Gamer reviews for Heavenstrike Rivals
Heavenstrike: An engrossing turn-based strategy RPG
Heavenstrike Rivals from Square Enix does just about everything right with this free-to-play strategy RPG. The story itself is well written with some surprising depth especially from a mobile game. There is of course your standard war and you are the chosen one. But, the way it’s told is what makes it shine.
The graphics are average, it’s nothing bad but then again it is also not something you would really bring up when talking about the game. The sound quality is on par as well, nothing great but it doesn’t add or take anything away from the experience.
Where this game really shines is its general gameplay. There are numerous combinations and classes to choose from. The best part is you really don’t need to put in any money to actually have a decent team build. That is the core of this game, building the perfect team. If you find yourself losing a lot go back and revaluate your squad and try to find tune it to make it better.
This is a very time consuming game. That is not a bad thing either; there is just a slight learning curve which the tutorial barely touches on the intricacies of its combat and leveling system. This was the most frustrating aspect in the beginning of the game. There is no indication that you can train your units and level them up by combining them with other units or items found by questing. This oversight led me to quite a few losses and a rage quit. However, after exploring the options I found that in the inventory screen you can then combine units for quicker leveling and stronger.
The battles themselves take place on a 3x6 grid in which the goal is to defeat the opposing captain. It is extremely important that you think about how you place whatever you units you have available as there is not much room for correction once they are placed. The battles can take anywhere from five to fifteen minutes depending on different factors such as waiting for mana, waiting for the enemy to make a move ( this is especially true in PvP), or simply just hammering on the opposing captain trying to bring them down.
The PvP aspect of the game is also great as long as you have some time to kill. The matches can sometimes become really drawn out when you are waiting roughly five minutes in between your turns. You also get the sense that there may be some play to win aspects when you are against an opponent of similar level and you not only lose but get absolutely destroyed. However, the converse is the joy you get after engaging in a thirty minute battle and you are victorious.
Overall, Heavenstrike Rivals is a great addition to the collection of anybody who enjoys tactical strategy games. At times, it feels like a small scale version of Final Fantasy Tactics which ranks high up on many greatest games every made. The tactical battles, the level of thought needed to succeed, and the engaging PvP battles make this one of the better games you can play for free right now.