Game Impressions Superb port--completely faithful to the original. The one thing I wish they'd change is giving us an option to move the Dstick around/change its size. It's a bit awkward since it's halfway up the side of the screen. Sometimes I miss it or it sticks because of that.
I am actually finding the touch area to the joystick quite large. I can actually move the characters around and am UNDER the joystick completely. As you progress in the game though you see why the joystick is so high - the line of characters in your party stretches across the bottom row so there really is no more room to lower it. I do see what you are saying, I was just surprised how wide an area I can use to keep the joystick active! Quite the opposite of some where you barely slide off it and you lose control.
A seemingly well informed itunes reviewer seems to have more than a slight problem with the frame rate saying it dips well below 20 fps whilst quoting the original ran at a smooth 60fps. Can someone who owns an iphone 4 (as that is my device) be honest with me in terms of performance. It would seem strange to cap the frames on such a capable device, even if to allow for gameplay on older devices. I'd rather not buy into a juddery'slugfest' type hack and slash because of nostalgia. I would appreciate an honest and objective response from someone please. I will add I did not play the game on snes (was far too busy becoming a Mario Kart Master )
Game Impressions It's running at perfectly fine framerates for me. I don't know if it's 60fps, it could be 50. But it's not noticeable at all. Did that reviewer say which device he or she was using? I'm on an iPod Touch 4g, by the way.
Thanks both SkyMuffin and Cilo. SM I have an iPhone 4, I think the reviiwer had one too. Cilo I read your comment/review but it did not mention framerate specifically. I watched the short vid a few pages back which looked pretty jerky. I've bought so many great games - I could do with this or without it if you know what I mean. Thanks both!
Same for me -- you can tell by looking at the smoothly scrolling sky reflected on the water areas in this version. Mine is nowhere near as jerky as what we saw in chickdigger's video. It should be noted that most "bad controls" complaints can be traced to poor framerates.
It runs fine, no herky jerky motions at all. It's hard to tell with everyone though, I do a hard reset once I install certain games. I also don't jailbreak, clear out the multitask bar, and turn off mail push, which I think interferes with a lot of apps if it's pushing every 10-20minutes. I haven't had many problems with most big name games.
I can't speak for anyone else, but in my case, it's simply a matter of having too many games and not enough time to play them. With all the holiday releases, playing a port of decades old game, no matter how good a port, just isn't a priority.
I hear you. If it was any other game I'd feel the same way, unfortunately Secret of Mana kicked a lot of unfinished games I had collecting dust to the curb - mainly because I knew it was a complete piece. Lately I've also been pretty critical about my downloads for the same reason, not enough time. Out of the holiday season, I bought only Lara Croft, Secret of Mana, and broke down and picked up Crimson Gem Saga since it's at 50% off right now and I love Atlus Rpgs. That should keep me occupied till FF Tactics/Chrono Trigger comes out?
http://wireless.ign.com/articles/114/1141587p1.html ign gave it a 7.5 Oddily enough I agree with all their points o0" And for people who say that graphics are crisp on retina. Go get YOUR eyes checked.
The original game had what was essentially MIDI audio, but iOS doesn't natively support that. If you decompress it, the audio in the game is 62.6MB.
The game didn't look crisp on a TV set either, and it certainly doesn't look crisp on a computer screen. I believe I said "vivid," not "crisp," and I stand by it. It also plays a lot smoother on my iPhone 4 than it did on your video. Perhaps you should had your iPhone checked .
I think people are just being overlly critical of what essentially is a direct Snes port of a classic action J-Rpg. They don't need to add in extra features because it's on a new platform. Just be happy that we have access to the game (legally) on our devices. Games like Mana, FF, Phantasy Star II & others shouldnt be put under a microscope in my opinion we should just be happy we have them.
I am new to this game. (Yes, that happens, even with my 29 years and quite some retro gaming experience.) But I fell in love in the very first second. That is some magic, for example Gamevil games never even come close to. Just pure charm and heart. Will be my Christmas free time filler, for sure.
Well if you like spending money on crappy, half-assed ports, that's fine-some of us don't like wasting our money.
Scott, I'm usually with you, but you are in no position to affirm that this is a crappy half-ass port.
I don't want to put words in Scott's mouth SZ but I read it to mean he was being more general and mainly referencing the other games' lack of optimisation for the ios, that there are possibly other better games on the store for less money. That the big dev's putting out these could do better in some cases. But then again look at Nintendo...they get away with it generation after generation.
It's a matter of opinion - I don't think it is crappy and I don't think it was a waste of money at all. Nor do I think it is half-assed. I am happy it is ported and I am really happy it stayed true to the original. This statement seemed out of character for you, to be honest. Choice - it's what makes the appstore go 'round.