Hey Forum, I felt like creating a random broad 'Action RPG Discussion' thread so that all discussion related to Action RPGs on the iDevices in any way shape or form will elegantly begin to converge here in this thread. So feel free to: Call out some or all of your favorite Action RPGs available in the App Store right now Weigh in on the future of Action RPGs on the iDevices; is it looking bleak? promising? what do you think? Share thoughts feedback and opinions either in general or specifically about a game Link & discuss upcoming Action RPGs Link & Discuss reviews and/or news about Action RPGs Post a wishlist of what you would like to see on the iDevice platform Feel free to discuss anything really, as long as it's somewhat related to Action RPGs on the iDevices..... And as always don't hesitate to speak up!
Zenonia 2 thoughts/feedback.... im wondering why anime themed action RPG games like Zenonia (amongst others) don't use a virtual joystick (VJ) for movement? and opt instead to use a virtual D-Pad (or other inferior movement controls)? I mean I know that the double tap is often used for dashing, but it just seems that a VJ would feel more natural and to be honest the speed/pacing of Zenonia 2 is dialed in almost perfectly anyways, in that the dash isn't really all that useful or necessary. It's not that I *want* to move diagonally, I'm fine with a classic take where movement is limited to x and y axis only. It's just that I think a VJ would be more efficient as in fluid, and by now isn't the VJ more or less the standard for movement? Also I like the classes in Zenonia 2 especially how they vary in gameplay, but I would prefer a character based game where there is more flexibility in character development and the gameplay can be switched up via equipping different weapon types rather then quiting and starting a new game as a different class. Also whats up with the insanely long intros of Zenonia 2? I mean I appreciate a good deep story as much as the next guy, but please just throw me in the action quick fast an in a hurry with a simple easy plot at first and let the bulk if not all of the story or the mystery of the story unfold as I progress. A perfect example is FF7. The intro cutscene briefly shows you midgar and reveals aerith a key character that you meet up with later in the game but it effectively throws you right into the action and fills you in on a simple plot along the way "blow up a reactor to help save the planet" thats all i need to know right at the beginning of a game let the rest of the epicness of the story unfold as i progress or get more complex ect. on the flipside though zenonia 2 has great menus and UI i particularly like the way the games are saved and resumed (almost instantly) with the 3 slots. I never really worried about listing out saves and would just overwrite anyways. I would like to have a brief summary of my progress in the story though kinda like how its done in Rouge Galaxy when you resume a saved game and thats it for now ill key in with more thoughts on Zenonia 2 and other action RPG games later
You write some long posts cubytes But seriously, After Inotia 2 I gave up on the concept of Action rpg's on the iplatform. I mean, in both of the main series' most of the gameplay is grinding, which I could live with except that there is no real character development. Zenonia 2 is better in that you can choose a ranger or a warrior and Inotia 2 has the whole class sytem, but you cannot really make your own character. About the stories, I thought Zenonia 2 had a ridiculous amount of dialog for an unoriginal cookie cutter story. But when you compare it to other great rpg's on the appstore there's no comparison. The big three Action rpg's are Inotia 2, Zenonia 2 and Dungeon Hunter. Inotia 2 and Zenonia 2 both promise huge amounts of gameplay which they have but only because they have massive amounts of grinding. Dungeon hunter on the other hand has very little grinding but is too short. The two best rpg's on the appstore in my opinion are chos rings and The quest+expansions. Chaos rings has great graphics and a complex battle system and a story that has much less dialogue than any action rpg but is a much better story. The Quest has poor graphics and sometimes awkward controls but it offers the most expansive and open-ended rpg on the appstore. It actually features true role-playing which is something that action rpg's don't have at all. In conclusion, idevice action rpg's are repetitive and boring, if you want a really good rpg, get Chaos rings or the Quest.
You write some long posts Noman Playing through Caligo Chaser at the moment. I've found that it also has some grinding phases. For example, go to this area and get 7 branches of life. Well you have to fight through the stage twice to get all seven. I like the hack n' slash side scrolling battles, though. Just learned the dash attack and I feel so dumb. It was one of the first moves to learn and it's basically three quick taps - the first two on the left or right d-pad and the third on the attack button. I was trying to hold down the attack button while dashing.
The only action RPG that I've actually been able to play through completely so far is Dungeon Hunter. Inotia 2 didn't hook me, Zenonia was fun for a while, but ultimately I found it boring. I'm working on HYBRID: Eternal Whisper right now, and it's fun. The battle system at least has variety and originality to it. I'm looking into Caligo Chaser as well. Speaking of these two games though, I don't understand why the opted for a D-Pad instead of a Visual Stick. The only thing you need the D-Pad for in HYBRID is dashing, which you could still implement in the exact same way (double tapping a direction) with a VS. I'm big into Duel Stick shooters, and virtual joy sticks just feel so much more natural on the touch screen then D-Pads do.
what i would like to see in future Action RPGs on the platform...... story..... first of all i want an imaginative & progressive character based story in that it starts out small but gets substantially more complex as you progress. What I mean by character based is that the story is built up with not only an over-arching plot or theme but also has layers of interpersonal relationships as in the story sheds light on these relationships in the past, present or a possible future ect. I also don't want to start off as a cliche almighty hero right at the beginning of the game in a world where all hope is lost. as far as battle systems..... i would like to see something similar to the Tales series or Valkyrie Profile Silmeria where the battles are loaded separately from the game world. This will allow for a more flexible design i think, as you could create a huge beautiful world with at least PSX quality graphics similar to Chaos Ring since there will be no battles in the world itself. Instead battles will load up a world and an engine optimized specifically for it rather then trying to throw the whole kitchen sink in on just one control scheme.
yea tru that i agree.... but speaking about repetitive.... wheres the typical mini-games? or stand alone action sequences like on rails shooting sequences, racing sequences, or what not that mix up the gameplay experience?
If everyone thought and wrote like you, I would lose 10x less brain cells reading the crap some people dish out, like "omfg all Korean/Japanese RPGs are crap, western RPGs ftw". My viewpoint completely overlaps with yours so I might as well just copy/paste your post lol.
Give me a Valkyrie Profile Lenneth/Silmeria style battle system for a game on the iPhone and it's a day one buy for me even if its cabbage patch kids. And while were on the subject, give us a Tales of Legendia port NAO!
Indeed, but I'm kinda on the fence with ports to the iDevices in general. I appreciate that SE took the time to develop a legit property specifically for the iDevices. I mean you could easily leverage the franchise of course as in name/branding and design but I would prefer that the game be made specifically for the platform from the ground up to be honest. same with anime themed games... Don't get me wrong I would definitely appreciate a Naruto, OnePiece, Bleah, Inuyasha, FMA ect game for the iDevices, but I would rather it be a stand alone product as in a unique story, characters ect. Instead of simply attempting to recreate the anime as a game. All I want is the world and the setting of the anime franchises the rest of the plot, characters, ect can be a complete spin off... as long as it's compelling of course!!
I did enjoy hybrid, though I think of that more as a fighter/hack and slash rather than a full rpg. It has a lot of rpg elements but the base of the game is fighting. I also enjoyed Dungeon Hunter though after the first playthrough there was nothing worth doing. The graphics were good and I don't regret buying it but it will never be one of my favorite rpg's. On the subject of story, My two favorite stories for rpg's on idevices are (As I implied earlier) The quest and Chaos Rings. Chaos Rings has a story that is fairly simple in concept and doesn't bore you with overly long dialog scenes like in zenonia but has characters that you actually get attached to and like (or hate). The story is more character-based than situation based. I also love the quest's story, though it's a bit harder to explain. The story itself is nothing special but in many ways it allows you to make your own story which is something that is lacking from other iphone rpg's. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe it's the only irpg with an alignment system which allows you to really make your character your own. So yeah, I have nothing against Action rpg's in general but I am yet to see a game on the iphone that has the depth and interaction of a game like the quest with real time combat. If that comes out, it will be a whole new day for iphone rpg's.
