Terra Battle was a role-playing video game developed by Hawaii-based studio Mistwalker. It was released for iOS and Android devices on October 9, 2014. It was produced by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the Final Fantasy series, with music by Nobuo Uematsu of the same series. The game also featured artwork by Kimihiko Fujisaka, who has contributed to works such as The Last Story and Drakengard. Service for Terra Battle was discontinued in June 2020.
| Terra Battle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Mistwalker |
| Publisher(s) | Mistwalker |
| Director(s) | Koji Ohno |
| Producer(s) | Hironobu Sakaguchi |
| Designer(s) | Yuki Nishimura |
| Programmer(s) | Takuto Nakamura |
| Artist(s) | Kimihiko Fujisaka |
| Writer(s) | Masaru Hatano |
| Composer(s) | Nobuo Uematsu |
| Platform(s) | iOS, Android |
| Release | October 9, 2014 |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing video game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Gameplay
editThe game plays as a tile-based tactical role-playing game,[1] with elements of collectible card games and puzzle video games as well.[2]
Development
editThe earliest reports from the game come from June 2014, when Mistwalker trademarked the name Terra Battle.[3] The game was officially revealed through Famitsu on July 1, 2014.[4] The game was released on iOS and Android on October 9, 2014.[5]
To promote the game, Sakaguchi chose to create a new model of releasing content. Inspired by Kickstarter, he created a means called "Download Starter", where new content would be created based on the number of downloads the game would receive.[6] He enjoyed the fan involvement that came with KickStarter campaigns, but did not like the idea of fans directly financing development.[2] Instead, he chose the "Download Starter" model, which was aimed to create interest in the game after it was already created.[2] At 100,000 downloads, more music from Nobuo Uematsu was created for the game.[7] After the game had been downloaded 1.6 million times, composer Kenji Ito joined the project, with Kingdom Hearts series composer Yoko Shimomura joining him after the game had been downloaded 1.7 million times.[8][9] To commemorate the milestone of 1,800,000 downloads, a new musical track by famed Chrono series composer Yasunori Mitsuda was added to the game.[10] The final milestone, at two million downloads, would have been releasing a version of the game on consoles.[6] The game's servers were shut down on June 30, 2020.[11]
Reception
edit| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 84/100[12] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Game Informer | 8/10[13] |
| Gamezebo |   [14] |
| GameZone | 9/10[15] |
| Jeuxvideo.com | 18/20[16] |
| Pocket Gamer |  [17] |
| TouchArcade | [18] |
The iOS version received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[12]
Pocket Gamer described their reaction to the preview build of the game as "cautiously optimistic", stating that the game was "an RPG stripped down to its barest bones, and...it works surprisingly well." while citing concern with the minimal graphics and free to play payment model.[19] Joystiq played a version available to play at PAX Prime 2014, and stated that, while the game was overwhelmingly frantic at first, "the slide-and-move-on action was innate and enjoyable enough to encourage continued play."[20] Game Informer praised the core gameplay, but expressed concern over the long-term effects of the game's imposed waiting time periods.[21]
Legacy
editIn June 2017, Mistwalker announced a sequel and spinoff to the game, respectively titled Terra Battle 2 and Terra Wars, both for Android and for iOS.[22] Terra Battle 2 was released on September 21, 2017, but its lack of success led to it being discontinued, with it being removed from storefronts on June 3, 2018, and its servers shutdown in September 2018.[23][24][25]
References
edit- ^ Megan Farokhmanesh (September 5, 2014). "Terra Battle's console version won't be a port, Sakaguchi says". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
- ^ a b c Mike Suszek (September 8, 2014). "Final Fantasy creator sees mobile success in download numbers". Engadget (Joystiq). Yahoo. Archived from the original on September 9, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ Brenna Hillier (June 27, 2014). "Is the father of Final Fantasy's new project called Terra Battle?". VG247. Gamer Network. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ Sal Romano (July 14, 2014). "Hironobu Sakaguchi announces Terra Battle for smartphones [Update]". Gematsu. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ Eli Hodapp (October 8, 2014). "Out Now: 'Dragon Quest II', 'Terra Battle', 'Castaway Paradise', 'Zombie Highway 2', 'Reckless Racing 3', 'iBomber 3' and More". TouchArcade. TouchArcade.com, LLC. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
- ^ a b Alex Wawro (October 7, 2014). "Final Fantasy creator finds much to learn from mobile game design". Game Developer. Informa. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ Jeffrey Matulef (August 28, 2014). "Mistwalker's F2P Terra Battle to get more content based on number of downloads". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ "Achieved 1.6M downloads!!". Terra Battle. February 10, 2015. Archived from the original on February 13, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ "Achieved 1.7M downloads!!". Terra Battle. February 24, 2015. Archived from the original on March 1, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ "Achieved 1.8M downloads! Check out Yasunori's new song!". Terra Battle. April 6, 2015. Archived from the original on April 12, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ Sal Romano (May 29, 2020). "Terra Battle to end service on June 30". Gematsu. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- ^ a b "Terra Battle for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
- ^ Daniel Tack (November 12, 2014). "Terra Battle Review (iOS)". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- ^ Nadia Oxford (October 10, 2014). "Terra Battle Review: Brave New World (iOS)". Gamezebo. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- ^ Andrew Clouther (November 9, 2014). "Terra Battle Review (iOS)". GameZone. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- ^ Anagund (October 17, 2014). "Test: Terra Battle". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- ^ Matt Thrower (October 13, 2014). "Terra Battle (iOS)". Pocket Gamer. Steel Media Ltd. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ Shaun Musgrave (October 10, 2014). "'Terra Battle' Review – Final Fantasy's Creator Works His Magic On Social RPGs". TouchArcade. TouchArcade.com, LLC. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
- ^ Harry Slater (September 15, 2014). "Hands-on with Terra Battle: Is Mistwalker's free to play tactical RPG worthy of its heritage?". Pocket Gamer. Steel Media Ltd. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ Thomas Schulenberg (October 5, 2014). "Sakaguchi's Terra Battle lands on iOS, Android this week". Engadget (Joystiq). Yahoo. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ Mike Futter (August 31, 2014). "Terra Battle (Preview)". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on August 17, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ Joseph Luster (June 21, 2007). "Hironobu Sakaguchi's New Games Are 'Terra Battle 2' and 'Terra Wars'". Crunchyroll. Aniplex. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
- ^ "Terra Battle 2 has launched!". Terra Battle 2. September 21, 2017. Archived from the original on May 15, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ Christopher Hovermale (June 4, 2018). "Terra Battle 2 gets the axe in North America". Destructoid. Gamurs. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ Yukiyoshi Ike Sato (June 28, 2018). "Terra Battle 2 To End Its Service In Japan On September 28, 2018". Siliconera. Gamurs. Retrieved March 9, 2023.