Game Reviews

Zenonia 5

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Zenonia 5

Gamevil's Zenonia series has become one of mobile gaming's leading action RPG franchises, with its savvy combination of gorgeous visuals and addictive action earning millions of fans all over the globe.

However, aside from prettier visuals, the past couple of instalments have failed to really bring a massive amount of fresh features to the table - and the same is sadly true of this fifth entry.

Once again, the game is underpinned by a largely forgettable storyline involving good and evil, communicated via some particularly clumsy anime-style dialogue sequences.

Linking these scenes together is the usual selection of quests, which usually include defeating a certain number of enemies or giving a particular item to another character.

It's almost impossible to enter a conversation with someone without them asking you to run an errand - something which becomes boring incredibly quickly.

Not very fetching

Combat is also painfully limited, involving little more than tapping on the screen to perform combination attacks and occasionally using an item to heal yourself.

You can unlock various skills to make the job of eliminating monsters that little bit easier, and to be fair developing your character in this fashion is pretty appealing - it's certainly one of Zenonia 5's most likeable traits.

The high-res visuals are also a massive plus point, mixing together lush hand-drawn environments and expressive character sprites. Everything is super-cute - even the brutish bad guy looks like a schoolboy in a cape - but the overall presentation is excellent.

Cute and cuddly

It's just a shame that so much of what lies underneath is so lightweight. The story simply isn't appealing, and the way in which the game is constantly badgering you to spend real money is irritating - granted, free-to-play titles have to fund themselves somehow, but here it feels particularly obnoxious.

While there's certainly no lack of things to do in Zenonia 5, the formula is looking a little tired now. The graphics have incrementally improved with each sequel, but the gameplay has remained in stasis.

This, of course, means that Zenonia 5 will please long-standing lovers of the series, but everyone else is better off getting stuck into an RPG experience with more meat on the bones.

Zenonia 5

Visually lush and easy to get into, Zenonia 5 has one big failing: it just doesn't do anything that hasn't been seen before. In-app purchases also upset the experience
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Damien  McFerran
Damien McFerran
Damien's mum hoped he would grow out of playing silly video games and gain respectable employment. Perhaps become a teacher or a scientist, that kind of thing. Needless to say she now weeps openly whenever anyone asks how her son's getting on these days.