''Terra Battle'' was a

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

developed by

Mistwalker is an independent video game development studio. The company was founded in July 2004 by Hironobu Sakaguchi, best known for his work at Square including creating the ''Final Fantasy'' series. The company has created both game franchises such as ' ...

. It was released for

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

and Android devices on October 9, 2014. It was produced by

Hironobu Sakaguchi is a Japanese game designer, director, producer, and writer. Originally working for Square (later Square Enix) from 1983 to 2003, he departed the company and founded independent studio Mistwalker in 2004. He is known as the creator of the ''Fin ...

, the creator of the ''

Final Fantasy is a Japanese video game, Japanese science fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and ...

'' series, with music by

Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton Jo ...

of the same series. Service for the game was discontinued in June 2020.

Gameplay

The game plays as a tile-based

tactical role-playing game Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (turn-bas ...

, with elements of

collectible card game A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ...

s and

puzzle video games Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving, spatial recognition, and word completion. H ...

as well.

Development

The earliest reports from the game come from June 2014, when

trademarked the name ''Terra Battle''. The game was officially revealed through ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...

'' on July 1, 2014. The game was released on

and Android on October 9, 2014. To promote the game, Sakaguchi chose to create a new model of releasing content. Inspired by

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

, he created a means called "Download Starter", where new content would be created based on the number of downloads the game would receive. He enjoyed the fan involvement that came with KickStarter campaigns, but did not like the idea of fans directly financing development. Instead, he chose the "Download Starter" model, which was aimed to create interest in the game after it was already created. At 100,000 downloads, more music from

was created for the game. After the game had been downloaded 1.6 million times, composer

Kenji Ito , also known by the nickname , is a Japanese video game composer and musician. He is best known for his work on the ''Mana'' and '' SaGa'' series, though he has worked on over 30 video games throughout his career as well as composed or arranged ...

joined the project, with ''

Kingdom Hearts is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square (video game company), Square). It is a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company and is under the leadership of Tetsuya ...

'' series composer

Yoko Shimomura is a Japanese composer and pianist primarily known for her work in video games. She graduated from the Osaka College of Music in 1988 and began working in the video game industry by joining Capcom the same year. She wrote music for several game ...

joining him after the game had been downloaded 1.7 million times. To commemorate the milestone of 1,800,000 downloads, a new musical track by famed ''Chrono'' series composer

Yasunori Mitsuda is a Japanese composer, musician, and sound producer. He is best known for his work in video games, primarily for the ''Chrono (series), Chrono'', ''Xeno (series), Xeno'', ''Shadow Hearts'', and ''Inazuma Eleven (series), Inazuma Eleven'' franch ...

was added to the game. The final milestone, at two million downloads, would have been releasing a version of the game on consoles. The game's servers were shut down on June 30, 2020.

Reception

Pocket Gamer ''Pocket Gamer'' is a video game website that focuses on mobile, portable and handheld games. The site launched in 2005 and is published and owned by UK company Steel Media Ltd. The site covers all major portable and mobile gaming formats, incl ...

'' described their reaction to the preview build of the game as "cautiously optimistic", stating that the game was "an RPG stripped down to its barest bones, and...it works surprisingly well." while citing concern with the minimal graphics and

free to play Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...

payment model. ''

Joystiq ''Joystiq'' was a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 as part of the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs, now owned by AOL. It was AOL's primary video game blog, with sister blogs dealing with MMORPG gaming in general and the popular MMORPG ''W ...

'' played a version available to play at

PAX Prime PAX (originally known as Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming culture festivals involving tabletop, arcade, and video gaming. PAX is held annually in Seattle, Boston and Philadelphia in the United States; and Melbourne in Australia. PAX was ...

2014, and stated that, while the game was overwhelmingly frantic at first, " the slide-and-move-on action was innate and enjoyable enough to encourage continued play." ''

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...

'' praised the core gameplay, but expressed concern over the long-term effects of the game's imposed waiting time periods.

Legacy

In June 2017,

announced a sequel and spinoff to the game, respectively titled ''Terra Battle 2'' and ''Terra Wars'', both for Android and for iOS. ''Terra Battle 2'' was released on September 21, 2017, but its lack of success led to it being discontinued, with it being removed from storefronts on June 3, 2018, and its servers shutdown in September 2018.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 2014 video games Android (operating system) games IOS games Mistwalker games Multiplayer and single-player video games Role-playing video games Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Hitoshi Sakimoto Video games scored by Kenji Ito Video games scored by Nobuo Uematsu Video games scored by Yasunori Mitsuda Video games scored by Yoko Shimomura