Fiesta Online US Review: Hilarious Marriage System

By Kei Beneza (Dividelife), Onrpg writer

Fiesta online is a cute Anime style Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG). The characters are cell shaded and would sometimes resemble real anime characters with their corresponding fashion sense. Fiesta Online's storyline revolves around the land of Isya, where the Humans and elves band together to drive away the evil gods that threaten the Goddess of Hope, Teva. Not much of a storyline there, but these guides often leave the rest up to you. Open ended storylines are good for MMOs since it helps users build their own personal relationship with the game. Anyway, just because it's cute doesn't completely make it for kids. Let's see what this game has to offer shall we?

Too basic! Where are the cool names?

Fiesta online is in serious need of more classes in my opinion. The ingame classes, namely: Fighter, Mage, Cleric and Archer have their own individual play style. This however, is not a remedy for lacking more classes. It simply means that finding people who share the same class as you would most likely be probable. Well, at least you won't have a hard time looking for specific members for your party (so I guess that's a good thing).

You start out by picking your class which will eventually determine your race. Races are rather fixed in this game so it would depend on what classes you picked. The gender option however can still be tweaked (thankfully) so people can play characters that share their gender. The game lacks options when it comes to changing your character's appearance. Each character would probably get around 3 hairstyles and faces to choose from. Not to worry though, since the game caters an in game parlor where the rest of the other hairstyles are kept. It may seem a bit pricy but then again, getting to look different from the others is definitely worth paying for.

The Cool Stuff

Ever had one of those moments when it almost seems impossible to get a group up and running? Fiesta online has a unique instance system where instead of finding a group, you'll end up signing up for a scheduled raid called Kingdom Quests. This is a lot more fun than walking around the town or spamming LFGs or LFMs in world chat. This lets you do things while waiting for your que to join the raid. These dungeons are instanced and requires massive teamwork to conquer. Boss battles are really nice and would feel quite similar to retail MMO bosses. I guess it shows to prove that Pay to Play MMOs aren't always better than Free to Play ones. There are tons of Kingdom Quest schedules to go around so you don't really have to worry about not getting a shot. Aside from Kingdom Quests, Other Raid Dungeons can also be found in the world map. So many Dungeons, so little time. Why not start leveling now so you can join in and have fun?

Better Start Grinding

Hold your horses! This game is not really a grinding game (or at some point it isn't). After countless updates, Fiesta online managed to give players a series of quests that'll pretty much kill the existing grind meta. I hate grinding, but I guess it's all about preference since most people actually enjoy killing monsters over and over again. In game quests aren't grind orders either. Sometimes, you'll be forced to gather items that are scattered in the world of Isya. No you don't really have to grind monsters to get these items either, although some quests might require you to do so. It's quite refreshing to see a game or rather, a Free to Play MMO play like retail games. Fiesta online has outdone itself and pretty much most of the free to play MMOSs out there when it comes to features and gameplay.

Marriage for Buffs

Unlike most games, Marriage is actually quite beneficial here. In order to get hitched, the two lovers must first purchase a wedding ring (which costs a lot) and invite thirty guests for their wedding ceremony. Once both players have made their vows, they will instantly get a special wedding pet along with a couple of buffs that's sure to make them last FOREVER.

Marriage in Fiesta Online

Both players will gain the ability to summon their spouse from any given distance. Once together, the wedding buff will take effect and both players gain a five percent increase to all their stats. Not too bad eh? If you feel like you're not ready to be married, then be prepared to spend a lot of ingame cash because divorcing your marriage would cost you A LOT (and I mean A LOT).

Visuals and Sounds

like I said, the characters look like Anime characters; more or less comparable to the likes of Mabinogi and Rose online. The sounds blend quite well with the visuals. The sounds would probably remind you of Anime BGMs when the characters are entering a town of some sort. The spells are nicely detailed but doesn't quite fit the cuteness of the characters. I guess that means that you shouldn't judge them just because they're all cute and tiny. The background looks a bit empty since the view distance (even when set at max) doesn't quite pick up enemies and textures from afar. The background detail isn't that good either, but the ambiance and background color justifies that matter. Fiesta online is a world of pastel colors and brightly shaded structures. This does bring the game to life but would sometimes be a bit too bright unless adjustments are made.

The verdict

Fiesta Online? Yeah I'd play it. The system alone makes this game stand out among its F2P Brethren. The spells and effects look nice and greatly compliment the characters' features. Armor tends to look the same since people often end up getting the same thing. I think that's a rather big flaw for any MMO since people would often want to be different from the rest. The marriage system is hilarious. In fact, I think I'd want to get married now in order to get the Power of Love buff. Dungeon Systems rock especially the kingdom quests. This game is a blessing to F2P players who want to experience the goodness of retail.

Pros:
- Anime characters are quite appealing
- Dungeon system is retail-like (even better)
- Unique system

The Bad:
- Sounds get a bit repetitive since you'd often get tired of hearing it over and over again
- The game's lack of armor designs
- The game's obvious lack of classes and character creation.