FANTASY WAR TACTICS R Review for iPhone

My first impression of Fantasy War Tactics R was one of excitement. Some of my favorite games of all time are tactical RPGs; games and series such as Fire Emblem, Disgaea, and Final Fantasy Tactics. The character and map designs also impressed me. The game, however, had several major issues that kept me from enjoying it.

Fantasy War Tactics R is a game for iOS and android devices by Nexon. You play as an unnamed Lord who desires to conquer the world. You begin your conquest by reviving a member of an ancient race named Chris. Together you gain more heroes to add to your team and take on the World Reformation Council.

The battle system works in typical tactical RPG fashion: you set up your team of heroes who all have their own unique set of attacks. All your units move first, then the enemies can act. The unique flare of the game comes in the strategy system. Units can combo attacks, the positioning of your heroes matter, and different terrain yields advantages and disadvantages. There are also several ultimate attacks that need that can only be used after several turns.

Outside of the combat system, you can strengthen your units in several ways. One can manage and enhance equipment, improve individual heroes attack stats using items called genes, modify defensive stats using mana, or use awakening scrolls to unlock the abilities of units. You can also summon equipment using crystals.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the game is the player’s ability to obtain all heroes. Instead of having to deal with purchasing random heroes and pulling already owned units due to RNG, heroes are obtainable through completing story missions. This way, you can develop your own play-style with a team that you enjoy.

I do have a few issues with the game. Some are more nitpicky. Firstly, the game gives you a very powerful unit at the start of the game. This deletes any necessity to strategize as you can simple overpower your foes with a single unit. Even without this unit, most of the enemies are fairly simple to deal with. Secondly, the game promotes a lot of the in-game deals in the main menu. All these things as a whole are not that bad at all, just small comments before I get to the largest issue.

While my first impression of the game was one of excitement, I had a nagging sensation in the back of my mind. The character models and animation effects looked extremely nice, but I wondered how that would affect the games performance. I quickly learned what the impact was: the game crashed on me repeatedly. I discovered I could not use one of the online features of the game without it crashing on me. Often when I browse the equipment menu my screen goes black. I really wanted to enjoy the game, but every time this happened I wanted to play it less and less.

Fantasy War Tactics R still holds a lot of potential. Over the time I played it, several updates with bug fixes came out, and I desperately desired that those updates would keep my phone from crashing. Even now, I hope that this problem can be resolved. Until then I give this game a 6 out of 10 for its charming aesthetic and take on tactical RPG mechanics.

Fantasy War Tactics R is now available for free to download via Google Play and App Store.

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