Conquer Online is Really Popular

Apparently the 2D MMORPG Conquer Online from TQ Digital is incredibly popular. I’ve heard of the game before and have played several other TQ Digital games including Eudemons Online and Zero Online, but never Conquer Online. Just yesterday I decided to give the game a try, as I’ve seen ads for it on a few sites and wanted to see what the big deal was. To no surprise, the game’s visuals were very much similar to both Eudemons and Zero Online. It seems like all the games from TQ Digital run off of the same exact engine game engine. The Way of the Five, The Warlords, Crazy Tao and the other MMORPGs published by TQ Digital are the exact same way. I don’t mean to say this in a bad way, as the visuals in Conquer Online aren’t bad. I say not bad, because even though the graphics aren’t Karos Online or The Pirates of the Burning Sea style “shiny”, the visuals are good enough to get the job done. To be honest, I don’t like it when games dedicate all their resources to trying have the newest and best possible graphics out there. I mean just look at games like Archlord from Webzen and RF Online. Both games launched as great looking MMORPGs, but over time their graphics lost their flare. Both games are considered fairly “ugly” by today’s standards, especially with games like Vindictus and to a lesser degree Dynasty Warriors Online pushing the boundaries of graphics.

The way I look at it – if a game is 2D, the graphics won’t really age that much over time. 2D games most certainly age better than 3D ones. I mean just look at Istaria and Planetside – both games launched as games with ground-breaking graphics, but today they’re nothing special. Personally, I think the visuals in some 2D MMORPGs like WonderKing, MapleStory and Fists of Fu to be great. New MMORPGs with 2D graphics like Angels Online from IGG and Myth Angels Online from UserJoy pull off solid 2D visuals. One huge, huge, advantage (notice how I said huge twice to emphasize the importance?) of 2D games over 3D ones is that they’re more compatible with older PCs. Not every PC in the world can play Alliance of Valiant Arms, but MOST PCs can handle Dragon Raja or Destiny Online from EnjoyMMO. A lot of my friends actually can’t play Runes of Magic, even though they want to. This makes me question whether it was a good idea for the game’s devs to make the game so good looking. This might sound a bit ridiculous, but it makes sense. Games like Final Fantasy 14 which demand absurdly powerful PCs are sort of screwing themselves over. People who want to play these game’s cant, because they don’t have amazing graphics cards – so what do these people do instead? They download and play games that their computers can handle. Games like Mission Against Terror and War of Angels which don’t demand $2,000 PCs to play. Because MOST gamers can’t always keep up with the latest technologies.

Anyway, I ranted for quite a while. What I really wanted to say is that Conquer Online isn’t a bad game. It’s not exactly my cup of tea, as the experience rate is way too fast. It’s almost Jade Dynasty or Magic World Online style throwaway because you can pretty much kill everything on the screen with your most basic attacks. I Think game developers need a better way to eliminate grind from MMORPGs without doing it with a built in bot.

Soul Master Dead. But It's Relaunching

GamesCampus recently announced that their new side scrolling MMORPG Soul Master would be shutting down and entering the MMO Graveyard. Even though Soul Master is a 3D side scrolling game, much like Dragon Saga, it’s still a game that has appealed to the 2D MMORPG crowd quite a bit, mostly because of its graphics and flat plane style. So even though it’s technically 3D, it plays like a 2D game. The reason GamesCampus gave for shutting the game down was because the game didn’t meet their quality standards. They said that the game will relaunch 6-8 months down the road with new graphics, more content and a better interface. Basically it’ll be completely redeveloped and then relaunched. I guess now that they’re closing the game down, they’ll be able to divert their attention to their other games including Legend of Edda, Shot Online, Drift City, Asda Story. They also publish the World War 2 MMO Heroes in the Sky.

Since Soul Master will be shutting down on the GamesCampus service, but I wonder what’s going to happen to the Gamigo version of the game, for the European market. Gamigo largely publishes European MMORPGs, but they have several games available in North America, such as King of Kings 3 and the browser MMO Cultures Online. Soul Master on Gamigo never launched into release the same way the GamesCampus version did, so whether Gamigo will hold off on releasing the game remains to be seen. It’s always upsetting to see an MMORPG game shut down, whether it’s permanent or just temporarily. Luckily for Soul Master it should be temporary. I played Soul Master for a while and really liked its unique blend of Battleforge style RTS and Dungeon Fighter Online style action oriented gameplay. What really sucks about Soul Master shutting down is that it was a really unique MMORPG. Seeing unique games shut down is terrible, especially when very generic 3D fantasy games like Hero Online from Netgame and Conquer Online from TQ Digital thrive. Though not every generic fantasy MMORPG is thriving – just look at Craft of Gods from Kalicantus and Archlord from Webzen. These once pay to play MMORPGs haven’t exactly been thriving as free to play games, the same way The Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online have prospered.

I’m getting a bit side tracked though. I think anyone who bought premium currency through the Soul Master MMO cash shop should be upset. Heck, anyone that even PLAYED Soul Master has the right to be upset. Odds are when the game is relaunched, if its relaunched, player characters will be wiped. So not only did people lose their money in the game’s cash shop, they lost their characters, which I’m sure some people have invested hundreds of hours into. If my MapleStory or Wonderking Online character was wiped, odds are I’d never play those games again. I think everyone who got “screwed” by GamesCampus is not going to play the new Soul Master game again, regardless of how good it is, as getting their characters wiped left players with a bad taste in their mouth. I sort liked the anime MMORPG graphics in Soul Master too. I’m just happy I didn’t commit to my character on there. I’ve actually been playing some Fists of Fu lately from Outspark, and I’d be furious if my character on there got deleted.

Nexon Should Make More 2D MMORPGs

Nexon has had enormous success with their 2D side scrolling MMORPG MapleStory and their arcade MMO brawler Dungeon Fighter Online. The company reported some $550 million in revenue in 2009 and MapleStory is easily their biggest game. With the explosive growth and success of MapleStory, you’d think that they would release similar games, but that isn’t the case. Nexon is committed to releasing “different” games like Vindictus and Dragon Nest. Now, don’t get me wrong, these two games both look awesome, but it seems like all 3D MMORPG feels the same, so I prefer 2D games. In case you haven’t heard, both Vindictus and Dragon Nest are 3D action MMORPGs.

I should mention that Nexon has made an effort to grow their 2D MMO portfolio – especially with the recent acquisition of Ndoors. That’s right, Nexon actually bought Ndoors! They are the guys best known for the turn based MMORPG Atlantica Online and the less known 2D trade skill heavy game Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu which for some odd reason is published by ijji. The main reastson, in my opinion, that Nexon bought Ndoors is because it saw the company’s newest MMORPG – WonderKing Online as a threat to MapleStory. WonderKing, for those that don’t know, plays almost exactly like MapleStory. It has the same art style and controls, but offers some interesting gameplay mechanics that MapleStory just doesn’t have – such as crafting and PvP. Nexon also had a lot of success with their MMOFPS Combat Arms, which is why they decided to buy GameHi – the game developer behind Asia’s most popular MMOFPS – Sudden Attack. So Nexon has bought out other companies in the past.

Instead of just buying other game studios, Nexon should definitely think about making more 2D MMORPGs. Why? Because they’ve already had a lot of success in that department! Both MapleStory and Dungeon Fighter Online are big hits! Why do you think ijji keeps releasing new MMO shooters? It’s because they’ve had success with them. Just look at ijji, they publish GunZ, Soldier Front and Alliance of Valiant Arms. They also have Huxley: The Dystopia, Karma: Operation Barabarossa and Genesis A.D. Releasing soon. These are ALL MMO shooters too! Ijji is sticking with what they know, and that’s MMO shooters. I think Nexon should do the same with 2D MMORPGs.

Any other MapleStory fans agree?

WonderKing or Dragonica Online?

There are a bunch of awesome side scrolling MMORPGs out there, but the best ones include MapleStory, WonderKing Online and Dragonica Online. There are a few more, but they really aren’t worth mentioning. I’ve played MapleStory from Nexon to death, as I’ve leveled like 10 characters to 40 by now, so I’m a bit tired of it. Both WonderKing and Dragonica Online though are still new territory to me. I mean, I’ve played them both for a while, but not nearly as long as I played MapleStory. When you play one game for so long, you get a bit sick of it, even if it’s a great game.

WonderKing is by Ndoors and it was released in 2009 to compete with MapleStory. It is being published by Ndoors, the company who developed Atlantica Online, but I’m not entirely sure if WonderKing was developed by Ndoors or not. In fact, I’m pretty sure WonderKing has been available n South Korea for many years and only came to the U.S. Recently. Why Ndoors waited so long to localize such a great game like WonderKing is beyond me. Luckily, we gamers in the U.S. Don’t need to wait years to play Vindictus. Nexon is localizing it pretty fast! Nexon has actually been pretty good with localizing their games. Mabinogi and Combat Arms came out in the U.S. Pretty fast. Anyway, WonderKing is a lot like MapleStory in terms of graphics and gameplay, except a bit sharper, visually. There aren’t as many playable classes in it, and that’s my biggest complaint. The number of playable classes in an MMORPG is very important. MapleStory has like 20+ playable classes. Like MapleStory, WonderKing is a 2D MMORPG.

Dragonica Online, although a side scrolling MMORPG, is significantly different than MapleStory and WonderKing. It’s actually a 3D MMORPG, and the first 3D side scrolling MMORPG I’ve ever played. Visually, it’s not as “cute” / “cartoony”, but it still has anime inspired graphics. It looks and feels a bit more mature and the controls are responsive. It’s more of an action MMORPG as well, because players have to get combos to do optimal damage. It also has a lot of quests, so you never need to out right grind. Much of the fighting in it takes place in instanced dungeons rather than in a persistent world, so it’s a bit original in that department as well. Like Dungeons and Dragons Online from Turbine, players can play each dungeon in Dragonica in 3 different difficulty settings. This leads to players sort of being forced to play each dungeon multiple times, which can get boring. In terms of character customization, Dragonica Online has a slight edge, but in terms of variety, WonderKing wins. Dragonica has so few playable classes, which is a big down side to it. On the positive side, with only a handful of classes, the classes are balanced.

So which game is better? Sorry. I can’t say. Both are top notch fantasy MMORPGs that are worth checking out. You should download both and give them each a try.

Fists of Fu vs Dragonica Online

After playing the new Fist of Fu MMORPG from Outspark for while, I realized that the game is a complete clone of Dragonica Online. The game’s developers just loaded up Dragonica Online and copied EVERYTHING and simply changed the graphics a bit (for the worse). I was sorta looking forward to Fists of Fu, but after learning that it’s a shameless Dragonica Online clone I was disappointed. It wouldn’t be so bad if the game wasn’t a COMPLETE clone, but I can safely say its just as much as a Dragonica Clone and Runes of Magic and Allods Online are Wow clones. I know. That’s a bold statement, but if you play both games you’ll agree with me for sure.

The thing about Fists of Fu is that the game has absolutely no appearance customization. In a way, it’s like Lunia from ijji because you start by selecting a character and that’s it. No customization. The game has 3 classes and 2 characters for each class (male and female). So right from the start, the game disappoints with only 3 character classes. There are two job advancements available later on, but that’s it. Graphically, Dragonica is 3D, but Fists of Fu is 2D with 3D backgrounds. You can’t even move in 3 dimensions, you can only move left and right. Ugh. Luckily, the combat is Fists of Fu is fun and reminds me of GhostX from GameKiss and Wind Slayer from Outspark. I say GhostX because the MMORPG has instances outside of town. No persistent world where you can see other players. Just instances. I say Wind Slayer because like Wind Slayer, the PvP in Fists of Fu equalizes, making things fair.

Fists of Fu is currently in closed beta and it’s not a terrible game. I do think Dragonica Online is better though. Needless to say, Side Scrolling MMORPGs are making a comeback. There are new side scrolling games launching every month now it seems. WonderKing from Ndoors is pretty popular too. As a big fan of MapleStory, I’m liking all of these Side Scrolling games. I sort of Wish Fists of Fu was better though. The individual dungeons themselves are fun, because they each have cool bosses at the end and can be played cooperatively.

Back to MapleStory

Just the other day I started playing MapleStory again. Yeah, it’s the immensely popular side scrolling MMORPG from Nexon. It’s a game that I’ve been playing on and off for years. I always break away from the game to try something different, but I always end up coming right back to MapleStory. I remember I was really into WonderKing from Ndoors for a while, as it looked and played a lot like MS. I also tried playing LaTale from OG Planet, but alas these games couldn’t hold my attention long. I mean, I liked the PvP in LaTale, but MapleStory just had more content. Plus, I really wanted to try the new Dragon Tamer Evan class in MapleStory, which was added to the game pretty recently.

I’ve only been playing for a day or so and my character is already level 17. I’m surprised how fast I’m leveling because Dragon Tamers are supposed to level “slowly” according to the character creation screen, just like Arans. My last character was a Thunderbreaker and I got to level 38 with him in a week or so. People often complain about the slow “grind” in MapleStory, but over the last 2 years Nexon really sped things up. There’s really no more “grinding” either, as players advance by completing quests. Questing is actually significantly faster than just plain ol grinding.

Before I went back to MapleStory, I actually tried a few high profile 3D MMORPGs including Kingdom Heroes, Grand Fantasia, Dungeons and Dragons Online and Fiesta Online. Unfortunately none of them could hold my attention the way MapleStory can. I think I’m addicted. How is it that Nexon can make such an awesome game but other MMORPG developers can’t? I Guess it’s the simplicity of MapleStory that keeps me coming back. Plus the huge playerbase is nice as well. Anyway guys, I’m going back to Mapling

LaTale vs MapleStory vs WonderKing

There are three major free to play 2D side scrolling MMORPGs currently out there. MapleStory from Nexon is by far the largest as it’s old and established. The game has been available since 2003. Then we have LaTale which is by OGPlanet, which was released to compete with MapleStory. The graphics and art style are a bit different, but the core gameplay is for the most part identical. The one real difference is that LaTale has PvP while MapleStory does not. Then we have WonderKing from Ndoors. WonderKing sort of combines the fun aspects of both MapleStory and LaTale and adds a bit of its own touch. The game has sleeker 2D graphics, PvP, plenty of quests and more.

Out of the three my favorite is still MapleStory, as it’s been around forever. Since it’s been around so long the game has much more content than its competitors. In fact, the game now has over 12 different playable classes and each of those classes have 3 job advancements, for a total of 36+ playable classes. Plus, Nexon has been updating the game often with more and more new areas and classes, so that’s really awesome. Nexon also has the following games – Mabinogi, Vindictus, Combat Arms and Dungeon Fighter Online.

WonderKing is a far second. The game is certainly fun and well worth the download, but if you’ve played MapleStory before, the two games are just way too similar. You’ll just feel like you’ve ‘been there’ before if you play WonderKing. The PvP in the game is pretty interesting though, but you really have to invest a lot of time into the game to get to the fun parts of the PvP arenas. One issue with WonderKing is that it’s not nearly as popular as MapleStory, so finding people to party with and people to sell your items to may take a bit longer. Luckily though, the game has an awesome auction house system, which is something MapleStory has been missing for years.

LaTale is by OG Planet and comes in third place in my opinion. The game’s artstyle is distinctly different than both MapleStory and WonderKing and come off as weird to me. It’s published by OGPlanet, so you can always use your login for Lost Saga, Hockey Dash and Rumble Fighter for the game and it’ll work fine. In terms of PvP though, LaTale takes the #1 spot. It has the most variety in PvP and it’s also the most balanced, as there’s one option to equalize everyone in terms of level and gear for the duration of the PvP battle. This makes it so PvP actually takes skill and teamwork.

All three Free MMORPGs are good though, so make sure to try them all. I still think MapleStory is the best though, but if you guys disagree, let me know in the comments!