Gamer reviews for ZIO and the Magic Scrolls

Simplicity is Beauty - Zio and the Magic Scrolls Review

Zio and the Magic Scrolls is an idle-RPG game for the mobile platform developed by Super Planet. (The game also requires an active internet connection) The story follows a powerful magic user named Zio who lost his power to seal a very powerful warlock during the war between mages and warlocks. The game’s premise is pretty simple, though additional story and lore can be explored through the game’s story missions and the accompanying WebToons that you can unlock as you progress in the story.

As we always do here in Appgamer, let’s kick off by tackling the game’s in-game purchases. ZATMS is an idle RPG that also has a gacha mechanic so the premium currency used for recruiting new characters (diamonds) can be purchased with real money. At the same time, there are also other “boosters” available in the in-game shop, like improving your passive loot acquisition by upgrading Bono’s bag or getting different passes which will give players bonus rewards for a set number of days.

The game itself doesn’t have any ads; however, you’ll be given the option to view ads to claim bonus rewards like additional daily chests or up to 5 “Acquire Now” chances to collect 1 hour’s worth of loot from Bono’s Bag. Again, these ads are optional and will only be displayed if you have proceeded with the action. The game also incentivizes viewing ads through the Ellie’s Stamp system . This is a tracker that will give you 800 diamonds by collecting a total of 25 stamps (or equal to viewing 25 ads).

The game’s gacha system is a pretty generic one. There are three banners; two limited banners that gets rotated/refreshed after a certain period, and a permanent banner. The game also features a “pity” system where you can get a guaranteed S-rank hero after reaching a set number of summons. Players can summon using Hero Summon Tickets or premium currency like 300 Diamonds or 300 Red Diamonds per summon. Summoning 10 times in a single batch will also give players a bonus summon (11 summons total) so it’s highly recommended to save your resources until you have enough for summoning 10 times.

As an idle RPG, the gameplay is pretty straightforward. Idle games usually allow players to continuously earn rewards even when they’re not playing since their characters “are fighting the background”. This means that players are better off playing the game in short, regular intervals than long, single sessions. ZATMS follows the same formula; you’ll be able to get loot that’s automatically gathered by your party even while you’re offline by collecting them from Bono’s Bag. You can then use the collected resources and equipment to enhance your party members.

For an idle game, ZATMS standard features, which we will briefly cover in this review. First, we have the standard home screen (Kingdom) where you can access the market, guild, and shops to purchase permanent upgrades for your units and your magic scrolls while the Hero menu is the window where you’ll need to manage the units you have recruited.

The game’s Story mode follows a simple yet one-way path. You can’t farm or grind by fighting through previously completed chapters so you can only go so far until you get level-gated by higher level enemies. When this happens, you’ll have no choice but to wait for enough time to pass so that your party earns enough AFK rewards to level up your heroes, give them new equipment, or reinforce (upgrade) their gears.

Aside from the story, the game’s other available modes are Dungeon Exploration (time-gated instances for material farming), Duel Circle (PvP), and Demon King Tower (tower/floor progression). There’s also a Boss Raid mode that is supposed to be coming soon but currently unavailable in the game’s current version as of this review’s writing.

The game’s overall graphical quality is just average and nothing to write home about. The character art and designs are good while the interface is simple, responsive, and intuitive. The game doesn’t offer that much in audio but it’s just enough to keep the game appealing.

Idle RPGs nowadays can be a confusing mess of jargons, mechanics, and unappealing features so ZATMS simplicity is also its appeal and selling point. You don’t need to spend too much time on the game either. You can just log in for a few minutes, collect your rewards, and repeat. Overall, if you want a simple idle RPG, ZATMS might be up your alley.