Rose Online has Humor and Adventure

With every new MMORPG I review, the bar seems to inch up higher and higher for the new game to leave a unique impression. The UI, combat style, artistry, and sign up process is all a vital part of what makes for a lasting impression on potential players as they run through the early stages of a new game. These experiences, be they positive or otherwise, will often leave players with an unshakable and stubborn feeling of exactly how good or bad a game is.

Today we take a look at Rose Online, at this moment the newest MMORPG to don the increasingly popular free tag. Rose Online has been around for some time as a pay-to-play title originally developed by the Korean company Triggersoft. In 2007, Rose Online went out of its support cycle and split three ways between three different companies. This review is in relation to Gravity Interactive’s version nicknamed naROSE. naROSE has been free since July 29th, 2008.

To get things started, let’s take a glance at Rose Online’s setup process. Downloading is, at the time of this review, slow and tedious unless you elect to use the torrent version of the installation which still takes roughly an hour to complete. This may be due to high server demand from the recent launch of their free service. I found signup to be standard and typical of a free MMORPG to which there were no surprises or disappointments.

Character creation is where you first get a real sense of exactly what to expect while playing Rose Online. Let me state first and foremost that Rose Online is another cute game. Florensia, Maple Story, and others are all good benchmarks here on the cuteness scale and in comparison Rose Online certainly holds ground with these respectable forces in the world of cute. The characters look like a cross between Dragonball Z and Mighty Max in their general appearance, while their styles certainly cross in to a broad range between World of Warcraft and your average Yahoo avatar. The graphics are cartoony and on part with what you will find on World of Warcraft.

The storyline reminds me of Legend of Zelda. You are the miracle savior of the world with a pixie guide that tells you of your upcoming great deeds. This is hard to believe when the first creature you encounter capable of killing you is a miniature ninja jellybean. That’s right, a jellybean stands between you and your first set of goals in this interesting world. If you think that is all this game has to offer in the way of strange enemies, before you complete the initial “tutorial” phase of 10 levels, you encounter a vicious jack-o-lantern, a rabid flower, a fierce glowworm that looks very much like Teddy Ruxpin’s faithful companion, Grubby. Even with the admittedly corny creatures, this game is oddly fun. I found, as several others did while doing the review, that I could not exactly understand why this game appeared to be extremely fun, but it was. It is almost the same enjoyment you might find with a Nintendo Wii.

Features are a-plenty, and I can’t go in to all of them in this review. I will state that if you have been looking for the ability to run an automated player-store within a great MMO, then you will certainly want to take a close look at Rose Online. The player stores are scattered about the towns and remain there until the player decides to move his character, at which time the “store” turns back in to their character allowing them to get back to adventuring. Equipment is restricted by class and level, giving you something to work towards when you receive a great piece of higher-level loot. It’s typical for rare items to drop while you’re going through tutorials. You won’t find yourself looking for something to kill or waiting for that matter. Creatures respawn almost right away after you strike them down. This works very effectively in common adventuring areas.

Combat is less of a click fest than moving is. Movements require a constant barrage of clicking, common in MMORPG experiences outside of pay-to-play. Combat is a matter of a click to target and double-click to attack. The moves appear turn based and occur fast enough to keep your attention.

Questing is easy and abundant, and you will be hard pressed to run out of things to do in this game. When you don’t feel much like finishing quests, you can do a great deal of exploring through the unique and ever-changing scenery. Night and Day have a real effect on how NPCs interact with your character, which gives you a very different experience depending on what time of day it may be in game.

Overall, Rose Online was impressive and quite fun. As stated earlier, it is a cute game but one that makes up for it with an oddly immersive and unique blend of humor and adventure. Give Rose Online a try if you’re looking for a release from the more serious MMORPG worlds you’ve been playing in. It may not be your first pick for a main game to play, but it sure makes for a great release when you need a break.

If you have a free game that needs reviewing, please leave a comment below and I will put it on the list! Comments are essential for me to know exactly what you, the reader, want to see and hear so please make your voices heard!