[Game Review] LINE Rangers (iOS, Android)

LINE is a communication & messaging app. Over the years, LINE has released a variety of successful games for users to enjoy playing with their network of LINE friends.

In LINE’s latest game offering LINE Rangers, players play through more than 80 stages of tower defense, collecting adorable Ranger characters of varying skills. The ultimate goal? To rescue cute LINE character Sally from the clutches of her evil alien abductors!

➲ Genre

• Tower Defense

➲ Hands-On

Home

There are 4 types of currency in the game:

• Feathers
  • Automatically regenerate with time (1 every 20 mins)
  • Can be purchased with Friendship Points / Rubies
  • Used as a token for playing each stage
• Rubies
  • Can be purchased with real money (In-app purchase)
  • Used for exchange of Feathers / Coins, playing the Gacha machine
• Coins
  • Earned after successful clearing of any stage
  • Can be purchased with Rubies
  • Used for Upgrades, Ranger Level Up synthesis, powerful add-on Items
• Friendship Points
  • Gifted by Friends / Rewarded by system for helping Friends
  • Used for playing the Gacha machine, Feathers

Gift Box

• Notification centre that lets you accept gifts from the system (Rangers Team) as well as your friends

Gacha Machine

• Normal & Premium grade Ranger characters available
• Random probability
• Uses Rubies / Gacha Ticket (from events) / Friendship Points

My Team

• Select team members from your inventory of Ranger characters
• View Ranger stats
• Sell Ranger
• Level-Up Ranger (Synthesize 2 Rangers to increase Ranger strength)

Upgrade

Using Coins, upgrade various supporting factors for added success in defending your tower:

• Missile Power
• Tower HP
• Mineral Production Rate
• Max Mineral Limit

Friends

Friends are an integral part of almost every LINE game. LINE Rangers is no different in this aspect. Friends are great to have so you can…

• Earn Feathers & Rubies by inviting them to the game
• Send / Receive Friendship Points
• Send / Receive randomly selected helper Ranger
• Have the option to deploy helper Rangers from a friend during any stage

Collection

• Pre-defined Ranger sets offer players a chance to collect different types of Rangers in exchange for reward Rubies
• Enemies are also ‘collected’ in a separate tab after you have defeated them in a stage (No reward though)

Treasure

• Unlock bonus upgrades with 1-3 star treasure items
• Treasure items are awarded (somewhat randomly) at particular stages of the game
• Stages can be replayed to try & obtain higher-starred treasure items

Gameplay

• Overview map shows you which stage your friends are at
• Previously cleared stages may be replayed by selecting the particular stage’s number button
• Single use items such as Tower Repair or Meteor (costing Coins) & Friends or Sidekicks (costing Coins) may be added on for aid in any stage
• Each stage has a variety of cute enemy characters to battle & defend your tower against

• Coins, bonus items (including rare Ranger characters) & Ranger level-ups are awarded upon clearing a stage

Events

• Surprise events keep things fresh in the game by offering exciting time-bound promotions

➲ My Rating

✮✮✮✮✮ (5/5)

• Highly addictive with little to no learning curve (game mechanics are easy to pick up)
• Fans of the LINE character stickers will love this game as it brings the adorable LINE characters to life with appealing graphics, fascinating cut-scenes, and smooth animation throughout
• High replay value as you can repeatedly return to replay completed stages, as well as set up your team each time with a large variety of different Rangers

➲ Download

• LINE Rangers (iTunes App Store)
• LINE Rangers (Google Play)
• FREE (+ option for in-app purchases)