Support NeoGAF

[heringer]

Put about an hour into Wild Frontier last night. Impressions, ho!

It's basically a mish-mash of 2D, sprite-based, top-down Korean action RPG and Monster Hunter, of all things. Complete with crummy localization! It's crisp, well animated, and smooth-playing, more akin to Queen's Crown than Zenonia or Chronicles of Inotia.

It's definitely got that solid RPG foundation that MH mostly lacks, so grinding and leveling will get you somewhere. Level ups come quickly so far, and each will net you 3 distributable stat points to perm-boost Str, Dex, Con, and Int; as well as 1 skill point to spend on learning a new skill or leveling an existing skill. The skills appear to be spread across chain (combo) attacks, chain finishers, temp buffs, and perm passives.

The game purporsts to take place in the real world, according to the opening narration, but once actual gameplay sets in, you'd never know it. Legendary continent (not the Americas) filled with fantastical creatures and races. Oh, and there be dragons.

You start off by naming your character (male only, fixed general appearance) and selecting from one of four classes. One is basically a weapons expert, another a sword and shield type, another a dual-wielding and agile type, and I forget the last. Ranged attacker, perhaps?

Tons of slots for equipment and gear, and lot dumps for nicely organized categories of inventory which run the gamut of consumables, creature parts, recipes, and harvested/foraged/mined resources.

I'm still on the starting dagger weapon, so I'm unsure if different weapons control or chain uniquely, but combat appears to play out with chained combos of 3 attacks; the first two being regular chain strikes and the third being a finisher. You can map up to 5 skills (IIRC) to a nearby palette, and swap in upgradeable chain and/or finisher skills as needed. Doing do will decrease your mana, of course.

Buffs and passives largely speak for themselves, but do note that some buffs and AoE skills can aggro near by (or all on-screen!) creatures! All skills are arranged in sime trees and many have character level and/or minimum skill level requirements for preceding skills in the relevant tree(s). Nothing's hidden, so feel free to plan ahead for the long-term.

The game plays out more or less like you'd expect given the fusion of Korean ARPG and Monster Hunter approaches. Creature corpses are ripe for carving and looting, the environments and filled with resources to harvest, forage, and mine for. Equipment has durability to maintain with the proper consumables. You've got a cookbook to utilize while camping in order to convert your drops and resources into status and health/mana boosting goodies. Additional recipes can be procured for crafting new equipment and gear. NPCs and a message board are available to dole out quests which you can pursue, complete, and cash in.

There's a surprisingly rapidly shifting day/night cycle fhat, in a Castlevania 2 twist, sees you facing tougher enemies at night. Some decisions have Nice little consequencies. Example: maintaining equipment in the wild can see permanent drops in max durability. Doing the same back at a nearby village will never result in similarly damaged gear. There also appears to be a pet system that sees you taming wild creatures to use as hunting companions!

Finally, everything is tied together by a not totally terribad (so far) narrative. At $0.99 and 50MBs, it's tough not to recommend, honestly. There are optional IAPs, but none of them appear to be even remotely crucial to progression, and seem to be there just for the occasional bit of convenience and/or extra help. No special dollar-based in-game currencies or content lock-outs in sight!

Everything's tied together by a so far not terrible narrative and story.

I played for a few minutes and noticed the first item shop sells itens with dollar currency. Is that IAP?

About the little I played... I dunno. Writting is pretty terrible (to be expected though) and the controls aren't nearly as smooth as Queen's Crown.

 

[Alex Connolly]

Thanks for the impressions, Mejilan. The real cash business had me worried for a bit until I read it's not really an issue at all, so there's a bonus. Looking forward to battling more before I hit the hay. Seems like that's my sweet spot for eastern RPGs, a pleasant little bedtime story.

 

[Mejilan]

I played for a few minutes and noticed the first item shop sells itens with dollar currency. Is that IAP?

About the little I played... I dunno. Writting is pretty terrible (to be expected though) and the controls aren't nearly as smooth as Queen's Crown.

That's the IAP store. You have to do the next story quest to open up the village's item store.

Controls are NOT as good as Queen's Crown, but they still shit all over Zenonia's, and unlike Z, the framerate is nice and smooth.

And yeah, like most localizations of Korean games, the Engrish is pretty bad. But that's to be expected, sadly. I only meant that WF isn't breaking new ground in awful.

 

[hyp]

Are any Battleheart players venturing outside of a seemingly standard Knight/Cleric/Wizard/DPS party? Right now I'm trying a Monk/Bard/Witch/Rogue group and it works surprisingly well so far. The Bard can't quite heal as well as a Cleric but the Witch gives decent healing via her lifetap spell and monks tank surprisingly well.

This is one of maybe three or four games that I feel really defines what idevices can do game wise. I'll take one of these over a thousand consolish games.

bu bu iOS games aren't real games.

*sigh*

 

[Tobor]

Anyone playing Battleheart on an iPad ? The game says that it is Universal but I want to know if the graphics are iPad native resolution and if they look sharp on the iPad screen.

I am. Looks and plays fantastic. Don't hesitate.

 

[Minsc]

bu bu iOS games aren't real games.

*sigh*

There's definitely a valid argument that iOS games aren't real games... but at the same time, there can be something so pure about them.

No lengthy 2 hour tutorials, Battleheart has you up and going in 2 minutes. These Queen's Crown / Wild Frontier RPGs might not be the next Dragon Age, but so what. They're great time-killers, and in some way remind me of the simple gameplay I loved with Zelda when it was back on the SNES/NES.

Then of course, the real kicker, the 99cent price. You just can't get all that upset about something not being $60 perfect, when you're getting 5-10+ hours of enjoyable gaming out of 99cents.

If the PSP2 lets you run Android games, and all these iOS lite-RPG/action games make it over to Android to get the PSP2 userbase going on them, it should be interesting to see how more mainstream only gamers adapt, or don't.

 

[INPAQ]

Wild Frontier looks like a worthy buy... hmm

 

[jessecuster]

Anyone try Legendary Wars? Looks pretty neat.

Its alright. I think I prefer Trenches to it, although I have only played a few levels of each so far.


My favorite remains Crystal War, but what's nice in Trenches and Legendary Wars is the ability to stop and start as you gather troops. In Trenches you also can dig in at a trench and enforce the trench, as you work towards the enemy side.


What I don't like about Legendary so far is that you have to click on your miner each time he comes out of the mine.

 

[heringer]

How is OMG Pirates! by the way? Just saw a video and it looks stunning.

 

[Jayayess1190]

Is there an app dedicated to finding Gamecenter games? Trying to find them through the store is cumbersome.

 

[Tobor]

There's definitely a valid argument that iOS games aren't real games... but at the same time, there can be something so pure about them.

No lengthy 2 hour tutorials, Battleheart has you up and going in 2 minutes. These Queen's Crown / Wild Frontier RPGs might not be the next Dragon Age, but so what. They're great time-killers, and in some way remind me of the simple gameplay I loved with Zelda when it was back on the SNES/NES.

Then of course, the real kicker, the 99cent price. You just can't get all that upset about something not being $60 perfect, when you're getting 5-10+ hours of enjoyable gaming out of 99cents.

If the PSP2 lets you run Android games, and all these iOS lite-RPG/action games make it over to Android to get the PSP2 userbase going on them, it should be interesting to see how more mainstream only gamers adapt, or don't.

No, there isn't. Not a single valid argument to that effect can be made. I hated this "real games" nonsense when it was applied to Nintendogs and Brain Age, and I hate it now.

Games are games.

 

[Ledsen]

Nope. The jailbreak stuff is carried over. I ran a memory checking app to see and it had a bunch of unwanted stuff running.

What kind of "unwanted stuff"? I did a restore and then restore from backup a while ago to remove my jailbreak, I thought it was all gone.

 

[PalaceBrother]

Hey Mario

Zen Puzzle Garden just got mentioned by @AppStore on Twitter. How did your team's game get selected? I'm curious as to whether the recommendations are internally decided on @ Apple or if it is a marketing arrangement.

 

[Painraze]

There's definitely a valid argument that iOS games aren't real games...

Uh, no.

 

[Minsc]

No, there isn't. Not a single valid argument to that effect can be made. I hated this "real games" nonsense when it was applied to Nintendogs and Brain Age, and I hate it now.

Games are games.

Of course there's an argument that there are few "real" games on iOS. Where are the $20+ million AAA blockbusters? Where do I find a new, exclusive 40 hour RPG with cutscenes, FMV, VA, etc. What is there like Bayonetta, Neir, Red Dead Redemption, Alan Wake, Vanquish, God of War, Final Fantasy XV, Super Mario Galaxy, etc, that's not a watered down experience?

Where are all the $30+ games?

 

[Jonnyram]

What kind of "unwanted stuff"? I did a restore and then restore from backup a while ago to remove my jailbreak, I thought it was all gone.

It's not. I don't know what it does exactly, but I guess it "infects" your profiles or some other part of the OS. Regardless, after a restore from backup, my firm's enterprise app still thought my iPhone was jailbroken and it wouldn't run, until I did a full blank restore. Ended up getting rid of a bunch of data, but nothing I can't live without.

 

[CrunchinJelly]

Of course there's an argument that there are few "real" games on iOS. Where are the $20+ million AAA blockbusters? Where do I find a new, exclusive 40 hour RPG with cutscenes, FMV, VA, etc. What is there like Bayonetta, Neir, Red Dead Redemption, Alan Wake, Vanquish, God of War, Final Fantasy XV, Super Mario Galaxy, etc, that's not a watered down experience?

Where are all the $30+ games?

A fairer comparison would be XBLA/PSN. Not $60 retail.

 

[Jonnyram]

Where are all the $30+ games?

There are a bunch, but they don't cost $30 because it's a different market.

Stuff that would more or less fit in that bracket, off the top of my head:
Secret of Mana
Ghost Trick
Ridge Racer
Taiko no Tatsujin
Mojipittan
Dodonpachi Resurrection
Espgaluda 2
Chaos Rings
Mushihimesama Bug Panic
Plants vs Zombies
Crimson Gem Saga
Final Fantasy I
Final Fantasy II

...to name a few.

 

[Anno]

Of course there's an argument that there are few "real" games on iOS. Where are the $20+ million AAA blockbusters? Where do I find a new, exclusive 40 hour RPG with cutscenes, FMV, VA, etc. What is there like Bayonetta, Neir, Red Dead Redemption, Alan Wake, Vanquish, God of War, Final Fantasy XV, Super Mario Galaxy, etc, that's not a watered down experience?

Where are all the $30+ games?

Frankly those aren't the games I want to play on iOS. Or at least not in their console forms. And why do those characteristics make something a game and not some other set of characteristics?

Games like Battleheart and Tilt to Live and the myriad physics games take advantage of what makes iOS devices unique. I want more games focusing on that - not another shoe-horned, generic FPS.

 

[heringer]

New Zelda ripoff trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_2aUN4FIys&feature=player_embedded#

 

[Dacvak]

New Zelda ripoff trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_2aUN4FIys&feature=player_embedded#

That looks less rip-offy than most Gameloft games.

 

[antispin]

How is OMG Pirates! by the way? Just saw a video and it looks stunning.

Awesome. ZOMG Awesome!

 

[Tobor]

Of course there's an argument that there are few "real" games on iOS. Where are the $20+ million AAA blockbusters? Where do I find a new, exclusive 40 hour RPG with cutscenes, FMV, VA, etc. What is there like Bayonetta, Neir, Red Dead Redemption, Alan Wake, Vanquish, God of War, Final Fantasy XV, Super Mario Galaxy, etc, that's not a watered down experience?

Where are all the $30+ games?

I was responding to your use of the descriptor "real games". I find it insulting. Games are games.

As for the rest, I don't see how any of that is relevant to whether or not an iOS game is "real".

 

[Dacvak]

I wish more games had external save files / syncing to the cloud.
I had to factory reset my iPhone to get rid of jailbreak shit (for work apps), and as a result, I've lost a shitload of progress on some stuff like Infinity Blade, PvZ and my complete Ghost Trick save (not that I would replay that one). Hope Apple comes out with a solid system for a future iOS update.

Wait, Ghost Trick? Is that out, or are you playing a Japanese version or something?

 

[sonikokaruto]

This thread used to tell me cool stuff and free games.

Now there's only bitching and moaning.

Leave our thread alone if you don't like it.

 

[Minsc]

I was responding to your use of the descriptor "real games". I find it insulting. Games are games.

As for the rest, I don't see how any of that is relevant to whether or not an iOS game is "real".

I agree games are games from one PoV, but from another (the PoV this all goes back to making fun of) calling Angry Birds, Doodle Jump, Cut the Rope, and even Carcassonne games in the same sense of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Demon's Souls, Assassin's Creed or Batman: Arkham Asylum is insulting, which is what I think people have in mind when they say smartphones don't have games.

This thread used to tell me cool stuff and free games.

Now there's only bitching and moaning.

Leave our thread alone if you don't like it.

Quick to over-react? I don't see any real bitching and moaning by myself anyway, just discussion, and I've pointed out multiple times in the post I took the invitation to the discussion that I thoroughly enjoy the cool stuff and free games on iOS.

Besides, if you can sift through a 10,000+ post thread about games, you can sift through the occasional handful of post discussing the platform's criticisms.

 

[LugNut74]

I am very impressed with Battleheart. Highly recommend the game. Right now I am rolling with a Knight/Rogue/Mage/Cleric party. Will change it up later though.

 

[Gamecocks625]

As I posted a couple of days ago, updates and new games from PikPok coming this week.

An update for Flick Kick Field Goal is in review bringing Gamecenter support, new modes, new graphics and universal.

Flick Kick Field Goal Kickoff has also hit the App Store just now. DO NOT BUY IT. We'll be flicking it to free within a day. Basically a cut down build of the existing (updated) version that will be promoted and ad supported over Superbowl with an attached competition for big prizes. Will post back in here when it goes free and the official release and details go out (not promoting it before then).

niiiiiiiice. I just re-downloaded Flick Kick Field Goal because of this.

I agree games are games from one PoV, but from another (the PoV this all goes back to making fun of) calling Angry Birds, Doodle Jump, Cut the Rope, and even Carcassonne games in the same sense of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Demon's Souls, Assassin's Creed or Batman: Arkham Asylum is insulting, which is what I think people have in mind when they say smartphones don't have games.

I think you're just misusing terms, that's all. Your idea of "games" probably means "genres" or "games of high production values or high budgets" or "console games" or whatever. Saying something doesn't have "real" games gives off a school-yard kid talk kind of vibe.

A game is a game. Now, if you mean that there aren't many games that have $30 million dollar budgets on iOS, then I agree. Or if you want to play an actual PS3 game on your iPhone, then I think you're just looking in the wrong place.

I don't say that my crockpot doesn't make "real" food just because it doesn't grill steaks or something.

 

[numble]

There are plenty of long-form adventure games on iOS, like the Monkey Island remakes and the Telltale games. There are also ports of PS1 and older games. Gameloft also makes a lot of games that apes the titles that are usually first-party exclusives on other platforms. Just because the most popular games are short-form and cheaper, doesn't mean that there are no long-form games.

 

[jessecuster]

I agree games are games from one PoV, but from another (the PoV this all goes back to making fun of) calling Angry Birds, Doodle Jump, Cut the Rope, and even Carcassonne games in the same sense of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Demon's Souls, Assassin's Creed or Batman: Arkham Asylum is insulting, which is what I think people have in mind when they say smartphones don't have games.

This is like comparing Iron Man, Transformers, Titanic and many others to Clerks, Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, etc. They are all movies, who cares what they cost or how many special effects are in them.


I really, really hate how video games(Facebook games are not real games!) and comic books(Manga is different!) always have to be pigeonholed somehow.

 

[hyp]

sorry if i stirred the pot in here. wasn't my intention. i guess i've been reading the PSP2/3DS threads too much.

 

[hyp]

back on topic - battlehearts is a must buy. love love love it! $2.99 is a great price for what you're getting.

any impressions on how it looks on ipad? i've yet to install it on my own.

 

[Gamecocks625]

back on topic - battlehearts is a must buy. love love love it! $2.99 is a great price for what you're getting.

any impressions on how it looks on ipad? i've yet to install it on my own.

Tobor said it looks great.

 

[dream]

When I only have an hour to blow, I really don't see much difference between playing Battlehearts and, I dunno, Red Dead Redemption. Fun is fun.

 

[hyp]

Tobor said it looks great.

the right question would be, is it a lazy universal upscale or did they actually tailor it to ipad. but i will trust that it looks great since it's beautiful on the iphone4 display.

 

[squall23]

Does anybody have a list of Japanese-exclusive games? I know a few like the Taiko games and some of the Kairosoft games. I also play Jubeat+ a lot. Any others I should look into?

 

[Tobor]

the right question would be, is it a lazy universal upscale or did they actually tailor it to ipad. but i will trust that it looks great since it's beautiful on the iphone4 display.

It feels perfectly natural on the iPad, and has a clean crisp look. It's clearly running at iPad res. I'm not sure if the UI is changed, my guess would be not much, but it doesn't need to be the way the game is set up. I'll try it on my iPhone 4 and let you know.

EDIT: I love the theme song, by the way. Fits the game so well.

 

[hyp]

yes, the soundtrack/sound design rock! they really put some thought into it.

 

[Dabanton]

So Battlehearts is a good buy?

 

[Tobor]

After a quick test:

The UI is identical on iPad/iPhone, other than the slightest tweaks for aspect ratio. The graphics look great on both. As far as gameplay goes, I feel like I have better control on the iPad for the obvious size reasons.

@Dabanton, definitely.

 

[Dabanton]

Yep downloading now £1.79 is a bargain.

 

[Anno]

So Battlehearts is a good buy?

Absolutely. A couple people have reported crashes on the first boss, but that's the only thing I've seen that's negative. I've put in about 3 hours so far and it's really a blast. I'd pay $10 if I had to do it again.

 

[mr_sockochris]

Miss Claire Garden got an update today - she doesn't control like a snail anymore, hurrah!

 

[RS4-]

I get random crashes with Battleheart as well. I think they all happened during the first boss too.

Trying to manage the healing and two tanks doesn't work well when they're stacked on top of each other haha. Still a pretty damn good game, even though I only reached the first arena.

 

[bryehn]

Battleheart is awesome, great look and music and no virtual d-pads

 

[heringer]

+1 love for Battlehearts. Pretty cool stuff. Beat the first boss on my first try, but the game crashed on the very next level. It seems to be a common issue, so I hope they address this.

 

[heringer]

When I only have an hour to blow, I really don't see much difference between playing Battlehearts and, I dunno, Red Dead Redemption. Fun is fun.

Fun is not an absolute term though. There's a difference between some fun and tons of fun.

 

[mrkgoo]

Of course there's an argument that there are few "real" games on iOS. Where are the $20+ million AAA blockbusters? Where do I find a new, exclusive 40 hour RPG with cutscenes, FMV, VA, etc. What is there like Bayonetta, Neir, Red Dead Redemption, Alan Wake, Vanquish, God of War, Final Fantasy XV, Super Mario Galaxy, etc, that's not a watered down experience?

Where are all the $30+ games?

That's bull crap.

Since when does price dictate whether a game is 'real' or not?

 

[Mejilan]

Would someone like to talk to me (us) about Ascendancy?
Looks intriguing, but the bugs mentioned in some of the reviews and the relatively high price have me hesitating. I know nothing of the original game...

 

[Grisby]

Put about 20 min or so into Battlehearts. Fun,

The menu/town music is very pleasant on the ears. However, trying to heal two guys that are on top of another is not. Hopefully, that doesn't get super annoying later on.