No Tights Here
The veterans at Eyougame serve up another mobile MMORPG steeped deep in Asian mythology. The beauty and ancient lore shine bright in this ambitious title. Starfall Fantasy:Neverland follows the traditional MMORPG recipe made famous by mega hit World of Warcraft. Can they capture the same magic that addicted a whole generation on your mobile device? I can honestly say that this title surprised me in more ways than one.
Don’t Look Up
The first couple of hours with this game was a unique experience. While the game loads, you will be greeted with some truly magnificent art, game tips and, for some reason, a rick roll. As with most MMOs you can choose from a variety of characters and classes that fit into the traditional archetypes: Melee DPS, Ranged DPS and Tank (Healer is missing). Not only is the character design spectacular, but there are an array of male and female characters to choose from. Sorry ladies, no monk for you.
This is where the title gets weird. Your character starts off in the traditional questing fashion. The moment you raise an eyebrow at the voice actors with the thickest Asian accents you’ve ever heard, the game goes into auto-botting (i.e. playing itself) and just takes off. It moves so fast that you barely have time to read the poorly translated dialog. I have played three characters on two devices and I still have no idea what’s going on. You quite literally have about three seconds to reconcile any question in your mind before it auto activates botting. Even while in a menu.
You can deactivate this simply by moving with a d pad in the bottom corner and buttons are available for combat. Again, you look away for just a few seconds and the game will take off without you. However, if you are like me, morbid curiosity will push you to see how far the game will play itself for. The answer is level 50. Then its only a couple taps and it takes off again. I literally have no idea what the story is.
We are in the End Game Now…
I know it sounds like I am dogging this title and its botting, but I think I see what they did here. Starfall fast forwards you straight to endgame. For those new to the genre this may be a head spinning roller coaster ride. For seasoned vets it may come as a god send. Around level 150 the game finally stops and you have minute to explore all the shiny new icons clogging up your screen.
Eyogame included every MMO trope imaginable and then some. You can manage a enhance the strength of (deep breath): gear, gems, companions, spouses, a periapt, mounts, gods, cards, skills, guilds, glyphs, appraisals, swordwrits, forging, arenas and wings. I’m sure there’s more to come as a new icon is unlocked every 50 levels or so.
This all leads to a dizzying amount of currency needed for every power up, but thankfully Starfall automates this too. You simply follow the red dots for rewards and auto enhancements. They even have shortcut icons that hold your hand through the whole process. All enhancements push up your CP which is the important number that signifies your strength. Even with the automation of just about everything, Starfall manages to replicate those good feelings of knocking out those dailies and securing new loot.
Not the Adventure I Was Expecting
I could go on about all the things Starfall does right and wrong. There is both in equal measure which adds to the games charm. For example: the screen is so loaded with icons, chat boxes and buttons all screaming for your fingertips that its like staring at slot machine on acid. For smaller phone users be prepared to have maybe one inch to see your character who will be hidden by a hero title. This is a shame because this title is BEAUTIFUL.
The character, enemy and boss designs are stellar. The backgrounds are detailed and varied. The attack animations are on par with pc releases of similar games. This title is so pretty it almost feels like a wasted opportunity for those who were looking for an Asian alternative to their traditional MMO.
Eyogame has made something special. This title is not for everyone and there are some things that I still do not understand, but I enjoy watching the bot play it. As a user said in world chat, “I’m still here for the pretties and the shinys.”
Is It Hardcore?
-
SCORE
Kind of.
Starfall Fantasy:Neverland is unique, confusing and beautiful. If you enjoy endgame content in MMORPG’s then this title should satisfy.