Touch Arcade

While the price might seem a little high relative to other games on the App Store, if you're into strategy games, it's a great value for what you get, especially if you are familiar with or have memories of the cost of a physical board game in this genre. There is, naturally, not a single IAP to be found in it, either. It's another bang-up job by the good people at Shenandoah Studio, and it leaves me eager to see which battle they tackle next.

I would love to see SNK build on this further in the future, but even in its present form, I think this is a pretty solid pick-up for longtime fans of the company. Those with no special affection for the company can probably find better choices on the App Store in terms of music games, however.

Control and power-up issues aside, H2FLOW’s penchant for challenging levels is something that I can really appreciate it. Sure, the gameplay borders on frustrating at times, but it’s refreshing to see a game that holds little back in terms of raw difficulty. If you’re looking for a challenge and can handle some pretty tough water physics puzzles, by all means check out H2FLOW.

In a perfect world, I'd love to see a proper port of the console versions, and I firmly believe the hardware is capable of it, but in lieu of that, I'd much rather have something that succeeds on its own terms than something that fails at trying to be something else. It might not be what you expected, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

A perfect example of how to take a simple puzzle game to the next level, Tales of the Adventure Company is an awesome game that everyone needs to check out. It’s perfectly developed for the platform, hits all the elements for a great puzzle/RPG and adds some new twists in how it combines previously seen elements. If you haven’t checked this out already, you really need to download it now.

Like many of Kemco's games, it's a bit lean to recommend at its regular price, and the IAP only adds to that problem. That said, if it's on sale, you're looking for a serving of JRPG, and you don't mind if said serving lacks spice, Link of Hearts will probably serve you well enough.

Its relatively low difficulty makes it a good fit for people who are new to the genre, and the art style's broad appeal helps in that capacity. Veterans will likely want to give this a pass and devote their attention elsewhere, however.

...Pocket Harvest's mind-numbing lack of ambition is almost depressing to behold. I can think of so many better ways to spend five dollars on the App Store, even if you limit yourself to Kairosoft's games.

This is a game that's supremely difficult to put down, because of the balance between challenging players while remaining fun. Completing levels is so satisfying, in part because the world that's been created is so enjoyable. This game is just way too satisfying.

The only things Dungeon Gems offers that other games don't is a slick level of presentation and a quicker battery drain, and I'm not sure if that's actually enough. If you enjoy this style of social RPG, there's certainly no harm in giving it a try and seeing if you take to it more than I did, but for me, the whole thing just feels incredibly redundant.