Dragon Quest Tact

This strategy role-playing adventure should capture the imagination of gamers looking to explore a fantasy game at their own pace. In Dragon Quest Tact, players are tasked with ridding evil monsters from the land of Orchesterra. They see events through the eyes of character who can control certain monsters' actions using a magical wand. As you play, you add characters to your party -- sometimes after fighting them -- to use in later battles. Players can level or rank monsters up through EXP, crystals, and items they obtain while playing, which makes the creatures stronger. Before each battle, you generally want to build a team with the skills to address enemy weaknesses you're shown before the fight begins. Monsters move along a grid, with blue-outlined squares indicating their potential mobility range. Once they face an opponent, they can wait or attack. Sometimes you have to beat a team of monsters, and other times, you can just overpower one of them. Players can also choose an auto battle function, which may help earn a quicker victory and get a better sense of how battles can work.

When you're not battling, dialogue can feel slow and somewhat drawn out, and comments don't always advance the plot. This is a stark contrast with the more well-paced battle scenes, which switch from an overhead bird's eye view to up-close action when a blow lands. At least players can take their time to make decisions, since monsters don't leap at them aggressively or attack without provocation, which offers a chance to strategize next moves. They can also repeat a round by choice without pressure to move through the app's challenges at a specific pace. While the variety of gameplay elements has the potential to be confusing and may cause players to check the Help section in the app to clarify something, the support materials, such as the concepts and tips that frequently pop up before activities, help make playing Dragon Quest Tact a generally manageable and entertaining experience.