Sword of Fargoal is easier to pick-up and play, while Rogue Touch is a port of the original game Rogue, I believe, and is more hardcore. Both are extremely well done, but for starters I would suggest picking up Fargoal.
Gotta agree with the previous poster even though I haven't tried Fargoal myself. Rogue Touch loses a lot in comparison with the PC Rogue game. I'd rather play Rogue/Nethack on my PC and Fargoal on my iPhone.
This. Fargoal is great, get it while it's on sale. Rogue Touch is also great, but I'd be more likely to spend the time playing Nethack/Rogue/ADOM/etc on my computer...
I actually highly recommend Sword of Fargoal to beginners as it's a great introduction to the genre, and Rogue Touch to more advanced players who like the additional challenge and strategy provided by more magic items. I'm confused as to what Rogue Touch loses in comparison to the PC Rogue... the only things I can see it loses are the keyboard and ASCII, which are both actually *bonuses* for the iPhone. And since this version was based off the Atari ST version which was graphical tile based already, it actually isn't even missing ASCII! That and global leaderboards, more magical items than before, and meeting your previous corpse... none of which is in the PC Rogue So again, start with Fargoal unless you really feel up to the challenge that my game provides, and graduate to Rogue Touch after that... Also, by supporting Rogue Touch you're supporting my next project which will be a roguelike better than any seen before on this platform
Both can effectively be played forever... But I imagine that on average, Fargoal games will go longer for neophytes because it is easier, but skilled players will stretch out Rogue Touch games a lot longer, which is why Commander Data advised to "graduate to Rogue Touch" It's not that often someone recommends somebody else's product over their own. Though in this case Fargoal is like a gateway drug - if you like it you will be seeking out stronger stuff at some point! And with Fargoal on sale, if you go for them now it's like getting Rogue Touch for a buck!
That's a difficult comparison to make, since both games use randomized dungeon levels, so you can play many times and get different experiences (you can also play many times and die before reaching the end). Personally, I beat Sword of Fargoal on the second try (the first try was very brief), by being very cautious and following the advice of others in the forum. That one game took a few hours, although it would have been faster if it didn't take so darn long to heal in the game--supposedly they're going to change that in a future update, and after they do I may try playing again. I've played Rogue Touch a LOT of times. I usually die, and I occasionally win (using the Secret Characters, who are more powerful than a random starting character, which is a nice bonus; I kinda see using them as playing different classes). While I'm on kind of a RT hiatus until the next update, I'd definitely say I've put more time into that game, and gotten more satisfaction out of winning. Essentially, the difference for me is that in Fargoal you can grind (spend lotsa time exploring and leveling). This makes the game potentially a lot easier than RT, if you choose to do that, but in my opinion not as fun.
You've got a lot of good answers in this thread. I'll throw my opinion in and say get Fargoal first. And I've played dozens upon dozens of hours of Rogue Touch. It's absolutely fantastic. But Fargoal is easier to get into, has pretty graphics, and is different enough from Rogue Touch to warrant owning both at some point. But start with Fargoal, for sure. If you like it then you'll seek out Rogue Touch anyway.
Fargoal feels far more welcoming. Rogue is like your first drink. Kind of hard and bitter, kicks you to the curb at first, but after the first few drinks you warm up to it quite nicely. I love RogueTouch. Great great game. Also am really enjoying Fargoal. Great introduction to the roguelikes. And way more forgiving than Rogue and Nethack
I'm not an original Rogue player, but I preferred Rogue Touch. Both are good/fun, but I got more into Rogue Touch.
Get 'em both. Together right now they add up to less than one of the "big name" RPG's, and well I think both of our games Rogue Touch and Fargoal are just more fun and replayable.
well i just bought Rogue Touch and i can say I highly recommend it. I have never played a Rogue game before. The difficulty i what keeps me coming back for me. I keep dying, but thats what makes it fun! i want to try and make it further than i did the last time. The high score list really helps this, and it's funny because it shows what enemy killed you