Reversi is a classic board game invented in the 19th century in England played on a 8 x 8 board using 64 identical pieces called disks. Each of these pieces is dark on one side and light on the other, easily switching during the game from one player to the other. Each of the pieces can be moved horizontally, vertically or diagonally, as long as it’s right next to a opponent’s piece. The goal of the game is to have the most pieces on the board in the color you started playing with, so the game ends when all the positions have been filled, thus counting the most of one color, or when the other player can’t do any legal moves.

That was the board game, the one that gained popularity for the past hundred years, but in a mobile world it was impossible not to have the game ported to Android or other mobile platforms. Rev Ersi Quest, is such an adaptation for Android, a free game of Reversi with a huge twist, as it’s being played as an RPG. From playing it I can say that it’s like playing Heroes of Might and Magic in a Reversi board-game style, it has a story of its own, you have a map and fight enemies, you have a hero that levels up, resources, heal points, mana points and everything that you’re used to from other RPG games.

This game is huge, there’s a lot of hours to play and advance through the game, so before you do that let me present a bit the gameplay:

  • You choose your character at the beginning and then the story starts (male or female). Your character has HP (healing points) and MP (mana points), an experience and levels up. You’re a soldier that has to advance through the Othellia island and fight enemies to defend the island. After you choose your character you are presented with a map with your progress, and you start the game by selecting a fighting realm. You roll a dice to advance on your path, and on each roll you encounter enemies.
  • Before each battle you can see your opponent’s character, its powers and everything else for you to evaluate if you can win or not.
  • The game itself is played on a Reversi-like board, just that in the beginning there aren’t 64 cells, and you only start with an army of 12 (and as the game progresses you’ll end up playing with 32 figures just like in regular Reversi). In your army you have attackers and healers, the attackers will “destroy” the enemies based on the Reversi rules (same allowed moves), while the healers will help increase your HP (healing points).
  • Each time it’s your turn to move, you just tap on one of your soldier figures and you’ll see your allowed moves, as well as how that will impact your enemy (which is very useful to see how powerful your attack will be).
  • You win the fight when your enemy’s healing points reach 0, but if it happens to lose yours you’ll have to replay that fight again. For every battle fought your character gains experience points, and those help you level up. With each level-up your HP and MP (mana points for magic spells) increase
  • Of course that there’s a currency involved too, Gold and Crystal in this case, which you can exchange for various items to equip your characters with or improve your army. You get to put on 2 items (i.e. weapons and armors) which improve your abilities in a fight.
  • It’s much more to it, as for instance your army can consist of over 20 different types of soldiers, aside the Healers and Attackers you get Defenders, Manatakers, Load and lots more. You’re also able to use magic spells if you have enough mana, organize your fighters in troops and over 100 achievements to discover throughout the game.

Since words can be overwhelming, just take a look at the game in this video too to understand better how it’s played:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oylHVGutAD0

I’ve been a long RPG fan especially for the Heroes saga and that’s why Rev Ersi Quest is a game that I could see myself playing on a tablet and if you’re a fan of the genre plus played the classic Reversi it’s worth giving it a try too. The developer announced that it has some updates planned, the most important of them being the fact that you’ll be able to play online against other real players plus that all players will have a rank. You can get the game from the developer’s website at http://yokogosystems.com/ or via Google Play: Rev Ersi Quest.

We’ve discussed with the lead designer for Rev Ersi Quest so if you want to find out more about the game plans and other details you can read the interview below:

Q: Can you share some information about yourself with our readers?

A: I’m a graphic designer for video games, making social games for iOS and Android.
In the past 10 months as soon as I come back from my work I have used all my time to make Rev Ersi Quest.

Q: How did you come with the idea to create Rev Ersi Quest, what inspired you?

A: I was working at another board game which was for kids and suddenly I had an idea to use the rules of Reversi for the game. At the same time I thought of combining RPG elements + Reversi rules, so I changed the game concept to fantasy world.

Q: How long did it take from that idea until the first public release?

A: Around 10 months because our team is very small. I’m in charge of game design, in-game graphics, menu design and translation and the other guy is in charge of all programming.

Q: Have you developed other games or is this your first one? Do they target only the Android market or others as well (i.e. iOS)?

A: I have more than 10 years of experience in game development, but this is my first time to release my own game. I’m considering other platforms such as iOS, Ouya and PS Mobile.

Q: With hundred of thousand of games in the appstore, how do you make people aware of Rev Ersi Quest?

A: That’s the hardest part in the current appstore or Google Play store. As the main market for Rev Ersi Quest consists of gamers, not people who play casual games, I need to make this available to hard-core gamers somehow.

Q: What future plans you have for your Rev Ersi Quest (new features, …)?

A: I plan to new chapters, figures, equipments, magic, online battle system and rankings.

Q: What popular games are an inspiration for you as a developer and why?

A: Nintendo games are always in my mind, they are full of mistery, gimmicks and surprises.

Q: Have any tips/advices for other developers that want to start working on a game? Any tools that you consider to be a must?

A: Unity is a very powerful game engine, which allows us to develop this game even with a small team of only 2 members.