Review Fix Exclusive: Jerome Bodin Talks ‘Heroes & Legends: Conquerors of Kolhar’

Review Fix chats with Jerome Bodin, game designer and owner of Cuve Games, who discusses his new RPG “Heroes & Legends: Conquerors of Kolhar,” a joint venture with Phoenix Online Studios and how old-school J-RPGs of the past played a key role in the customization-heavy adventure.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for the game?

Jerome Bodin: Mainly old school J-RPGs such as Final Fantasy, along with more modern Rogue-like games like FTL.

Review Fix: What games did you play growing up?

Bodin: I had computers and consoles when I was very young; I was mainly into strategy games like Heroes of Might and Magic, Civilization, and Warcraft II.

Review Fix: How did they influence this game in any way?

Bodin: Not that much as we tried to have a quite modern game. But indeed, the influence from older J-RPGs is strong.

Review Fix: There are so many different monsters in the game. Which ones are your favorite and why?

Bodin: Personally I like the design of the Golem, Fred (Frédéric Simon, the artist) did a very good job, and the monster changes its appearance according to the background. I also like the Succubus, not only because she is pretty, but because she can throw a mess at your team by charming your adventurers.

Review Fix: How many different weapon combinations are there?

Bodin: A lot.There are more than a dozen basic weapons, and each one can have a Skill Bonus (a “Gem”) that can drastically change the ability of the hero carrying it.

Review Fix: How long do you expect this game to keep the average gamer busy?

Bodin: The average gamer should have almost ten hours of gameplay for the story part, add at least two or three more hours for the challenge mode.

Review Fix: How do the characters play differently from one another?

Bodin: The warrior, can tank pretty much anything so you can count on her, but she is more a one-on-one character. You will have to take care of Benedict the Mage as he is more fragile, but he hits hard and has access to spells that can affect all enemies. Allen the Priest starts as the weakest so it can take time for him to kill an enemy ; but he will more than often save your party with his healing spells. For the two other unlockable characters, let the players discover by themselves.

Review Fix: What do you think stands out the most about this game?

Bodin: I think H&L offer a fine balance between a nice story and a solid gameplay with much strategy involved. It can appeal to everyone. I’m also quite proud of the artistic work Fred has done.

Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy this game the most?

Bodin: Every one can dig in this game, but I think those gamers who used to play older J-RPGs will be able to see it as an humble tribute to them.

Review Fix: How do you want it to be remembered?

Bodin: The game is quite unique and its content is rich, so I hope it’ll provide some hours of challenge and interest to many players.

For more information on the game, head to their official site here.

But before you jump into our Q & A however, check out a trailer for the game below:

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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