Free RPGs are a dime a dozen on the Internet, but Lost Legends manages to stand out thanks to its great, highly stylized 3D graphics and a scalable camera that allows for gameplay from bird's eye to first-person viewpoints. There's no story to speak of here -- just name your warrior or wizard, pick a location on the map and jump into a random overworld and/or dungeon map for a bit of chase & chop fun.
As the maps are randomly generated (you get information on the location and treasure/reward goal), a single session can last anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour (should you decide to search every nook and cranny on the larger maps). From the comical-looking (but deadly) monsters to the simple physics system in play for items and freshly killed creatures, the game has a way of pulling you in right from the start.
A limited inventory means you'll need to seek out the only shop in each dungeon, a simple dresser where you can sell off excess stuff and buy things you need. By the way, dying is not an option here -- you're simply knocked out for a bit, losing experience and gold while a creature loots your body for an inventory item. Kill the thieving beast and get your swiped gear back if you like.
If you've got an high-end system, you'll be rewarded with some pixel lighting, particle and Direct 3D Shader effects. You'll also notice a big difference between playing third-person or first-person: the game can be downright frightening in FPS mode, particularly when swarms of monsters converge on you from different directions.
Based on the title screen and homepage, the game seems to be an evolving project. Multiplayer support is noted (but not included) and the newer screenshots show sloped terrain (a huge improvement over the tortilla-flat outdoor maps in the current version). It would be nice to see more customizable character types and perhaps a mid-game save system, but what's here is pretty addictive if you're a fan of this sort of action/RPG.
Manual pick up?
Having to aim and click on every treasure item seems a fairly pointless nod to realism?
Fate had a dog that would pick things up for you, IIRC. He'd also take things to town and sell them for you. He'd also tell your girlfriend your splitting up, so you didn't have to. Well, not that last bit! But the mundanities of picking things up were removed.
Not that mmorpgs, including multi milion dollar ones like WOW, don't force you to click to pick up, when running over would work just as well. So I guess it's this strange design habit - like the game design equivalent of those faint gill lines some people have on their necks.