While the Apps store has had it’s fair share of racers, puzzle games, and tower defense games, he RPG genre has been a barren wasteland for the most part. We’ve seen rushed ports, and remakes of older consoles shoe horned on to the iPhone until now. Com2us has designed the first true from the ground up RPG made for the iDevices so how does it hold up?
In one sentence I would say The Chronicles of Inotia: Legend of Feanor is a cross between Zelda and World of Warcraft. I know those are two are vastly different games but Inotia has somehow managed to blend elements of each together and create one of the most addicting and frustrating games available today.
The game is exclusively controlled through touch. Press anywhere on the screen you would like to go or on anything you would like to attack and the game will do it’s best to auto path you to that location. Just be careful as the AI will sometimes take you right through a group of enemies leading to your untimely death.
Attacking is just as simple you click on the creature you wish to attack and the battle will begin. As you level you will gain skill points which can used to acquire new battle skills or advance the ones you current have.
These skills will be displayed along the bottom similar to how warcraft does them. To use these skills you simply face in the direction of the target and use them. There is no mana or time out associated with these powers so feel free to use them as often as you need which happens to be very often!
The game is pretty tough. If your not looking to invest some quality time grinding this might not be the best game for you, and while it looks cute and Zelda like it plays much more like the time consuming World of Warcraft.
There is a lot to like about the game, you just have to work to get there.
While the game doe’s a decent job keeping you focused on your quests the this really is about your hero getting better equipment and killing progressively harder and harder levels of monsters, and I’m OK with that as the game itself is that fun.
You will also acquire pets along the way. These pets will not show up and fight along side you like most games. Instead they will be used to augment your current stats.
These pets come in the form of eggs scattered throughout the game. When you click on one it will ask you to form an agreement or bond with them. There are different types found throughout the game, and each one does something different but only one at a time can be used. Currently I have a pet donkey that has an Agility bonus level of 12. This bonus is added to my character’s stats improving my agility level by 12.
Items can be bought and sold from vendors throughout the game as well. To sell items you move over an empty spot on the shops floor and drop the item. Purchasing items is just as easy. Just click on the item and buy it.
Just be ready for some sticker shock as these simply villagers sure do charge a lot for common items! Your best bet is to grind for gear and buy as many potions as you can.
Navigating the maps is going to be the biggest challenge. Every map is random so when you return back to a zone nothing is where you last remembered it, and with no in game map included navigating to specific levels can be confusing.
Luckily when you die and oh you will! there is no stat penalty. Your simply teleported back to the village where you can stock up on potions and buy new weapons if needed. You can than pay a town member to travel back to your last location or you can navigate back on your own.
You can also use town portals to get you out of a tough spot. The only negative with using these is that these portals are a one way trip. I would have liked to seen the portal system at least allow me to return back to the map I left from with the same portal Ala Diablo.
Some of the quests are quick and easy while others are difficult to find, and ever harder to complete. Like I said earlier this game requires some effort.
Drops tend to be random so when your asked to get 5 leathers from snakes you may spend 15 minutes or an hour alone accomplishing this one task.
Graphically the game is quite good. Bright colorful and detailed landscapes, multiple creatures designs, and detailed character modules serve to keep you looking forward to the next challenge, and as of the first update the frame rate and glitches found in earlier reviews have all been fixed.
In the end Chronicles of Inotia: Legend of Feanor is a welcome addition to the app store. It’s a challenging but rewarding hack and slash RPG experience and those who put the time and effort into their character will find arguably the best RPG currently on the devices.
Currently the game is listed at: $7.99
Click here to [BUY IT NOW]
[…] Wanderer of Luone is the sequel to the highly successful Chronicles of Inotia (reviewed here) and appears to be one of the more impressive RPG titles coming out for the […]
I think it is really good by lookign at the video. Even thoguh it might use up the battery it is probably gonan be worth it. Its like hte New Zelda which is really fun.
this game is fantastic. a real grinder rpg. it’s hard, takes forever, but rewarding if you have patience.
very interesting site, i have bookmarked your blog for future referrence, thanks
I got this app a few days after its release, and I’ve been playing this game more than all other games combined. I’d say I’ve easily clocked in 25 hours. Com2Us has recently released a patch to address all problems with the game (1.0.1), so all the framerate, freezes as well as graphical glitches mentioned have all been corrected. The RPG itself is an interesting hybrid of hack and slash gameplay mixed with Korean MMORPG influences, so there is plenty of grinding and farming (i.e. lots of repetition) but luckily it’s fun to do in this game, so it hardly feels like a chore. All in all this is a 5 star game and highly recommended for those who enjoy a long lasting action-RPG experience.
I think you are thinking like sukrat, but I think you should cover the other side of the topic in the post too…
fantastic rpg game! I always like the rpg games like dungeons and dragons and final fantasy. This one is no exception and it reminds me of the rpg games i previously played.
very nice rpg game for the iphone.
I am amazed with it. It is a good thing for my research. Thanks
congratulations to asmodeux the winner of this contest…I will have the code to you shortly!
Looks like a complete RPG game. But probably is a battery killer.
Wow, this looks like a very polished RPG game. Could anyone who owns both this and Dungeon & Hero compare them?
without giving away to much I would tell you both are excellent in different ways. Dungeon Hero is a little more a traditional rpg where Inotia is a little more about character building.
I actually wasnt looking to research on this game but.. i clicked the video just for the hell of it .. and now it seems much more interesting hahah
looks pretty good.
Looks like a good game, but it is a bit expensive comparing it with Dungeon & Hero, Arvale and Vay.
Glenn, have you played Dungeon & Hero and Arvale? I would love to know which RPG would be the most enjoyable (for me graphics aren’t everything; story, content and gameplay are the most important things in RPG games)
I think buying those two games would be the best investment at the same cost of this one. Remember, this only is my opinion.
Great review Glenn.
We have Dungeon Hero in queue for review in a few more days.. Sorry I’m back logged here I need to get caught up, but I promise it’s coming..
a very nice game that would keep me playing for hours …
but then it’s a bit too pricey for the game thou …
fantastic! will try this rpg out if not for the high price…
Looks like this game is pretty much a mindless grind—which I do enjoy—could bore me if the game is quite long. The pricetag does scare me, though.
It looks like a nice game, but it is a tad too expensive, especially compared to the newly released game by Chillingo: Dungeon & Arms.
We will be doing a review for that as well. Its about 4 back in the queue
This game has been on my radar for so long. I haven’t bought yet an RPG for the iPhone, since they are so time consuming and they eat the battery like candy.
But yesterday got me an Incase Power Slider and now I think I could get one. Still thinking which one to get first. Inotia looks like it would be the longest one between the other RPGs I have my eyes on (Arvale, and Vay).
Thanks again for the review Glenn.
How many hours of play would you estimate this game would offer? It looks to be a very involved game that would take not only effort but a time investment. Which might explain the higher price tag.
Depending on your gameplay style I would say a safe bet of at least around 25-25 hours..
Those exclusive and extensive new games are welcome to the app store. Hope to see more games like that in a near futre. It would be great to have about 30 to 50 high quality games that compete DS and PSP.
thats pretty cool its a mix between pokemon graphics and rpg of final fantasy, and the first chrono trigger. this looks interesting but i aggree with wiredmind the price is a wee bit expensive.
very nice rpg game but too high on the price. It will be good to lower it so that more people can afford it.
Ditto.
I’m a fan of RPGs, but $7.99 is WAY too high.