Gamertell Review: Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes for iPod
by at July 24, 2008 6:35 pm
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When I first started seeing iPod games, I figured there would never be anything available beyond casual titles or puzzle games. I was okay with that. I bought Tetris and Phase and figured I was set. And then Square Enix released Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes, a GBA-quality RPG for a selection of iPods.
Song Summoner is easily the best iPod video game available through iTunes. Not only that, it shows that more advanced genres can run on this portable platform. If someone had told me a year ago that I’d be playing an affordable, strategic RPG on my iPod, I’d have called them crazy. And yet here I am, and I’m loving it.
Song Summoner is the story of Ziggy, who happens to have the power of music. A special cube makes him a Conductor who can turn music into warriors known as Tune Troopers and command them in battle. Unfortunately, his world is ruled by a group of robots known as the Mechanical Militia. They want to rule everything and keep humans in their place, and they eliminate any Conductors they get their hands on.
Years ago, when Ziggy was young, he and his brother, Zero, were fleeing from the Mechanical Militia. His brother Zero was captured by the robot Full House. Now, after training and becoming a full Conductor, Ziggy is ready to find and save Zero.
Song Summoner does a lot of things right. It has two save options, an automatic save that saves progress after any major decision or event and a manual save which players can control. This way you can play, stop abruptly, and then choose to resume where you like. It also interacts well with the player’s music library, offers a lot of troop customization options, has great character designs and is affordable. The control scheme is also surprisingly smooth, as the click wheel works perfectly for selecting troops, moving within the field of movement and making decisions.
It isn’t perfect though. The game feels very jerky, what with the constant loading required to enter areas, begin turns, make decisions and cast spells. The images are also quite small, due to the size of the screen. It is also quite the battery hog – it drains my 5G iPod Video within two hours. Consider the time that a strategic RPG can require, it can be quite trying.
Song Summoner succeeds in bringing a deep genre, the strategic RPG, to the portable music device. It isn’t perfect, but it is an admirable attempt and a quality game. If Square Enix continues to create games for iPods, I’m sure future titles will eliminate Song Summoner‘s few flaws.
Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes proves that the iPod is more than an audio and visual device. Previous games for the system have seemed like they were created with a casual audience in mind, but Song Summoner is truly a game designed for serious players that casual players can also enjoy.
I can only hope that Song Summoner is the first of many Square Enix concoctions for the iPod, because I am hooked. I’m finding myself playing my iPod more than my DS or PSP.
Just make sure you have a wall charger for your iPod if you intend to play for over a hour.
Read [Gamertell] Site [Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes]
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