While there was one lonely game in this roundup last week (which doesn’t even really make it a roundup) this week we’ve got four great games that everyone needs to try. Better yet, two of them won’t even cost you any money to try out. Additionally, we’re entering Q4 which is where all the huge releases seem to be, so strap in for what’s likely going to be even more great weeks like this.
Anomaly Defenders, $4.99 [Review] – 11bit studios has proven that it doesn’t matter what flavor of tower game they make, they’re all going to be awesome. They made a name for themselves in the tower offense world with the Anomaly series, and with the latest installment have flipped the formula around to be a more standard tower defense game. All the great graphics and production value are still there, making this one of the best looking TD games we’ve seen.
Smarter Than You, Free [Review] – It turns out 10000000 guy is capable of making awesome games that aren’t 10000000. Smarter Than You is a fascinating social mind game, orbiting around the foundation of rock paper scissors which everyone has played at least once in their life. Playing with random people is a ton of fun, but Smarter Than You truly shines when you tap your own Game Center friends list.
Rapture - World Conquest, Free [Review] – Tundra Games has opened up shop with its debut title. With a new faceplate and some veteran talent, this game studio is one to keep an eye out for. If you asked the question: how could you make the Civ experience accessible and time-appropriate for the iOS mobile platform? This game would probably be the answer. Sure there are plenty of world conquering strategy games out there, but this one has a fantastically frenetic pace that is perfect for on-the-go gaming.
WWE SuperCard - Battle Cards, Free [Review] – The App Store has been primed for a good wrestling game basically forever, as all the games that use existing wrestling IP have been… Well, not great. WWE Supercard is a fun card game that could stand on its own, but the addition of WWE wrestlers puts it over the top, as it’s really silly amounts of fun to do things like play your super-powerful John Cena card.
Additionally, we reviewed a few other games this week. As always, you can dig into all of our reviews by clicking here. Alternatively, you can hit up specific scores by using these links:
The video does not play on my iPad.
Weird. It's just a normal YouTube video, and it opens fine on my iPhone. Well, just head over to YouTube and search "Lunar SEGA-CD opening" and you should find a bunch of videos. Anyone else having problems viewing it?
The video doesn't work for me either in the TA app on my iPad. It does work when I view the article in the browser.
Works for me on my Iphone. Haha, glad I watched it. Classic.
Must be an iPad issue. None of the YouTube videos are working in TA now. They used to until just recently.
What can i say?
It's a pleasure to read your articles, Shaun.
I find myself eagerly waiting for them, and that's a first for me since a long time.
Thanks for your work.
Lunar IS incredibly generic, in setting, plot, and gameplay. The characters are all tropes that were cliched even when it came out, in anime at least if not in video games. But what sets it apart from EVERY other game, in my opinion, is what it does with those characters: its character development is simply unparalleled. There's simply no RPG I've ever played that has so much HEART. That's what gives it its longevity, too, I think: the characters feel like family. Or at least, as you say, high school friends who I can't wait to see at the next reunion.
I'll be honest, this game is pretty horrific to play on ios devices. Terrible port, I highly recommend the psx version (or psp as a last resort).
If a person has access to the PS1 version, that's definitely the way to go. I think I still prefer this iOS version over the PSP version, even with all of its technical issues, though.
Why do you feel the ios version is better than the psp version?
I missed Lunar back in the day thanks to Chrono Trigger and the Final Fantasy games constantly drawing me back for replays. This is an exceptional write-up though, and now it's on my watch list. It will definitely get some playtime when my Hearthstone addiction breaks.
I played Lunar about 15 years ago with my friends when it was released and we loved it I just recently replayed it for ios and really loved it. Playing it again as an adult whose almost 30 I can easily say I appreciate it so much more now. I love seeing where so many RPG tropes and stereotypes are done so well/originated. The overall atmosphere/ heart of the game is unmatched and I was totally disappointed when I whipped the magic emperors ass and the game was over. Lunar is a timeless classic and it always will be and no amount of bugs or glitches that are hardly a big deal can change that.
Amongst all the dodgy, poorly programmed ports of old RPGs on iOS, this stands out as by far the worst. The game itself is excellent of course, but this port is so abysmal, so amateurish, so eye poppingly awful that it ruins the game.
The frame rate, even an iPhone 6, is shocking. 15fps tops. Scrolling barely works at all. The controls are also truly terrible, with the worst virtual D-Pad in iOS history. Even the UI is terrible and looks to have been designed by a small child.
The graphics post update are an ugly mishmash of amateurishly redrawn sprites over low-res blocky backgrounds. Had this used the PSP assets, ran at 60fps, and controlled well, it could have been great. As it stands, this is a train wreck and should be avoided at all costs. It even makes Square's iOS ports looks competent, which is really saying something.
I played Lunar SSS when the iOS version was released. The gameplay didn't age well and was outdated. The skill and magic system was simple compared to JRPGs i previously played. Every random encounter was to use skill 1, combo with magic, rinse and repeat.
I played final fantasy JRPGs mostly, and never did i care or attach to any of the characters as much as lunar. There is a focus on characters. The NPCs weren't lifeless. They have two or more different scripts everytime you talk to them. It's what makes lunar memorable.
Wow, another great history lesson. So fascinating, reading about these games. I definitely put in some good time with this one a while back, but just couldn't get into it as well as I could with Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, or even Cthulhu Saves the World, PA3, and all the Dragon Quest-like games. But I may eventually finish it now that they've updated the app. That is, after I've finished the amazing Dragon Quest games. I do appreciate that they have implemented both portrait AND landscape. Though portrait isn't full screen, it still is a nice option.
Ooooh, Halloween RPGs?! I can only think of Costume Quest. But I look forward to any other spooky ones you throw our way!
This was another great read. Please look into doing 'Vay' for an upcoming episode of RPG Reload.
Thanks! It's on the list for sure.
I hate the fact the mobs level as you level. How could you like that? It wholly and completely removes the point of leveling. If you choose to grind you put the time in to do so, it's never a bad thing. Doing it this way cheapens the game to me and certainly shortens it quite dramatically. In rpgs hours played are preeeeeetty important.
With that said - yea what's the hold up on eternal blue? Cmon somoga(sp) get er done! Can you say gold mine?
And lunar 3... Can you say missed opportunity? They seem to do that a lot these days. Blue dragon sequel... Ffvii remake.... I could go on but would be going on for ages. GG
I've always preferred it when leveling gives you more tools rather than just beef you up stats-wise, simply because I dislike grinding and games that allow it as a crutch usually lack the tighter balance of those that try to curb it. That's just a personal preference, though. I know it feels good to get ultra-strong stats-wise and start booting around enemies that used to give you trouble.
Great article. Learned new things! You don't like the PSP version, though? How come? I figured it was superior to the PSOne/iOS. The DS Lunar is bad. I tried the GBA version, but it did not hold my interest. And finally, there was a version for Game Gear which has a fan translation.
As a hardcore Lunar fan (Silver Star was my first RPG love, Eternal Blue remains my all time favorite), I've played all ports. The PSP remake looks great, but loses some of the old school charm the originals held. Call me crazy, but the isometric view just doesn't work. I'd actually recommend the GBA remake *cough*GBA4iOS*cough* over the iOS port. The iOS port is almost exactly the PS1 game, which is in my opinion the best version of all, but the frame rate is really poor, even on my iPhone 6, and the touch controls are spotty at best. The GBA version streamlines the game quite a bit. And while it loses some of the unique aspects of the originals, like range mattering in battles, it makes it up for it with speedier battles and a far superior mobile experience.
Just my two cents. If you want Lunar on the go, the GBA port is best. If you're looking for the best Lunar overall, get the PS1 edition.
I'd sort of like to play the old Sega CD version. I had quite a collection of good Sega CD games back in the day, what with the two Lunars, Snatcher... and... uh... other stuff I can't remember...
I've still got a GBA SP, though, and I doubt Lunar would be too expensive. I did try it out and found it a little plodding. I like that the PS1 version has enemies on the map rather than random encounters. (Can't remember which the GBA has, but it seemed random to me.)
It's a shame that for Eternal Blue, we only have Sega CD and PS1, and for Silver Star, we have all these choices but no great ones.
I had Snatcher too! I'm still kicking myself for selling it for $75 a couple years back.
I remember being shocked at how refined Eternal Blue was compared to Silver Star on the Sega CD. I hope an ambitious fan attempts to remake Eternal Blue in some form someday. Until then, the PS1 version does splendidly.
Luckily I still have the PS1 version of Eternal Blue. I never finished the Sega CD versions of Silver Star or Eternal Blue. Sad! I was totally mesmerized with Silver Star, too. I got it for Christmas, whatever year it came out, and months before Christmas, every day after school I would sneak it out of the closet and play it. I had the strategy guide, by Sandwich Island Publishing, I believe, which came out quite a while after the game. I would call them every week or more asking when it was coming out. I was a weird kid.
In brief, I don't like the graphical style of the PSP version, the new dungeon designs are too simplified, the game's difficulty was nerfed too far, the load times were nasty, and I don't actually like the new voice cast very much. The new prologue by Shigema was really cool, but not enough to make up for the other stuff. The best versions of Lunar remain the original SEGA-CD version and the PS1/second Saturn version of SSSC, in my opinion, but none of those can be bought any way but secondhand these days.
It's a real shame Working Designs (er... Victor Ireland... or... Monkey Punch, whomever) can't find some way to get Lunar 1 and 2 PS1 on the PSN.
I know Vic really tried and probably still is, but it's just a huge mess that Gungho likely isn't terribly inclined to sort out.
Great article Shaun. Thank you. I really like the history part of your articles. I just finished Console Wars and your article gave some cool examples of Sega products that I never heard of back in the day which added more context to the book. As for my RPG play along, I'm still enjoying working through Chrono Trigger. I hope to complete many of the games from your reloads. I just need to be able to stop time in order to complete more! Thank you again.
I want to hear more about Sega's nasty break up with Working Designs. What happened between those two?
That could be an article all on its own, but it has little to do with iOS, so it's not really something that could work as a TouchArcade story. In a nutshell, new management didn't value WD the way old management did, egos clashed, and things got nasty in a more public way than these situations usually do. I was just starting as a writer around that time, and for a SEGA-focused outlet no less, so I had front row seats.
"The graphics were substantially improved, the music was virtually all new..."
Being that the Sega CD version was my first experience with Lunar, I was really excited when it came out on PSX. However, soon after starting the game, I was extremely disappointed when I realized that they had changed ALL of the music. IMHO, the Redbook audio that was in the original Sega CD version is the best music to date for this particular game. Hell, I still use a couple of my favorite tracks for alarm ringtones on my iPhone (yeah, I'm THAT kinda dork when it comes to the game). :D
Nice write up, though! I really enjoy these weekly walks down memory lane. :)
It's kind of funny because I played the ps1 sssc version first and was totally pumped that the game was coming out for the psp until I started playing it and realized the opening song and then more importantly the boat song were totally different. And it had been awhile since I played the first so I wasn't sure if it was a faulty memory or not but all the voices and conversations seemed a little different. Once I realized it wasn't working designs' stuff, it really took the joy out of the game for me. I can still recite the sssc boat theme to this day (I'm that kind of dork too).
Hi Shaun - I've been a long time reader of the blog but this is the first time I am commenting. I really loved this review. I played Lunar as a kid and it was my absolute favorite game. Being older now, I get that nostalgia for games and when I play their remakes, they never quite hold the same magic or they feel dated in a way I never though they would. Sometimes I feel plain lame for having like it in the first place, but I can't help the fact that I did. The image of the old high school jacket was perfect.
Great review. Thanks!