The map of Initium, the primary safe-haven hub in The Legend of Legacy.

Part 1: Getting Started in the Forest Ruins
Main Walkthrough

Initium

You’ll start off in the hall of the King of Adventurers. He’ll give you 300 St right off the bat. Nice. After a bit of conversation he’ll also give you an Elemental Scale and an Encyclopedia. One is combat-based, and will be discussed later; the other records your adventures as you progress.

Once the King is done talking you can wander around Initium. You’ll be happy to note that you can now open the menu, which was unavailable in the Forest Ruins. From here you can edit Formations, change character equipment, and Quick Save. There are a lot of tough battles in this game, and Quick Saving allows you to bypass long jaunts through harrowing dungeons if you happen to die.

Head out into town. Initium has several places of interest to you.

The merchant of Initium in The Legend of Legacy.

Shop

In the center of Initium is a vendor. This guy handles the town’s sales, and is the primary money sink for your hard-earned St, the game's currency. You can purchase weapons, armor, and maps from the vendor. There are also ‘Special’ items which are especially rare, and you’ll need to drop a lot of cash to get them - cash that you don't have. Special items rotate daily.

Of particular importance here are the selling options. The vendor will not only purchase old items off of you, but he’ll buy info - namely, completed maps. He will also buy incomplete maps, if you’re feeling lazy, but you’ll get less money than if you took the time to finish the map. You can only sell a map to him once, so make sure you’re happy with your navigation before turning one in.

In addition to earning you money, selling maps sends explorers into the areas you checked out. This has three effects:
  • An NPC that allows your party to rest up will appear near one of the map's entrances. This is much handier than trekking all the way back to Initium to address lasting wounds.
  • An NPC will sometimes appear with a Stance to teach your party. New Stances allow you to enhance your party's combat skills. This guide covers the Stances you can get from these NPCs.
  • You may find new boss enemies in these areas. You may also find the area shrouded in the Shadow element, making it difficult to see. When this happens you'll find different foes waiting - some on par with bosses - and there will be more random items laying around. If you leave and come back the Shadow effect usually disappears.
Initium's port in The Legend of Legacy.

Port

West of the Shop is the Port. Here you can purchase ships of varying prices. You’ll then send these ships out to ‘trade’ with other merchants. This is a StreetPass function, and if you wander by other players with StreetPass active, you’ll pick up items. Fun. You will still get items if you don't have StreetPass active, mind - but you'll only get stuff after a full day has passed. The better the ship, the better the items. Get the best ships going as quickly as you can.

(As far as I know, The Legend of Legacy doesn't penalize you for setting your clock forward. So... uh... y'know... if you feel like it... you can cheat a bit.)

The Bar of Initium in The Legend of Legacy.

Bar

East of the Shop is the Bar. This place is mainly for gossip and tutorials. There’s not a whole lot to see at the moment, but if you come back here after seeing the introductory credits that play after leaving Initium for the first time (you may also have to stay at the Inn) you can find more party members to recruit. They'll also pop up outside the Bar, so until you have all seven characters in the party you should check from east to west in Initium, just in case you spot someone new.

Initium's Inn in The Legend of Legacy.

Inn

In the far east of Initium is the Inn. Here you’ll find your first save point, which you should make a point to use before doing anything else. If you speak to the woman behind the desk she’ll offer to let you stay here and restore your health. You can also speak to her to swap your party members later in the game, once your party grows in size. Your starting character cannot be removed from your party, so hopefully you’re happy with your choice.

That’s all for Initium. Head across the bridge to the east of the Inn and you’ll leave town... and hit the intro credits. From this point on The Legend of Legacy becomes largely non-linear. You can either head back to the Forest Ruins, which offers plenty more to explore, or you can go to the Shop and buy some maps to unlock new areas. This walkthrough has a set route, but how you proceed is entirely up to you.

As far as this guide goes, we're going to work on the easiest stuff and make our way to the most difficult. That means checking out the Hidden Forest, whose map you'll find at the vendor once you leave town and reenter. Head to the east side of Initium, near the Inn, to trek out to the world map. The adventure begins!