To be honest, as an old player who has played since the Symbian era, I feel quite emotional watching mobile games evolve from the original Snake and Tetris to the current point. I have recently been playing "One Piece: The Road to the Strongest", which is a card turn-based mobile game that has surprised me recently.
Let's talk about the game itself first. This game is officially authorized by ONE PIECE. To be honest, I have played a lot of mobile games adapted from the One Piece IP. Most of them were skin-changing and cutting leeks, but this "One Piece Road to the Strong" gave me a good first impression. The restoration of classic scenes is very high, from the East China Sea chapter to the battle on the top, the plot line is very carefully crafted, and it is not the kind of thing where you just post a few pictures and it's done. The gameplay is a traditional turn-based card game, but with the addition of cross-server PVP such as maritime hegemony and peak showdown, there is still some strategy, and it is not a mindless accumulation of combat power.
But what I want to talk about is not just this game, but more about the development trends of mobile games in recent years. In the early 2000s, mobile phones were still dominated by Nokia, and games were basically stand-alone games. You could have a lot of fun playing JAVA games with dozens of KB. The transplanted versions of "Xuanyuan Sword: Traces of the Sky" and "Legend of Sword and Fairy" were all masterpieces. Later, smartphones became popular and mobile games began to explode. However, in the early days, there were various copycats and reskinned games. Now, the industry has matured, and big manufacturers have a monopoly, making it difficult for small companies to survive. But to be honest, the overall quality of mobile games has improved.
Take "One Piece: The Road to the Strong" as an example. The developer Chengdu Zhuoxing is not a top-notch company, but it can make a game with genuine authorization, perfect gameplay, and decent graphics. This shows that the threshold of the mobile game market has indeed been raised. Without any real effort, it can't even get a release. And the charging model is 0, which means free download and in-app purchase. This is basically the mainstream mobile game business model now. Compared with the JAVA games that cost dozens of dollars to buy out, the free + in-app purchase model now allows more people to try it, but the depth of the money is also a headache, which can be regarded as a double-edged sword.
I think mobile games will become more and more high-quality, IP-based, and social-oriented in the future. For example, "One Piece's Road to the Strong" relies on One Piece IP to attract sentimental parties, and then enhances social stickiness through cross-server battles and guild battles. This is a relatively typical product idea. But to be honest, players are becoming more and more picky now. IP and feelings alone are not enough. The quality of the game itself is the basis for retaining people.
In short, if you are a One Piece fan and like strategy cards, this game is worth trying. I'm not bragging, but as a veteran player for ten years, my evaluation is: above qualified, with bright spots, but don't have too high expectations. After all, the mobile game market is now saturated, and games that you can play are pretty good. 😊