When comparing Elona+ vs Pixel Heroes: Byte & Magic, the Slant community recommends Elona+ for most people. In the question“What are the best roguelikes/roguelites on PC?” Elona+ is ranked 37th while Pixel Heroes: Byte & Magic is ranked 47th. The most important reason people chose Elona+ is:
Even though the original developer of the game finished Elona, the community came and made an expansion called Elona+ which is updated regularly to this day (adding a new story, items, NPCs). In Elona you can only go around North Tyris, in Elona+ you can go to South Tyris and Lost Irva after finishing the Act 1.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Active community
Even though the original developer of the game finished Elona, the community came and made an expansion called Elona+ which is updated regularly to this day (adding a new story, items, NPCs). In Elona you can only go around North Tyris, in Elona+ you can go to South Tyris and Lost Irva after finishing the Act 1.
Pro Easy to get in
Of course, to be at the top a visit or two to a wiki might help. But to start to play and have fun? Aside the starting tutorial, you don't need anything more. This is a far cry away from other roguelikes which try to be as much as in deep, but end up being too complex.
Pro Graphically pleasant
The zelda-like (or RPGMaker-like) graphic might not be everyone's cup of tea, but is pleasant to look at, and makes everything very clear and intuitive.
Pro Surprising amout of content
Number of skills. Number of unique abilities gained at certain skill levels. Number of spells. Number of random quests. Number of weapons. Number of combinations of everything with any material. Pets. Everything is up to 11th in this game.
Pro Lots of customization options
Do you want to become a snail pianist? There are a lot of customization options like races, jobs, and clothing.
Pro The game can be modified
You can replace or add some files to make your own NPCs change their appearance and add some new features to the game.
Pro Marry anyone
You want to marry a girl? How about a god? A dog? If you find that boring, how about a Tentacle monster that can destroy worlds? in Elona+ you can marry any of them.
Pro Pixel perfect
Graphics and fonts are pixel perfect.
Pro Retro look, sound & feel
Authentic 8bit visuals, sound & music. Also with authentic low screen resolution.
Pro Quick save
A feature that should be necessary for all mobile games, quick save allows the user to set the game down at any time by saving quickly, making for a game that can be played in plenty of short bursts without loosing any progression.
Pro Humorous with nerd culture references
The game has a good sense of humor with many inside jokes referencing things such as Tolkien, Lovecraft as well as modern day dev. culture.
Pro Tons of loot
Cons
Con Eventually all your PCs will look almost the same
Since there isn't a siginificative penalty about a wizard who is even a farmer, who is even a fencer, who is even a bodybuilder, eventually all your PCs will end up being some "jack of all trades", with the only limit to them being imposed by the player himself and a bit by the initial race chosen. This makes it a bit repetitive over more playthroughs.
Con Some NPCs have untranslated dialogues
The developer is Japanese, so is the game. All the important dialogues are translated, while the others are not.
Con Limited starting characters
Starting characters are limited and random, which can be frustrating, especially when the game is centered around restarting many, many times.
Con No roguelite features
Pixel Heroes subscribes to Roguelike rules where there is zero carry over from previous playthroughs. When compared to the small amount of progression seen in Roguelites this may be a turn off for some users.
Con Status effects overpowered
Status effects have too much of an advantage over the player, which means a focus has to be on countering them, leaving other elements to not be focused on due to being under-powered in comparison.