Hey everyone! Back with another update on the (probably too many) gachas I play in my free time, with a bit of a side note that with my getting a fancy new job with pretty long hours I expect that free time to be cut significantly and these posts may or may not show up less often. We'll see! I got some mixed reviews last time because I tend to lean towards Japanese games, and though that isn't likely to change there's some good news regarding a couple of the games I mentioned in the past getting English releases, so read on!
Still currently my favourite gacha and android game in general, I recently cleared the first story arc of Another Eden and am on to the second. As I said in my last post, the game sports gorgeous art and music and plays more like a traditional RPG than a gacha 90% of the time. While there is a gacha, and higher starred characters will naturally be better than lower, I feel like the game is very generous about letting you use who you want if you're just looking to clear the story line, and it gives a constant stream of the premium currency for getting achievements and clearing side quests and such. The further I get in it the more references to games like Chrono Trigger I see, which is unsurprising given the people who worked on this and entirely welcome as a fan.
I mentioned that there were rumors of a Switch version of this game in the works and they have been confirmed! At some point in 2019 expect to see an English version of this game appear on the Switch, and hopefully also android if we're lucky.
Language: Japanese
Grab it on Qooapp!
Similarly, I'm into the second story arc of SINoALICE as well! Not much new to say about the game except that along with Another Eden it was announced for a 2019 English release! I really didn't see this coming given how long ago the game came out in Japan, but I know a lot of people will be excited. It's a fairly typical gacha, but the art and general aesthetic really push it above and beyond the competition for me.
Language: Japanese
Grab it on Qooapp!
One of the few English games I tried recently, and also probably one of the first altogether negative experiences I've had with a gacha. From the logo that looks suspiciously like a Tales console game's to just about everything else, Tales of Erin feels supremely lazy. The translation is shoddy enough to take me out of it (which is saying a lot), the UI goes from bland to just outright bad, the story is cliche and generic, and outside of a few very specific cases the graphics of the game itself are unimpressive. I was excited to try this one because screenshots I'd seen made the combat look kinda good, but in motion everything feels cheap and unfinished.
The highlight was probably encountering a villain who was literally named 'Darklord'. Like, that was his name.. not even a title, his name. I couldn't take the game serio0usly from there and whether or not I actually keep playing it is anyone's guess.
Language: English
Available on Google Play!
I didn't expect to like this one as much as I did, not exactly being a fan of dungeon crawlers or roguelites, but the music and overall presentation along with a very smart AI/auto battle won me over in the end. The setting is post-apocalyptic but doesn't have any issues being bright and flashy, and most of the characters are pretty unique and have a lot of personality to them. Game play consists of guiding your party through the ruins of Japan in a top-down dungeon crawler style, picking up treasure and battling enemies as you go.
Perhaps most unusual is that the game offers a rerollable initial gacha, so if you're super desperate to min-max you can just keep rolling til you get the absolute best result. I was at it for about 45 minutes before I decided to give it a rest and actually get into the game. xD I adore the auto-battle in this one, as it almost seems like it's smarter than me at times and will diligently clear out each room and floor of a dungeon of treasures and enemies before moving on, so you don't have to worry about it bee lining through a dungeon and losing you precious money and exp.
Definitely check it out if you're into this style of game, and enjoy that weird pop-y soundtrack!
Language: Japanese
Grab it on Qooapp!
Other games I've been playing casually include:
- Arc the Lad R
- Crystal Hearts
- Kurokishi to Shiro no Maou
- Project Tokyo Dolls
- Sdorica
- Ordinal Strata
- Destiny Child
So feel free to ask about any of the games listed there and I'll do my best to answer. Like I said, I recently started a new job so this may stop being a monthly thing, but we'll see how I feel once my body's adjusted to the new schedule. xD What are some games you guys are playing and looking forward to? I'm always eager to learn of new ones that I may enjoy (look at what I already play to get an idea of what I'm into!), especially if they're polished and have good story quests/gachas that don't make you want to rip your hair out.
Hope everyone had a good Halloween! See you next time!
