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Android Gaming Thread: News & Recommendations

Any good gaming deals this weekend for Android?

The big one is the Cyber Weekend sale, with a bunch of notable titles, mostly 50% off:
https://play.google.com/store/recom...cl9wcmVtaXVtX3NhbGUQBxgD:S:ANO1ljLoaG4&c=apps

This War of Mine is still on sale for $6.99 (50% off):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.elevenbitstudios.twommobile

If you've got an Nvidia Shield device, most of the exclusive games for that are 50% off, but of course, you need a Shield device to even buy them:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=7748882896084752769

And there are a bunch of other deals (Prune, Door Kickers, Galaxy Trucker, RBI Baseball 15, Kingdom Rush Origins, etc.) not related to the main Cyber Weekend sale, listed over at App-Sales:
http://www.app-sales.net/

EDIT: Didn't notice this before, but it looks like Motorsport Manager is also on sale for $0.99 (Regular $1.99):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.game.motorsportmanager
 
This is awesome. Just checked Amazon Underground, and Knights of the Old Republic is now free. Been wanting that game and almost saved up $10 in google credit to get it. Glad I waited!
 

Horseticuffs

Full werewolf off the buckle
Just bought Indigo Lake for .99 . I'm guessing this is a limited time offer. Runs great on my Shield Tablet. It's been reviewed well. Anyone here enjoy it?
 

Vorg

Banned
This is awesome. Just checked Amazon Underground, and Knights of the Old Republic is now free. Been wanting that game and almost saved up $10 in google credit to get it. Glad I waited!

Oh wow. I already have it on Google play but Knights of the old Republic is amazing. Everyone get it while it's free!
 
Of the final fantasys that are on sale, is there one that is recommended?

It depends on your tastes. They're all great games in their own ways, and it's tough to recommend one without knowing what you're looking for.

Final Fantasy III is a fine remaster of the DS remake, and it's the app that Square-Enix tends to update the fastest; compatibility updates and new features like gamepad support and cloud saves have tended to hit this game first. It's also tough-as-nails, has a pretty basic story, and there's a quite a bit of a grind.

Final Fantasy IV is another fine remaster of a DS remake. The DS remake was a bit tougher than the other versions, but it had some neat features like the augment system. It's more story-driven than III, and you don't need to worry as much about grinding.

Final Fantasy V has one of the best job systems in the series due to its flexibility. It's my personal favorite, but it can be hit-or-miss with folks due to the admittedly simple story. As for this version, the thing that tends to turn most people off are the character sprites (they look like the result of running some 2D sprites through one of those ugly "HD" smoothing filters some ports use) and some tiling errors. But if you can get past that, it's an otherwise solid port, with the GBA version's content and translation combined with the SNES version's music. It's also a good version to do the Four Job Fiesta challenge with, since it's fairly easy to take screenshots.

Final Fantasy VI is on the same engine as the Final Fantasy V remake, so the same details apply (ugly character sprites, some tiling errors, GBA version's content & translation, SNES version's music). VI has one of the best stories in the series, with plenty of memorable characters and sequences.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is pretty bad, due to the mediocre plot and constant grind. Don't bother with it unless you're a huge fan of FFIV and you're willing to deal with a bunch of recycled content. Admittedly, I can't speak to the quality of this specific version (My experience is with the FFIV Complete Collection on PSP/Vita), but from what impressions say, it's pretty much a faithful remake of TAY, running in the 3D engine that the FFIV remake uses.

tl;dr FFIV is probably the easiest to recommend to most folks. FFVI is better in most aspects than IV, if you can get past the remake's ugly character sprites. FFIII is a good time-filler, and tends to get updated first if something breaks or a new feature is added. FFV has a fantastically flexible job system, but the same sprite thing as the FFVI remake applies.
 

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
Can anyone recommend a good SRPG without any gacha mechanics? Preferable something that is actually suites for mobile vs a quick dirty port like Final Fantasy Tactics.
 

KiKaL

Member
It depends on your tastes. They're all great games in their own ways, and it's tough to recommend one without knowing what you're looking for.

Final Fantasy III is a fine remaster of the DS remake, and it's the app that Square-Enix tends to update the fastest; compatibility updates and new features like gamepad support and cloud saves have tended to hit this game first. It's also tough-as-nails, has a pretty basic story, and there's a quite a bit of a grind.

Final Fantasy IV is another fine remaster of a DS remake. The DS remake was a bit tougher than the other versions, but it had some neat features like the augment system. It's more story-driven than III, and you don't need to worry as much about grinding.

Final Fantasy V has one of the best job systems in the series due to its flexibility. It's my personal favorite, but it can be hit-or-miss with folks due to the admittedly simple story. As for this version, the thing that tends to turn most people off are the character sprites (they look like the result of running some 2D sprites through one of those ugly "HD" smoothing filters some ports use) and some tiling errors. But if you can get past that, it's an otherwise solid port, with the GBA version's content and translation combined with the SNES version's music. It's also a good version to do the Four Job Fiesta challenge with, since it's fairly easy to take screenshots.

Final Fantasy VI is on the same engine as the Final Fantasy V remake, so the same details apply (ugly character sprites, some tiling errors, GBA version's content & translation, SNES version's music). VI has one of the best stories in the series, with plenty of memorable characters and sequences.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is pretty bad, due to the mediocre plot and constant grind. Don't bother with it unless you're a huge fan of FFIV and you're willing to deal with a bunch of recycled content. Admittedly, I can't speak to the quality of this specific version (My experience is with the FFIV Complete Collection on PSP/Vita), but from what impressions say, it's pretty much a faithful remake of TAY, running in the 3D engine that the FFIV remake uses.

tl;dr FFIV is probably the easiest to recommend to most folks. FFVI is better in most aspects than IV, if you can get past the remake's ugly character sprites. FFIII is a good time-filler, and tends to get updated first if something breaks or a new feature is added. FFV has a fantastically flexible job system, but the same sprite thing as the FFVI remake applies.

Perfect, thanks a lot oft his. I have not played any of them and just a few FFs in general so this is very helpful.
 
I have a good amount of time to kill tomorrow and wondering if anyone can recommend a good game I can get into.

Basically my set up is:

Note 4
One of these controllers
maxresdefault.jpg
And 4 hours to kill (each way on a train)

Battery life isn't such an issue, as got my charger port on the train.

Any suggestions welcome.

Edit: Seen some solid recommendations up above, will check some out.

Edit2: Just remembered I've got KOTOR. That is the train journey sorted then.
 

Coppanuva

Member
Can anyone recommend a good SRPG without any gacha mechanics? Preferable something that is actually suites for mobile vs a quick dirty port like Final Fantasy Tactics.

Partia 1 and 2 are pretty solid little SRPGs. They play similarly to Fire Emblem (the GBA ones mostly, the look is even pretty similar).
 

Chopper

Member
Does anyone know of any good Picross apps? Been hankerin' for some Picross for a while now...
Hungry Cat.

It's a slightly different take on traditional Picross, cos you have to fill in all the squares, albeit different colours. But it is utterly compulsive.
 

anddo0

Member
Just upgraded from the Tablet Z to the Xperia Z4 Tablet. I can finally play X-Com (wasn't compatible with the Tablet Z) in all it's glory!
 

danielcw

Member
Slightly off-topic:
Which of the gaming orientated VoIP programs, like Teamspeak, Mumble, Curse Voice, etc, has the best android client?
 

taybul

Member

The previous iterations were absolutely stellar and the core gameplay in this one is just as good but everything surrounding Adventures just feels so off. The companion system and having to wait (or consume resources) before receiving a new companion absolutely scream IAP. I hate what mobile gaming has come to. I would pay hundreds of cents for this if it were just 1) select level 2) play.
 

besiktas1

Member
I'm in the UK, Just got an email saying I get free $25, so went to us store bought Football manager 2016, but can't find it to download
S6 edge :(
 
I don't know if it's the same type of game since I've never played any of them, but Layton Brothers is on Play;https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Level_5.MysteryRoomENG

Layton Brothers: Mystery Room has more in common with Phoenix Wright than the Layton games, since you're investigating, collecting evidence, and confronting suspects. There are a few references to a few Layton characters, but it's largely its own story, since the plot takes place many decades after the Layton games. I quite enjoyed it due to the charming writing, the jazzy soundtrack, and the overarching mystery, though as I've stated in the past, the game's biggest problem is that it really doesn't take off the training wheels until the very last cases.

For games that are more similar to Layton (i.e. puzzle games), I'd probably say that The Room trilogy (Well, only 1 and 2 are out on Android right now) fits the bill pretty well. They're more environmental puzzles (ala Myst) than brain teasers, but they've been pretty entertaining.

For more brainteaser-esque fare, there's The Curse, which I've heard is pretty decent. There's also the Jacob Jones series, which is probably the most similar to the Layton games, as it's a story-driven game with brainteasers and a charming art style (Giant Bomb has a quick look of Episode 1). Unfortunately, it looks like the devs never updated it to work on LolliPop (5.0) and above, and they only ended up releasing 2 episodes (and a free Prologue) out of a planned five. It's too bad, since like I said, it's probably the closest in spirit to the Layton games.
 

louiedog

Member
Are there any Android games that are like Professor Layton? Or at least puzzles in a similar fashion?

As was mentioned, the Jacob Jones uses the same sort of formula with similar puzzles, hint collection, etc.. There's a free demo (Prologue) and two chapters out. I believe there are supposed to be more coming. I own both, but haven't gotten around to the second yet. I liked the first.

It doesn't quite do the Professor Layton thing as closely as Jacob Jones and Puzzle Agent (c'mon, Telltale, why is this not on Android?), but Detective Grimoire is similar though light on puzzles. I enjoyed it.
 
Layton Brothers: Mystery Room has more in common with Phoenix Wright than the Layton games, since you're investigating, collecting evidence, and confronting suspects. There are a few references to a few Layton characters, but it's largely its own story, since the plot takes place many decades after the Layton games. I quite enjoyed it due to the charming writing, the jazzy soundtrack, and the overarching mystery, though as I've stated in the past, the game's biggest problem is that it really doesn't take off the training wheels until the very last cases.

For games that are more similar to Layton (i.e. puzzle games), I'd probably say that The Room trilogy (Well, only 1 and 2 are out on Android right now) fits the bill pretty well. They're more environmental puzzles (ala Myst) than brain teasers, but they've been pretty entertaining.

For more brainteaser-esque fare, there's The Curse, which I've heard is pretty decent. There's also the Jacob Jones series, which is probably the most similar to the Layton games, as it's a story-driven game with brainteasers and a charming art style (Giant Bomb has a quick look of Episode 1). Unfortunately, it looks like the devs never updated it to work on LolliPop (5.0) and above, and they only ended up releasing 2 episodes (and a free Prologue) out of a planned five. It's too bad, since like I said, it's probably the closest in spirit to the Layton games.

As was mentioned, the Jacob Jones uses the same sort of formula with similar puzzles, hint collection, etc.. There's a free demo (Prologue) and two chapters out. I believe there are supposed to be more coming. I own both, but haven't gotten around to the second yet. I liked the first.

It doesn't quite do the Professor Layton thing as closely as Jacob Jones and Puzzle Agent (c'mon, Telltale, why is this not on Android?), but Detective Grimoire is similar though light on puzzles. I enjoyed it.

Awesome! Thanks! I'll check these out.
 

Vorg

Banned
You can also use Drastic to play your ds games on your phone. It's not a cheap emulator but it's totally worth it.
 
You can also use Drastic to play your ds games on your phone. It's not a cheap emulator but it's totally worth it.
There's a free DS emulator that's not as good as Drastic called nds4droid as well.

But even though it's not as good I was still able to play Phoenix Wright without any issues. I'd image the Layton games would run well with it too.
 

danowat

Banned
Anyone tried Metro 2033:Wars?

Looks a really good turn based strategy game, but at £6.25 it's a bit pricy for an impulse buy sight unseen.
 

danowat

Banned
It ran pretty well on my S5 and very nicely on my One M9, so you should be good.

It's the best game on phones. Not the best phone game. But the best game available on a phone.

Thanks, I brought it, and it works really well on the S6.

Also playing Magic the gathering : Puzzle Quest

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.d3p.olympic

It's a pretty good combination of match 3 and Magic game, the card mechanic seems to meld into the match 3 gameplay quite well.
 

Matush

Member
Is there any Tap Tap music game, that works with imported MP3 songs? There was one with database created by users on iOS, but I forgot its name.
 

awp69

Member
Just FYI, there's currently an offer from PayPal to get $3 off a $5 purchase on Google Play. Pretty sweet, especially when combined with some of the sales.

Supposed to be automatically applied when you choose PayPal as your payment.

Came via email but figure it should apply to everyone.
 
Looks like Square-Enix put almost all of the Final Fantasy games on sale, along with Secret of Mana and Chrono Trigger:
Final Fantasy I - $3.99 (Regular Price: $7.99)
Final Fantasy II - $3.99 (Regular Price: $7.99)
Final Fantasy III - $7.99 (Regular Price: $15.99)
Final Fantasy IV - $7.99 (Regular Price: $15.99)
Final Fantasy V - $7.99 (Regular Price: $15.99)
Final Fantasy VI - $7.99 (Regular Price: $15.99)
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years - $7.99 (Regular Price: $15.99)
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions - $6.99 (Regular Price: $13.99)
Secret of Mana - $3.99 (Regular Price: $7.99)
Chrono Trigger - $4.99 (Regular Price: $9.99)

A few non-SE sales:
The Banner Saga - $4.99 (Regular Price: $9.99)
Lego Batman: Beyond Gotham - $0.99 (Regular Price: $4.99)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - $2.99 (Regular Price: $6.99)
 
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