With as many mobile games as I’ve played and tried out over the years, there are only really a few games that I keep on my phone after a week or two. I get bored of games quickly unless they can keep my attention daily and if they provide new content on a consistent bases. With that said, my newest addiction is Brave Frontier by Gumi Inc. It is a turn-based action RPG that has much in common with Pokemon.

The main goal of the game is to build the strongest team of heroes you can in order to defeat hordes of monsters and enemy warriors. You do so by collecting heroes, leveling up those heroes to be stronger, and the ultimately evolving them into stronger versions of themselves. It’s this aspect of the game that is very much like Pokemon with the ability to collect hundreds of different hero types over time. You start off with one hero and as you complete quests, you can gain even more. Heroes you gain are ranked from common to mega rare with the megas being more powerful and useful to your team.

Most of the heroes you gain can be made stronger through a process called fusing. This is where you take the base hero and fuse it with other heroes you may not need or want. Your base hero gains XP from this and becomes stronger. If you max out the level of your heroes, some can be evolved to become stronger versions of themselves. You’ll need special “evolution materials” for this which usually consist of other rare heroes used as ingredients. Some of these can be quite hard to come by and will require questing within the vortex.

That brings me to gameplay modes, and there several you can choose from. There is the regular story related quests which is where you want to start off your game. Next up is the Vortex which is another set up quests unrelated to the story. These are usually special quests that are part of some timed event. You can only play these for a set amount of time and these usually change daily. These there is the Arena. This is where you can test your team out against other real life players. This game mode seems to be automatic however and you have no control of what your heroes do in this mode. Lastly, there is the Raid Battles which I really can’t tell you much about because I’m not a high enough level to play these yet.

Battling isn’t all these is to do. There is the town and city you can visit to do things like synthesize potions, spheres, view special missions, and even learn more about your heroes. These is actually quite a lot to do outside of questing if you take the time to explore the game. There’s even a social aspect to the game where you can friend other players to help you out on your quests.

I haven’t been addicted to a mobile game since Candy Crush (which I stopped playing last year). Brave Frontier is seriously a game that at least for me, is impossible to put down once you’ve started. I always want to do one more quest or one more arena battle. There’s always the constant need to check out which elements I need for evolution and which heroes I can mark to use as fusing fuel. Brave Frontier isn’t just a game, but instead is a cure for boredom. It’s a game that is very deep with so much new to do and discover  that it should keep you busy for months and months.

iTunes Link: Brave Frontier
Version: 1.3.22
Developer: Gumi inc.
Price: Free
In-App Purchases: Yes
Compatible Devices: (Universal App) Requires iOS 5.1.1 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.