How Good Are Mobile RPGs?

I play them whenever I can find them. There have been some pretty wanting works wherein you just feel like every step you take reminds you "this could be done better", which overall is "fine, because it's free." But then we've got these gacha games stepping the RPGs toes. Games like Epic Seven, which has kind of a bland story overall, but is still fun to watch all the different characters' animated attacks. Then there is of course, Another Eden, which is very easily identifiable as spiritual successor to the Chrono franchise. It being a straight RPG with gacha elements does not detract from the point that it is still basically a gacha game. Personally, I'm of the opinion that these two are connected if only by virtue of the fact I believe Sir Charles of the former is a future version of main character Aldo from the latter. Same color scheme, same elaborate dress-style, same oversized sword. Come on, I mean, it's obvious. (if you can't identify sardonic wit, you need not respond)

Generally, Epic Seven provides an easier method of obtaining gachas as seemingly everything you do racks up the points you need for summoning. AE on the other hand has a Records system in which you meet certain criteria (clearing chapters, collecting a number of equipment or allies, fighting a number of enemies, etc) to get access to 10 points at a time and 20 points just for logging in every 24 hours (although you can sneak in an extra set of points by logging in just before the game registers a new day somewhere between 1am and 3am US)

Anyway, back on topic, enough of the RPG elements are there, story, equipment, stat alteration, exp, etc.

I've also played ElChronicle recently. Very much an online RPG with gacha elements. You don't acquire characters via points but can get gear. The characters are met and won via timed interactions at the "inn", which means that if you are regular enough, you will have every available character within a few months. The online elements are there not just in chat and competitions but also a central hub where multiple players can gather at "the village" and also guild (although no one ever seems to show up in the one I joined.)

As to how good these games are as RPGs, I can't say my opinion is cut and dry. There are aspects I admire and concepts I loathe the creators for even dreaming it was a good idea, but I'm still playing them. I haven't played FF15 in two months.

So what do you think? Are there any other good RPGs out there for my ipad/iphone?

It really comes down to the idea of "you get what you pay for".

Most "free" Mobile RPGs fall into the gacha category and they vary from title to title. Oddly enough, I feel SE does a pretty decent job with their gacha mobile titles like Record Keeper and Kingdom Hearts Union X, my only beef with their titles is that the balance between the main campaign and the event ones is always poor and it gets too easy to get sucked into the grind-a-thon of the genre by ignoring the main story aspect and just sticking to the low hanging fruit of fullfillment that comes from power leveling through events.

Terra Battle is actually a pretty good gacha RPG that actually drops most of the annoying aspects of the genre. No ads, rarely bothers you to buy energy, and the energy system is surprisingly generous that you can play for a long time without feeling impeded by the game asking you to spend money. It's battle mechanics are not traditional RPG Turn Based shenanigans, but the core system actually offers a lot of depth and maintains key aspects of traditional RPG mechanics like proper party building and customization. The sequel, Terra Battle 2 had even more traditional RPG elements incorporated into it, but the game flopped sadly and was pulled off the market last year.

Now if you're looking for something closer to a console experience, then you really need to just pay for it. In addition to games like FFVII and Chrono Trigger just being available on mobile, there are actually several original RPGs released by companies like SE that are just flat out RPGs like Final Fantasy Dimensions, but they would require to pay like $15 to experience.

Anything designed for console is going to be a worse experience playing it on mobile. Anything not designed for consoles is probably bad anyway. The best bet I can think of for a mobile RPG is something that uses a hybrid combat system based on the kinds of casual games you usually see on mobile phones (something like Puzzle Quest, I guess, although I never played those). I don't think I'd like that kind of game very much but at least it leans into the strengths of a mobile phone rather than trying to force menu based combat into an interface not designed for it.

I can't fathom why you would pay $15 to play on a mobile phone what you could probably pay $5-$10 to buy digitally on a console. Unless, of course, you don't have a console, but you probably easily paid as much for your phone anyway as a console would cost.

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Originally Posted by Lord Golbez

I can't fathom why you would pay $15 to play on a mobile phone what you could probably pay $5-$10 to buy digitally on a console. Unless, of course, you don't have a console, but you probably easily paid as much for your phone anyway as a console would cost.

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While I have never paid money for a mobile game, I would imagine it would be a viable option for someone who wants to play games on the go, especially since the portable gaming market isn't quite where it was ten years ago. I'd prefer to play on my 3DS but for many people, a phone is more important than a dedicated portable console, so being able to play console style games on a phone would be a really nice option for them. Touch interfaces have also come a long way since the DS era, and many games like DQ and the FF ports have tailored design interfaces that take advantage of the phones interface rather than just trying to haphazardly wrap the touch controls over a basic menu command, so it's not as big of a deal as it used to be.

I’d always prefer playing on an actual handheld console, but I did enjoy playing Dragon Quest 1 on my phone quite a bit. Eventually I’ll play 2 and 3 when I have some spare money.

I don't know. But I just downloaded that Final Fantasy Dissidia Opera game after hearing some really good reviews about it, so hopefully it's all good.

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Originally Posted by Scotty_ffgamer

I’d always prefer playing on an actual handheld console, but I did enjoy playing Dragon Quest 1 on my phone quite a bit. Eventually I’ll play 2 and 3 when I have some spare money.

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Don't play 2. 2 is a terrible place.

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Anything not designed for consoles is probably bad anyway.

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Anything not designed for PCs is probably bad anyway.

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: