TouchArcade.ru

Details are sketchy on this one, but besides Final Fantasy Tactics, it appears Square Enix is also delivering Secret of Mana to the iPhone. The above/right photo by @rpgfancom.

Secret of Mana is an action role-playing game that was originally released in 1993. The game was re-released for Wii in 2008 and ported to Japanese mobile phones in 2009.

More details as we get them.

[source]

Gamevil's Soccer Superstars [$4.99] recently hit the App Store, bringing the same classic sprite based graphics, gameplay that will take you back to the Super Nintendo days, and RPG style progression of super players that will have you saying "just one more game" long after you should have stopped playing. Much like Baseball Superstars 2010 [$4.99 / Free], this extra layer of depth provided by the RPG elements inside the game somehow manage to make the Superstars games incredibly appealing even to those of us who don't normally get that involved in sports games.

So far reactions in our forums have been positive, with some people having issues with the controls. In Soccer Superstars, the movement of your player is controlled using an analog stick of sorts, but to keep you from constantly needing to keep your left thumb on the screen your player will just keep running in whatever direction you touched last. It seems like once you wrap your head around this somewhat unconventional control scheme, Soccer Superstars is just as much fun as Baseball Superstars, a personal favorite of mine.

We're going to be taking a closer look at this game in the near future, but in the meantime, Soccer Superstars is a safe purchase for anyone who likes arcade style soccer games and/or endlessly filling experience and stat bars to advance a roster of characters.

[source]

Last month Konami made a cryptic announcement about an iPhone exclusive Castlevania game in the works. Billed as a "action-puzzle RPG", we weren't really sure what to expect of the game. Well, a trailer was posted on IGN today that shows quite a bit of gameplay, but I'm still left scratching my head as to why Konami is utilizing the Castlevania IP by releasing a block matching game instead of… anything else.

With gameplay very similar to Capcom's Puzzle Fighter games, players will make their way through a puzzle adaptation of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, battling monsters with split screen block battles. I'm anxious to take a look at this game when it's finally released on the App Store, and doubt I'm alone in hoping that there's more to Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night than a tired matching mechanic with heaps of Castlevania fan service.

[source]

Earlier this month we posted about Gamevil's next sports RPG, Soccer Superstars. Much like Baseball Superstars 2010 [$4.99 / Free], Soccer Superstars comes packed with the same fantastic anime-styled sprites, multiple game modes, and best of all, the ability to train up your own super players which adds an insane amount of depth to the game.

The controls in Soccer Superstars work quite well, what Gamevil did with the controls that I particularly enjoyed was the way you didn't always have to have your finger on the virtual joystick. Instead, you only need to move the joystick in the direction you want your player to move, and they just keep on running. Holding a direction causes your currently selected player to dash momentarily. A the series of on-screen buttons work exactly how you would expect them to if you've ever played any soccer video game.

In the games I've played, the AI seemed competent enough to provide a decent challenge and overall Soccer Superstars has an arcade sports feel to it, focusing more on fun than any kind of realistic simulation. Of course, realistic simulation goes right out the door as soon as you get involved in training up your super players as they're all capable of different super moves. My favorite one turns the soccer ball in to a giant fireball and sends it careening towards the goal.

If you're the kind of person who can get entirely too sucked in to any game where you're filling experience bars, much like Baseball Superstars, Soccer Superstars will likely suck you in in the worst way. Just like how I'd grind through baseball games for the next player upgrade, I've found myself playing game after game of soccer to improve my super players.

Soccer Superstars should be hitting the App Store very soon, and when it does, we'll be taking a much closer look at the game.

[source]

Confirming hints that we had posted in April, Puzzle Quest 2 is now officially coming to the iPhone and iPad later this year.

The followup to the hit game will first hit the XBox 360 and Nintendo DS, but will also be coming to the iPad and iPhone in "end of fall/early winter", according to a report from GamePro.

Puzzle Quest 2 expands on the original Match-3/RPG mashup with a new 3rd person perspective, gems, spells, and more. Here's a trailer for the upcoming DS version. No official iPhone screenshots or video has been released:

[source]

Since the inception of the App Store, and specifically since the big-name studios started throwing their hats in to the ring, iPhone gamers have been clamoring for big name series on the iPhone. Capcom brought Street Fighter 4 [$9.99], Square Enix developed an entirely new iPhone RPG, Chaos Rings [$12.99] and Konami is releasing a Castlevania puzzle game, Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night.

According to Konami, Encore of the Night is an "addicting puzzle-RPG" where players will play as Alucard, the son of Dracula also seen in the classic Castlevania title, Symphony of the Night. The only details we know right now is that the game will involve playing as or against characters from Symphony of the Night, and completing puzzles will provide weapons and spells to help along the way.

It's hard to say if Encore of the Night is going to be closer to Puzzle Quest [$4.99 / Free], or more battle oriented like Capcom's Super Puzzle Fighter games– Or something else completely different. As for why they're releasing a spin-off puzzle RPG instead of any of the other games in the series, your guess is as good as ours.

Konami rarely announces games like this without having them ready for release very soon. Their last game to appear on the App Store, MLB Power Pros Touch 2010 [$7.99], was first announced hardly even a day before it appeared for download. So, Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night really could be available any time now.

[source]

Gamevil, creators of the Zenonia and Baseball Superstars series are bringing another RPG of sorts to the App Store. Much like the Baseball Superstars games, it sounds like Soccer Superstars is going to offer a very similar sports RPG experience wrapped in a soccer game, according to what Gamevil has revealed so far.

Soccer Superstars is said to come with multiple game modes, ranging from single exhibition games to full seasons. However, the meat of the Superstars games, at least in my opinion, comes from the "My League" mode. If you're the kind of person who can get hopelessly sucked in to games where you're improving stats and watching bars fill, you will lose entire afternoons to playing series of games to improve your customized teams and players.

As you make your way through entire seasons of games with your team, you'll be able to train your stats, buy items, and (at least in Baseball Superstars) do ridiculous things like send your players out to sign autographs or even go on dates as part of building the best team of players imaginable.

We will have a full preview of Soccer Superstars in the not too distant future, and Gamevil expects to see the game on the App Store sometime this month. In the meantime, this is as good of a time as any to check out Baseball Superstars 2010 [$4.99 / Free], we loved the game in our review, and with Gamevil dangling another Superstars carrot in front of my face, I've found myself once again sucked in to grinding up my super batters.

[source]

Our April game ratings are in place now, and here are the top of the heap. Our monthly "best of" round-up summarizes the top rated games that we looked at in the previous month. Each game reviewed receives a 1-5 star rating relative to the other games from that month. Generally, a 3 or higher is considered a "good" rating.

Our final scores are not the product of any traditional measures such as graphics or sound, but simply reflect the games we would most recommend to others.

5 Stars

Chaos Rings – One of the most ambitious RPG games we've seen so far for the iPhone. The graphics and gameplay are exactly what you'd expect out of a Square Enix RPG. Battle in parties of two in classic turn-based battles as you make your way through a story that's just as ridiculous as any other Japanese RPG. (Review, App Store: iPhone)

4.5 Stars

Babylonian Twins – Sixteen years in the making, Babylonian Twins delivers an amazingly challenging yet satisfying iPhone and iPad puzzle platformer. In many modern platformers, I've felt like I'm just mindlessly going through the motions to make it to the end of each level. Babylonian Twins, however, really keeps you enthralled throughout. (Review, App Store: iPhone, iPad)

Pocket Legends – This free online multiplayer game for both the iPhone and iPad that is a ton of fun and playing in a party with your friends is especially impressive while you're playing via 3G as the netcode does a great job in providing a lag-free experience. Additional content is available via in-game DLC, but you can really get a good feel for the game before you ever need to buy anything. (Review, App Store: iPhone, iPad)

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 – A surprisingly competent port of the classic skateboarding game. Everything is included from the original, and once you get used to the virtual controls, you'll be performing endless combos in no time in the many included skating locations.(Review, App Store:iPhone)

Espgaluda II – Bullet hell at its best on the iPhone. Even not being a huge fan of the genre, we fell quick and hard in love with Espgaluda II. It is the best 2D shooter experience in the App Store with great touch controls. Note: It will only run on the latest generation devices. (Review, App Store: iPhone 3GS, 3rd Gen iPod Touch, or pixel-doubled on iPad)

Honorable Mentions

There were several additional games this month that we felt we should highlight even though they didn't fall in the highest tiers.

Warpgate – A space conquest game with an amazing sense of scope. Warpgate has cool graphics, an interesting faction system to get involved in, and a dynamic in-game economy that can keep you busy for as long as you remain interested in the game. (Review, App Store: iPhone, iPad)

Geometry Wars iPad – A marvelous port of the XBOX Live Arcade game, it includes all the different game modes and has individual online leaderboards for each of them. The graphics are great, the music fits perfectly, and overall we just really want this game on our iPhones as the dual stick control method doesn't feel ideal for the iPad. (Review, App Store: iPad)

Sketch Nation – While the gameplay of the games created in Sketch Nation are generally just simple vertical shooters or other very basic games, the ability to draw and create your own game is one of the best uses of the iPhone camera we've seen. Even if you can't draw, you can still have a great time making a terrible game based on your own art that you photograph. (Review, App Store)

The rest of April game ratings can be seen in their respective rating categories (also found in the sidebar navigation): 5 Stars, 4.5 Stars, 4 Stars, 3.5 Stars, 3 Stars, and 2.5 Stars.

As always, we expect there will be some debate about relative scores, but keep in mind that everyone's personal ratings may vary based on individual tastes.

[source]

It's kind of crazy to think how much has happened since November of last year when we had the guys from Crescent Moon Games on the fourth episode of our podcast just before the release of their first iPhone game, Ravensword: The Fallen King [$4.99 / Free]. They've since released the game and it became both a critical and financial success. Following the coattails of Ravensword comes several ambitious projects.

The first of which is the obvious Ravensword sequel, along with Ultra Kid: Mystery of the Mutants, Rimelands: Hammer of Thor, and the game they're revealing their involvement in tonight: Aralon: Sword and Shadow.

Aralon: Sword and Shadow actually has a great story behind its development. It turns out, the game has been in the works by Galoobeth Games since before Ravensword was even started. The two developers, Jason and Sam, have built the framework for an insanely impressive RPG, but neither are artists. The models were rough, the animations were mediocre at best, but if you looked past all of that, you could see something amazing.

Crescent Moon Games along with artist Mark Jones, famous for his work on everything from the Elder Scrolls series to Arkanoid for the Amiga, are giving Aralon the sprucing up it badly requires to turn a great RPG with bad graphics to what they're hoping to be the best 3D RPG on the App Store.

Aralon: Sword and Shadow is going to sport a feature list that is going to be difficult to beat. They're promising over 30 hours of gameplay, a faction system, crafting and gathering skills, and hundreds of items to equip your character with that also will change your appearance. In addition, there will be four character classes: Warrior, Ranger, Rogue and Mage, each with a unique play style in three playable races: Humans, Elves, and Trolls.

A primary quest will send you through every part of the Kingdom of Aralon, with many optional side-quests to add even more depth to the game. Different enemies will use different battle tactics, and you'll even be able to acquire mounts to quickly travel.

In talking to Crescent Moon Games about Aralon, I've asked them multiple times if they really want to promise all of these things. According to them, almost all of this is already programmed and all they need to do is spend the next four months or so making the game look as great as it plays.

As a fan of RPG's, it's hard to not get excited when developers promise epic gameplay experiences filled with deep stories, tons of character customization, and everything else. We're going to keep a close eye on all of the projects Crescent Moon Games has cooking, and I'm hopeful that Aralon: Sword and Shadow will be just as awesome as it has been described when it finally launches.

[source]

Freeverse's space conquest game Warpgate [$4.99 / Free] and the high resolution iPad Warpgate HD [$7.99 / Free] both recently had free versions appear on the App Store. If you've been on the fence, you really should give the free version a try, especially with the recent 1.2 update that added save game portability via the Plus+ network.

When Warpgate HD first launched along side the iPad, we loved the game in our review, and later found the only differences between the iPhone and iPads version of the game were minor UI differences. Here's what you're getting in to in the Warpgate universe:

Obviously set in space, Warpgate is host to a gigantic galaxy map that you slowly explore through a seamless set of campaign missions. Once you complete the initial tutorial, and start in on the "real" game, procedurally generated missions begin appearing that have you flying places, delivering things, getting in to battles with other ships, and other objectives. Because of this, the game never technically ends.

Warpgate is remarkably open, so much so that if you're the kind of gamer that requires a rigid goal structure with a concrete "end" to a game, it might just drive you crazy. The end goal of Warpgate is whatever you want it to be. If that means grinding up reputation with the space pirates and piloting the biggest, baddest battleship in the entire galaxy, killing everything in your path, you can. Or, on the opposite side of things, you can be completely lawful and play your cards so you're in good standing with all the factions of space. …Read More

One of my main concerns from our initial review was the inability to manage your save game data. Since Warpgate is a game you can keep playing for a very long time, not being able to secure my game data from the horrors of iPhone syncing and updating SNAFU's after potentially investing weeks of playtime in to the game made me very nervous. Warpgate 1.2 not only adds online save game storage via the Plus+ network, but these game saves are also portable between devices and versions of the game.

If you own the game for both the iPhone and iPad, all you need to do is open the game's options screen, upload your game save on one device, then do the same thing to download it on to the other device and you will be right where you left off. What's even cooler, is that if you download the lite version for either the iPad or iPhone, you can upload your game save, buy the full version, download it, and keep all of your progress.

Unfortunately, because of the size of the Warpgate game save files, automatic online game save storage like many other Plus+ games simply isn't realistic. According to Warpgate producer Bruce Morrison, Warpgate game saves can grow to upwards of 500 kilobytes once you get farther in to the game. In comparison, Flick Fishing, another Freeverse game that handles all of the Plus+ game save data automatically only uses around 5 kilobytes to save everything it needs.

Warpgate's implementation of online save storage is a little ugly, but it works. It's really great to be able to play my same game on both my iPhone and iPad, and the ability to roll your progress in the lite version straight in to the paid version is really cool. If you haven't yet, you really should give Warpgate a try, or at least download the free version. Aside from being a fun space conquest game, it also looks really great on the iPad.

App Store Links:

• Warpgate, $4.99
• Warpgate Free, Free
• Warpgate HD, $7.99
• Warpgate HD Free, Free

[source]