I'm looking for an RPG / SRPG where I can create a custom party of characters. I haven't tried any Square-Enix game on iOS mostly because of price, but I'd give them a shot if highly recommended. Something maybe along the lines of Etrian Odyssey on DS, or even a diablo-style game. Baulders Gate seems like it would be good, but I don't really like the mystery meat interface... is it tolerable? Thanks in advance!
Silversword is the first party system game that allows you to customize your own party that comes to mind. It's based off the original The Bard's Tale games, which are avaliable as a bonus within The Bard's Tale remake iOS app, so that might also be worth looking into. I can't speak much to iPad exclusive iOS RPGs.
If you are talking about games on Final Fantasy Tactics standard. There arent many. The closest I have seen is Spectral Soul, but I didnt venture far enough into that one to say anything. You might want to take a look at that one. Worth checking out: War of Eustrath LostStar Tactics Call of Cthulhu The Squids Blue Dragon Island reminded me of Etrian Odyssey with the ability to interchange a hundred of monsters in the lineup
Baldur's Gate is a great game but I am partial to it and was familiar with it having played it several times before when it originally launched on to PC and over the years revisiting it. With the patch already on the PC side it is only a matter of review time with apple before it hits iOS and solves any gripes some may have with it, though in my opinion it is still a stable, playable game without a patch barring some inherit PC quirks. Another worthy mention for your iPad for what you are looking for is Avernum series and Avadon which allow for you to create your full party from scratch, though I'd advise being familiar with the mechanics before doing so and playing with stock characters for a stint before diving into that open ended side of it. Silversword and Bards Tale as mentioned before are also great additions!
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'm reinstalling Bards Tale... Also, Adventure Bar Story looks like a contender, and the Avernum series is definitely up there. I'm just going to compare Avernum vs. Baldurs Gate, and make a decision.
Knighturn is a turn based strategy RPG where you can recruit endless amounts of various classes (provided resources allow) to combine to create a party. You can customize their armor/weapon/accessory but you can not develop characters totally from scratch. It's not perfect but it might be satisfying. There is a lite/trial version avaliable free. Similarly is Sword & Earrings (Sw&Ear) by the same developers. Both are amazing and vey under rated; I can't recommend them enough.
First I am hearing of Knighturn and Sw&Ear. They look like they share the sam engine. Which is better and what are the limitations of the lite versions?
Both are very similar. Knighturn is a prequel to Sw&Ear in terms of plot but gameplay mechanics are identical. I prefer Knighturn due to the story and I think the levels are more fantastic/otherworldly since some focus is on the underworld. Sw&Ear might have more well designed puzzle like levels though but that's not necessaroly accurate. I'm not sure what the lite limitations are but I imagine the trial version only lets you play a few levels. The interface is really smooth and even lets you fast forward the enemy turn so they automatically move without you having to watch each villian walk through the motions if you prefer not to. To the OP's question, I have 42 characters (and could train/acquire more) from which to build a party with and there are at least 16 avaliable character classes in Knighturn; Sw&Ear is similar in scope. Here's a youtube of Knighturn video: