Mobile Games > Recommendations, Reviews, etc

All other video games not related to the main farming series - Pokemon, Stardew Valley, My Time at Portia, and other indie-developed games.
Kaiyumi
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...So, I don't know if anyone else plays mobile games here or if I'll ultimately just end up populating this thread on my own, but I'm always curious what other people have been playing! My friends and I tend to like trying different mobile games in between waiting for console/full game game releases, though most fail to hold our attention for more than a month or two.

As a quick note to those who may be unfamiliar, the vast majority of games from Japan/Korea especially are gacha games, which is really thinly veiled gambling. You buy/earn premium currency (usually referred to as "orbs", "gems", etc) to roll for the chance of winning a rare character/item/whatever. Some games do incorporate this fine by giving you lots of free premium currency and making content accessible to everyone, but others...well.

Anyways, as of right now, here's my current list of games. Feel free to talk about your own and/or discuss any games already mentioned!
Main Games:
Fire Emblem Heroes
Type: FTP w/ Gacha
As someone who grew up playing Fire Emblem and has gone through all of the games, FEH has a special place in my heart...but mostly just as someone who wants to collect her favourite characters. I honestly feel like the main story is kind of eh, but this game really has some lovely character art and there's like a billion things/events that you can do depending on your play style.

I find that FEH is also actually super generous with giving you free premium currency, and the rate of getting the rarest types of characters is pretty high for a gacha game (usually 3% to start, but it actually increases if you roll without getting a 5* unit + they recently added that you get to choose any new 5* character after 40 pulls). No money needs to go into this game to get through any of the content either. This has been my casual little game to play ever since it's release, and I'll pop in just to collect free rewards and play a little on days that I'm bored.

I've been logging in and playing daily right now though in preparation for the upcoming brave units that should be this month though. +10 Brave Dimitri, let's go--

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Tales of Crestoria
Type: FTP w/ Gacha

This one just came out last month, and it's still a little glitchy as it tries to find its footing. It's a game based on the "Tales of" franchise, and so it it's like FEH in that it includes all of the main characters from the mothership titles on top of adding more via events/gacha. It's got a lot of things to do given that it's new, and so far premium currency has been pretty generous + gacha rates are ~5% if memory serves me correctly (but unlike FEH, the percent never rises and there's no guaranteed pick yet). So far though, everything seems pretty easy to get through as a ftp player.

I think the highlight of this game is actually the story, which is a bit of a surprise. It's not the most amazing story ever, but it's very "Tales of" and probably one of the best of the mobile games I've played (which has been a lot) in that there's full voice acting, anime-styled cutscenes, interesting characters, etc. You don't need to know anything about prior games/characters to jump in either, which is a great bonus.
Other Games on my Phone:
Fate/Grand Order
Type: FTP w/ Gacha

I knew very little to nothing of the Fate series when I started this game, and...I dunno. The character art in this game is lovely, and the story seems to be...on par for most mobile games? But this game definitely feels like one where the gacha system really wants your money. They aren't very generous with free premium currency, and the rates make me wince (1% rate for 5*s...and again, unlike FEH, the percentage doesn't increase with failed rolls). I'm not sure why I still have this on my phone.

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Hypnosis Mic A.R.B
Type: FTP w/ Gacha

Sometimes I like to dabble in rhythm games. Hypmic was (and still is) HUGE when I was in Japan last year, probably because it's a diversion from the typical Japanese idol series (in that all the characters are adults and it's rap music). It's grown to the point where I think there are like 4 manga series running at the same time, an upcoming anime, and...this game.

...It's...a rhythm game, so there isn't a ton to say about it LOL. I don't read Japanese so I can't say much on the story (though the story of the actual series is absurd and crazy), but it's fun enough. I'm not sure what the gacha rates are, but you really don't need super fancy cards to get through anything.

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Nobodies
Type: FTP w/ option to pay to remove ads

The only non-gacha game currently on my phone LOL. I downloaded it on a whim while waiting for Crestoria to come out. It's a point-and-click adventure game where you play a "cleaner" who has to find a way to clean up murder scenes without leaving any evidence behind. It's been a fun time killer, but there's not much in terms of plot or anything.
...And then there are a lot of others I've briefly dabbled in (Twisted Wonderland is a hugely popular one right now, Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, a handful of rhythm games, etc) but that are no longer on my phone. B')
Last edited by Kaiyumi on Aug 09, 2020 4:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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For a while I was beyond addicted to playing Dragon Mania Legends. It’s a simple game but there’s so much to do. I already love dragons so that’s a plus for me. You hatch baby dragons, feed them until they become adults, breed them and get a chance for really cool rare dragons. Farm berries for them to eat. Expand your land to have more farms or terrains for the dragons to live on. Battle said dragons for various prizes.... there’s also a slight story line but you are free to do your own thing/create what you want or follow along the semi story.

I’ve also recently found the game: Cat Game...it’s a game...about unlocking over 300 different cats....self explanatory :lol:
I can’t be a crazy cat lady irl so this is a close second lol.
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Kikki
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I basically don't play mobile games. But I did have one match-3 game I really liked on my tablet. Gardenscapes. Naturally you can pay for stuff if you want to, but if you're willing to just keep trying and trying, eventually you'll get through even the higher levels. It can be played in an internet browser and on Facebook, as well.

I tried a lot of otome apps, but I find waiting an entire day or many hours between the dribbles of story too frustrating, and I won't be bled for money a dollar here and a dollar there, so I don't, any more.
Kaiyumi
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@Kross - ...I...might need to look up that cat game. For science.

@Kikki - That's fair on the otome front for sure! I've dabbled in one or two as well, and the wait times are crazy. I know they're relying on that impatience to encourage people to pay money to read entire chapters in one go, but that pricing is also absurd, especially when you can get full otome games on console/PC now.
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^ science huh? Er- yes I mean, it’s very scientific :shifty:
Rofl. It’s a simple game but I’m beyond addicted. The more cats you unlock, the higher your tower/high rise gets. It offers paid content (with any other mobile game) but it’s 100% optional and I prefer the dirt-cheap route. (In other words, they haven’t gotten a dime out of me and I’ve already unlocked 20 cats in just a few hours) ><‘
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Ima' vouch for Dragalia Lost here, because even though I rarely play it anymore, it is a very good gacha game. It's extremely generous with it's free currency, all the characters are great and have wonderful personalities, the story is good (especially in the later chapters) and the gameplay is legit fun (bite sized dungeon crawling + city builder). It also has had some great crossover events that have or are going to be repeated (Fire Emblem, Monster Hunter, Megaman, ect) if you're into that. Also, the OST is a fantastic bop in every song, with most of the music being composed and sung by DAOKO. I could listen to 'Bokura no Network' and 'Cinderella Step' for hours.

It's power creep is very low too (compared to FE Heroes and Fate GO), so it's very beginner friendly and easy to catch up with the constant bombardment of events that literally shower you in materials to max out your characters, weapons, +more. I'm not playing it right now because my attention is elsewhere (and I'm waiting for the Monster Hunter revival event), but I honestly can't express enough how good and how much polish Dragalia is for a free mobile game.
Kaiyumi
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@Kross - I may or may not now have the cat game. Also, I didn't realize just how many cat related games there were until I typed those two words into the play store...

@Bluie - Oh! That's one I've heard a ton about and have wanted to look into, so I'm glad to see that someone has recommended it! Does it seem to have a pretty decent gacha rate/any sort of pity system in place?

Unrelated, but Granblue Fantasy and Arknights are other game that I've heard a ton about, have seen tons of people talking about on Twitter, and that had a rather absurd amount of merch in Japan (in the case of the former). I'm not sure if anyone here has had experience with either to share though!
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Code_Name_Geek
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These are the current mobile games I’m playing:

My Tamagotchi Forever: If you’ve ever had a Tamagotchi, this is like that but with much less stress. Your Tamagotchis can’t actually die in this one so you can check it at your leisure, and the gameplay is your standard Tamagotchi fare - feed them, clean up after them, play simplistic minigames to earn coins And buy things, and send them to bed when they’re tired. There’s also more long term goals like completing the photo album and discovering all the different characters. There are purchases but it’s entirely viable to play it without paying a cent, or you can watch ads to get bonuses if you’re so inclined. I like this one because it’s really low maintenance and there are very few exclusive events to keep up with (you can buy most of the seasonal items later). I’m also a huge Tamagotchi nerd so I may be biased. :lol:

Pokémon Masters: This is a gacha game along the lines of Fire Emblem Heroes. I think the nostalgia of seeing so many Pokémon characters from past games appeals to me most, but the battles are genuinely fun strategy-wise. The music is also quite good - a mix of original music and remixes from the rest of the series. My main complaint is that it is quite stingy with the “summoning” currency (and even distinguishes between free gems and paid gems), but you don’t actually require a huge amount of characters to play the game at least.

I’ve also played Fire Emblem Heroes and Dragalia Lost in the past! I absolutely loved FEH and played it for quite a long time, since it had good gameplay as well as being quite generous with the premium currency. Dragalia Lost was similar, but I found the actual gameplay rather tedious myself - a shame, because it was even more generous than FEH with its currency and it had a great multiplayer mode. Perhaps I would have put up with it if it was characters form a series I loved, but it just wasn’t worth it for me.
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Bluie
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Kaiyumi wrote:
@Bluie - Oh! That's one I've heard a ton about and have wanted to look into, so I'm glad to see that someone has recommended it! Does it seem to have a pretty decent gacha rate/any sort of pity system in place?

Unrelated, but Granblue Fantasy and Arknights are other game that I've heard a ton about, have seen tons of people talking about on Twitter, and that had a rather absurd amount of merch in Japan (in the case of the former). I'm not sure if anyone here has had experience with either to share though!
The pity rate is if you reach 100 summons on a banner and get no 5 stars, then it'll drop a 5 star, however, people just starting out have a MASSIVE pool of 5 Stars characters, so it's highly unlikely you'll reach that point. In fact, I only ever reached that point in one banner. Its extremely easy to save up the summon currency too. I've gotten every character I ever wanted from the banners except one (which is why i'm waiting for the Monster Hunter revival), so I'd say that's pretty good odds.

PS- My husband played Arknights for awhile before becoming really bored with it. He said the gameplay loop got stale and the summon rates were pretty meh. Personally it didn't look like a ton of fun to me, but I suppose it has a draw for people.
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I play Dragalia Lost regularly and its fun and the rates are pretty good. Still gacha buts it's decent.

Played Fire Emblem Heroes a bit back and I do on occasions, but the rampant P2W and powercreep just got too much for me. Now I mainlujust do it for collecting waifus/husbandos and free pulling.
Kaiyumi
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I suppose this can be for updates too lasdfajksdf but for anyone who plays FEH, the new CYL units were revealed!! *__* Everyone gets a free pick + I think the "roll 40 times and guarantee your pick of a unit from this group" is back in this upcoming gacha...but you get to do it up to 4 times instead of just once! I've been sitting on 1400 orbs for Dimitri to +10 him, and this makes it so much easier I think lafjajsdf

All four characters under the spoiler tag! Mild route spoilers for character titles @ FE3H and the images are BIG as a forewarning!
Spoiler:
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Bluie
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Spoiler:
Wow, Edelgard's boob armor is freaking ridiculous looking. I'll take Lysithea, thanks.
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Blue Rose
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Spoiler:
My boy Claude looks sooooooo delicious holy « Cow Poopoo ». *fans self*
But I dont have enough orbs! Ripppp

All of them look great, but yeah Edelgard's boob armor is awful.

Also disappointed they just went with canon versions. Now we have 4 axe edelgards.
Kaiyumi
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Spoiler:
Yeah, the boob armor is bad. My friend said it's the same artist as the one who did the very large chested Summer Byleth/Rhea, so I guess...I'm not surprised, but oof.

And it's CYL, so at least you get a free pick @ Blue Rose!
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I have been playing Empires and Puzzles for over a year now. It's a basic connect three game with hero art that I really like.
Game is just fine playing free and I've never hit a wall that would require money to get past. You just have to be patient and wait longer sometimes if you don't want to purchase gems. And you never need to purchase gems. I know many people playing that never have.

I have considered Fire Emblem Heroes and Pokemon Go, mainly cause my kids were playing, but they aren't anymore.

Concerning FE:H. I think I would love it myself (as I just love the FE franchise), but honestly E&P takes so much of my time I can't imagine trying to fit another mobile game into my very limited time.
Last edited by LeBurns on Aug 14, 2020 1:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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