Whether you like it or not, there’s been a huge influx of ports on the App Store over recent years. As the power of the hardware has caught up with recent consoles, devs are looking more and more to their back catalogues for gems they can release on mobile.
But what’s the most important thing about a mobile port, and how can you as a consumer pick the duds out from the classics? Well that’s what this week’s Monday musing is about.
And it seems fitting with the release of Final Fantasy XV this week, since that’s a game that’s probably going to end up on the iPhone 32 S in about 15 years time. So let’s leap into the this the only way I know how - face first.
The kind of game
There are some ports that just make sense. Look at the Knights of the Old Republic games. They’re massive, they’re deep, but they don’t feature much traditional action. Instead their focus is on turn-based, more considered fights.
The same goes for a lot of the RPG ports we’ve seen in recent years. Mobile controls are getting better and better, but there’s always going to be a severe disconnect when you’re trying to play a game that’s designed for buttons first and foremost.
If you want a prime example of how to do things wrong, look no further than the Tomb Raider 1 and 2 ports on the App Store. The controls there are so abysmally bad that it makes the games almost unplayable.
Stuff it all in?
One of the strangest ports on the App Store is probably Final Fantasy 7. There’s very little consideration here for the platform the game is going to end up on, and so we get what amounts to an emulation of a PC version of the classic.
The game underneath it is still great, but there’s a lack of understanding of the clean and accurate UI that mobile players have come to expect. It’s even stranger since so many other Final Fantasy games manage to get things right.
A rule of thumb is if there are a ridiculous amount of buttons on the screenshots then there’s a very chance you’re playing a version of a game that’s really not optimised for the device in your hands.
Don’t port at all
A controversial idea here, but some of the best versions of console games we’ve seen on the App Store haven’t been direct ports. Look at the GO series of games and how they transpose mechanics into more mobile-friendly shapes.
Or even Hitman: Sniper. With a little more work that could have been a brilliant game. It manages to capture some of the silliness and Machiavellian murder scenarios of the originals, while leaving you plonked on the side of a mountain.
Almost all the parts of the mobile ecosystem are distinct from the console one. It’s not so much a different aspect of the same thing, it’s more of a distinct environment all of its own.
That’s not to say that console or PC games can’t work on mobile, but there are better ways to play than just copying what’s gone before on to a system that’s not designed to handle it. Like the best AAA games, the best mobile games know exactly what and where they are from the word go.
