I've hardly seen any good adventuring party games on the iPhone. Besides Battleheart, Heroes vs. Monsters, and few others. Tactical warrior is as good as it gets. It goes for normally $1.99 on the app store, but this game goes on sale for free a lot for some reason... Besides the price and being a creative fire emblem-esque RPG, it still stands alone on innovation. There's quite a few classes to train and an incredible amount of moves each character can learn to your pleasure; it's a very custom growth on each character. Classes you may control and level up range from badgers to bare-chested barbarians. I need to get to the analysis though to actually get past my editorializing.
Gameplay (8.7): Wow. Very reminding of Fire Emblem. The premise is you start out with a small party of warriors, trying to prove themselves in a world of war. On the way, warriors join you to increase your team's power and size. On the map, you fight battles to level up your warriors and to give you wealth of items. Although you cannot replay a battle after it is beaten, which bothers me, not allowing me to level up my dudes before a boss, leaving me to work with what I got. The combat is turn-based. Each warrior may move a certain number of spaces each turn, attack, and/or rest. It's a square grid battlefield so the amount of space each warrior takes up is the same. Very classic gameplay, engaging, and always leaving me wanting to make Beef the barbarian an overly leveled tank. If you like any strategy, war, or board game, you'll applaud this game. Only a few problems in this department, such as not being able to beat a boss and having no ability to get stronger before and not really many intuitive maps. There's no weather effects or any spaces comparable to lava. They could have added to this. Also, the two player doesn't allow you to use your campaign teams and there's no internet multiplayer. A let down that needs to be changed, and still is changeable. What is still being offered at the moment is no question good though.
Graphics (6): Errr... bad. It looks like something made in ms paint. Shading is nice and the game has a unique art style, but the animations are stock and the sprites are static, giving a feeling of lifelessness. There needs to be changes in this section. But I do like the style, it's just done badly.
Music (7.3): Loops are not bad and give a sense of heroic inspiration. Kind of short loops though. Sounds with hits and bashes are stock, but as expected from a one man development team. Not bad, but not good.
Control (9.5): Nice solid controls. Nothing amazing about them, but definitely minimal things bad. Such as the shops on the map, they're very tiny and it's kind of hard to select them with all of the locations bunched up together on the map.
Fun (9.2): Much fun is to be had here on this app. Very enjoyable, and just as it gets repetitive, a new mechanic or battle type is introduced.
Overall...8.1(B-)
I love this game and am very into it. It's pretty addictive and it is very fun to be introduced with new classes of warriors that can be customized 1,000 different ways than the last. It's not for everyone though. If you're particularly intro realistic graphics, multiplayer, and if you hate turn-based battle, don't get this app. Although, if you're looking for nostalgia, if you want a nice combat RPG, this app is for you. This is Jeff for 1-UP Games, catchya on teh flepsied. :D
