Partia (by Imago) [SRPG][Universal]

[actionrpg8000]

Does the game move as slow as it appears on the videos?

[twstephens]

Originally Posted by actionrpg8000

Does the game move as slow as it appears on the videos?

I'm wondering the same thing.

The only reason I haven't pressed the "buy" button myself is the price. That's prob why the game hasn't got alot of attention yet. That's a higher price point for an "Indy" ios game. Looks fun though and right up my ally just need more info on it before throwing down the $.

[Bool Zero]

Honestly for me it is the looks moreso than the price. It looks slow, and it looks dated and not in a charming retro way. I am all for a good SRPG and don't shy away from retro styled games (I am a child of the 70's Afterall) but this game initially impressions don't do much in the way of making a case for itself, at least not to me.

I will gladly eat crow and admit that I am wrong, but for right now, as much as I want a good SRPG, at the price offered here I can wait, especially with Baldur's Gate coming this week...

[undeadcow]

For an indie game of this depth I think the price is reasonable, I blind bought it and having played it I think $3.99 is a deal. The gameplay in Partia comes across in a detailed and methodical way that caters well the SRPG dynamics without seeming excessively slow, in my opinion. Since I'm at work I can't compare pace to the YouTube video (YouTube is blocked) but I can type out more elaborate impressions while running out the clock.

Movement: Each character can move a certain number of squares then have the option to rest (ending character options), use an item (which is also how new weapons/armor are equipt), or attack any emenies in range (attack is disabled in no enemies in range). So far the sensitivity appears good with each move/attack option highlighted by a grid that appears and responds well to tap even on small screen iPod (so far no mis-taps or pesky difficulties with tap responses).

Combat: When you select attack you can chose any weapons equipt then on selecting enemy a grid pops up comparing your character's stats versus the enemy on HP, Amt, Hit%, and Crit%. Enemies often counter your attacks and your characters often auto-counter. A box indicating health being depleted appears on the bottom of the screen after each attack/counter. Sometimes units will dodge indicated by a brief unit animation. There are various units including magic users, archers, lance wielders, knights, and swordsmen each with different movement/attach parameters.

Level Design: The level designs are intelligent with natural barriers segmenting the playing field. For example, the first level has treasure chests and doors that you unlock when rewarded with keys for killing enemies. The second level has a series of 6 bridges separating 5 "islands" populated with enemies before the final castle opens up to a castle completed with walled off central courtyard. The levels appear larger than many current iOS SRPG options.

Plot: The plot is a "political thriller" involving treason and land rights arguments that is well scripted and dramatic. Each level so far has interludes were plot developments occur mid-level or new characters pop-up.

Resource Management: Player accumulate "crowns" that can be used to buy weapons/armor or hire additional units (there is no IAP, all in-game funds). There is a "camp" between levels with options to compete in single unit fights at an areana that rewards with crowns, to buy/sell weapons, manage inventory (but apparently equipting weapons/armor must be done in level), talk to waitress at pub, etc.

User Interface: The UI is probably the biggest weakness to Partia. It's methodical and required move/arrack comfirmation. On one hand this gives the player a chance to cancel mis-calculations but sometimes feels un-necessary. It took me a while to figure out how to equipt weapons/armor because I assumed they could be enabled through the inventory screen. The touch interface is generally smooth in responding but some of the development design choices seems awkward at times. For some reason if you turn to portrait orientation the game screen minimizes and directional buttons take up the bottom half of the screen. So far finger tap hit detection is very good good.

Also as should be apparent from the screen shots and video the graphics do not look retina so look slightly fuzzy on newer devices.

Despite some minor gripes about user interface (which is serviceable) and graphics the detail and strategy in combat are excellent enough to make this well worth recommending and a current iOS game stand-out of me. I'm enjoying it enough so far to add to my signature.

[BluClaymore]

Originally Posted by Bool Zero

Honestly for me it is the looks moreso than the price. It looks slow, and it looks dated and not in a charming retro way. I am all for a good SRPG and don't shy away from retro styled games (I am a child of the 70's Afterall) but this game initially impressions don't do much in the way of making a case for itself, at least not to me.

I will gladly eat crow and admit that I am wrong, but for right now, as much as I want a good SRPG, at the price offered here I can wait, especially with Baldur's Gate coming this week...

I agree about the graphics and the price, ill wait till christmas and hope for price drop, ill deff buy it then

[Trev1]

All I have to hear is fire emblem and I almost cracked my iPhone5 screen on tapping the 3.99 button....as I said if it wasn't for the heroes of shadow (FE12) recent complete translation for the NDS,I would have finished this already with a full 5 star review ...

[Greyskull]

Originally Posted by undeadcow

For an indie game of this depth I think the price is reasonable, I blind bought it and having played it I think $3.99 is a deal. The gameplay in Partia comes across in a detailed and methodical way that caters well the SRPG dynamics without seeming excessively slow, in my opinion. Since I'm at work I can't compare pace to the YouTube video (YouTube is blocked) but I can type out more elaborate impressions while running out the clock.

Movement: Each character can move a certain number of squares then have the option to rest (ending character options), use an item (which is also how new weapons/armor are equipt), or attack any emenies in range (attack is disabled in no enemies in range). So far the sensitivity appears good with each move/attack option highlighted by a grid that appears and responds well to tap even on small screen iPod (so far no mis-taps or pesky difficulties with tap responses).

Combat: When you select attack you can chose any weapons equipt then on selecting enemy a grid pops up comparing your character's stats versus the enemy on HP, Amt, Hit%, and Crit%. Enemies often counter your attacks and your characters often auto-counter. A box indicating health being depleted appears on the bottom of the screen after each attack/counter. Sometimes units will dodge indicated by a brief unit animation. There are various units including magic users, archers, lance wielders, knights, and swordsmen each with different movement/attach parameters.

Level Design: The level designs are intelligent with natural barriers segmenting the playing field. For example, the first level has treasure chests and doors that you unlock when rewarded with keys for killing enemies. The second level has a series of 6 bridges separating 5 "islands" populated with enemies before the final castle opens up to a castle completed with walled off central courtyard. The levels appear larger than many current iOS SRPG options.

Plot: The plot is a "political thriller" involving treason and land rights arguments that is well scripted and dramatic. Each level so far has interludes were plot developments occur mid-level or new characters pop-up.

Resource Management: Player accumulate "crowns" that can be used to buy weapons/armor or hire additional units (there is no IAP, all in-game funds). There is a "camp" between levels with options to compete in single unit fights at an areana that rewards with crowns, to buy/sell weapons, manage inventory (but apparently equipting weapons/armor must be done in level), talk to waitress at pub, etc.

User Interface: The UI is probably the biggest weakness to Partia. It's methodical and required move/arrack comfirmation. On one hand this gives the player a chance to cancel mis-calculations but sometimes feels un-necessary. It took me a while to figure out how to equipt weapons/armor because I assumed they could be enabled through the inventory screen. The touch interface is generally smooth in responding but some of the development design choices seems awkward at times. For some reason if you turn to portrait orientation the game screen minimizes and directional buttons take up the bottom half of the screen. So far finger tap hit detection is very good good.

Also as should be apparent from the screen shots and video the graphics do not look retina so look slightly fuzzy on newer devices.

Despite some minor gripes about user interface (which is serviceable) and graphics the detail and strategy in combat are excellent enough to make this well worth recommending and a current iOS game stand-out of me. I'm enjoying it enough so far to add to my signature.

Man, this is a problem I had with Spectral Souls, and a reason I never bought it. I know that, nowadays, instruction manuals are anathema, but I won't buy a deep game without one. Package a .pdf file with the game (which I can read with iBooks) ot have a link to one online (which I can DL with a number of programs on my iPhone) and maybe I would consider purchasing this.

I'm too old to remember tutorials, dammit.

[undeadcow]

You guys are missing out.

Originally Posted by actionrpg8000

Does the game move as slow as it appears on the videos?

You can tap to display the text without having to wait for it to slowly scroll out. The developer trailer focus heavily on dialogue scenes but they are not as prevelent as trailer implies.

Originally Posted by Greyskull

I'm too old to remember tutorials, dammit.

There's a slight learning curve but it's not too bad. A PDF would be a good idea.

[Greyskull]

Originally Posted by undeadcow

You guys are missing out.You can tap to display the text without having to wait for it to slowly scroll out. The developer trailer focus heavily on dialogue scenes but they are not as prevelent as trailer implies.There's a slight learning curve but it's not too bad. A PDF would be a good idea.

I trust your judgement, undeadcow, I just have trouble remembering the rules for ios strategy games. It has to do with playing on an iphone instead of an ipad...the eyestrain I get causes me to have difficulty following through tutorials and remembering them, and in- game manuals often have tiny text.

Of all the games I have that DON'T need a manual, Flick Fishing came with a link to a .pdf guidebook, which I saved to my device and could print out if I chose to. I really think it would be smart for strategy game/rpg/etc. devs to do this. At least have a website with instructions, which I can save as a .pdf with WebToPdf (a recommended program).

[Sanuku]

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