When comparing FOTONICA vs DRAGON QUEST VIII, the Slant community recommends DRAGON QUEST VIII for most people. In the question“What are the best Android games without in-app purchases/paywalls?” DRAGON QUEST VIII is ranked 43rd while FOTONICA is ranked 86th. The most important reason people chose DRAGON QUEST VIII is:
Instead of a class system that is found in all of the previous Dragon Quest titles where players upgrade their player through beating monsters a certain amount of time, Dragon Quest VIII uses a skill system to level up the characters and learn new skills by placing skill points earned through battle into the available skill tree, this allows for a more fine grained approach of leveling a character up.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Unique vector graphics style give an original look while still staying easily readable
The levels as well as the player is all made up of wireframe vector graphics, which not only give a pretty original look to the game itself but allows for a graphical view that is non distracting to the task at hand.
Pro Endless gameplay mode allows for a classic endless runner feel
There are three additional endless stages (on top of the regular stages that are not randomly generated), for classic endless runner gameplay. The three stages are randomly generated making for a new experience each playthrough.
Pro Conveniently switches orientation, making for a game easily played in portrait or landscape
Users can play the game in portrait or landscape, depending on which suits their needs and device better.
Pro Earning achievements exceedingly extends the traditional staged gameplay
Players can earn Google Play Achievements while playing the game, which gives incentive to complete tasks, stretching out the gameplay of the traditional staged levels further than a normal playthrough.
Pro 2 players can easily play on a single devices screen
Two players can play on a single device with each playing on one end of the screen. Each player competes to finish the stage first.
Pro Immersive mode allows for fullscreen gameplay on stock Android devices
FOTONICA uses immersive mode to hide the navigation and notification bar on Android 4.4+ while playing the game, which allows it to take up the whole screen.
Pro Fine grained controls over leveling each character
Instead of a class system that is found in all of the previous Dragon Quest titles where players upgrade their player through beating monsters a certain amount of time, Dragon Quest VIII uses a skill system to level up the characters and learn new skills by placing skill points earned through battle into the available skill tree, this allows for a more fine grained approach of leveling a character up.
Pro One handed gameplay design
The game plays in portrait mode to cater to the hardcore Japanese gaming audience that enjoy being able to play with one hand while commuting.
Pro Really long game
Including side quest the game can easily last over 100 hours.
Pro Classic JRPG battle system
As one would expect of a JRPG there are random battles on the map that are strictly turn based.
Cons
Con No cloud saves
There is no built in cloud save, meaning users cannot pick up where they left off on a different device.
Con Removed content from North American PS2 release
Things like the original orchestrated music and voice acting that were in the original North American Playstation 2 release have been removed from the mobile version of the game. Most likely to save room.