Here are three very highly-rated apps that have the appearance and music of a retro 8-bit game, but all the convenience and features of touchscreen play. Better still, they’re all currently FREE!
Star Wars Tiny Death Star (4/5 stars, guidance suggested due to in-app purchase capability)
This sim game is hilarious, fun and addicting! Run your own tiny Death Star, filled with adorable, tiny Star Wars characters like Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine. From Amazon:
From Disney Mobile, in partnership with LucasArts and Nimblebit, the makers of Tiny Tower, comes an all-new mobile game about everyone’s favorite space station, STAR WARS™: TINY DEATH STAR!
Amidst a civil war in a galaxy far, far away, the Emperor is building a Death Star level by level, and he needs your help. Intergalactic war is expensive, and space stations are, too. Do you have any idea how much it costs to build one the size of a moon?
Live life on the dark side, and join Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader on a mission to attract Galactic bitizens, run intergalactic businesses, and build an all-new Death Star! With that hard-earned money, fund the Empire’s evil schemes to defeat the Rebels and conquer the galaxy once and for all!
With the power of the Dark Side, you’ll be able to…
BUILD THE LARGEST DEATH STAR AROUND: Earn credits to expand your Death Star, and build over 80 types of Star Wars themed residential and commercial floors like Rebo’s Karaoke and Cloud City Spa!
HIRE STAR WARS GALACTIC BITIZENS: Attract over 30 unique species including Wookiees and Ewoks, and fulfill their dream jobs! Not everyone on the Death Star wants to be the Empire’s minion; some might just want to work at the local ice cream shop…
FUEL THE EMPIRE’S EVIL SCHEMES UNDERGROUND: Below the hustle and bustle of the businesses above, build secretive, underground imperial levels to craft special supplies that will aide your Imperial troops in the fight against the Rebels.
CAPTURE REBEL SPIES: As stealthy as your Death Star development may be, expect break-ins from Rebel spies such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and more! Capture them before they escape!
UNLOCK ENTERTAINING STORY MOMENTS: While running your Death Star, keep your eyes peeled for new scenes featuring many of your favorite characters like Han Solo, Chewie, Jabba the Hutt, and more.
Hurry and get on your way to building the largest, most destructive space station in the galaxy!
Pixel Kingdom (4.5/5 stars, guidance suggested due to in-app purchase capability)
If you’re more in the mood for a medieval battlefield experience, try this strategy / RPG game. From Amazon:
Command your army to victory! Pixel Kingdom is an RPG Defense game in which you collect Units to fight for you across infinite levels. There are tons of Units, Items, and Gear to unlock with your hard earned Gold. Pixel Kingdom features multiple environments with 50+ unique enemy units including rare and powerful Dragons. Complete with a full set of achievements, Pixel Kingdom is an easy defense game to pick up but hard to master!
• Infinite Levels – Yeah I know right it’s crazy! The game will never end. You will always be able to go to the next level and constantly upgrade your units! Gameplay will become harder as you progress and you will face stronger types of enemies.
• A large variety of Units – You are free to mix and match to unravel which units work well with one another!
• Tons of unlockables – Unlock new gear as you progress in levels and collect gold. Want all of your knights to have flaming swords? You got it.
• Achievements – Well duh everyone loves achievements.
• Secret Items – Monsters have a chance to drop rare items! Perhaps you may get lucky and acquire one of the Seven Sacred Rings that provide a permanent buff such as bonus damage, mana, gold, etc.
• Exciting Environments – Fend off a horde of Goblins on the grassy plains! Survive an onslaught of Spiders in a dark cave! Take part in a castle siege and slay any foes that dare to cross your path!
• Awesome Art Style – You can probably tell I am a huge fan of pixel art. What inspires me is the amount of detail people can create with such little space to work with. This is what I live by and strive to make my pixel art better every day!
Random Heroes (4/5 stars, guidance suggested for in-game purchase capability)
People who enjoy side-scrolling platformers and superheroes will want to check this one out! From Amazon:
From the creators of the award winning platform game League of Evil comes Ravenous Games’ new action platformer Random Heroes!! Brought to Android by Noodlecake Games!
A group of unlikely heroes are set out to save the world. Monsters from another dimension are trying to take over Earth.
Blast your way through these invaders in this action platformer!
Collect coins and upgrade your weapons and characters to become stronger, faster and more lethal!
Choose your hero and save the world!