Langrisser

With its great art and sound, fun (if typical) good-versus-evil story, wide range of activities, and generous attitude toward free play, this mobile role-playing game does justice to its roots. In Langrisser, once you've chosen from four classes for your starting hero, you learn the ropes of squad building and turn-based combat. New RPG-ers could be intimidated by this with so many different heroes, skills, items, and upgrades, but the app serves this info up in digestible chunks. Its interface is orderly and intuitive. This might sound like a small thing, but it matters, since so much of your time is spent inside of menus tinkering with armor, weapons, skills, crafting, and squad makeup. Of course, menus hardly matter if combat isn't fun, but Langrisser has pulled that off, too. Master strategists will love changing units' positions before battle and altering their attack order every turn. They'll also enjoy unlocking and customizing heroes' support units to fit any battle. Story hounds will relish jumping into the Time Rift and witnessing important events from Langrisser's past and bonding with heroes. Finally, more practical types will savor the experience potions, equipment, crafting materials, and special prizes they earn in various secret realms and in Training mode.

There's lots to do here as a single player, but if you're the social type, there's even more. Arena mode lets you fight other players, and you can take on bigger challenges (and earn greater rewards) by joining or creating a guild. For parents, the one downside could be the ongoing temptation to buy things from the in-app shop. Fun hero skins are hard to resist, and in-app currency is a definite shortcut to better, more powerful squads. Moreover, kids who can't take this route could be tempted to spend too many hours with the app, trying to keep up with spendier friends. Still, provided game sessions and spending are kept under control, Langrisser is a great mobile RPG that's both fun and accessible.