Symphony of Eternity on Android

Motoki

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January 24, 2011
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I figure since I've been playing this game for a bit now and really enjoying it, plus it was a great deal I should comment on it.

First thing I'll say is it's a retro style JRPG in the vein of the SNES FF games. If this absolutely does not appeal to you in the slightest you can stop reading. :) I think for what it is, it's a great game though, especially for the $3 sale price they are selling it at.

https://market.android.com/details?id=kemco.wws.soe (note, don't buy it from this link, buy it from your device's Android Market app)

Amazon also has it up on their app store where you can 'try before you buy'. They've got a setup with a virtual Android phone emulator that you use the mouse to simulate the touch control. You get to try it out for up to 30 minutes then the timer will run out and you'll have to buy it for your device if you want to play longer.

http://www.amazon.com/Kotobuki-Solution-Co-Ltd-Symphony/dp/B0050QV0RQ

Note that the $3 sale price is only if you buy it from the Android market and only if you buy it from your phone. If you try to buy it from the Amazon market or the Android market on the web you will pay the regular price, which is $8. Also the special is for a limited time in select countries, but it's available from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and most countries in Europe.

Okay now about the game. It's definitely retro, but the resolution is nice, crisp and clear. The default controls use a static virtual gamepad, but you can switch it in the options to a moveable one or (my favorite) touch based navigation. The latter works really well in my opinion and is better suited to mobile devices, plus it doesn't cover up any of the screen space like the virtual tab does.

Though this game is pretty simple, I feel like it takes the old FF console RPG formula, improves upon it in some ways and does a lot of things right.

Combat is turn based and there is an auto combat button which is great. I tend to use that for most battles. There are special 'break' attacks for each character (basically a rage meter that build up every time you get hit and you can use the attack once it reaches 100%) and these can also be used during auto combat. If you want to cast a spell you will have to stop the auto combat but you can resume it again after that round.

The enemies are actually visible on the map and you are able to avoid them if you so choose. There's also an advantage to sneaking up on them from behind and a disadvantage to having them sneak up on you. You'll get a pre-emptive strike for the former while the enemy will get a pre-emptive strike for the latter.

The character development is one of the most flexible I have ever seen. You earn merit points after each battle and these can be used to upgrade various stats but the unique thing here is that you aren't locked into the decisions you make. If you put all your merits into defense and then later change your mind and want to move some to attack, you can.

The various class talents and spells are learned through books. Some of these you find in the store and some are in dungeons in chests. You can only use one book at a time. As you have that book equipped, you can use the talents and bonuses from that particular book, but you also gain experience applied to that book. At different levels you will learn the talents from each book and commit them to memory. That way even when you remove the book you keep any talents you learned from it. When you max out the experience for each book you'll also get a bonus applied.

The two human characters can use any of the books. If you want to have the fighter learn some spells and the princess learn some combat and defense skills you can. It's all very flexible.

As far as the cons go, the dialog tends to be a bit cheesy and sentimental. I personally find that to be part of its retro charm since the dialog in a lot of those old SNES games was like that as well, but I can see where this might put some people off. It's definitely not Witcher 2 level dialog.

There also may be some technical difficulties depending on which device you have. I'm on the LG Optimus V and the biggest technical issue I found was the menu on the combat screen takes up a good chunk of the bottom of the screen so much so that I can't see me 3rd character and some of the enemies. It's still fully playble though and she does come up in the menu so I can choose her attacks I just don't see her sprite in combat. I also notice at rare times the dialog window may flicker, but I still found it readable. I definitely have been able to live with these two issues and have been enjoying the game.

If SNES style JRPGs with a very flexible character advancement system sounds remotely appealing to you I'd say check it out and at least do a virtual run through at the Amazon app store. At the $3 special price from the Android Market I can absolutely say it was well worth the money to me.

SoE1.jpg

SoE2.jpg

SoE3.jpg
 
Joined
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I guess that only JRPGs would have a title like this ?
Is this typical for Japanese games ?
 
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Eh, it's a name. It doesn't bother me but I suppose I've heard of other JRPGs with similar names.

I figured it wouldn't go over well here but I've been enjoying it so thought I should mention it anyhow. *shrug*
 
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Oh, it's just that I'm quite sensitive over words - aned especially titles. ;) :D
 
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That would probably look pretty good on my Samsung Galaxy S with its AMOLED screen. I don't really see myself playing something like that though.
 
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It's very generic as a JRPG title. I wouldn't compare it to a SNES JRPG to be honest. It reminded me one of those rpgmaker games.
 
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Geeze you guys are a tough crowd. I thought it was decent given the low price, the touch optimized control option and lack of RPGs on Android. I paid 5x as much for Spectral Souls and I just couldn't get into that game.
 
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Regular price is $10 though, the intro/advertising price is only $3. It's not terrible for $3, but I wouldn't be impressed for $10.
 
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Bumping this because it is Amazon's free Android app of the day until midnight PST tonight. Even if you don't absolutely love it, free is free.

If you don't have an android device yet you should still be able to add Amazon's free apps of the day to your Amazon account in the digital cloud and then be able to download them at some later point once you have a device.
 
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I just got an Android tablet this past weekend and I downloaded this game just yesterday :D I only messed with the intro but I was on a retro roll and decided to get it. I'm glad to see that you liked it.

I've got the Zenonia, Inotia and will give Majesty a whirl.

Which other rpg or strategy games have you tried?
 
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I just got an Android tablet this past weekend and I downloaded this game just yesterday :D I only messed with the intro but I was on a retro roll and decided to get it. I'm glad to see that you liked it.

I've got the Zenonia, Inotia and will give Majesty a whirl.

Which other rpg or strategy games have you tried?

There's a separate thread about Android RPG here:

http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14646

There's a pretty comprehensive list posted there of various RPG-like games and then we got into some discussion about using GemRB to run old Bioware Infinity engine games (Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, etc).
 
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