By Mohammed Afzal (MageMoa), Onrpg Journalist
Ghost Online, a unique side scrolling MMORPG has broadened our horizons. You may think; what is he talking about? Well, let me explain! Ghost Online is one of the few existing side scrollers which has an English version. Many similar side scrolling MMORPGs have not been able to survive in the though MMO industry, but Ghost Online has always been able to keep its head above the ground.
The game has many versions: A Global version (Netgame), a Malaysian version (Gameflier), a Vietnamese version, a Chinese version, a Japanese version, a Korean version, a Taiwanese version, an Indonesian version and a Thailand version. A game with nine different hosts (two English ones) must have something special. But what exactly has made Ghost Online so popular and why is it still alive and kicking?
Storyline
The storyline of Ghost Online is really amusing. It tells us more about the history of the game and you will find out what exactly you have to do. Let me quote a part of the storyline, written on Gameflier’s Ghost Online site.
“In the far and mythical alternate dimension, humans had done so many sinful acts that all of their spirits were sent to the Abyss to pay for the guilt that they had done in their past life.
However, even the Abyss did not have sufficient space to confine such amount of guilty spirits. This had caused a great chaos as the evil spirits that stay in the human realm continued their evil acts; hence threatening all the beings in the human realm and Abyss.
In order to restore the balance of nature, many adventurers had decided to join their power to send the evil spirits back to the Abyss. After a series of critical battles, a great adventurer by the name of Lord Tai He who led his 12 apprentices have managed to seal the evil spirits in the Temple of Ghosts. However, Lord Tai He had faced the corruption of his own spirit when the battle had finally ended. In order to cleanse his soul, Lord Tai He had assigned “Weak Plum” (yet to be confirmed) to lead the remaining apprentices while he set out to the western land to search for Grass of Millennium, the cure to stop the corruption.
Unfortunately, Rotten Flower, the other apprentice, felt that he should be in command and decided to take over the place of Weak Plum when Lord Tai He was out searching for the Grass of Millennium. So, Rotten Flower led his minions to the Temple of Ghosts to get rid of Weak Plum who was trying to complete the seal of the evil spirits. The battle between the force of order and chaos is about to begin.”
The story gives you a great idea about what is going to happen and you will be able to choose a side; Order or Chaos. What I also like about the storyline is that the story actually continues in the game, which gives you more motivation to play Ghost Online until the end!
Gameplay
The character creation of the game is quite disappointing. You will be able to choose between a few faces and hairstyles, which means that you will see many clones of yourself ingame. The movement is another annoying part of the game. You walk incredibly slow and running consumes SP, which will lead to a lack of SP through the whole game.
The Soul System makes up for all the negative parts of the game. It is a great and original feature of the game which allows you to absorb the souls of dead opponents. You can do this by holding Ctrl after defeating an enemy. There are four different soul categories. Let me explain them briefly;
Red Soul – The Red Souls will increase your Rage Points ingame. These Rage Points can be used to activate the Rage skill which basically makes you stronger for a while.
Blue Soul – The Blue Souls restore 20% of your SP after absorbing them.
Purple Soul – The Purple Souls will increase your Seal Equipment points. These Seal Equipment points can be used to upgrade your equipment.
Green Soul – The Green Souls restore 40% of your SP after absorbing them.
The combat of Ghost Online is very action based; You have to take your enemy out as fast as you can while keeping yourself alive and consuming the soul of the enemy. The only negative part of the combat is that the game doesn’t really have any kind of combos or special battle attacks.
Classes
The classes of the game might not look really unique, but Ghost Online’s class system is actually pretty unique. First of all, you will start out as a Novice. Novices lack power and they level incredibly slow. You might feel like quitting before reaching level 10, because of the endless grind as a Novice.
When you reach level 10, you will be able to choose between four classes; Mage, Champion, Warrior and Assassin. After reaching level 40, you will be able to choose a Faction; Order or Chaos. This will affect your character and change it completely. After choosing a faction, you will be able to gain your next promotion and after this second promotion is complete, you will be able to rebirth when you reach level 110. This sounds very complicated, so let me explain it for each class:
Warrior: After reaching level 10, you will be able to become a warrior. The warriors in Ghost Online mainly use swords and blades to fight. They are physically strong, but they are weak against magical attacks. When a warrior reaches level 40, he will be able to choose a side; Order or Chaos?
If a warrior picks Order, he will become a Blade Master. If he decides to pick Chaos, he will become a Destroyer. When a Blade Master or Destroyer reaches level 110, he will be able to rebirth to become even stronger!
Mage: If you decide to become a mage at level 10, be warned. Mages are really hard to level and they require some knowledge of the game. They have a low amount of health and defense and their offensive spells cost a lot of SP, which means that you will need a lot of SP potions to survive. When a mage reaches level 40, he will also be able to choose a faction.
If he picks Chaos, he will be advanced into a Black Mage. If he decides to choose Order, he will become a White Mage.
A Black Mage mainly focuses on offensive magical attacks and a White Mage mainly focuses on buffs, heals and protection magic to help its allies.
A Black Mage mainly focuses on offensive magical attacks and a White Mage mainly focuses on buffs, heals and protection magic to help its allies.
Assassin: Great choice! They can level quickly without dying as often as a mage. Assassins use claws to damage their enemy with melee damage and they are also able to use gloves to throw shurikens to kill their enemy from a distance. When an assassin reaches level 40, he has to pick a faction, just like all the other classes.
If he decides to pick Chaos, he will become an Asura, but if he prefers Order, he will become a Ninja. One of them uses shurikens while the other prefers melee attacks.
Champion: This is probably the most unique beginner class of the game. They use big axes to deal heavy damage or chakrams to attack their enemies quickly. Champions can deal the highest physical damage of all the classes, but their defense isn’t as good as the warrior’s and they are not as fast as an Assassin. When a Champion reaches level 40, he will have to choose a faction.
If a Champion decides to join the Order’s side, he will become a Royal Prime, but if he rather joins the Chaos faction, he will be advanced into a Demonic Prime.
Features
Ghost Online offers its players many features. A player can have his own house after reaching level 40 and meeting the other requirements. His friends and other players will be able to visit him at his house and he can make it its own little place.
Other than regular PvP, the game has Castle Sieges and Castle Wars. Both Castle Sieges and Castle Wars have the same purpose; You will have to try to conquer the Castle by defeating your opponents.
Castle Sieges have a limit of 30 versus 30 players while Castle Wars require a certain amount of players per team ( 15 or 20 ).
My favorite feature is the pet feature of the game. The pets are called toys and they absorb a part of the experience of their master to level up. These toys can evolve when reaching a certain level and they can give you a certain amount of bonus stats.
My favorite feature is the pet feature of the game. The pets are called toys and they absorb a part of the experience of their master to level up. These toys can evolve when reaching a certain level and they can give you a certain amount of bonus stats.
Personal opinion
The many features, cute graphics and the challenging classes of Ghost Online explain how the game has been able to survive.
There are always many things to do, but to keep up with your friends, you will sadly have to grind a lot, which might lead to quitting the game, since the grind can be unbearable at some point.
There are always many things to do, but to keep up with your friends, you will sadly have to grind a lot, which might lead to quitting the game, since the grind can be unbearable at some point.
Even though the game has a few downsides, it can be seen as one of the best 2D MMORPGs and I can promise you that you will have a great time playing this game!
Pros:
– Challenging classes
– Many unique features
– Original Soul System
– Cute, appealing graphics
– Challenging classes
– Many unique features
– Original Soul System
– Cute, appealing graphics
Cons:
– Slow movement
– Endless grind
– Slow movement
– Endless grind
