It is one of the few games that my wife will play with my daughter and me. Yes, it has problems as a boardgame, but as a good time for the family, it is great!
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I know! It makes me feel like all my knowledge of games is just trash. I have Unmatched: Tales to Amaze and Freelancers sitting on our dining room table, and yet this crap is what we’re playing? And it’s a blast? What the hell?!
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Has anyone tried Paragon Pioneers? It is on iOS, not sure what else. The sequel just came out, which I presume it better. From what I read it is a premium puzzle/city builder with some depth but I’d love to hear some impressions if anyone has tried it.
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I bounced in it personally, though there seems to be more to discover about the game than I may have given it a chance to show me. The play felt a little too rote for me. But I don’t think I devoted a lot of time to it.
As a side note, the guy who developed it and the sequel has a reddit thread where he answers questions, deals with bugs, and appears to be a pretty decent guy. https://www.reddit.com/r/paragonpioneers/ Seeing this and knowing it was just one person creating this is what made me buy it. If it’s not too pricey, I may buy the sequel just to support him anyway–perhaps I’ll like it better.
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I am still working my way slowly through FF16. I am enjoying it well enough; the visuals are great, the acting is good, the music is fantastic, and the story is typical FF fare with warring kingdoms “secretly” being manipulated by higher powers. I am still unsure about the overall tone as the game doesn’t really have any of the goofiness or humor present in any other FF game and the mature content is very uncharacteristic for the series. I am about halfway through at this point and I have come to realize that every single complaint levied against previous FF titles is taken to the extreme on this game and I find it curious that it has gotten the praise that it has, especially from a community that can be vocal about what they expect in their games.
Even though the game is looked upon more kindly now, I remember quite a lot of negativity towards FF12 regarding how you don’t directly control your party in combat; instead, as they level you unlock what is essentially AI programming so you can make them do what you want based on plenty of conditionals. You could, however, choose which character to play as in combat and outside of combat you had full control over their equipment and abilities. FF15 had similar complaints about the lack of control over party members but there you could issue commands to you party and, again, control their equipment and abilities outside of combat. In 16 you have zero control of any kind over your party. You can’t equip them, set abilities, use items on them, or anything. They are just along for the ride.
FF13 has a great combat system but was trashed for being too linear. I remember it being called a hallway simulator. The story is very much on rails until the end where you get a larger open area to explore. So far 16 has been the exact same. Every area I’ve been to has been more or less linear even if they try to disguise it with little branches off the main path. The game is essentially a series of hallways and when those hallways open you know there is going to be a fight. And if the opening looks bigger? It’s going to be a bigger fight. Even the small branches are predictable. If you look at your map and see an area that branches off, you 100% know you’re going to find a large monster and a treasure chest.
Speaking of treasure chests, if you love crafting materials, you’ll love the treasure chests in this game. I’ve opened every chest up to this point and a single one contained a weapon. Other than that, you’re opening chests and finding things like “3 vials of blood” or “2 sharp fangs” or some other such nonsense. It makes treasure chests unbelievably anticlimactic. As far as the crafting materials, the system is very rudimentary with the ability to craft a handful of weapons and then reinforce them to a +1, +2. Well, only standard weapons, that is. Unique weapons can’t be upgraded as far as I know. This game’s item and equipment system is very underwhelming. On top of that, it hardly feels like it makes a difference. You do gain levels and stats, and your equipment does get better, but enemies scale so every fight has felt the exact same. I never feel stronger. The game would feel exactly the same if there were no levels, stats, equipment, or enemy scaling.
And then there’s the combat. FF15 was criticized for its action-heavy combat, which was a pretty stark departure from the more traditional turn based combat of most final fantasies. When it was announced that the FF7 remake was going to have an action-based combat, many FF fans melted down. FF16 takes this to a whole new level - the game is 100% an action game. You mash buttons. Constantly. I’ve hear the game compared to Devil May Cry but I don’t get that comparison. FF16 can have flashy combat if you want to play around, but you can also play it one-handed while sipping your coffee. Seriously. I put on the ring that gives me an auto dodge and I can beat any enemy, bosses included, with one hand while mashing square.
It might sound like I’m trashing the game, but I’m not. I’m enjoying it. I’m still struggling to see how Final Fantasy turned into this, though.
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Does anyone know of any premium CCG-style games on iOS that doesn’t use IAP, but just in-game methods for growing your collection? I’ve already played Lost Portal but am looking for a similar experience. I think Thronebreaker is one and I was looking briefly at Spellsword Cards: Demontide, but I don’t know much about those games. I’m open to suggestions.
Note that I’m not looking at a roguelike game but a game that is more like a CCG where you are building your decks outside of combat.
Thanks!
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https://www.gog.com/en/game/alpha_protocol - one of the best RPGs ever made just returned. It’s my birthday in two days. This is a sign.
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Happy 70th!
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Hi all, going on a work trip and only taking my iPad for games…
Reccomendations with no internet? Trying to pick between
- Wildfrost
- Railroads
- Is there an srpg or something?
I am mostly playing Slice and Dice on my current trip. Wildfrost looks interesting, I have not seen that before.
Forgot about slice and dice - will add to my iPad 
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I think Wildfrost is great and it’s free to try until you beat the first boss, so …
Wildfrost has been fun so far.
Railroads is a classic, though, so can’t go wrong there, either.
So much of this goddamn game lately. Love it. Although I am kind of with whoever mehhed about pixel graphics.
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What kind of modes are you playing on it?
Seems like so many options - almost too many options…
I think of this more like I do about Dream Quest - the game just overcomes the graphics.
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Easy lmao? Just beat easy yesterday on all devices, playing normal now.
Do wish they synced achievements through iCloud though
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My complaint was more that it is physically difficult on my eyes rather than a dislike for a simple aesthetic.
Bounced hard off of Wildfrost - am I missing something?