Zenonia

Zenonia

Developer(s) Gamevil
Publisher(s) Gamevil
Distributor(s) Apple, Tectoy Digital
Platform(s) iOS, Zeebo, Android, Windows Mobile, DSiWare, Bada, PlayStation Portable
Release date(s) Mobile:
August 28, 2008 (South Korea)
September 16, 2009 (Europe)
iOS:
May 24, 2009 (USA)
Zeebo:
October 31, 2009 (Brazil)
November 4, 2009 (Mexico)
DSiWare
  • NA September 27, 2010
  • PAL December 24, 2010
Genre(s) Action role-playing game
Mode(s) Single-player
Rating(s) Apple: 9+
DJCTQ: General
Media/distribution Digital distribution
System requirements

iPhone OS 2.0 or greater, Bada 1.0 or greater, Android 1.6 or greater, or Nintendo DSi system with Wi-Fi broadband connection

Zenonia (Korean: 제노니아) is an action role-playing game created, developed, and published by Gamevil for the iOS, Android, Zeebo, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DSi and Windows Mobile. It was released on the App Store on May 24, 2009[1] and on the Android Market on March 27, 2010.[2] It was released for the PlayStation Portable on October 12, 2010.

Contents

Gameplay

The game features real time combat and exploration. The main character, Regret, is controlled through use of an on-screen d-pad, which is located in the lower left corner of the screen.[3] There are many side quests that the player can choose to complete in order to further explore the world. The main storyline can be changed by the player depending on whether they decide to make certain choices that will cause their character's alignment to shift more quickly towards good or evil. There are three classes in which the player can choose from: Paladin, Warrior, or Assassin, each having a unique fighting style. The game also features literally hundreds of different weapons, and a full class skill tree for each of classes. Gamevil claims that Zenonia has 40 hours of gameplay.

Regret's in-game appearance changes based upon his equipped weapon and armor set.[4]

Synopsis

Zenonia's protagonist is Regret, a young man whose origins are initially unknown. His primary mission in the game is to find the reason for the death of his adoptive father at the hands of a demon and subsequently a more powerful evil that is at work.[3]

Development

Zenonia was developed and published by Gamevil. It is a port of a popular mobile game from South Korea.[5] Much of the time spent porting the game to iPhone was spent on translation.[3]

Version 1.1 was released on June 29, 2009. The update improved the touch controls as well as making certain on-screen buttons larger and semi-transparent, making them easier to press accurately without restricting the view of the in-game action.[6][7] Also, the need to eat and repair weapons and armor has been decreased in order to improve the overall playability of the game by lowering the frequency with which the player must return to towns.[6][7] Features of Apple's iPhone OS 3.0, which was released on June 17, 2009,[8] were implemented into the game as well, allowing the user to listen to MP3s in lieu of the in-game soundtrack.[7]

The game was also translated to Portuguese (Brazil) and released for the Zeebo, a Brazilian video-game in January 2010.

Zenonia was released for the Android OS on March 27, 2010. It supports both HVGA and WVGA screen resolutions and runs on Android versions 1.5 and greater. It was later released for Nintendo's DSiWare in North America on September 27, 2010 and in the PAL region on December 24, 2010. On October 12, 2010, it was also released on the PSP.

Reception

 Reception (iOS edition)
Review scores
Publication Score
IGN 9.0/10[9]
VideoGamer.com 8/10[10]
Pocket Gamer 8/10[11]
SlideToPlay.com 4/4[12]

Zenonia has largely received positive reviews and has been compared graphically with earlier games in The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy series.[3] The game's script has been praised for being well-written and humorous.[4] PC Magazine named the game as one of the "must-have" games for iPhone.[13] As of June 24, 2009, version 1.0 of the game had received a 4½ star rating in the App Store, based on 1,979 ratings. Version 1.1 has a 4 star rating as of August 20, 2009, based on 2,032 ratings. As of January 29, 2010, Version 1.3 had received a 4 star rating from 2,297 ratings.

Sequels

Gamevil developed a sequel to Zenonia, "Zenonia 2: The Lost Memories". It features four new characters with their own special abilities and combat tactics: Lu, the paladin (melee class), Ecne, the shooter (gunner class), Morpice, the mage (ranged mage class), and Daza, the warrior (melee class). The sequel features a new interface for character customization with over 1200 new items which, in addition to raising your character's fighting statistics, change his or her appearance. New landscapes have also been added to challenge the player even more than in the previous game. New terrain include ice to skid across, ledges to climb and flowing lava. The game also features Player vs. Player (PVP) battles in a small arena. Each of the game's four towns have a different Arena layout.

The sequel was released in the App Store on March 29, 2010 and the Android Market on December 24, 2010.

A further sequel, Zenonia 3, was released in the Apple App Store on April 28, 2011, and the Android market on August 1, 2011.

The sequel to Zenonia 3, called Zenonia 4, was released in Korea on September 26, 2011. Zenonia 4 was released in the Apple App Store on December 22, 2011. A release date for the Android market is still TBA.

References

  1. ^ "Gamevil Launches Zenonia on Apple App Store" (Press release). Gamevil. 2009-05-24. http://www.developmag.com/press-releases/47580/GAMEVIL-Launches-ZENONIA-on-Apple-App-Store. Retrieved 2009-06-26. 
  2. ^ "GAMEVIL announces ZENONIA now available on the Android Market" (Press release). Gamevil. 2010-03-27. http://www2.gamevil.com/eng_new/about/bbs_view.jsp?seq=226&category=GAMEVIL. Retrieved 2010-03-27. 
  3. ^ a b c d "Zenonia first look". iPhoneGamesNetwork.com. 2009-04-05. http://www.iphonegamenetwork.com/zenonia-first-look. Retrieved 2009-06-26. 
  4. ^ a b Nigel and Nacho. iPGN Unleashed episode 23 iPhoneGamesNetwork.com. Podcast accessed on 2009-06-26.
  5. ^ Buchanan, Levi (2009-04-03). "Zenonia iPhone Preview". IGN.com. http://wireless.ign.com/articles/969/969635p1.html. Retrieved 2009-06-26. 
  6. ^ a b Hodapp, Eli (2009-06-30). "'Zenonia' 1.1 - Controls and Balancing Improved". TouchArcade.com. http://toucharcade.com/2009/06/30/zenonia-11-controls-and-balancing-improved/. Retrieved 2009-07-01. 
  7. ^ a b c Thomas, Chris (2009-06-30). "Zenonia Update Improves Controls and the Game in General". AppGamer.net. http://appgamer.net/news/2009/jun/30/zenonia-update-improves-controls-and-generall-improves-game/. Retrieved 2009-07-01. 
  8. ^ Ogg, Erica (2009-06-08). "Live blog: WWDC 2009 keynote". CNet.com. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10257637-37.html. Retrieved 2009-07-01. 
  9. ^ Buchanan, Levi (2009-05-26). "Zenonia iPhone Review". IGN.com. http://wireless.ign.com/articles/986/986564p1.html. Retrieved 2009-06-24. 
  10. ^ Muldoon, Rory (2009-06-09). "Zenonia Review". VideoGamer.com. http://www.videogamer.com/iphone/zenonia/review.html. Retrieved 2009-06-24. 
  11. ^ Erickson, Tracy (2009-05-26). "Zenonia: An excellent vintage". PocketGamer.co.uk. http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Zenonia/review.asp?c=13447. Retrieved 2009-06-24. 
  12. ^ Palley, Steve (2009-05-26). "Zenonia Review". SlideToPlay.com. http://www.slidetoplay.com/story/zenonia-review. Retrieved 2009-06-24. 
  13. ^ Monson, Kyle (2009-06-10). "10 More Must-Have iPhone Games". PC Magazine: p. 2. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2348468,00.asp. Retrieved 2009-07-01. 

External links