The iFriday Roundup, No. 9

It’s About Time!

When Square Enix announced a port of their timeless SNES classic Chrono Trigger for smartphones late last year, more than a few mobile RPG fans began holding their breath for news of whether it might follow Secret of Mana onto iOS. Now they can finally exhale, because IGN is reporting that Square Enix has confirmed Chrono Trigger for both iOS and Android at this year’s Tokyo Game Show! We’ll be sure to bring you more news on this as soon as it’s available.

Hero’s Way Releasing Imminently!

And it’s going to launch at the truly heroic price of – wait for it – free! Don’t just take our word for it; check out Lakoo’s latest Tweet. Don’t let the price lower your perception of the game’s quality; check out our hands-on preview for our impressions a few months back, and scope out the launch trailer. We’ll have a full review up soon!

A Legendary Game, a Legendary Celebration

Vying for your attention on the cheap this weekend will be Legendary Wars, which Liv Games and Free App a Day will be tossing out like little candies into everyone’s iDevices. Actually, make that BIG candies — now on its tenth post-release update, it has to be the most humongous Castle Defense game, like, ever. If you haven’t heard of this one yet, it just so happens we have an in-depth review to give you the lowdown.

Here’s a Free-Bee

Okay, so maybe you’re not much of an Action RPG or Castle Defense fan. If you’re in the mood for a casual logic puzzler and still don’t have much in your wallet, Michael Buettner’s got you covered with a limited time Necta Collecta giveaway! Check out our review of the release version to see what this one’s all about, bearing in mind that updates have improved upon it since then.

Find Battlefield Glory at a Glorious Price

There’s been a real shakeup in the price model being applied to Hills of Glory: WWII, and that’s good for iDevice-owning RTS and Castle Defense fans! Now you can have your pick of the premium version or the completely free version. The way Bulkypix explained it to us at the briefing, it sounds like they’re identical with the exception that the premium edition gives the player discounts on In-App Purchases. While this title was plagued by a severe game-crashing bug when we reviewed it, we’ve popped in the latest version and can report that this tank is well oiled nowadays, on 4th gen iDevices at least. Definitely one fans of the target genres should look into!

Twice the Defenders, Half the Price

In last week’s roundup we reported that Clueless Ideas came through with their promise to seriously ramp up the content in Magic Defenders. Now that this Castle Defense-style game boasts a new map and two playable characters compared to the release version, the developer’s slashed the price to $0.99 for a limited time! Clueless Ideas has also released a Lite version.

CAPCOM Pummels App Store With Sales

The heavyweight champion of fighting games fired a hadouken into our inbox, then followed up with a shoryuken, leaving us dizzy with genre news this week. Street Fighter IV Volt just dropped to $2.99 until September 19 to celebrate the addition of Fei Long and Yun as playable fighters, and that’s just the warm-up! Street Fighter II Collection released earlier this week, bundling in all the pre-Super Street Fighter II versions of Street Fighter II. (Hey, if you grew up during that era, you know that sentence made perfect sense). And to top off the celebratory mood, CAPCOM just put the iOS release of Final Fight on sale for $0.99 until September 21!

But here’s the finisher, straight from the source: “…Moreover, CAPCOM will bring together all Street Fighter fans, old and new, to participate in the first online tournament for Street Fighter IV: Volt to be held later this year.” We can’t wait for more details on this!

Massive Zen Wars Update, Sale Inbound

Sean certainly didn’t have any complaints about Zen Wars‘ interface when he reviewed it last month, but if the game’s turning ring turned you off, rejoice! The developer’s about to launch a flurry of improvements, including new interface and zoom options. Keep an eye on the Zen Wars App Store page, because the update will invade to the tune of a $0.99 sale!

Requiem Update Hits the Ground Running

Sean did launch some complaints about Requiem’s interface, however, making this one of the most controversial iFanzine Verdicts! Tribase Studios has been hard at work devising new interface options, and Sean would give the result two thumbs up if he could peel his thumbs away from the much-improved virtual joystick and sensitivity calibration menu. Even better, a new level, a Time Trial mode, and a $0.99 sale accompany the update. Being chased by a demonic bull has never been this much fun! Thanks Tribase!

Big Sticky Glues High Definition Tongue to Retina Displays

Big Bad Brush joins the update-comes-with-a-sale bandwagon this week, and who are we to complain? Big Sticky sports some level design improvements and HD graphics compared to the initial release we reviewed some time ago; we also noticed Big Bad Brush snuck in a Lite version for fans of cute side-scrolling platformers to try out.

Update Helps Bridge the Gap Bridge Interface Gap

Bridge the Gap’s level design and concept are so deserving of attention from physics puzzle and logic puzzle fans, it was an absolute tragedy that interface flaws kept the experience from being more enjoyable. Now Monster Robot Studios has made the old control system walk the gangplank and ushered in a brand new interface! We found the new swipe controls a decisive improvement when we took the update for a spin — just be sure to read the instructions carefully if you’ve already been playing the game, because it takes some adjusting!

You Call, Triniti Answers

Triniti Interactive’s Call of Mini: Zombies has to be one of the most lovingly updated games on the App Store! Good thing, too, because more content was precisely what Kieran asked for in his early summer review. This week’s additions include a “freaky” new map, a “stealthy” new player character, and of course, new zombies to do battle with!

Pod Odyssey Contest: Win an iPad 2!

Whoa, this ought to get the creativity flowing — and the late night coffee! Coffee Pot Labs touched down on our inbox with some details for a contest concerning its deliciously illustrated iPad debut, Pod Odyssey: “Open call for artists! Win an iPad 2! Get your artwork featured in this App!! To celebrate the launch of Pod Odyssey we’re hosting a competition where you can get your own artwork featured in the game (included in a future update) and WIN an iPad 2! Visit our Facebook page or website for details on how to enter!” It appears Coffee Pot Labs is looking for some original images of sci-fi threats they can endanger the pod with — check toward the bottom of their Facebook wall.

Backflip Studios Unleashes the Dragons!

You’d normally expect dragons to conquer with fire, but the ones that hatch in Backflip Studios’ free-to-play DragonVale are slaying iOS gamers’ hearts with their cute sim antics. From the developer: “It fulfills a lifelong dream of making a game about discovering, hatching, raising, collecting and competing with Dragons.” Dragon raising is a widely shared dream, as the game’s regular Top 50 ranking attests. Developed with the help of talent recruited from the Ratchet and Clank art team, this is one sim fans should check into! Let’s wrap up this week’s iFriday Roundup with the trailer:

Are you an iOS videogame developer or publisher with a cool update, video, or other news that you want to get out to the masses? iFanzine probably has an eye on you already, but don’t hesitate to get in touch via our Twitter feed or Contact page. We want to fill our iFriday Roundups with all your beautiful stuff!