Egglia: Legend of the Redcap [$9.99] is an example of a game that betrays expectations to its own detriment. Because the development team consists of some key people who worked on Square's Mana series, the game's look and marketing might give you the impression it's a similar game. It's not. The game carries a relatively high price tag and no IAP, factors which usually point to a more traditional gaming experience, but Egglia also requires you to maintain an online connection and deal with a lot of timers and social RPG elements. On a fundamental level, you might look at the game's previews and screenshots and think you're getting something along the lines of a standard JRPG. But it's not that, either. Sadly, I think if you come into the game holding too strongly to any of these reasonable expectations, you're a lot less likely to enjoy the game for what it is. I suppose that's at least one major thing Egglia has in common with the average Mana game.
I'm going to start by skipping to the end. I like Egglia a lot. I think it's a really enjoyable game, and well-worth the price paid in both money and time. It feels like the developers were trying to evoke a similar feeling to the wonderful oddball Legend of Mana, and while I think they fell well short of that game in most respects, I cannot help but applaud such a noble attempt. There are a lot of things I wish they had done differently both in terms of the game design itself and how they've opted to deliver it, but I like a ...