In the long roster of mobile RPGs, Last Cloudia is one you're definitely going to want to add to your party. The real-time action RPG will feel very familiar for JRPG fans, even ones who've always played on consoles. Your group of unlikely heroes grows throughout a story campaign about a quest of world-changing proportions in a world of humans and beast people—sounds like some old favorites, right? Along the way, your brash young protagonist, his humanoid beast fighting partner, and a shy girl with secret powers all get to know one another and their other new companions through dialogue cutscenes and animated sequences between battles.
The battles, of course, are the focus. You'll progress the story by taking on different combat missions with your chosen party of three characters. Last Cloudia does have an auto-battle function, but the active combat is worth getting into. The standard attack button functions like a virtual joystick to steer your pixel sprite party members around their 3D battlefields. You'll command one of your party members at a time during battle while the rest are controlled by AI, but you're free to switch to any member during a fight if you'd like to better manage who they're targeting and which skills they're using.
Although your party initially starts out fighting groups of small grunts, it doesn't take long at all before the story starts pitting you against bosses. That's where your bigger skills come in handy, some unlocked by purchasing them in the skill tree and others granted by powerful equippable Ark items. The biggest of the bunch, the summoned monsters that you'll unlock later, come with animated sequences to really blow enemies away.
Like other free-to-play RPGs, Last Cloudia does have a type of energy system controlling how you enter battles but isn't stingy about your play time. You're free to grind as much as you like, whether you're actively battling or turning on auto mode. Although the game encourages you to equip your Ark items to grant your party special boosts and teach them permanent skills, you're free to take on fights without Arks equipped. That said, battling your way up the ranks is more fun when you use Arks and summons to customize your set-up.
Outside of the minute-to-minute battles, Last Cloudia has tons of hidden content like minigames and a multi-volume original manga that you can unlock and read in game. In addition, Last Cloudia has other mobile service game systems you might be familiar with. There are login bonuses to earn, different currencies to manage, a cash shop, and a gacha system. Limited time events and gacha pulls will let you earn special currencies and new unlockable party members.
In fact, Last Cloudia's newest announced character crossover is a big one for JRPG action fans. NieR:Automata characters 2B, 9S, and A2 will all be joining the fight in the upcoming collaboration event. NieR:Automata-themed Arks will be added to the game such as one designed like Emil's head and opera singer Simone. You'll be able to unlock 9S as a character just by clearing battles in the collaboration event.
You can check out more about Last Cloudia's characters, combat, and events over on its YouTube channel and Facebook page.
