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[Pepboy]

For me, my favorites would have to be the Dragon Quest (android) games:

I really dislike touch controls but I was able to play DQ 1 and 2 to completion with them. They're cheap too, like 1.99 and 3.99 if I recall correctly. Because they're short games you can just pick up and grind a bit, then put down, or finish in a few sittings. The cardinal directions with the old style tile graphics also work reasonably well with touch controls.

DQ 3 is long enough that I thought it might be better to beat a different version but I'll probably buy it during the next sale. I love that they also have DQ 4-6 and 8 on there, though I prefer the DS/3DS versions for those. DQ4 on mobile is the only version with party chat so I may go through it on mobile a second time...

 

[Ravelle]

Most mobile games usually don't stick with me, even the popular ones like Puzzle & Dragons because there's so much grind. But Fire Emblem Heroes managed to keep me hooked, the stamina system is super generous and the combat is quick and snappy.

 

[zoukka]

Come on guys.

 

[BlazeHedgehog]

I stopped playing most mobile games because they all invariably reach a point where either I am unstoppably powerful through normal play (Final Fantasy Record Keeper) or the production quality slowly fades away as you progress through the game (Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle)

Recently I spent $5 in Google Survey bux (didn't want it to expire) on the Addams Family table for Pinball Arcade on Android. First table I've bought on there, and it was a very good decision.

The only other legitimate Android game I've played in the last 9 months is Nanaca Crash.

If you want, the list of games I used to play and then fell off of is much longer:

- Sonic Runners (shut down)
- Sonic Dash (shit)
- Jetpack Joyride (fine game, but it never really hooked me for long)
- Fruit Ninja (introduced too many f2p-y things, didn't like the "mascot" characters, eventually made my tablet overheat)
- Crazy Taxi (too big to keep on my device)
- Super Mario Run (not worth the asking price, imho)
- PAC-MAN 256 (fun, but failed to keep my attention past a certain point)
- Hearthstone (2gb+ for an Android game? Fuck off)
- Asphalt 8: Airborn (only my Windows 10 desktop can play this game with a smooth framerate)

Still installed, but haven't touched in nearly a year:

- Sonic 1 Remastered (want to use a game controller, can't, tablet won't see my DS4)
- Sonic 2 Remastered (see above)
- Chu Chu Rocket (I will probably play CCR again, eventually)
- Final Fantasy Record Keeper (I am obscenely powerful from seasonal events, story mode is boring now)
- Ghostbusters Pinball (by the Pinball Arcade guys, but it's an original table and kind of bland)
- Threes (I will probably play threes again, eventually)
- Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle (same problem with Record Keeper; should uninstall, it's like 1.2gb now)
- TEKKEN Galaga (maybe I just don't like Galaga)
- Neko Atsume (the same thing that happens with all virtual pets)
- Stair Dismount (too much content behind f2p locks)
- Steven Universe: Attack the Light (I paid for this and still haven't started it)

 

[More_Badass]

Anyone have any newer, good tower def game recommendations?

Have you played Dungeon Warfare?

 

[sakuori]

Love Live school idol festival
I've played less of it recently 'cause busy but it's the mobile game where I've spent more than a year playing.

Also, I've only started playing it like two weeks ago but Durango Wildlands got me really hooked. It's still in CBT, but I don't mind spending a lot of time playing it. I played Lineage 2 Revolution before Durango and I am really disappointed with L2R because of all the auto things that game has so I'm glad Durango isn't like that.

 

[More_Badass]

Here's a list of 2017 favorites by month

August:
- Miracle Merchant
- Noded

July:
- Linelight
- Sidewords
- Motorsport Manager 2

June
- Age of Rivals
- Kalimba
- Framed 2
- Pocket Kingdom
- Missile Cards

May
- Yankai's Peak
- Old Man's Journey
- Predynastic Egypt

April
- Topsoil
- Invert
- Antitype
- Vignettes

March
- Card Thief
- Ticket To Earth
- Death Road To Canada
- Cosmic Express
- Trilogic

February
- Tavern Guardians
- Hidden Folks
- MUL.MASH.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL
- Causality

January
- Red's Kingdom
- Splitter Critters
- TOWAGA

===

Other favorites and must-plays:

- Sorcery series
- 80 Days
- The Room series
- Device 6
- Monument Valley
- Galactic Keep
- Blek
- 868-Hack
- Imbroglio
- Hoplite
- Card Crawl
- RYB
- Dark Echo
- Dream Quest
- Out There
- Super Sharp
- Subterfuge
- Solitairica
- A Dark Room
- The Ensign
- Hero Emblems
- Hadean Lands
- Perfect Paths
- Pan-Pan
- Swapperoo
- Pixel Dungeon
- Telepaint
- Blackbar
- Greyout
- Tetrobot & Co
- Race For The Galaxy
- Lost Frontier
- Warbits
- A Good Snowman Is Hard To Build
- Ryan North's To Be Or Not To Be
- The Guides
- Test Chamber
- Touchtone
- Shadowmatic

 

[Prodigenius10]

For me it's Plants vs Zombies 2 and Pokemon shuffle. Spent an ungodly amount of time on those two games.

 

[Raysoul]

Mobile Legends is a League of Legends clone and it plays decently. It is free to play with hero rotations. I haven't spent any money on it.

 

[outunderthestars]

Man, no love for solitairica?

 

[heringer]

Uh, tough question. There are a lot of mobile games that I love.

If I'm counting console ports, than Final Fantasy Tactics takes the cake.

If it's mobile exclusive, then I have to say Sneak Beat Bandit, from Simogo. Wonderful game that makes me sad it didn't get a sequel.

 

[JaggedSac]

Man, no love for solitairica?

Was about to post it.

 

[Putosaure]

SpaceTeam is my go to coop mobile game. Free too and recently added Bluetooth support.

Thanks, had fun with 5 coworkers at lunch today. Can't wait to play again !

 

[The Greek Freak]

Come on guys.

Perfect example of a good game ruined by the mobile game business model.

 

[names2hard4you]

Fate/Grand Order for the past month and a half.

 

[sheaaaa]

Uh, tough question. There are a lot of mobile games that I love.

If I'm counting console ports, than Final Fantasy Tactics takes the cake.

If it's mobile exclusive, then I have to say Sneak Beat Bandit, from Simogo. Wonderful game that makes me sad it didn't get a sequel.

The Simogo games are getting 64-bit updates, according to their tweets.

 

[Rocketz]

Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic
Monument Valley

 

[Aaron D.]

I've always been a fan of Galactic Keep.

It's a stylized 80s sci/fi tabletop rpg with great writing and attractive hand-drawn presentation.

King of Dragon Pass is a classic PC game that made a smart transition to mobile. Just feels at home there. Really great RPG, colony management, choose your own adventure game.

Slayaway Camp is a fun slide-puzzle game from some former PopCap developers. It's a great send-up of 80s slasher flicks. Cutesy presentation that's surprisingly gory. Smart puzzle design and a ton of environmental variety covering different horror movie themes.

 

[Ninja Dom]

Yep. Only mobile game I've ever stuck with for months and months. Mobile perfection.

I've played Clash Royale from launch and still play it regularly now.

But I don't like how it makes me feel. The game is a literal DRUG!! Same highs and lows, it feels. When you're winning and doing well, you feel good. When you're losing, you feel terrible. And you keep thinking about it.

It's so hard to stop playing. But I'm not sure if I'm actually enjoying myself. Hmmm. 🤔

 

[zoodoo]

The original plants vs zombies remains my favorite mobile game ever. Nothing has dethroned it.

When I had a iphone I remember really liking a dragon quest inspired rpg called Guardian Saga. Very retro and simplistic but so charming.

Recently I really enjoyed the square enix Go games. My favorite is Lara Croft Go. It has beautiful visuals, clever puzzles and excellent ambiant music.

Also what's up with infinity blade never leaving IOS? I would gladly replay those games but I am not interested in having an iphone.

 

[openrob]

I've been loving Duet right now.


I needed a game I could play whilst traveling. I don't own a handheld console.

Duet looks like a rhythm game - but I'm my opinion plays out more like a platformer. You control two orbs that rotate in an axis and you have to avoid falling blocks. Simple right?

It's all about timing. It controls really well on a touch screen and performance is really smooth. When you fail you know it's your own fault.

Furthermore there is a strong sense of progression. At the later levels (yes there are levels) you are dumbstruck at how insane it all looks, but even more dumbstruck at how well you can manage it.

The game is great at introducing you to concepts at a good pace. Then building on itself by combining several variances of falling blocks at once.

As mentioned there are levels with an abstract theme running throughout. The game is both free to play and paid. The FTP model is financed by adverts, whilst the paid model has extra levels and modes.

You die a lot in Duet - but dying makes it all a bit easier. When you hit a block there is a satisfying pop as your Orb splashes paint everywhere - leaving an indication on your subsequent tries as to where you failed previously.

For such a little game with a simple asthetic it really shines. The music is great as well.

 

[Petrae]

I play Pinball Arcade regularly. Lots of tables to choose from, including a ton from my childhood when my love of pinball began.

 

[borghe]

I've enjoyed many over the years. No point in mentioning ALL of them..

recent ones:

Slayaway Camp - A fun movement puzzle game with an AMAZING aesthetic. $3 is an absolute steal for this game.

Fate: Grand Order - Gacha hand outta my wallet indeed.... The good news for mobile gamers is that this is a totally solid f2p jRPG-lite, a good (imho) story with complexity.. and if you DON'T care about the franchise, you can do all of the top content in the game completely f2p with a solid starting reroll and a decent friends list (hint.. many of us GAFers have major support available to you). If you do care about the franchise and want your best waifu.. prepare to pay pay pay pay pay.. but again they are not at all necessary to do the best content.

Layton Mysteries - Fortunately Layton has been on a break, so a new Layton game is very welcome.. At $16 for the complete game I would also classify this as a steal. The 3DS game will be full priced at $40.. If you want the costumes from the 3DS version you can buy them through IAP, and even spend the other $24 to get everything.. but if you JUST want the game, half price over the 3DS version is amazing.

Tales of the Rays - have heard really good things about this.. just not sure I can support 2 gacha games.

Fire Emblem Heroes - Have heard incredible things about this.. basically a more bite-sized battles version of FE. however... see above with Tales of Rays..

One of these days when I get real time on my hand, I also want to grab Galaxy of Pen and Paper.

If it's mobile exclusive, then I have to say Sneak Beat Bandit, from Simogo. Wonderful game that makes me sad it didn't get a sequel.

prepare to get sadder........ the dev hasn't updated the game for 64-bit. I love the game as well and was sad to see it on my iOS 11 beta list on my phone of apps that won't work.... I've put a support ticket in to the dev to update it for 64-bit so I suggest you do the same.

 

[Maintenance]

 

 

[Aaron D.]

One of these days when I get real time on my hand, I also want to grab Galaxy of Pen and Paper.

I've been hearing this mentioned everywhere so I did a quick YouTube lookup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfirRUOvgts

Yeah, the game is currently downloading.

Perfect timing as I've got a trip next week. Thanks for the lead!

 

[BFIB]

XCom. Great game.

 

[heringer]

Tinder is the best gacha I've ever played.

Gonna need real money if you want those S+ characters, though.

 

[jesu]

I'm addicted to Star Wars Galaxy Of Heroes so that's the only one I play.

 

[sheaaaa]

prepare to get sadder........ the dev hasn't updated the game for 64-bit. I love the game as well and was sad to see it on my iOS 11 beta list on my phone of apps that won't work.... I've put a support ticket in to the dev to update it for 64-bit so I suggest you do the same.

I've got some good news for you...

 

[More_Badass]

I've been loving Duet right now.


I needed a game I could play whilst traveling. I don't own a handheld console.

Havent seen Duet mentioned in quite some time. It's a fantastic game. A graceful dance of abstract evasion, that draws you into its flowing ballet through music, its hypnotic aesthetic, and responsive controls. The clever level design and simply yet nuanced core mechanic makes it one of the best reflex-based arcade-y/puzzler games on mobile

Is that your first foray in mobile games?

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

Which tower defense games have you played so far?

Played the main ones - Bloons, Kingdom Rush, Frontiers, Origins

Bloons TD 5 is a good choice, but I mean it's pretty much the Bloons formula, plus it's $2.99. Also I know that Kingdom Rush is highly rated and regarded to be one of the better ones. It's free so that means there may be some in app purchases, but I don't know how limiting they are.

I've played all of those. Looking for some newer ones maybe in the last two years. Been a while since i've had a good TD mobile game.

Have you played Dungeon Warfare?

Ahh i have not. Checking it out now. Looks like something i was looking for. Thansk for the rec!

 

[mazillion]

XCom. Great game.

Seconded.

Also Guild of Dungeoneering is pretty good one as well. It's also on steam.

 

[Amerzel]

I really only enjoy puzzle games on my phone. I recommend Trainyard and The Sequence.

 

[Gurnlei]

Have a few favorites.

Color Sheep is my favorite game to fill a few minutes while waiting. You mix colors to fire a laser matching the color of the wolves before they reach you.

I prefer Mabinogi Duel over Hearthstone. More singleplayer content that isn't behind a paywall and the game is much more casual.

Harvest Moon: Seeds of Memories isn't as good as the older Harvest Moon games (or Stardew Valley) but it does its job on mobile. They promised to bring it to PC/Wii U but never did.

 

[OfficerRaichu15]

Dragon vale
It uses gems but if you get far enough you can get like 150 in a week

 

[RoseBell69]

I don't play any mobile games anymore for a couple years now. But the ones I did enjoy a lot was X Runner, and I played both of these back when I was a teenager lol. X Runner is my favorite, without a doubt. It's a Sci-Fi running game that looked pretty gorgeous and have smooth music. The gameplay was fluent and fluid, as well as addicting. Then later on something happened to the game app and it no longer runs anymore despite it still being in the app store. Lol but just now I checked the app again in the app store and its back to working, so thank you OP for reuniting me with my favorite mobile game! I do recommend it for anyone, it's fun!

 

[PunishedOkabe]

Fate/Grand Order for the past month and a half.

same except for the past 2 years

 

[Zukkoyaki]

Classic Bejeweled ^_^

 

[borghe]

I've got some good news for you...

omg you aren't kidding when you say good news. Easily one of THE BEST developers on iOS... making games that make the "mobile" in mobile gaming a good thing.. not a negative..

amazing news!

 

[mnannola]

Clash Royale is mobile game of the forever

This person speaks the truth. The best thing about this game is you can go from clicking on the app icon to be playing a multiplayer match in like 5 seconds. This game is the pinnacle of mobile gaming.

 

[tariniel]

The ones that I keep installed and like to play once in a while, all iOS:

Card Thief - a solo card game where you are a thief stealing treasure. Good in short bursts.

Severed - was originally a PSVita game, perfect for touch controls. Lots of fun.

Alto's Adventure - kind of an endless runner but snowboarding and with objectives.

Human Resource Machine - also on PC, a puzzle/Assembly programming game.

Bullet Hell Monday - bullet hell, pretty cool music too.

SudoBlock - sudoku + tetris.

Tomb of the Mask - not sure how to describe this one, it's a platformer you play by swiping and you collect coins while not dying.

I recently felt like playing a CCG that wasn't Hearthstone, so I have both Eternal and Elder Scrolls Legends installed. I'm not sure which one I like better yet but I'm leaning towards Elder scrolls.

I used to be addicted to Final Fantasy Brave Exvius but I'm tired of gacha and grinding.

 

[Crawl]

final fantasy brave exvius and I am a F2P player

 

[SeriuzBiznus]

10,000,000 and You Must Build a Boat were both fantastic.

 

[finalhour]

I have installed/deleted/installed Star Realms more times than I can count. It's a really good digital adaptation of a really good tabletop deckbuilding game. I find it so addicting that I just end up deleting it because it takes over my life so much, then a month goes by and I get the urge to play it again and the cycle begins anew.

It's on ios, android, and desktop. Any purchases, progress, online play, etc. sync across all platforms, which is nice. It has solid async and real time multiplayer support as well.

A couple of other standbys that never leave my phone are Downwell (roguelike where you fall down a well wearing gun boots) and Horizon Chase (Outrun style arcade racing).

 

[openrob]

Havent seen Duet mentioned in quite some time. It's a fantastic game. A graceful dance of abstract evasion, that draws you into its flowing ballet through music, its hypnotic aesthetic, and responsive controls. The clever level design and simply yet nuanced core mechanic makes it one of the best reflex-based arcade-y/puzzler games on mobile

Is that your first foray in mobile games?

Aside from a handful of usual suspects (fruit ninja, doodle jump, etc), yes.

I had a 3DS for so long, but sold it. And now it is nice knowing there are well crafted mobile games out there.

I have my flight back on Monday, and will need more!

 

[Valero]

Dead Space, Implosion, Lara Croft Relic Run, Lara Croft Go, Monument Valley and The Room series are my top Favorites

 

[Zoidberg Jesus]

Second "Tomb of the Mask". Cool visuals and sound & fun gameplay loop.

 

[More_Badass]

Aside from a handful of usual suspects (fruit ninja, doodle jump, etc), yes.

I had a 3DS for so long, but sold it. And now it is nice knowing there are well crafted mobile games out there.

I have my flight back on Monday, and will need more!

That was some good luck that you picked such a great game as an introduction. I think a lot of people just browse the top grossing or most downloaded charts, play some shitty games, and just dismiss mobile after that. You got a good first impression

You on a phone or iPad? That'll be important for choosing recommendations

 

[Xetherion]

Final Fantasy Record Keeper and Fire Emblem Heroes are the only mobile games i play.

 

[thoseAREmySHOES]

Super Hexagon. The ultimate pick up and play mobile game.