, jumping and double jumping with the B button, and attacking with the Y button. You can use this to attack while in the air to juggle your opponents. And if you time your attacks just right, you can even deflect bullets! To dodge an incoming attack, press the R button. There’s also a special move you can use by pressing the A button. To use your waist sash, you can press the X button. Once you grab a weapon and are done with it, you can drop it with the ZL button so that you can continue a combo with your punches and kicks. Sometimes you’ll have to use your grappling hook with the L button to swing around an area.
When I started to play the game, it reminded me of one series in particular: Guacamelee! This is because of the game’s combat system, which has a flow and feel that made me think of the adventures of Juan, Tostada, and Uay Chivo. Your dodge will allow you to avoid attacks and hazards, both on the ground and while up in the air, so that you can always be in motion as you plan your next move. There will also be checkpoints to save your progress as you recover your health and restock the buns you can eat to recover your HP while in battle.
The Legend of Tianding is split into different chapters where you’ll get to put your skills to the test as you learn new abilities to add to your arsenal. These new abilities will use up some of your stamina, as is the case for the One Inch Punch, which can deal a ton of damage to enemies at a short range. You can also use the Soaring Dragon, a mighty upwards kick that can not only juggle enemies but also give you some extra jump height after a double jump so that you can get to platforms that would otherwise be out of reach.
There are a ton of collectibles to find as you explore each area of The Legend of Tianding. These include, for example, a Police Buddha Print, The Culture of Taiwan set of books, a pair of Wooden Geta, a 100-sen Tiger Stamp, or Tán Huat’s Certificate of Merit, to name some examples. Having these will allow you to gain some bonuses for your journey, such as dealing additional damage with swords, increasing the damage deal with a dagger, increasing the number of coins dropped from pickpocketing, or increasing the number of times you can use a pistol. There are 145 collectibles to find, so if you want to 100% the game, there’s plenty for you to do!
The Legend of Tianding is a great-looking and fun 2D action game that takes place during the early 20th century in Colonial Japanese Taiwan. It’s a game with an interesting story and tight fight gameplay mechanics that at times reminded me of the Guacamelee! series, which is definitely not a bad thing! Oh, and when you want a short break from all of the action, you can play some Four Color Cards, a traditional Taiwanese game. The Legend of Tianding is out on Nintendo Switch at a $19.99 price.
Disclaimer
This The Legend of Tianding review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Neon Doctrine.
