Legion

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**The Legion** are a special type of living weapon designed by humanity and used by the Neuron task force in response to the chimera threat attacking the Ark. The Legion are tethered to a human controller, and work effectively in co-operation with said controller.
In *ASTRAL CHAIN*, there are five types of Legion that the player has access to during gameplay - Sword, Arrow, Arm, Beast, and Axe. Each Legion has its own unique appearance, fighting style and abilities.

## History

The Legion were originally chimeras, who were captured by humans and have been put under control and turned into living weapons. They have armor attached to them and are tethered to their wielder by a chain that creates the mental link between the two. As the Legion and its user understand each other more, they can function as a single entity and fight more effectively in co-operation.

## Abilities

The Legion is capable of cleaning up Red Matter, destroying gates to the Astral Plane and also grants a very high tolerance to Red Matter to the user. Additionally, being in control of a Legion allows the user to be able to see Red Matter, Legions, and chimeras, which ordinary people cannot. This capacity to interact with the Astral Plane and those that come from it is likely due to the Legion's nature as a captured chimera.

## Gameplay

The Legion can be summoned by pressing [ZL], and will stay summoned for 100 seconds, after which it will be unsummonable until the gauge has recharged. The Legion will attack on its own, but can be moved around by holding [ZL] and moving the right stick, which can allow some control over who the Legion is attacking. This can also be used to maneuver the Legion for collecting Red Matter, or solving puzzles. The Legions can be switched between by pressing (Y).

While summoned, the Legion can be used both in battle, and for puzzle-solving or investigative purposes. By moving the right stick to move the Legion in a circle around a target, the chain binding the player and the Legion will wrap around the target to restrain them in place for a few seconds (Chain Bind), and moving the chain to be in front of a charging enemy will disrupt the attack, sending them flying backwards (Chain Counter). Performing a Chain Bind on a gate to the Astral Plane will destroy the gate. The player can also pull themself towards the Legion using the chain, to reach areas across long gaps which only the Legion can clear.

As the Legion is invisible to regular humans, it can be used to eavesdrop on conversations, in order to gain information from those who may not willingly share it.

Further information on the gameplay of each individual Legion type can be found on their pages:

* Sword Legion
* Arrow Legion
* Beast Legion
* Arm Legion
* Axe Legion

## Development

From the beginning of development, different forms for the Legion partners to take were considered, and different actions and movements that would suit each form. Several ideas were proposed that didn't make it into the final game, such as the eight in the image to the right, in order: Humanoid, Winged, Djinn, Ghost, Tiny, ethereal "Special Effect", Gorilla, Beast, Snake, and Slime Legions. While none of these ideas ended up being used as Legions, several of them were repurposed as enemy chimeras, such as the winged and snake concepts.

Animator Marumi Nakajo stated how having two characters under the control of one player is one of the more unique features of ASTRAL CHAIN, so presented challenges to the animation of the game. However, this also opened opportunities for unique poses and movements for each Legion type, especially with the Sync Attacks, being attacks where the Legion and player attack together. The summoning of the Legion was described as being remniscent of "Sentai" shows.

The original Legion design was made by manga artist Masakazu Katsura, and was then adapted into a 3D model by sculptor Yoshikaze Matsushita, with help from the art director of ASTRAL CHAIN, Hajime Kimura, to properly capture the essence of the original drawing in the model. The original Legion sketch was made in ZBrush, and the model was cleaned up and finalized in Maya. Parts requiring special attention included the legs and feet, as the Legion needed to look natural in both a standing and floating position, and the faceplate, since it is a key feature of the design. The POLICE decals were added later in development, as someone pointed out that the Legion were not just alien creatures, but also official police equipment.

In order to cope with the dramatic animations and poses that would be required for the game, the Legion's movements involve the armor stretching and reshaping itself around the legs and wrists as it bends, so as to not intersect with itself and cause clipping.

## Trivia

* The Legion are most likely named after either the biblical name for a group of demons, or the military unit Legion.
* At the end of the trailer, a Legion with red accents similar to the aliens and surrounded by a purple aura is shown breaking free of chains that were binding its arms and legs.
* When the Legion is summoned onto the battlefield, the protagonist's hair changes color to a bright blue and glowing blue veins appear up their neck and face.
* The Beast Legion bears resemblance to a Dobermann, which is a breed of dog commonly used by police.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/astral-chain-switch
2. ↑ https://www.polygon.com/interviews/2019/6/17/18682365/astral-chain-nintendo-switch-e3-2019-platinumgames-interview-nier-automata
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX5V9uOVD4k Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; name ":1" defined multiple times with different content
4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMS-LMKXKTo
5. ↑ https://www.platinumgames.com/official-blog/article/10189
6. ↑ https://www.platinumgames.com/official-blog/article/10228