The best iPhone and iPad games this week - Dragon Quest VIII, Battleheart Legacy, TwoDots

Every Friday, Pocket Gamer offers hands-on impressions of the week's best new iPhone and iPad games.

By Square Enix - buy on iPhone and iPad (£13.99 / $19.99)

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A classic from the PS2 era, Dragon Quest VIII is a glimpse back to when JRPGs were a little less complex than they are now.

The game plays in portrait, which takes a little getting used to, but the spellbinding tale of transformed princesses, sell-swords, and monsters, is still as engaging as it ever was.

Everything is slickly presented, and while the game might be missing the voice acting that made the original Western release stand out, there's still an awful lot to like here.

If you're a fan of the JRPG then it's a good bet you've already got this installed. If you're not, it's still worth some strong consideration.

By Mika Mobile - buy on iPhone and iPad (£2.99 / $4.99)

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A 3D retweaking of the iOS classic, Battleheart Legacy is an RPG with a decidedly mobile slant, its action and adventure squashed into bite-sized dungeon raids and heavy levelling.

Where its predecessor, the Silver Award-winning Battleheart, was a side-on affair, here's you're trundling through the third dimension, whomping bad guys as you do.

There's a whiff of MMO-style combat, some RPG levelling elements, and a strategic core to proceedings that means you need to think about each attack.

Battleheart Legacy might shake the series up, but at its heart it's just as exciting and engaging as the original.

By Betaworks One - download on iPhone and iPad (free)

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Where Dots was a laid-back affair that concentrated on score chasing, its sequel is more focused. There are challenges to complete, dots to clear, and move limits to adhere to.

It looks just as good as the original, but there's an odd story about a pair of dots traversing the world thrown in as well.

There's Facebook-connected leaderboards, Game Center achievements to unlock, and a hefty lump of challenges to try and complete.

Fans of the original will lap this up, and anyone trying out the series for the first time will likely find the more directed puzzles a little more rewarding.