As a long time fan of the Lethal RPG series, I sadly have to say that I don't think Lethal RPG: War is good.
To start, the gameplay is grindy. I did every optional thing I could when it became possible to do so, and I still felt like I was underpowered even though I've done more than the average player would at any given point. It's hard to use new party members since they're always underleveled. Getting materials to upgrade weapons and armor is difficult, and you can do multiple battles in the same area and not get materials that you previously were getting. It's not clear how to get what you want, yet the game seems to expect you to always be ahead of the curve despite not giving you a good way to do so.
Battles are slow. It's fine at certain sections in the game, but during some points in mid-game and very late-game, you start to realize that you have just done the same battle against the same group of enemies 10 times in a row (those Centaur battles in late-game really sucked because there are just so many of them and they're ALL the exact same). Also, the bosses are very weirdly balanced. In certain sections, the optional bosses will feel appropriately balanced, and in others they're so strong you have to come back significantly later in order to do them, and there's no indication on which is which. This is a bit unfair given you can't escape a battle against a boss, and you lose gold for losing, so it's sometimes just better to not fight a boss even if you are totally capable of fighting it since there's no way of knowing before you go in. Meanwhile, main story bosses are largely too easy.
The enemy balancing is straight-up awful. You can be in areas with enemy encounters that are genuinely challenging. They'll have a lot of health, do a lot of damage, and even beat you sometimes because they're so difficult, but then the boss of the area will be weirdly easy. I do not know why it's designed like this. It'd be one thing if these were optional enemies, but these are forced enemy encounters that you have to do to even reach the boss, so why are the enemies this difficult and unfair in proportion to your level if the bosses are this easy??? Enemies should NEVER be harder than the boss. Especially these enemies, who at many points are unfairly difficult and force you to grind.
Character roles are weird. You have your frail, yet fast archer, and your tanky unit who has a taunt effect. Makes sense so far, but then you reach the 2 magic users, who kind of just function similarly to the archer character, yet they're generally just worse for some reason. Then you reach the Orc party member whose name I don't remember because he's that forgettable and he's just not worth using at all. Victor is good, he's very bulky and can heal himself very well (also has an okay team heal, which is cool), but he doesn't get any sort of taunt effect for some reason, even though it seems like he should have one given he's very self-sustaining. I didn't use Zane, but his kit seemed like you could justify using it, unlike Siran and the other mage whose name I don't know because she's so forgettable. So tell me why, out of all of these characters, 3 of whom have kits centered around magic, the best healer is LETHAL, the main character, and arguably the best damage dealer. There is no good healing in this game and it's hard to justify potions a lot of the time because in a lot of cases, the enemies or bosses have strong AOE attacks, and potions are only single-target healing. It's baffling game design.
Also, the final battle forcing you to use that armor set is dumb because you probably don't have any materials to level it up so you just have a nerfed main character for the final boss. Not that that changes a whole lot because you're probably just gonna be using him for heals half the time anyways.
The story is generic and boring. The characters have barely anything special to offer. Victor and Zane were okay, but it's not like they (or anyone else) do or say a whole lot. The ending is also very abrupt and doesn't make a lot of sense. It implies there's a corruption thing with the armor and sword, but instead it's just this instant and completely unexplained death. Also, the other party members are just... gone for some reason. They should be there at the end and they're just nowhere to be seen, and then the game cuts to credits afterward. It's a very lackluster way to end the game.
(SPOILERS FOR THIS GAME AND LETHAL RPG DESTINY 2: CONQUEST BELOW)
Finally, this is a prequel to Lethal RPG Destiny 2: Conquest, and this doesn't really set up the story of Conquest very well. I don't find this version of Lethal compelling, nor am I very convinced that he could become the bloodthirsty world conqueror that he is in that game. This Lethal is one who has put his violent life behind him. In this game, it's implied he earned the name Lethal from a dark past where he was an assassin for the king. I like this version of the character, and it explains why he has such a weird name. I don't know why this game spends so much effort trying to focus on the fact Lethal is a changed man if we're supposed to believe he can become the guy we see in Conquest.
Also, the ending straight-up doesn't make sense. We were told in Conquest that Lethal regained his memories and learned Siran killed him and betrayed him. A cool plot twist, but that straight-up isn't what happens in this game. Lethal dies extremely abruptly to unexplained effects from Jagged Edge, and THEN Siran reveals himself to be evil and begins the process of reviving Lethal. So how would Lethal remember Siran was evil if he wasn't alive for the reveal?
(SPOILERS END HERE)
Ultimately, Lethal RPG: War was a letdown. It had a lot of promise, but it's bogged down by unnecessary hardships. Grinding for levels and materials, slow battles, unfairly difficult enemies, easy bosses, a story that is boring and generic that also fails to be a proper prequel story to Lethal RPG Destiny 2: Conquest, a game I really like. I'm bummed the game ended up like this, because I was finally excited to play it after all these years. I was a kid when it came out and couldn't buy it, and then I completely forgot about it until now. I was finally gonna get a new Lethal game after replaying Rebirth and Conquest at least 5 times each, and this did not deliver.
With that said, there are a lot of good elements. This battle system is completely fine. The weapon and pet systems are fine on paper, and could be left unchanged (minus the grinding for materials, but that's not a problem with the system), and the characters' kits are varied enough to the extent that I think they all justify their own existences. I would love to see another game from EyeSpyda. He has proved he can make a good game before. Like I said, I like Rebirth and Conquest, both out of nostalgia and because I think they're good. I hope to see another game come out of this guy, Lethal or not.
