HIT: Heroes of Incredible Tales (iOS) Review

Korean RPGs; either people love them, or hate them. Often there seems to be no in-between on this subject, and the divider is the grinding. Heroes of Incredible Tales is no exception to this rule, but it is still worth a shot even for those more cautious about Korean RPGs. There are many reasons for it. The first and most obvious one is the graphics. The world and the models are beautifully created. This sets the tone for the rest of the experience.

Most of the game is really well thought-out and designed extremely well to create a constantly increasing staircase of difficulty and grinding to get to the top. For most of the main story, little to no grinding is actually required to beat it as the player will receive enough loot and experience to keep up.

During this introduction period, those in control will also receive enough energy to proceed through the adventure with ease. This is a very pleasing change of pace from the usual releases in this genre that very often live on the energy to keep the income. This ease through the main story has a price though: the PvP.

New PvP'ers are in for a real nightmare with Heroes of Incredible Tales, unless they are willing to pay Nexon a huge sum of money. The matchmaking seems all but fair and balanced. It is uncertain if this is due to an actual bad matchmaking system or because new players with no intention of paying three-digit numbers to enjoy PvP are bouncing right out when they see their opponents. It is obvious that time and money spent should make the PvP easier. It is silly in Heroes of Incredible Tales, though. A player with worse gear can never hope to win against a player with better gear - almost no matter the skill difference.

PvP'ers are left with two choices: either grind the campaign plus the post main story campaign, which is no quick feat mind you, to gain proper gear. Or they could pay a huge amount of money to get gear. It is really a terrible experience for people who are just looking for some PvP.

In the grand schemes of things, Heroes of Incredible Tales is definitely on the stronger side of the f2p market. It is, however, hampered by the KRPG designs mixed with obnoxious p2w, which makes PvP a nightmare to enter the first time. It is a really strong ARPG PvE game for the smartphone, though, and that alone is something it can live well on.