Eudaemonian said:
Jandau said:
Also, the fact that different rules apply to the player and the AI (AI doesn't need to work the board) means that some monsters are better suited to the AI. Anything that spawns large amounts of Rocks on the board is great for the AI, since it limits the player, but is also useless to the player for the same reason. There's an entire family of orange monsters dedicated to this. Guess which monster type I never used...
Yeah, at first I thought white was made weaker because of its ability that turned a bunch of gems white, but then there is a purple creature with the same ability.....
What's wrong with turning a bunch of other gems white? Honestly, I thought if they focused a bit more on variation and balance between moves, it could have been a bit more tactical in it's approach. Granted it would distract from the "casual" label that gem twisting so often carries, but it's Square-Enix, isn't it? Yeah, the purpley monsters have an advantage against a whole range of other types, but did you even bother to look at their moves? There's only one actual direct damage-dealing ability, and it's slightly lacking in the power department. Whites don't have any advantages, but the ability to turn an entire colour to white means that the board will instantly be filled with their colour. Oranges fill the board with stones, but all their moves are relatively powerful damage-dealing attacks. I'm only really covering the initial summons in the game, seeing as I haven't really advanced that far yet, but they seem relatively balanced so far.
I think it would be better if you could choose the moves your beasts gained, rather than just new beasts, and try to get a range of moves that suit your play style. The idle twist was a bastard when it was introduced, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't think it was a breeze beforehand. Besides, if there was a bigger focus on various abilities, it would come down more to a "what can I afford to be hit with, and what can't I?" when there's too many damned countdowns on the board to deal with.
Of course, this is just a "what if" scenario. As it stands, the story is lame and generic, and the graphics, while pretty, are, well, pretty standard. My biggest problem would be the fact that there's no bloody store to buy my magic mirrors.