During The Legend of Korra’s final season Activation published two video games tied into the show, one of which featured the series’ voice talents.
In October of 2014, two months before the series finale of The Legend of Korra, Activision released two video-games based on the series: The Legend of Korra, developed by PlatinumGames, and The Legend of Korra: A New Era Begins, by Webfoot Technologies. Aside from a few exceptions, licensed video-games usually underwhelm, but, given the rich source material, fans had hope.
A sequel to Avatar: the Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra takes place 70 years after Aang’s original journey and follows the Avatar after Aang, a 17 year old girl from the Water Tribe named Korra. Set in a steam punk-style universe, the show’s aesthetic beguiles viewers while the mature storytelling helps audiences feel heard. Considering the show also boasts magic-infused martial arts, The Legend of Korra series is ripe for video-game adaptation.
The Legend of Korra and The Legend of Korra: A New Era Begins are completely different style of games, but they share the same story. Set between Book 2 and Book 3, The Legend of Korra video games deal with the negative consequences of Korra choosing to leave the spirit portals open after defeating the dark Avatar, Unalaq. Because the portals remain open, Hundun, an ancient evil is released. Hundun despises the Avatar and will destroy the world to have vengeance. The games depicts the ongoing struggle between Hundun and Korra until, eventually, Korra bests him and his followers.
The Licensed Video Game Curse Strikes Again
Prior to release, the games had genuine hype, especially PlatinumGames’ The Legend of Korra. The game not only came from a developer beloved for their work on the character action games, but it also had authenticity. The game featured animated cut-scenes voiced by the series main-cast and a script penned by Tim Hedrick, one of the lead writers behind both Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. Unfortunately, the game failed on both fronts. Critics and fans found the story rote as it lacked the moral heft of the series and co-starred a predictable villain. The gameplay was similarly critiqued with many declaring the combat repetitive and shallow.
Legend of Korra: A New Era Begins fared no better. Exclusive to the 3DS, Webfoot Techniques’ game did not have the hardware capable of giving fans the authentic aesthetics found in PlatinumGames’ brawler. Legend of Korra: A New Era Begins not only toned down the action, featuring grid-based strategy combat akin to Fire Emblem, but it also had neither animated cut-scenes nor voice-acting. The bland presentation may partly explain why the game received such little coverage. Whereas The Legend of Korra released with anticipation and numerous reviews, finding even one reputable review of The Legend of Korra: A New Era Begins is difficult. Metacritic contains not even a single review.
Over the past decade, the curse of licensed video-games has been breaking with multiple franchises –from Batman to South Park – being turned into blockbuster hits. Unfortunately, for fans, a good game in the Avatar franchise remains elusive, and The Legend of Korra video games are more E.T. than Arkham Asylum.
Contact Information:
NICHOLAS STRAUB
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, Wire, United States, English
Contact Information:
NICHOLAS STRAUB
