Finally able to buy, played 2 hours straight. Absolutely awesome...despite having read the thread, saw everything...I was still blown away by the polish and sleekness of the game. And this thing is GORGEOUS. But most important, gameplay is fantastic....perfect balance so far...not too easy, not too frustrating. Great great great...highly recommended. If I discover the devs are (the best) Square Enix in disguise I wouldn't be surprised.
The items/abilities I am seeing in the screenshots and videos look pretty vanilla (heal, MP etc). Does this offer more complex abilities as you progress to add to the strategy (like the ones in Dungeon Raid)?
There's upgrades to emblems which change your look as well as base stats and then theirs quite a few different types of abilities. There's one ability lets you steal, another heals less but removes debuffs, another poisons and various different elements etc. You'll need to pick and choose different abilities for different battles as not everyone single one works all the time.
No... Dungeon Raid's depth in terms of skills and abilities are really good, but it doesnt have a full story, no cutscenes, no character personalities, etc. of a more traditional RPG which is where Hero Emblems shines. Abilities in Hero Emblems gets more intricate later on with different perks like lifesteal, debuff-heals among others, but it isnt as complicated as Dungeon Raid's RPG mechanics. Think of this not as Dungeon Raid-like, but more Puzzle Quest-like more. They arent really the same either way, but you'll get an idea what to expect.
Definitely up to your play style. You could save up but i found my game easier with a more balanced party. I was just going to focus on all Paladin equips but that meant all my other characters match tiles were too weak in comparison.
Somehow (posted this somewhre here in TA i think) Hero Emblems reminds me of Nippon Ichi minus the number crunching and the grind.
15 hours in? Ok I am so sold. (It was pretty much instabuy anyways because I want to support a dev willing to put out a premium app with no IAP)
Haven't played much, but it seems that the progression of your characters mainly involves upgrading your characters raw stats/equipment, which is a bit of a disappointment. No PQ style skill/spell combinations to play with. Am I mistaken?
Each character can acquire a number of different skills of different elements. Later you'll come across bosses (and even regular mobs) that are immune to certain elements, so if your party doesn't have a good variety, you could end up stuck in a rut, dealing little-to-no damage.
I'm still on the first continent. Getting the emblems for each guy is top priority. Don't be like me and buy skills first. I kept wondering why my Dmg was so low. The emblems are the gear upgrade essentially so getting each tier one at a time is pretty crucial to me. Make no mistake, this game is pretty hard and punishing if you aren't prepared. The regular random mobs are easy tho so you will never be screwed, you can always grind them without wasting potions. It's just the bosses and mobs in the marker areas that can be a test. Iv had to grind plenty to get the emblems I should have gotten first. A tip is to get strong enough to farm the area markers like the forest etc. they give more exp/gold than just back and forth random encounters. The strategy is all about controlling the board. Saving the specials and rationing the heals for when you need them. Saving the ultimates next to whatever icon you need. Use ult for shield to absorb so e hits or go for offense but leave yourself needing to heal? Little choices like that really puts it in your hands.
Major Tip # You can redo a the quest locations, take different A or B paths each time as some lead to blue chests that drop Emblems and Abilities. Worth Redoing over and over even if you fail because you're still farming good gold. For example the labyrinth on the 2nd Island drops an emblem for Elsa and an earlier rock blockade drops an emblem for Trista etc.
Yeah, the alternate paths are a great way to make grinding more interesting. And my tip for opening locks is to prepare the adjacent columns for ways to drop the key down rather than focusing on just that column. Doing a vertical 3 or 4 match might be enticing but it can lead to trouble if you haven't planned on how to eliminate that final pesky emblem.
I'm a bit confused on major boss levels actually. I assumed if you didn't get the chest in a boss level you can't get it back? Since when you come back the enemies are completely different. Though i can't say for sure.
i finally managed to purchase last night, and played for one hour. This was so much worth the wait! If you are a fan of match 3/ rpgs, from the freemiums Spirit stones and Fable Age, to the premium Super Glyph Quest, you just HAVE to buy this game. more details: Graphics: charming, battleheart-ish and gorgeous. Animations: this is one of the WOW factors. Detailed, fluid, with the characters moving all the way over and attacking, the hits and spells are shown clearly, wether on the giving or receiving end. Music: i am starting to think the music is on par with top quality j-rpgs, from the music of the map, the story, and the battle theme. Story: from what i can tell it's a typical story of princess kidnapping and four heros to the rescue, but it comes with twists of humor you wouldn't expect, making it fresh and pleasant. Match 3 aspect / gameplay: Excellent, with the usual match 4,5 in a row or directions to release combos and special attacks. Those are flashy, wonderfully animated, yet quick so that it never wastes your time to just sit there and watch it happen. Very satisfying when you pull off a nice stream, and your whole party converges on the enemy. And last but not least, the characters! The paladin and the witch are sort of stereotypical, with the paldain being noble, polite, for honor etc and the witch being the logical, smart solution finder. But the other 2 are making the game excel, and are the other WOW factor for me. The warrior is super excitable yet prone to sleeping late, and has something personal against the ugliness of the monsters. And my favorite, Trista the healer, is lost in her own little world. I think even if this was a horrible game- which isn't-, i would still buy it just for Trista. I will not tell you anything because it will spoil your fun, just watch what you get as your first loot, or what happens to the first village you go to save. TLDR: this is premium Match 3 AND premium RPG, with wonderful mechanics, music, graphics and animations, with a good 15 hour or even more content as stated by the devs. If you are a fan of either of those types, this is for you. If you love both, you will love this game. It's a 5 star production match 3 and rpg, and personally, trista the healer brings this up to 10/5 stars for pure enjoyment!
