Only buy if youre craving a barebones 8-bit-era RPG

Im what many would consider a JRPG fanatic, and Im a sucker for RPGs that appear to be of the 16-bit era, but Eve of the Genesis was easily one of the most generic RPGs Ive experienced. The core design is solid -- the character potraits are stereotypical anime, but well-done, there are a few decent songs out of the six that are repeated ad nauseam throughout this 9-hour adventure, and the smooth interface is perfectly suited to iPhone, but this game feels nowhere near as creative or fun as your average persons first RPG Maker project. Im not opposed to simplistic, cliche stories as long as they are done well and have at least one unique aspect to them, but this story reeks more than a diaper with a fresh deposit of human waste. A conflict between humans and robots isnt necessarily a bad idea, but mindlessly wandering through environments knocking off palette-swapped robots bosses that look supsiciously like dragons makes Bubsy 3D look like an epic quest. I get it, this game had a small team, but the amount of generic palette-swamped monsters is inexcusable considering this game normally goes for $9.

Eve of the Genesis also lacks character interaction and development -- which is no surprise when they have less personality than the robots theyre resisting. Your merry band of travellers consists of a blonde, over-protective swordsman, a fiesty young woman whos reasonably skilled in magic and ranged combat, a quiet intellectual who excels in magic, and a lancer who randomly gets amnesia (which you can cure through a side quest, but doesnt do a thing to restore personality to this empty vessel).

Besides the barebones story and character development, youll also bear witness to some of the ugliest environments youve seen in an RPG since the early Ultima and Dragon Quest games. The character sprites look decent, but the ugly, mundane towns and dungeons make rural Iowa and fox holes look exciting.

Fortunately, the battle and equipment systems have a little more substance. Battles play out like an early Final Fantasy game with your party lined up on the right and static enemies on the left. Youll input commands through touch menus and youll trade blows with your immobile enemies. Youll gain levels incredibly fast, and youll earn experience and gold (the latter allows you to purchase skills and equipment at shops). Skills can be equipped and modified with gems and you can equip a weapon, a piece of armor, and an accessory on each character.

If youre looking for a rudimentary iPhone RPG, Id recommend skipping this and going with the early Final Fantasy games when theyre on sale. If youve alread played those, then you might want to consider this while its on sale for a $1, but keep in mind that there are much more creative (albeit flawed) RPGs that pay homage to the 16-bit era such as Black Sigil for the DS.

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