Zenonia, an immensely successful mobile adventure in Korea, is coming to the iPhone this month courtesy of Gamevil. The popular action RPG is combat centered, with plenty of side quests packed into the promised forty-plus hours of gameplay. Looking vibrant and channeling A Link to the Past, Zenonia packs an epic punch.
You choose your character class from among Paladin, Assassin and Warrior and with a good and evil choice system in place that has the game changing based on your decisions alternate play-throughs with distinct classes and choices will yield a singular game experience. The story opens with a little history lesson of an ancient battle against evil and the birth of a child, and then fast forwards to the death of the main character's father. Uncovering more about this mysterious, very dragon-y, evil is on your quest-ready shoulders.
Translation of the port is still in process, but in spite of my patchy understanding of plot nuance the game is still pretty engrossing. Behind the sketchy translations is some fun writing and a colorful cast of characters with emotive names like Vague, Tender, Vicious and Pardon - as well as Greg and Billy, go figure. The visuals are colorful and crisp, and the characters, enemies and locations look good.
You direct Regret with a d-pad in the lower left of the screen. On the lower right is a cancel button and the action button which controls attacks and interactions with objects and characters. Your class will determine which weapons you wield, and as the Assassin I was equipped with two knives, and as Warrior a sword. It does not take long to get used to the directional control; Regret moves around the screen smoothly and a double tap of the d-pad prompts him to dash. When in a tight battle situation you do not have to fuss over the directional control, as Regret will attack the nearest enemy no matter which way you are facing.
Navigation is a breeze and moving between zones is smooth. There is an easy to read map you can access from the screen, and a tap of your inventory bag in the upper right allows you to tap through to other menus like upgrading your skills or viewing your stats. If you ever get lost there are lots of tips and informative signs and characters.
In the lower center of the screen are meters tracking your Health and Stamina, as well as your Skills. Skills are earned and bought, then can be placed in slots on a bar where they are then activated by touch. This allows you to equip powerful attacks for use in a pinch against a giant, antagonistic woodland creature. Regret gains experience points through combat and completing tasks, which allow you to level up in categories like strength and agility.
Your character's energy will wane, and as time cycles through night and day you must feed Regret to restore his stamina. He will also be burdened by your inventory, a principle introduced early on as you transport a stone chair to the town's resident geezer canine. There are other Zelda-esque RPG staples like shops for weapons and items, so it is a good thing the abundant real time battles reward you with gold.
Multiple class options coupled with the touted forty some hours of gameplay make Zenonia an unquestionably robust offering - even outside of the mobile category. Leveling up is frequent, which gives this broad-scoped title a sense of bite-sized satisfaction. Currently in its final stages, Zenonia will be submitted for approval to the App Store mid-month, and likely appear for purchase by the 25th of May.
