Heroes of Ruin is very flawed, but it makes up with purely addicting hack and slash RPG gameplay for your 3DS.
Heroes of Ruin basically deals with you trying to save this dude named Ataraxis from a horrible curse, in which he looks like a giant lion on acid or something like that. You can travel to four worlds through the WORST LOOKING HUB WORLD IVE EVER SEEN IN A VIDEO GAME (AKA Nexus)!!! Seriously, this place literally looks like a dump! It's not even the least bit fun to explore itself, unless you're looking for potions, items, or side quests. The levels themselves are maze like, and thanks to your map's "draw in," going through each level requires trial and error, which is annoying, even though you can find side quests and other characters here. You get four levels in all the worlds (except the last one), and later on you have to visit them all a fifth time. Joy!!!! The storyline itself sucks, and at the end of the game, there are a few twist endings (in a row I should add!!!!) that aren't anything special.
You'd expect a game like this to suck based on what I've previously stated, but in fact this is a really fun game! It's satisfying as hell to destroy all the enemies, which include walking crabs, grim reapers, and goblin scientists. Adding to replay value, you can choose one of four characters, including a vindicator (lion), a gunslinger (dude), an architect (elf), and some weird savage guy (beast, duh). Each has their own unique abilities, but I enjoy using both the vindicator and gunslinger the most, because their special weapons are the best to use. Speaking of which, once you level up, you can buy new attacks such as curative magic, spinning attacks, and bullets that fire everywhere. These are really fun to try out and use, and you customize your attacks on the main four 3DS buttons at any time. Thanks to the enemy variety and crisp controls, fighting is always fun and never boring. I love the sidequests too, and (I swear to God) one of them is named "Save our Swag." I kid you not. What, did Soulja Boy make this game?!!
The best part about the game are the boss battles. These are very memorable and some of the openings took me off guard thanks to their impressive 3D effects. These boss fights include a giant water snake that fires deadly toxic water across the battlefield, a freak ghost, and a bear that catches on fire. These encounters are challenging and make this game very fun. Checkpoints are also evenly spaced, so that's a good thing. Each level also has secret treasure passages that allow you to get some cool weapons. You will find a lot of armor, so make sure you trade and sell some so your capacity isn't overfilling. The game also has a sick sense of humor as well!
The graphics in Heroes of Ruin are a mixed bag. The forest and snow levels look interesting, but the caves and floating castles look boring. Also some of the scenery looks flat and uninteresting. At first, I thought the 3D effect was lame, but actually does a great job, giving the game some depth and making some of the set pieces pop up. Hell, dripping water and shining lights pop up with a very impressive 3D effect! Still, it makes the game very choppy and many points (especially Nexus), and it's better to just turn it off when there's so much clutter on the screen. The music is nice and the voices are hilarious. I love the vindicatior's lines such as "Taste steel," "I AM HEEEAALED!!!" and "Evil has no need of this." It's the little things that count (that's what she said to you), and Heroes of Ruin has plenty.
I've heard many people say this game is too easy, but don't believe it. In fact, during many of my fights and boss battles, I used up many of my health and magic potions when I was almost out of life, and you'll go through it quickly because you'll receive so much damage! Heroes of Ruin is challenging and fun, and a great addition to the 3DS library. It's short, not really varied in terms of places to go, and has some flaws, but it's still that good of a video game for me. Besides, that's what sequels are for.
NOTE: this game has multiplayer, and I tried it but didn't get enough detail of it.
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Graphics: 6/10
Sound: 9/10
Value: 8/10
Final Score: 8.6/10 (B)