Favorite Android (Google Play hosted) games -- premium & IAP

[Jagosaurus]

Okay, feel like I'm talking to myself here or maybe I'm a bit fire up on a subject only a few of us care about

I did get both Nostalgia.NES & RetroArch emulators both running. I started up Dragon Warrior IV to test it... 30 minutes later and 2 level ups later , I'm very impressed with how sharp it looks on the small screen. Nostalgia runs great & the save state options are clean. Keep in mind I haven't tested a controller yet (will do soon, reportedly handles well). RA is a bit cumbersome as advertised. I did get the FCEU NES core running. I'll lean more on RA if there isn't a good a la carte option available. I think playing these retro games, especially RPGS, in bite size chunks, on the go with save states, will be great for me with 2 kiddos & little spare time.

I wanted to share this thread over at Phandroid. I may have mentioned previously but if so, the OP has been blasting through a list of game reviews and it deserves another nod: Big List of Android Game Reviews. You'll see I linked this thread for him as well . I need to check out the Android review sites you guys recommended previously. Pocket Gamer comes to mind.

Also, a question I asked over at Phandroid as well. Any insight?

Is there any easy/quick way to know if a Google Play game supports a bluetooth controller?

I can't see to find a way other than digging way down in the description, reading review comments, or hunting down third party reviews. Sometimes I happen to come across 1 of those 3. I was thinking there would be a universal icon or something like on the back of physical games showing it has controller support. I will be picking up an Andorid TV soon and this becomes even more important with no touch screen as a back up.

[strangenova]

I don't play many phone games but I did buy Roller Coaster Tycoon classic. If you are a fan of the first two games then this is a great deal. It combines all the scenarios from both games into one, and the controls have been optimized for touch usage. They also added a few touches of modern conventions.

The only in app purchases available are the expansion packs from the original two games for a few extra dollars. So if you don't mind paying for the base game, this is easily 50+ hours and you can add another 50+ if you buy the expansions.

[Jagosaurus]

I had a girlfriend in high school addicted to Roller Coaster Tycoon & Sims 2. Ruined it for me . You do have me interested to look into other PC ports. I think RTS games would work great with touch screen controls.

I did start start a dedicated thread under the emulation sub forum for retro emus on Android, rather than get this one off topic. It's over here if interested:
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=51368

[strangenova]

I had a girlfriend in high school addicted to Roller Coaster Tycoon & Sims 2. Ruined it for me . You do have me interested to look into other PC ports. I think RTS games would work great with touch screen controls.

Yeah pc games seem perfectly suited to mobile touch controls. I can't speak to their quality but Beamdog had ported both Baldurs Gates, Icewind Dale, and Planescape to mobile some years ago.

They also have a great deal of board games on android: Catan, Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, pandemic etc.

Edit: Added the other Beamdog ports to original post

[Exhuminator]

maybe I'm a bit fire up on a subject only a few of us care about

We've had discussions about emulation via Android before. At one point I listed all the Android emulators that were great for various consoles and handhelds. Unfortunately not too many members care to emulate on their phone due to various biases or presumptions. I for one enjoy emulating games using my smartphone. If you're looking for a specific console or handheld to emulate I can tell you what I use.

[Jagosaurus]

@strange, agreed for games where there's a menu you can "click on" such as Command & Conquer. Games with hot keys only could be rough.

maybe I'm a bit fire up on a subject only a few of us care about

We've had discussions about emulation via Android before. At one point I listed all the Android emulators that were great for various consoles and handhelds. Unfortunately not too many members care to emulate on their phone due to various biases or presumptions. I for one enjoy emulating games using my smartphone. If you're looking for a specific console or handheld to emulate I can tell you what I use.

Alright, nice. I'll have to do another search on that and link in my current thread. Remember what thread topic it was in?

Edit: saw you commented on that thread. Will move all emu talk over there

[Jagosaurus]

Alright Noise, Exh, Tanooki, anyone brave enough:

Do you guys have some game recommendations other than the Square RPGs that support controllers?

I picked up Alice's Mom Rescue (AMR) Android port to support Orion's indie development. Common, the guy still puts out physical retro console games (his site link)!.

Well, apparently AMR works with ipega devices because they have multiple controller layout/mapping options out of the box. AMR works with 1 of those 3 options on the ipega. The game recognizes the A button for jump on my device, but no dice for the d pad. Orion is a cool guy and has been messaging me with quick responses. I also have emulators recognizing the d pad so it's no the controller itself. He did mention compatible controllers in the description. No heartburn over a $1.99 title for a dev I dig but...

I'd like to know some recommendations that work with a controller.

I know Noise uses the Beboncool B02 and looks like Exh uses the previous model from an Amazon link he posted. Tanooki, anything you've enjoyed playing with the steel series? Beauty of Google Play... I'm only paying a few buck here and there

[noiseredux]

hmm. I'll try to take a look at my games tonight and nudge my memory. Truth be told, I definitely use touch controls way more often than not on the tablet.

[Tanooki]

Yeah easily I can recommend the Dragon Fantasy game that went all over from Android, iOS, PSN, etc. 8/16bit spoof title with a melding of some FF/DQ mechanics but not all that long either thankfully.

Being conservatively safe, watch KEMCO. It seems nearly monthly if not bi-weekly they run some deep cut (66-75% off) sales on their RPGS. They seem to have a crew that pumps a new one out every few months and they typically are in that same classic Nintendo console era style JRPG action.

I haven't used the steelseries a bunch, mostly really with the emulators. I have though used it with DOOM3 and it was fantastic. On top of that, more of that gamepad centric (but not required like DOOM) stuff that hits consoles too like LIMBO among others and it's a good safe ride using it. Given the reviews though the 8bitdo pro pad or the steelseries would be ideal for such titles.

The pinball arcade set works awesome with the pad too, pretty sure I had mapped (or it did it itself) the L/R triggers for the flippers and a stick or buttons had the nudge action. Far tighter than relying on tap mechanics. I don't have my tablet in front of me, but anything I said, including arcade conversions like the SNK/Dotemu Neo Geo stuff work nicely.

I have to admit if I wasn't a Switch owner and didn't have other stuff backlogged, I could see just leaving my shield tablet docked into my TV and using the game pad to play anything that works as a stand alone system of choice as far as digital goods go because my use of the steelseries has been positive (and comfort wise as it's smaller, once I have the 8bitdo it should be even nicer.)

[Exhuminator]

Alright Noise, Exh, Tanooki, anyone brave enough:

Do you guys have some game recommendations other than the Square RPGs that support controllers?

As far as good action-RPGs go, Crescent Moon's all support controllers IIRC:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... avensword2

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... mes.aralon

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... ralon2zero

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... exilesfree

I'll have to think about what other RPGs I've played that were good and support controllers.