Do you miss the days of 2D Final Fantasy style RPGs? If so, Elven Chronicles may very well sate your nostalgia. In it, you play as the only survivor of a caravan, who is met by an elven mage. You team up in hopes of figuring out what happened that fateful day, and head out to do battle with all manner of monsters.
Elven Chronicles has a fairly standard interface, with simple controls and combat. simply swipe the screen to move that direction. In combat, just select your attack or magic, and then the target. There are different elements to the monsters, and to do extra damage you must choose a magic attack which will counter their element. (a water attack against a fire elemental)
The graphics are very retro, and I like them. It captures the spirit of older games very well, and as those are the games I grew up on, I felt a sense of nostalgia while playing it. I wish it had gone a bit more in depth, perhaps given more options for party members and the like, but it was fun with the two main characters.
One small beef I have is that both the mage and the soldier use primarily magic, and the soldier is stronger with his magic attacks then the mage is! By the end of the game I was using my soldier to attack and my mage to heal and support. I wish that there was more magic at upper levels. Once you reach a certain level, which is before the end level, you will cease to learn new spells, making leveling up little more then HP and mana increases.
There is a decent variety in armor and weapons to get, but for the most part you will get items and equip them till the next better one comes along. There are a few weapons which add an element to your attack, but other then that, there is not much customization to be done via your gear. The upgrades you get along the way tend to be rather large jumps, so there is not much choice as to if you want an 80 attack sword with earth damage, or a 70 attack sword with holy. It will generally end up as an 80 attack sword with earth damage, or switch to an 250 attack sword. The same goes for armor.
Presentation & Graphics
Elven Chronicles has a great retro look, reminding me of the good old SNES days
Sound
Audio sounds pretty good, however it cancels out your iPod, which I always hate
Gameplay
Gameplay is quite simple, as is combat and the menus. Easy to learn and master
Gamelife
This game should last you a few days, a bit longer if you decide to do all the optional quests and whatnot. However after a certain point it’s not really worth it as you’ll cap out your spells before you reach the final area
Game Rating
Elven Chronicles is a fun retro RPG which is easy to learn, but will take plenty of time to complete. It auto saves after each area, which makes it ideal to play at the dentist’s office, at a red light, or while waiting for the cop to write you a ticket. You can pick it up for $3.99, and I’d say it’s worth it, especially if you let kids or friends play games on your phone.
