Found this little tidbit on the Touch Arcade forums regarding Zenonia 2 and a bit on VANQUISH: The Oath of Brothers from Gamevil.

Gamevil, the developers of Zenonia and Baseball Superstars 2010, have revealed some new information for Zenonia 2: The Lost Memories, and has also released a new trailer for their upcoming artistic action RPG Vanquish: The Oath of Brothers.

The original Zenonia, launched in May of this year, was quite a hit among iPhone and iPod touch gamers because it brought a “real” RPG experience to the platform. Now the developers intend to expand on that experience in Zenonia 2: The Lost Memories.

The game will feature four distinct characters to choose from, a Paladin, Shooter, Magician, and Warrior, instead of the single character you were stuck with in the original. The Magician and Warrior classes will be capable of attacking from a distance thanks to their range skills. Zenonia 2 will also feature three levels of difficulty, which should help the game appeal to newcomers and veterans. Playing on the Hard and Hellish difficulties will allow you to obtain unique loot and access a hidden boss stage. The game will also be receiving new terrain effects, such as water, snow, and ice, that will add a slight twist to the gameplay.

Speaking of twists, Zenonia 2 will sport asynchronous online multiplayer, which means you will be able to download and compete against your friends’ character. Gamevil has’t exactly explained how this system is going to work, so you will just have to wait until Zenonia 2’s release in March to find out.

Little is known about Vanquish: The Oath of Brothers at this point, except that it will be an “artistic action RPG” and that it will be hitting the App Store in late February. But how can’t you get excited for another action RPG from the creators of Zenonia?

Not too much about VANQUISH, but asynchronous online multiplayer has interested and perplexed me. More as Gamevil releases more info!

GAMEVIL has recently released the trailer for their up and coming game – VANQUISH: The Oath of Brothers.

No gameplay footage, but you can see a small sneak peek at 0:26 of the video, and it looks like a very stylish game! I look forward to more developments of this, and hopefully we can bring you a sneak peek if we get invited into the beta!

Zenonia is an action RPG game developed by Gamevil.

The Game

Zenonia fuses SNES era Legend of Zelda with Diablo-esque RPG elements, creating a content-rich action RPG worthy of a 16-bit console release. The protagonist, Regret, can be one of three classes – Paladin, Assassin, or Warrior – and choose from talent trees with both active and passive skills. Each level up offers both stat and skill points for distribution. While the amount points to dole out might turn off the casual gamer, it only extends the content available to the action RPG fantatic.

You can port between towns.

An on-screen d-pad and action button control the bulk of the action, but two sets of smaller buttons act as quick slots for items and abilities. Arguably, the combat has depth; depending on your class, you have a handful of active skills at your disposal. As a Warrior, however, I found myself simply pressing the attack button ad infinitum. Even when special moves outclass your basic attack, the miniscule quickslot buttons require a level of finger precision not meant for active combat. If you can manage it, there’s a satisfying feeling from sending a monster reeling backwards with a critical strike, dashing forward, and unleashing a devastating special attack. The problem is, you never need to.

The game offers varying gameplay speeds, the lowest of which grants you a feeling of precise control. Unfortunately, the consequence of this is sacrificing your ability to speed through the often dull sections of grinding that Zenonia requires to keep up with the level of the story monsters. Even the directional pad lends itself to finger slip-ups; considering the hardware offers no tactile response, 360 degree movement would have been a blessing to Zenonia.

Gamevil clearly designed the game with traditional action RPGs in mind, which is both its greatest asset and liability. From the cliche story to the perfunctory dialogue, Zenonia leads the player into a shallow and unimmersive world. During story sequences, I found myself yerning for the awkward, single-button combat. Regret even occassionally pitifully shatters the fourth wall, as if begging for reprive from the drudgery of living inside a generic RPG world.

Usin’ dem active skills.

Despite the cliches, Zenonia is incredibly fleshed out. Most gamers will feel a tinge of nostalgia as they guide Regret on his quest to find his father. Throughout the course of his quest, you’ll be faced with several choices that define you as good or evil. Your alignment changes the story path, but certain choices aren’t distinctly good or evil in the players eyes until after they’ve been selected. It offers literally hundreds of items with varying rarities, several story paths, and dozens of hours of gameplay.

Graphics

If Zenonia shines anywhere, it’s here. The vibrant and varied enviornments are crisp and clean on the iPhone. Visual effects from special attacks actually give you the feeling that you struck a monster ferociously. Even the monsters themselves are well designed. Gamevil delivered top-notch visuals while retaining the essence of 16-bit graphics.

Sound

The music is standard for the genre; I found myself listening to my own music while playing more often than not. The sound effects are clean and appropriate, somehow managing to not be obnoxious after the thousandth sword swing.

Conclusion

The ability to save anywhere is a nice touch. While the game certainly has its flaws, it stands out as the premier action RPG for the iPhone and will keep you busy for longer than you could ask for the price.

Score

MustTap Score: Silver Tap

Looks great and gives out some quality stuff!

Bottom Line
Zenonia might not be the perfect game, but you'd be hard pressed to find an iPhone offering that outclasses it within the genre. Action RPG fans shouldn't think twice about buying.

Screenshots