Faery: Legends of Avalon Preview

Float like a fairy, sting like a troll.

FOX’s Celebrity Boxing was an interesting foray into the strange psyche of the American consumer. A mind-numbingly stupid show, yes, but interesting nonetheless in that it delivered match-ups that no sane person would ever realize they wanted to see until it aired. No one went around saying “Damn, I wonder who would win in a fight between Tonya Harding and Paula Jones!” But once it made it onto TV we ate it up anyway.

Faery: Legends of Avalon is lined up to do something similar with video games. Fairies fighting ghost pirates? Genies squaring off against cave trolls? This upcoming RPG throws all kinds of mythical creatures into the mix as you go on a quest to learn why the magical kingdom of Avalon is slowly dying, and ultimately decide if fey creatures of all origins should coexist with mankind.

You’ll control a young fairy (archaic spelling be damned, I’m a modern man!) whose appearance you design much as you would an avatar for an MMO. The character’s look will further evolve as you level up and funnel points into special talents. You could grow out horns, sport a face tattoo, spruce up your wings – each upgrade will affect your appearance as well as grant new abilities. And since there are a limited number of attribute points to use, every player’s fairy will come out looking and playing different in the end.

Faery’s concept is the most striking thing about it – applying the Kingdom Hearts multiverse treatment to various mythologies. In retrospect, I’m surprised no one thought of doing it before. There are four worlds, each with a wildly different origin. The adventure kicks off in Avalon (of Arthurian legend for the uninitiated) and soon takes you on a mythological tour to the Norse “World Tree” Yggdrasil, the Flying Dutchman ghost ship, and the desert in 1,001 Nights. Like Kingdom Hearts, characters from the different worlds join you as party members as you go along.

The downloadable title also takes a page from another highly successful franchise: Mass Effect. Legends of Avalon is the first episode in a planned series that will open up even more worlds as episodes are released. Later episodes will be able to draw on your save file to link the adventures together as one continuous story, and choices you make in the first game will have a significant impact on what happens in episodes down the line. Make sure to think of the consequences before you spurn the affections of that horny fairy girl (or boy)!

If you’re looking for a different kind of RPG, one similar to Kingdom Hearts but without all the Disney-fication, look no further than Faery. The adventure will be flitting your way in November and you can catch it on Xbox Live, PSN, and PC.