 Many complaints came from the fact the game had been ported to a more technically capable system, making its origins as a mobile phone game more noticeable, such as simple graphics and short game length.GameSpot noted this by saying "Orcs & Elves' simplicity doesn't do much to hide its roots as a mobile phone game" Eurogamer mentioned "what would be a surprising effort for a mobile phone is somewhat disappointing on the DS", being more of "a thick lump of nostalgia" while GameSpy found it "looks different and plays better than the mobile phone original" and that "more than innovating, the game is designed to stay true to a certain tradition that old-school players will definitely welcome after years of starvation.