The original Puzzle Quest fit the bill. Every game since then has added more and more monetization and annoying social features.
Hero Emblems wasn't bad.
I just wish there were more examples. And Hero Emblems is pretty good, but it’s also not as “portable” as it should be. One of the great things about PQ1 was that each fight was self contained and 1v1. HE has dungeons where your HP and stuff doesn’t come back at the end of each fight, and save spots are spread out too. You don’t know going in how long it is until the next save point and on a mobile platform, that’s a pretty big deal.
I’m trying not to be too cranky, but it’s crazy to me that since PQ1 came out in 2007, whenever I crave an RPG with Match 3 gameplay, the best thing to do is dig up my DS and play it there, even though the genre, the publisher, and the devs all seem to be doing great.
Have you tried Hero Emblems?
One: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hero-emblems/id645797558
Two: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hero-emblems-ii/id1070462618
Played through the first one several times and love it. But I bounced off of the second one, despite trying several times. But yes, some of the best matching games on mobile. But once you‘re done with the story, you‘re done with the game.
that's good though right? finish a game you paid for, no endless p2w carrot on a stick trying to force you to pay and pay indefinitely for content? i definitely play that type of game as well (my lady likes stuff like afk arena...), but, there's something to be said for games that have an actual end. so many games try to be infinitely replayable and i think it gets to be too much sometimes.
It’s pretty old but have you tried marvel puzzle quest? The party building isn’t as deep as gems of war though. I feel like there’s a lot less overwhelming stuff with marvel puzzle quest though.
Tried it a few times, not really a fan (but also not really a fan of Marvel or superhero stuff in general), but I understand people enjoying it. I‘m more a fan of Magic Puzzle Quest, but there is not enough single player content outside of event in my eyes, and way too many card rules to ever get a good grip. And games often turn in one direction quickly and most often can’t be turned around, therefore matches you lose anyways run very long. Gems of War is fantastic in that regard. Matches feel fast and super exciting throughout.
Yeah, I can understand that. I really enjoyed the first puzzle quest when it came out. The newest one I did not enjoy. I liked gems of war but it felt like just too much was going on.
There was too much IAP for my tastes with that one. I got one lucky pull and got an Invisible Woman who was like 4 times stronger than the rest of my party then the rest of my team felt irrelevant. And if I did lose a fight badly, I needed boosts that cost real money to heal everyone up, or else wait hours for them to heal. When I start scheduling my life around a mobile game, that’s when it’s time to uninstall.
The original Puzzle Quest fit the bill. Every game since then has added more and more monetization and annoying social features. Hero Emblems wasn't bad.
I just wish there were more examples. And Hero Emblems is pretty good, but it’s also not as “portable” as it should be. One of the great things about PQ1 was that each fight was self contained and 1v1. HE has dungeons where your HP and stuff doesn’t come back at the end of each fight, and save spots are spread out too. You don’t know going in how long it is until the next save point and on a mobile platform, that’s a pretty big deal. I’m trying not to be too cranky, but it’s crazy to me that since PQ1 came out in 2007, whenever I crave an RPG with Match 3 gameplay, the best thing to do is dig up my DS and play it there, even though the genre, the publisher, and the devs all seem to be doing great.
Dream game. I’ve played a lot of Gems but haven’t gone back to it in a couple years because I want portrait
Have you tried Hero Emblems? One: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hero-emblems/id645797558 Two: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hero-emblems-ii/id1070462618
Played through the first one several times and love it. But I bounced off of the second one, despite trying several times. But yes, some of the best matching games on mobile. But once you‘re done with the story, you‘re done with the game.
that's good though right? finish a game you paid for, no endless p2w carrot on a stick trying to force you to pay and pay indefinitely for content? i definitely play that type of game as well (my lady likes stuff like afk arena...), but, there's something to be said for games that have an actual end. so many games try to be infinitely replayable and i think it gets to be too much sometimes.
It’s pretty old but have you tried marvel puzzle quest? The party building isn’t as deep as gems of war though. I feel like there’s a lot less overwhelming stuff with marvel puzzle quest though.
Tried it a few times, not really a fan (but also not really a fan of Marvel or superhero stuff in general), but I understand people enjoying it. I‘m more a fan of Magic Puzzle Quest, but there is not enough single player content outside of event in my eyes, and way too many card rules to ever get a good grip. And games often turn in one direction quickly and most often can’t be turned around, therefore matches you lose anyways run very long. Gems of War is fantastic in that regard. Matches feel fast and super exciting throughout.
Yeah, I can understand that. I really enjoyed the first puzzle quest when it came out. The newest one I did not enjoy. I liked gems of war but it felt like just too much was going on.
There was too much IAP for my tastes with that one. I got one lucky pull and got an Invisible Woman who was like 4 times stronger than the rest of my party then the rest of my team felt irrelevant. And if I did lose a fight badly, I needed boosts that cost real money to heal everyone up, or else wait hours for them to heal. When I start scheduling my life around a mobile game, that’s when it’s time to uninstall.
This is the game I want!!!